Oct. 3-6, 2016 Summertime gets put “on the hard”.

As a result of a vibration noticed during a pre-cruise engine room inspection during our 3-day return down the Cumberland River from “nearly Nashville”, Summertime was lifted from the water upon our arrival at Green Turtle Bay Marina. In three days the very able Boat Works crew had replaced a cutlass bearing and installed our “tuned-up” propeller fresh from a prop shop in Paducah. Hooked up to power, our boat continued to be our home. During this time we made the drive to Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House.

Now we are back in the water... and all is well!

Created by Darcy Campbell

Sept. 28- Oct. 2, 2016 Green Turtle Bay Marina, Grand Rivers, KY to Almost Nashville, TN

It’s been said, “If you want to hear God laugh, just tell Him your plans.” This week we’ve heard a lot of laughing. It started with...

Wally and Darcy’s Plan A: We’re going to take a 160 mile three-day river trip from the head of Lake Barkley, KY to Nashville, TN. On Saturday we’ll go to a Grand Ole Opry Show.  

God: (We should have heard the snickering) LOL

Dammed up for flood control, the lower Cumberland River has spread into the Kentucky valleys creating Lake Barkley.  Less than a mile away to the west and parallel with the Cumberland River/Barkley Lake is the Tennessee River/ Kentucky Lake created by another set of dams. The Land Between the Lakes has become famous as a resort area.  As we began our journey to Nashville, we loved the serenity of the river-lake region. Our Dover Island anchorage the first night and our marina stay in Clarksville, TN on the second night were everything we had hoped for.  As we cleared the Cheatham Lock on Day 3, we were hailed by a motor yacht docked at a riverside restaurant. “Are you heading for Nashville? Do you know that the riverfront there is closed for two days for a race?” It was lunch time... we would have been there by supper! Jane, our customer service lady at the Grand Ole Opry, took our dilemma to the higher-ups who agreed to refund our non-refundable tickets. Three days later we were back at Green Turtle Bay Marina in Grand Rivers, KY.

Wally and Darcy’s Plan B:  The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN is only two hours drive from Grand Rivers, KY.  There is a show on Tuesday, Oct. 4th at 7pm. We’re going to drive a rental car to Nashville. We’ll arrive early enough to have a backstage tour at the original downtown Ryman Theater; maybe even go backstage at the Grand Ole Opry.

God: (the chuckles are now audible) LOL

Our 10am ride to the rental car office arrived at 11am. Just as the rental agreement  was about to be printed at the office, the computer system went down. Wally and I looked at each other and began to giggle... it’s almost predictable!  The two-hour drive to Nashville began at 12 o’clock noon... way behind our schedule. We found a space in a parking garage just up the hill from the Ryman Theater and hot-footed it down. Posted on the door was a notice... the backstage tours had been suspended at 2:00 to prepare for a special event that night. It was 2:20!  It’s another hitch in our plans, but by now we burst out laughing. It was becoming clear that this trip was out of our hands.  For the next hour we strolled downtown Nashville, listening to the live performances up and down Broadway, and then walked to the river to see where our boat would have been docked if we could have made it to the Metro Nashville Marina. When we arrived at the Opryland venue on the outskirts of the city it was 4:03. Yes, you guessed it... the backstage tours at the Grand Ole Opry had ended at 4:00. By now we were almost in stitches...laughing. Some things are just not meant to be. We had a great meal at Moe’s Southwest Grill, then joined a sold-out crowd of 4,400 country music lovers for a most enjoyable and memorable two hour Grand Ole Opry concert. By 10 pm we were back on I-24 and by midnight we were back on the boat... safe and sound. It wasn’t the plan we thought we’d follow, but it was wonderful.  Thank you, God!

Created by Darcy Campbell

Sept. 25, 2016 “Locking through” can have many different looks

By the time we complete The Great Loop, we will have cleared 106 locks! We are somewhere in the 90’s now. During our five days on the Upper Mississippi River, we cleared two locks in 218 miles... 2-4 hours of wait time at each. On our one day on the Ohio River we cleared another two locks in 47 miles and had another 2-4 hour wait each time. Today we are moving up the Tennessee River and we have one lock to clear before we arrive at The Land Between the Lakes. We've been told by the lock master to expect 2-4 hours of wait time...imagine that!  We hang fenders along both sides of the boat, since we don’t know until we enter the lock which side we’ll be directed to tie up to. The method of attaching to the lock wall in the rivers has been different from the previous locks. Since we entered the Mississippi River we have been looping a mid-ships line around a floating bollard and “making it fast”...securing it tight... to the boat. The boat and the bollard float up (or down) with the water level. The captain and crew get to take a rest from holding onto the line while watching to see that everything moves together smoothly. On our last lock, the sides were made of half-round barrels... no smooth sides.  We and two other Looper boats had to float in the middle of the lock and try to avoid each other and the side of the lock while the water came rushing in... no easy task.!

Locks are either 600' or 1200' long and 125' wide

Sometimes we lock through with a tug and tow. If it is a "red flag" however we are not allowed to be in the lock with them

This is a new lock being built to replace two of the older ones

As you can see this lock has no smooth sides to tie to

Some locks only move you 4', but this one took us for a  57' ride

Floating Bollard

Life Jackets are required in the locks

Created by Darcy O Campbell