Great Loop Overall Statistics to date:
Statute Miles: 4693.6
Average Miles/Day: 49.4
Total Hours Underway: 630.3
Average speed (mph): 7.5
States Transited: 18
Total Days: 200
Travel Days: 95
Locks: 60
Fuel Purchased: 1351.3
Miles / Gallon: 3.5
Nights at Extra Days
Marinas: 53 100
Anchor: 28 6
City dock: 6 1
Free Wall: 9 4
Mooring: 0 0
Day 92 Leaving Chattanooga
We left with our sister ship, SPIRIT, at dawn. It was a dreary, cloudy, foggy, misty morning. However, at only 90% of our normal cruising RPM, we were making over 2 knots faster speed than we had coming up-river 5 days earlier. It was nice to know we would now have a following current pushing us all the way down from here to the Gulf. An uneventful day had us arrive at Battery Hill north anchorage (again) at around 1400 with SPIRIT. We were back in Central time now, so we had to adjust our mindset back again.
Day 93 Leaving Bridgeport/Battery Hill
Dense patchy fog when we awoke this morning. Waited about 1/2 hour longer than normal and headed out in anticipation of it clearing. Radar was on and it was slow going for about an hour, then the surface cleared as we got onto larger expanses of water. We arrived to Nickajack lock as a tow was coming through needing a breakdown. We tied up to the nearby park docks along with SPIRIT at Shellmound to wait the 2 hours for the tow to come through. Once through, the lock-down was easy and we arrived at Alred Marina in Guntersville at 1430. Very hot and humid for mid-October!
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Great Loop Travel Days (GLTD):
092: Bridgeport AL(BatteryHill) from Chattanooga TN
093: Guntersville AL from Chattanooga TN
Map of our Overall Great Loop travel:
GLTD092 Bridgeport AL(BatteryHill) (from Chattanooga TN): We left Chattanooga early, and it didn’t take long for our friends on mv Spirit to take the lead (again 😊) – even before we got back into Central time zone.
We need to make a trip “home” to Florida, so we turned and headed back down-river. We will not continue up-river to Knoxville, as some loopers do.
Our plan to fly the drone in the Tennessee Gorge was foiled – again – by low clouds and wind. I’m unsure how much wind because our cheapo Amazon weather station died. Time to order a replacement.
Even through the clouds, though, I spotted this bald eagle on the shore.
We passed this interesting custom-built boat, Annie. You can just make out the calliope on the top deck, the tops glistening – looking like a candelabra.
As we passed Racoon Mountain (part of Tennessee Valley Authority) this time, we got photos. A reservoir constructed at the top of the mountain covers 528 acres and stores 107 billion gallons of water until it is needed to make electricity. The first hydro unit started production in 1978.
At that time, although the use of electricity was typically much greater in the daytime than at night, most generators produced power at a constant rate. TVA engineers searched for a way to store energy so that they could call on it when demand rose. One way of doing this was to pump additional water into the reservoir behind a dam and hold its potential energy there until it was needed.
In 1974, the National Society of Professional Engineers named the work at Raccoon Mountain one of America’s most outstanding engineering projects. When completed, the plant would be the largest water-storage facility of its kind in the world.
⏱ Lock Delay: 2 hrs, 45 min: As we approached Nickajack Lock (40-ft descent), our only lock for the day, mv Spirit called ahead and learned they were in the process of locking through a multi-part tow and it would probably be 2 more hrs.
We headed over to Shellmound Park Free Dock (TN) to tie up for the wait. (Some loopers plan a stop here instead of anchoring on the way to Chattanooga/Knoxville.)
Ray flew the drone to get photos of the “twin” N37s. The third boat, near mv Spirit (front), is mv Ablelene, fairly early in their loop.
In just over 2 hours (as estimated by the lock operator), we saw the tow leaving the lock on AIS, and shortly after, by eye in front of us at Shellmound docks.
We all dropped the lines and headed a short distance to lock through Nickajack.
After passing under the Haletown 41-64 bridge, …
⚓Anchored.
… we anchored, along with mv Spirit, at Battery Hill (where we had anchored previously on the up-river trip to Chattanooga).
GLTD093 Guntersville AL (from Bridgeport AL): We hauled anchor early, since we needed to fuel up and pump-out the holding tank when we got to the Guntersville marina. Though we left before mv Spirit, the captain was already up and got some great photos of SCOUT underway in the fog.
While the fog makes a great backdrop for photos, it makes for very tedious cruising.
🔷 Boater Tip: As we’ve mentioned before, an automated foghorn is a nice piece of safety equipment. This is typically part of the numerous functions of a VHF radio if a “horn” is connected to the appropriate output wires.
There was still a little bit of fog, during sunrise, that we hoped would soon burn off.
An hour after sunrise, fog was still thick.
Thankfully, the fog cleared sometime before noon, illuminating the fifty shades of green, sprinkled with red.
Not to Miss: Marina: We arrived at Alred Marina by mid-afternoon and used the self-serve fuel and pump-out, before docking. This is a well-equipped marina with a pool, courtesy car, and 2 pay-laundry sets,.
Right after I checked in (and got the keys to the courtesy car), fellow Great Harbour owners mv JADIP arrived; they stopped to see us on their way up-river to Knoxville. (We forgot to get a photo of the 2 Great Harbours together. 🙁)
We all showered and headed out for a reunion dinner at Old Town Stock House (featured as a Not-to-Miss in a previous blog: https://n37scout.wixsite.com/travels/post/2021-oct-the-great-loop-locking-through-our-tallest-lock-in-the-dark.
In my opinion, the Admiral on JADIP is “bigger than life”, but in this photo she looks normal-sized. 😊
The next day, mv JADIP left, and another set of Great Harbour owners arrived to load up mv Lollipop to cruise to the America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association Fall Rendezvous @ Joe Wheeler State Park, Alabama.
Layup for Trip “Home”: We planned to leave SCOUT docked here while we make a quick drive “home” to Jacksonville for family obligations, so we drove the courtesy car to pick up a rental car.
Back at the marina, I did several loads of laundry while Ray changed oil in both engines.
Late afternoon, after packing for the trip “home”, we drove the courtesy car 3 miles to Main Channel Brewery, where we had hoped to visit during our last stop in Guntersville but couldn’t get an Uber. The taproom is cute and welcoming, and the beer choices were good. A coffee amber was particularly tasty.
For dinner, we shared a salmon meal at Rock House Eatery, in a c.1924 house.
Reflecting on Our Great Loop Memories (so far): We have now traveled nearly 4700 miles of the approximately 6000-mile loop. While driving “home”, we reflected on our looping experience. Below are some of our most memorable moments, so far (in no particular order).
💛 Starting the Great Loop.
Covid shots enabled us to feel comfortable traveling during the pandemic. Ironically, we had spent the first few months on Covid lock-down in Ft. Myers, as well. We had a fun reunion with Great Harbour friends, then raised the white “looper flag”. We saw our son at our last stop in Florida – Fernandina Beach FL.
💛 Catching Up to Friends Who Are Also on the Great Loop.
💛 Getting to Know New Friends Who Are Also on the Great Loop.
💛 Stunning Sunrises on the Great Loop:
Grand Rivers KY.
Savannah TN.
Les Cheneaux Islands MI.
Dismal Swamp NC.
💛 Lucky Finds on the Great Loop:
Phineas & the Lonely Leaves. Poughkeepsie Jazz Project jam session.
Amphicars. “Tipanic”.
Michigan Mafia String Band. The Outlaw Opry.
💛 Iconic Moments Along the Great Loop:
🔼Atlantic Coast
Titusville – Falcon 9 Launch.
⏫Hudson River
Statue of Liberty.
⏮Erie Canal
Niagara Falls.
🔃Great Lakes
Cleveland Rocks.
⏬Inland Rivers
Chicago skyscrapers at sunrise.
St. Louis Arch.
💛 Memorable SCOUT Images Along the Great Loop:
⏭Okeechobee
Crossing Lake Okeechobee.
🔼Atlantic Coast
Dismal Swamp.
Calvert Cliffs.
⏫Hudson River
Poughkeepsie.
⏮Erie Canal
Erie Canal Over Culvert Road.
🔃Great Lakes
Sleeping Bear Dune.
⏬Inland Rivers
Tennessee River.
🔽Gulf Coast
Offshore – Florida Gulf: Key West to Everglades.
Want to learn more about the places SCOUT traveled?
Click the link below for a map, then click on the place to find blog(s) related to that travel leg.
What’s next? We are almost finished with the side trip to Chattanooga (grey stops shown below Nashville). We will continue travel west on the Tennessee River to get back to the traditional Great Loop route on the inland rivers.
Click here to view our previous blog posts: https://n37scout.wixsite.com/travels/blog
