Great Loop Overall Statistics to date:
Statute Miles: 4375.9
Average Miles/Day: 49.2
Total Hours Underway: 586.7
Average speed (mph): 7.5
Total Days: 190
Total Days: 190
Travel Days: 89
Locks: 55
Fuel Purchased: 1102.5
Miles / Gallon: 3.5
Nights at Extra Days
Marinas: 51 91
Anchor: 26 6
City dock: 4 1
Free Wall: 9 4
Mooring: 0 0
Travel Day 83 - Leaving Paducah
Left early again to get a jump on the travel day as there would be 2-3 knots of current against us the entire route up the Ohio, and then up the Cumberland River to Barkley lock. A shorter route is available by going up the Tennessee River to Kentucky (Lake) lock, but it typically has lots of commercial traffic and if the lock is busy with barges, waits of up to 4-5 hours are possible. A longer route with foul current could be just as long and trying, but we took our chances this way anyway. As yesterday, we steered manually nearly all day, following the 20ft depth contour of the channel by watching the chart and the depth sounder. This allowed us to gain about 1/2 knot of boat speed on average. Also learning to use the inside of curves to lessen the flow as the river bends back and forth. We arrived at Green Turtle Bay in very hot weather by afternoon and immediately showered and ran for a bite to eat at the on-site grill.
Travel Day 84 - Leaving Grand Rivers
We left Green Turtle Bay to a fantastic sunrise at the entrance channel. We then headed south for just a bit and then turned into the Barkley channel to cross over into Kentucky lake. Once on the lake, and following the Tennessee River south, travel was easy with wide open spaces and only about 1/2 knot of counter current. We made it to Paris Landing State Park by early afternoon - again in very hot weather. Easy pump out at fuel dock and then moved to a side-tie location on a face-dock.
Travel Day 85 - Leaving Paris Landing
In order to get to our turn at the Tennessee River Tombigbee junction at Pickwick Lake to head east to Chattanooga, we could either take three 6-hour days or two 9-hour days heading South. We decided to just head out and make the decision based on how we felt at around 5 hours of travel today. At the 5-hour mark, we decided to keep going and ended up with the anchor down at Double Islands anchorage after 11-1/2 hours underway. Quiet, peaceful anchorage with plenty of water and a gentle current to keep us pointed up into the river. Winds are supposed to be zero overnight.
Travel Day 86 - Leaving double islands Anchorage
We got underway at dawn again - to another incredible sunrise. We were moving about 2 miles an hour faster than a tow that had just gone by our anchor creek entrance. It took us about an hour to catch up to him at that slow speed. We took advantage of a split channel island detour to go around to go around since the channel was so narrow where he was moving. Our goal was to get through Pickwick lock and anchor just on the other side. It would be a gamble, based on the barge traffic, as to whether we would have to wait before locking through late in the afternoon. 3/4 to 1 knot of foul current in the morning, increasing to 1-1/2 to 2 during the day. Passed two more tows around noon. The last 5 miles up to Pickwick Lock and Dam were brutal. We saw as much as 4 knots of current against us in this last stretch due to them generating electricity and releasing water due to rain flooding. We finally made the lock, and once through the lock we navigated into Dry Creek anchorage for a peaceful end to another long day.
Travel Day 87 Leaving Dry Creek
Up early to check the weather. Saw a line of thunderstorms approaching that gave us only about 30 minutes to get the anchor up and clear before the worst of it hit. We quickly got things going in the dim light of the morning and were out in the wide main channel with no traffic or obstructions just as the heavy rain started. Several fronts passed through. We turned on the radar to help a little and to get practice with rain “clutter” on the display. We had about 1/2 knot of current against us heading further up the Tennessee River through Pickwick Lake. The rain began to clear after about an hour. Had radar on a couple more times - gave me good reinforcement of what I had been practicing in good weather. We arrived in Florence at the Florence Harbor Marina early in the afternoon. The harbor master CALLED US over the radio as we approached the harbor entrance (obviously monitoring AIS) – this was a first for us! Top notch!
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Great Loop Travel Days (GLTD):
083: Grand Rivers KY (from Paducah KY)
084: Paris TN (from Grand Rivers KY)
085: Clifton TN (from Paris Landing TN)
086: Savannah TN (from Clifton TN)
087: Florence AL (from Savannah TN)
Map of our Overall Great Loop travel:
GLTD083 Grand Rivers KY (from Paducah KY): We awoke to mayflies all over SCOUT. (This midwest form is larger than what we’ve seen in the southeast.) We were hopeful they would blow away while cruising.
Major decision time: Cumberland River or Tennessee River to Green Turtle Bay Marina (Grand Rivers KY)?
There are two routes to Grand Rivers KY. The “fork in the road” is only 1/2 mile past Paducah, so you need to know your route before dropping lines from Paducah Transient Dock.
Route Planning: Both routes are upriver, so foul current is a given. Generally, the looper guide books suggest that Cumberland is a longer distance but can take less time, since most commercial traffic uses the Tennessee River. Last night, Ray reviewed the online lock queues for both rivers.
Tennessee: At that point, the queue report for Kentucky Lock on Tennessee River showed a 1000-minute wait had occurred for 1 of the many barges waiting, and several other long delays had occurred.
Cumberland: River Gages reports for Cumberland River indicated additional water releases were planned overnight before our departure, which we thought could possibly increase foul current, but the Barkley lock report showed no commercial traffic delays in the last 24 hours.
🔷 Boater Tip: Two invaluable resources for inland river travel are the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) Lock Queues reports and River Gages.
ACOE River Gages: https://rivergages.mvr.usace.army.mil/
Lock Queue reports: https://corpslocks.usace.army.mil/lpwb/f?p=121:4:::NO:::
Lock Queue Reports were highlighted in a previous blog post: https://n37scout.wixsite.com/travels/post/2021-sept-the-great-loop-rocks-locks-and-flocks-on-the-illinois-river)
NOTE: We have since heard from a local at Green Turtle Bay that more generation turbines come online throughout the day. This sample report seems to validate that information.
Tentative (Night-Before) Decision: With our buddy boat, mv Subject to Change, we opted for the Cumberland route, which typically has less commercial traffic; we would just push through the current for a long slow travel day.
Final (Day-of) Decision:Both boats reviewed queue reports and river gage reports again and decided to stay with the original plan to travel the Cumberland River.
With a course plotted up the Cumberland River, we departed at 7:00 am, with a few other loopers. 4 power boats took the Cumberland River. Most sailboats have small engines/motors and have trouble making way against a strong current, so it is not surprising that the 2 sailboat looper boats opted for the Tennessee River, which generally has less opposing current than the Cumberland.
On the Cumberland, commercial traffic was heavy for our first 2 hours of travel.
🔺 Milestone: New River: Cumberland River
We communicated with approaching tows, as well as those heading our direction, and we overtook a tow who actually slowed for our pass. What a pleasant surprise! 😊
Before turning off of the Ohio River onto Cumberland River, we had maintained lower-than-usual speed of only 5.5 kts. After turning onto Cumberland, current was even stronger, as anticipated, and our speed dropped another 1+ kts to around 4.2 kts.
Ray steered toward the edge of the river again to try to get out of the strongest current; we regained about 0.5 kt. The penalty here is that you need to hand-steer and pay much more attention to water hazards and depth.
These chart views show SCOUT zigzagging to stay on the inside of the curves and off-of-center to minimize current, thereby increasing speed.
🔷 Boater Tip: If safe and reasonable to do so (given traffic and debris), when traveling up river, consider cruising off-of-center, since current is strongest at center, to reduce foul current.
This sonar image, while we were travelling off-of-center, shows what looks like a submerged tree. This is the type of increased attention needed when choosing to travel “on the edge”.
Before noon, we passed by a large industrial site. It resembled life-sized tinker toys.
This pair of tows was dutifully standing at attention, waiting for their next task.
⏱ Lock Delay: ~20 min. We arrived at the Barkley Lock early afternoon, where fellow looper mv Soulmate was waiting.
mv Soulmate (a much faster boat) had slowed his speed to time his arrival with us, but still managed to arrive 1/2 hour before us. mv Soulmate communicated with the lock operator that he and 2 other boats (SCOUT and mv Subject to Change) were close behind. The lock operator started dumping water from the chamber and had it ready for an uplift upon our arrival.
Barkley Lock is capable of 57-ft lift, but today, we think it was only about 40-ft due to the desired pool levels on each side.
🔷 Boater Tip: As I think I’ve mentioned before, loopers generally try to minimize impact to commercial traffic by locking through as a group. After locking through, the lock operator specifically thanked mv Soulmate for his willingness to wait and lock through with the slower boats. 😊
A train went right across us in the lock while the gates closed behind us. See video:
Barkley Lock is the fastest and quietest lock so far! It was like riding up an elevator!
See video:
We never tire of sitting in the lock chamber with the gates towering overhead, patiently waiting for the exit gates to open. Each time they open, we are greeted with a whole new vista to take in. It is really quite magical – like arriving in a new world every time.
Not to Miss: Marina: Our destination, Green Turtle Bay Marina (GTB) in Grand Rivers KY, was just around the corner after we exited the lock, and we were docked by mid-afternoon. This is the first time I’ve seen a fuel dock with potted plants. Pretty! You can see SCOUT’s red bow poking out, mid-way down, on the right.
GTB is a looper favorite. It has laundry, shuttle service (on resort) and courtesy car for travel off-resort. GTB is also a resort marina, where you get Yacht Club privileges, including 2 outdoor pools, 1 indoor pool, and dining at the club. There is a small ship store on-site with marine supplies and a good selection of clothing.
Interesting Fact: Not long after we docked and checked in, one of the 2 sailboats that had taken the other route (on the Tennessee River) was arriving. While they had a short wait at Kentucky Lock, they were only about 1-2 hours behind us. We had been saying all along that the decision is “a crap-shoot.” Looks like, today, everyone was a winner. 😊
Not to Miss: View/Food: We were starving when we arrived and opted for early dinner at 1 of the 3 restaurants on-site, the Thirsty Turtle (1/2-mile walk) -- even though it meant missing “docktails” with about 25 looper boats. Our buddies on mv Subject to Change joined us with their pup.
We enjoyed the 1/2 mile walk through the forested hills of the resort. I love this flag-adorned white fence.
OK, the photo below does not show off the view of Kentucky Lake, but trust me, it’s gorgeous.😊 While there is a cute “lodgey” bar inside, we opted for the aforementioned view 😉 outside, where there are covered patios, umbrella tables, and many “private” huts (like those seen to the right in the photo). I recommend Pickle Fries (especially if you are starving) and Nacho Mama’s Salad (huge, so plan for leftovers).
The next day, we borrowed the courtesy van to provision groceries at the nearby Village Market.
Not to Miss: Outing/Food: Our last night in port, our buddy boat mv Subject to Change arranged to have Patti's 1880's Settlement (off-resort) shuttle us to and from dinner.
I forgot to have the server get a pic of all of us in our "private dining room". 😕
The interior is decorated like a warm cabin in the woods. According to their Facebook post, they were already starting to decorate for Christmas; there was lighted garland all over. I recommend making an early dinner reservation as soon as you arrive at the marina (or even sooner) to allow time for a stroll through the shops.
Ray and I shared a Hawaiian Pork Loin, which was awesome. And I got a slice of coconut cake in a to go container.
When I got home and opened it, I realized how massive the slice was. 😮 (That is a meal-sized take-out dish – not dessert-sized!) I will indulge in this “evil” gluten just a little at time over the next few weeks. 😊
We enjoyed our short stay here. I can see why many loopers plan to “vacation” here for a week or more.
GLTD084 Paris TN (from Grand Rivers KY): We saw an amazingly-beautiful sunrise over Lake Barkley as we left Green Turtle Bay Marina.
The “traditional” Great Loop route follows Kentucky Lake and the Tennessee River.
Any loopers taking the “spur” (side trip) to Nashville would continue on Lake Barkley and up the Cumberland River.
We plan to take the “spur” to Chattanooga, so we turned west onto the Barkley Canal toward Kentucky Lake and cruised down the western side of The Land Between the Lakes.
As we entered Kentucky Lake, we were actually heading up river and saw about 1/2 -knot foul current.
About halfway across Kentucky Lake, foul current increased to 1 kt (around the time we passed Ken Lake Marina).
Fellow loopers mv Tipsy Turtle sent us an awesome photo of SCOUT in our beautiful Kentucky Lake cruising grounds. (We also sent them a few photos.)
By mid-afternoon, we were docked and checked in at Paris Landing State Park, in Buchanan, TN – after a preliminary pump-out (before continuing south).
We enjoyed a quiet evening on the boat.
🔺 Milestone: New State: Tennessee is our 17th state on the Great Loop.
The next day, friends from Nashville (former owners of sv CanCan) gave us a grand tour of the nearby town of Paris, TN.
Interesting Facts: Paris, Tennessee
The town of Paris was named for the French capital in honor of Lafayette, who visited Tennessee in the early 1800s. Paris Landing State Park was created in 1945 and the lake soon became a popular recreation destination. Paris became known as the “Capital City of Kentucky Lake” and tourism took on an important role in the area’s economy. Ref: https://www.paristnchamber.com/home/community/history-of-paris-henry-county/
First stop, BBQ lunch at Trolingers BarBQ & market.
Next, the Eiffel Tower. [A] 60-foot-tall Eiffel tower was originally created at Christian Brothers University in Memphis, then donated and permanently installed in Paris's Memorial Park. […] When it started to deteriorate, the tower was not only refurbished, it was boosted to touch the clouds at 70 feet. There continue to be taller Eiffel Towers (including the original) but Paris, Tennessee, is the only place also boasting it is home of the "World's Biggest Fish Fry." 😊 Ref: https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/Eiffel Tower Replica
Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center.
The visitor center had interesting exhibits about wildlife, but the best part of our visit was the view of Kentucky Lake.
Last stop: Dinner at Meo Mio's Sportsman Grill. The “Kiss My Shrimp & Grits” that Ray & I shared were awesome! 😊 (Remember a similar phrase from an 80’s sitcom?) This restaurant is only 2 miles from the marina, but I wouldn’t want to walk or ride the scooter – it is along a busy highway. Go if you have great friends like ours to take you there.
Beware of choosing which size beer to order - the “mug” of beer is huge! 😊
Recommended Stop – Birdsong Resort Marina: Our Tennessee friends told us about “Tennessee pearls” – freshwater mussels that are harvested, not for the meat but for the shells, most of which are sent to Japan for pearl farming. However, sometimes these mussels themselves have grown a pearl – a “Tennessee” pearl. They also told us we may see the dive boats which are used for most of the mussel harvesting.
Birdsong Resort is the home of The Tennessee River Freshwater Pearl Farm – the only freshwater pearl culturing farm in America. The Tennessee River Freshwater Pearl Museum, Farm, Tour and Jewelry Showroom is located at Birdsong Resort.
Since we had upcoming family obligations requiring a trip “home”, we were not able to adjust our schedule to stop at Birdsong. I’ll add this to my bucket list. 😊
GLTD085 Clifton TN (from Paris Landing TN): The lake was flat as we departed before sunrise.
🔷 Boater Tip: Consider having more than 1 cellular service provider to increase your chance of coverage in spotty coverage areas.
Mid-morning, between Big Sandy TN & Eva TN, we lost Verizon cell service, but SCOUT's WiFi through AT&T was still good. Throughout the day, we continued to lose cellular service on one or both providers off and on.
📞 Same-day marina planning: We called the marina where we planned to stay that evening to confirm slip space.
Uh oh! The rivers were drained last night and it's too shallow -- even for us! Wow!
Change of Plans: Ray selected an anchorage beyond the marina, that will extend our travel day by about 1.5 hours.
🔷 Boater Tip: You should practice anchoring in varying conditions and be comfortable with anchoring before you start the loop. Schedules, water levels, lock delays, and commercial traffic WILL affect your plans -- sometimes anchoring will be your only option. It would be best for this not to cause a lot of anxiety. Also Google “anchor trip line” and consider making rigging.
📞 Future stay marina planning: I spent the morning looking for winter dockage in FL.
By noon, the water was beautiful and glassy, and the sun was partially shining through a heavily clouded sky.
By early afternoon, the foul current was getting stronger – now up to about 1 knot against us.
The landscape was pretty. I was excited to spot a few emerging fall colors “between a rock and a hard place.”
Lady's Bluff.
“Carolina” blue sky!
Cypress tree. Seems a strange sight on inland rivers.
⚓Anchored. We were still cruising as the sun started sinking through the clouds – just before we anchored at Double Islands anchorage near Clifton TN.
After 11 hours of motoring, we retired to the pillows early.
GLTD086 Savannah TN (from Clifton TN): We set the clock for another (surprise!) early departure. As we reentered the river, the sunrise was gorgeous!
Mid-morning, we saw remnants of homes destroyed by a landslide. 🙁 I believe this occurred Feb. 2020.
Foul Current! We saw foul current (against us) increase from 1.5 to nearly 4.0 kts throughout the day!
📞 Future stay marina planning: I spent the morning continuing my search for winter dockage in FL.
⏱ Lock Delay: ~40 min: Pickwick Lock (55 foot lift): We were thankful for a "quick" lock-through! Much better than 4 hours (as another looper reported just the day before)!
We had seen rain off and on all day. After locking through Pickwick Lock, really dark skies led to still more rain!
⚓Anchored. We anchored just after 6:00 pm in Dry Creek, just north of Pickwick Lock, with 2 other boats. This will be a beautiful anchorage in a couple of weeks when the fall colors emerge!
Since it was my birthday, Ray let me have my choice of leftovers for dinner. As his sister acknowledged, "He's such a generous guy." 😊
For just the 2nd night on the inland rivers, cell coverage was too weak to stream any TV. So, for the 2nd night in a row, we both went to bed early -- not just Ray 😊.
GLTD087 Florence AL (from Savannah TN): Ray began hauling a muddy anchor at 6:30 am. Although we anticipated a short day of cruising with no locks, the brewery at our destination closes early on Sunday. 😊
As we slowly motored out of the anchorage, I noticed what looks like a tree trunk on the bottom.
🔷 Boater Tip: It may be a good idea to survey your intended anchor drop area with the sonar. Last night when we anchored, Ray aborted his first intended anchor drop when he saw a suspected tree on the bottom, as we slowly motored over the intended “drop zone”. We moved away about 100 yards to set the anchor.
As we left, skies were dark and cloudy, and a misty rain started. Within an hour, however, the sun tried peeking through the dark clouds.
Spur to Chattanooga: About that time, as we passed by the turn toward the Tennessee-Tom Bigbee Waterway (also known as the “Tenn-Tom”), we officially started our side trip to Chattanooga, heading east up the Tennessee River.
🔷 Boater Tip: While the traditional Great Loop is a circular path, there are many options for side trips along portions of the circle. Interesting towns and spectacular scenery make many of these “spurs” popular. One publication about some of the side trips is Great Loop Side Trips, by Rob & Eva Stob.
More information can be found here: http://www.greatloop.com/
The foul current as we started up river was only 0.2 kts. Surely this wouldn’t last……
Before long, we were in Alabama – still on the Tennessee River.
🔺 Milestone: New State: Alabama is our 18th state on the Great Loop.
Along the way, I heard eagles and grabbed the camera. At first, I thought I was seeing a family of 4 eagles, maybe parents training 2 eaglets. Then, I realized all 4 eagles had white heads and tails. So, it was more likely a pair of adult eagles harassing 2 other adult eagles. They were flying so fast and covering such a wide area, I could not get all 4 eagles in the frame at once.. I did capture a photo of 3 eagles. Wildlife is amazing!
By noon, we were up to 1 kt of foul current. Thankfully, within a couple of hours, we entered our destination harbor --Florence Harbor Marina. The marina seems quiet, and the dockmaster is very attentive, even calling us on the radio before we even got to the harbor!
We had a late lunch overlooking the harbor at River Bottom Grille, then relaxed for a few hours on the boat.
Late afternoon, we walked 1.5 miles to Singin' River Brewing.
Interesting Fact: According to this article by the University of North Alabama (based in Florence AL), Legend says that the Yuchie Tribe called the Tennessee River “the singing river” because the flowing waters sounded like a woman singing. The sounds of the shoals are now buried by the reservoirs of TVA’s Wilson and Wheeler dams.
The next day, we washed the boat inside and out – a necessary evil, with all of the flying bugs and spiders along the rivers.
📞 Future stay marina planning: While in port, we also made many phone, internet, and Dockwa inquiries for Florida slips after our anticipated wake-crossing in December.
🔷 Boater Tip: Florida marinas have the reputation of filling up "early" for winter dockage. In our experience, "early" booking means reserving in July-August timeframe for December thru April dockage. Some marinas will advise you to call back later, but some will already be making reservations.
Post-COVID, a large number of additional new boat owners mean even fewer slips.
This year, I did not heed my own advice, since we didn’t know when we would get to Florida and when/where we would want to commit to long-term dockage. 🤔
Our recent buddy boat mv Subject to Change, stopped in Florence for dinner with us. We enjoyed a nice reunion – even though we had only been apart for about 3 days. 😊 We all had flatbreads (even GF available) at Wildwood Tavern.
Four new looper boats had arrived that day. When we returned from dinner, we met most of them, who got together on the dock.
What’s next? We’ll cruise upriver to Chattanooga after making a couple of stops in Alabama.
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