9/28/14: Green Turtle Bay Marina – Panther Bay Anchorage  33NM. Endeavor, Miss Hadley, Twelve Stones, & Attitude Changer left Green Turtle Bay Marina this morning at 7:00 am. It will be a short day run to the Panther Bay Anchorage. Captain Joe from Chesapeake says this is the most spectacular anchorage on the entire river, so we just have to stop.

Wildlife on the Tennessee River

Leaving Green Turtle Bay Marina

Twelve Stones, Endeavor, Miss Hadley, & Attitude Changer

9/23/14: Lock 53 Anchor, Ohio River – Green Turtle Bay Marina, Cumberland River 63NM.  After leaving the busy Ohio River we welcomed the quieter pace of the Cumberland River. Okay now that’s really not true that’s a statement you might see in the Great Loop brochure….LOL. When we got onto the Cumberland River we were greeted by a stiff current coming right at us. We only passed 2 barges on the entire river.

The second barge left the Barkley Lock & Dam about 30 minutes before we got there. I (Elaine) had talked with the Lockmaster to let him know where we were & that we were trying to get to the Green Turtle Bay Marina BEFORE DARK. He said no problem & would be ready for us. When we arrived the gates to the lock were closed. We waited about 30 minutes before they finally opened. Not sure why the doors weren’t open or why we had to wait as there was no barge or recreational traffic except us. Anyway we got inside the Lock, tied off, ready to go (still plenty of daylight left), when the Lockmaster said another boat was on its way. The other boat, Late Date, had apparently told the Lockmaster that he was having mechanical troubles & had to get to Green Turtle Bay. So we waited, Late Date arrived, we locked through & then the lock doors opened to reveal pitch black night.

Endeavor entering Barkley Lock

When the doors of the lock opened & it was pitch dark my 1^st thought was, we aren’t leaving the lock! Thankfully we had called other Loopers at the marina & they were prepared for out nighttime arrival. At least 2 other Looper boats had ran aground (no damage) when entering the marina so the stress level was high. We had to find 3 small red buoys in the dark. Now that isn’t easy! Attitude Changer & Navigator talked us into the marina on channel 68. Tom from Navigator had put a strobe light on the end of the dock so we could identify the marina. All 5 boats came in & got docked safely. And for the rest of the story….remember Late Date, the boat we had to wait on in the lock, well the Captain was a hired Captain delivering the boat. He was up the next morning & gone bright & early. Wonder what happen to his mechanical issues?

Green Turtle Bay Marina was great & recommended stop. The staff was helpful & the two restaurants onsite have delicious food. They have 2 courtesy cars so we were able to make a Sams Club run to restock. The docks were filled with Loopers. We were able to reconnect with some Loopers we hadn’t seen since Norfolk, Va.

To our surprise, Mike Borum on Sea Dream an N47 was docked here. We had a great time seeing Mike and he was gracious with his time & transportation,

9/21/14: Hoppies – Little Diversion Channel 96NM. Today was a long day on the river. The amount of debris in the river has reduced significantly making it a much more pleasant trip.  The anchorage at Little Diversion Channel was easy to get into and was  a peaceful night.

Debris washed up on the bank. Next flood it comes back into the river.

Twelve Stones leaving Little Diversion Channel Anchorage

Twelve Stones anchored with Endeavor, Miss Hadley, &

Pura Vida at Little Diversion Channel.

Mississippi River - Triple Stacker Tugs push massive amounts of water.

Mississippi River - Triple Stacker Tugs push massive amounts of water.

The next day 9/22/14 was a quick day to Lock 53 (60NM) where we said goodbye to the Mississippi River and hello to the Ohio River.

We anchored just before lock 53 near the new construction alongside the main channel. Since we were so close to the lock the barges maintained a no-wake speed reducing the wakes we felt during the night. While we were anchored we were joined by Lucky Us & Bubbles. Lucky Us would travel with us the next day to Green Turtle Bay. Bubbles was headed the other way.

Lock 53 had the dam lowered so we just sailed right on by. Lock 52 was fully operational but we only had to wait about 30 minutes before we locked through.