ictures:

1. Leaving in the fog

2. The beautiful anchorage at mile 246 TnR

3. Mike and Pat at the Huntsville Botinical Gardens

4. Pat next to the SR-71 at the Space Center

5. Dennis and Jeanette Skelly


It is now October 21st, and we have had a great time at Joe wheeler State Park at the Great Loop Cruiser’s Rendezvous. There were interesting speakers, lots of food, a little drinking of adult beverages, and great weather. The best part though, was the people we met.

First of all, Dennis and Jeanette Skelly, Army friends from 25 years ago, and fellow boaters, came to the Rendezvous and stayed with us on Irish Ayes. They are great friends and having them aboard was perfect. They just sold their Marine Trader 44, and are in the market for their next boat. They also had a car, which is a Godsend to people who are cruising. They took me to the hardware store for parts when Irish Ayes popped a water line. They took us to the grocery store, and they took us to dinner a couple of times. We were sorry to see them leave Friday morning, but we’ll see them again in a couple of weeks when we get to Florida.

Next were Jim and Cindy McKay. They are friends from Knoxville whom we have known for a couple of years. Just to show you how small the world is, Cindy’s cousin is COL (Ret) Don Vinson, another old Army friend who I think I spent half of my career with. He was an attack Pilot in Cobra Gunships in Vietnam, and flew Apache gunships during the Panama operation as well as Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Don and I served many years in the 82d Airborne Division and 18th Airborne Corps, and he is a great friend. Too bad he doesn’t buy a real boat. Cindy and Jim finished the Loop earlier this year, and are thinking of doing it again. Cindy even fixed us a care package of great soup to take with us when we departed down river this morning. Considering that the temperature was 39 degrees, the soup was a great touch, and it was delicious I might add.

Then, we unexpectedly found that Lee and Brenda Jetton were there at the Rendezvous. They are friends we met three years ago at a Gulf Star Rendezvous. They have a Gulfstar 44 just like ours, and we had lots of fun with them. They checked out our boat from stem to stern, just like we will do to theirs when we see them again in New York next summer.

We met a bunch of great people at the Rendezvous that I know we will see again as we make our way around the United States. There were Loopers there who were completing the Loop, some like us who are just starting, and some wannabes who are gathering information for when they can start their great adventure. Pat and I look forward to seeing many of the AGLCA Rendezvous again along the waterway.

One of the highlights of the week was a bus tour of Huntsville, AL. We were loaded up on a very nice luxury bus, and we went to the Space Museum in Huntsville, which was spectacular. If you haven’t been there, you need to go. We were only there a couple of hours, but it was wonderful.

From there, we went to Huntsville’s Botanical Gardens, which even for someone who hates yard work, namely me, it was a beautiful place. It’s great to look at, but I sure wouldn’t want to work there. From there we visited the Huntsville Museum of Art, which we really enjoyed. Such beautiful paintings, sculptures, glass art, and interestingly, a photo display of New York in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It was very difficult to look at those pictures, but impossible not to. I think everyone should see those pictures to remind us of what those murderers did to 3000 plus innocent Americans on that day. I think too many of us have forgotten already.

From there, the City of Huntsville hosted us at a barbecue at Ditto Landing Marina. The food was excellent and it was a great way to cap off a fun day.

This morning we departed Joe Wheeler Marina as the fog was lifting on a beautiful, if a bit cold, sunny day. Joe Wheeler Lock and Dam was two miles down river, and the lockmaster had the door open for us when we arrived. I love it when that happens. There were six boats in the lock, and we made it through uneventfully. Then, 15 miles later, came the infamous Wilson Lock and Dam. Wilson’s main lock chamber was damaged a few months ago when a barge that was being lifted in the chamber snagged the upper lock door, tearing it off its track and hinges. Those lock doors are huge since they have to hold back a gazillion gallons of Tennessee River water, so repairing the damage is taking months. Wilson has an auxiliary lock that is very small, and there are dozens of tow boats and barges lined up to traverse the lock, and they (commercial traffic) have priority, so we pleasure boaters cool our props and wait. Every three hours or so the lockmaster will allow a pleasure boat lock down or up, so that’s what happened to us. We arrived at the lock at 9am, and finally got into the lock at 12:10. After a drop of approximately 93 feet through two chambers, we exited Wilson Lock, and all I can say is farewell to you, mister damaged lock. See you next year when you are repaired.

We continued on down the river on a spectacularly beautiful day, and around 4:30pm we pulled into a little cove for the night. After dropping and setting the anchor, taking pictures of the colorful trees, and having a great dinner, we are about to pack it in for the night. Stay tuned.