07/07/20 – Swallow Bluff Island to Pebble Isle Marina

On Tuesday morning, 07/07/20, we pulled anchor at Swallow Bluff Island about 10:00 am in more perfect weather. We planned to cruise about five hours to Cuba Landing, located beneath the I-40 bridge over the TN River. Kristin rode in her favorite perch – to the right of the fly bridge helm up on the dashboard platform. We passed beautiful riverside home after beautiful riverside home along the way – all elevated on really high stilts to allow for flooding. As we cruised past Savannah, we saw some of the wreckage from last year’s flood, where several houses had washed away toward the river when the bank eroded right out from under them. We also noticed more houses that seem not far from this same fate, as the river is washing away the banks beneath them as well. We also saw many lots along the river where high roofs over concrete pads had been constructed for RVs to park out of the sun, and with a riverfront view. Cell coverage was spotty, but we were able to view on our cell phones the heat thunderstorms popping up all around us; but along the river, the weather remained lovely! It was another warm day, but still we persevered and remained up in the fly bridge, rather than coming down below to helm from the air-conditioned salon. Steve reiterated his intent to purchase a mobile a/c unit he found at Home Depot that he thinks would be perfect for our enclosed fly bridge. Stay tuned for more information on that idea! As Legacy approached Cuba Landing, Skipper decided it was now Gilligan’s job to contact the marinas ahead of time to check minimum depths (Legacy requires at least 5 feet of water to safely enter) and transient slip availability for our size boat. Sadly, Cuba Landing did not answer the call, and it was eventually determined they are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. Go figure! Time for a change of plan. Gilligan contacted Pebble Isle Marina (two hours further down river) and received favorable information. We mainly wanted to spend this night at a marina (rather than anchoring-out again) so we could refill our water tanks, give the generators a rest, and hopefully enjoy some sort of internet access. We found the water and electricity, but not the internet access. Kristin is having to deal with going back in time – technology-wise – during this adventure, and it is not her favorite thing. Docking at Pebble Isle’s transient docks proved to be relatively easy, even though Kristin was disappointed there was no one standing ready on the dock to grab her lines as she threw them. This meant the boat hook had to be utilized by Kristin to loop the bow line over the cleat on the dock, as Steve maneuvered Legacy close enough for her to do so. Kristin has a true love/hate relationship with the boat hook, so this was not the smoothest feat, but we were eventually successful. Have we mentioned how much we love our bow and stern thrusters?