Day 50
Halloween morning, Saturday, 10/31/20, dawned clear and crisp, but COLD! We both wore more layers of clothing today than we’d been used to, and also agreed that boating is a whole lot more fun in warmer temperatures! We again traversed the Chickamauga lock, this time with two other pleasure crafts, Dixie Belle and Nutty Buddy. Throughout our trip downriver, Steve kept track of which locks were currently spilling and which were not. We knew Chickamauga was spilling, but that was confirmed when we emerged from the lock to swiftly rushing current. Our normal traveling speed is 10 knots per hour, but that increased to 13 knots per hour with this current! That stronger current creates swirling waters and little whirlpools with all the turbulence. Steve has realized that Legacy handles better in that kind of water with more power applied to her engines. Things were rough enough that I decided to wait until we were in smoother waters before removing and stowing the fenders we’d had up to go through the lock. Steve says that cruisers who travel with their fenders out all the time look “dorky”, which is why he prefers me to pull them in asap. But not this time – I could just see myself falling overboard or doing a face-plant on the deck just so Legacy wouldn’t appear dorky…. Um, no. (This is Steve; it is also a fact that most boating accidents happen with boats that have their fenders out, so it is also a safety thing for me :)).
We cruised west, back through Chattanooga, and the waters calmed down for a smoother ride. The Halloween weather was spectacular! So far, during our cruising, we’ve been fortunate to have most of the waterways to ourselves, if you don’t include the bass boats. But on this day, we began noticing more and more larger boats joining us as we cruised toward “the grand canyon”. Before we realized it, Legacy became part of a long boat flotilla, all heading the same direction! We fell in line, as it was obvious going single-file was encouraged. It eventually dawned on us that we’d inadvertently become part of a local boating club event that involved cruising the canyon and back. As we approached the gorge, more and more boats joined the line, and mercy sakes alive, looked like we had us a convoy! 🙂 It was kind of fun being a part of the gang for awhile until we noticed the lead boat kept slowing down, which meant every boat after it was slowing down behind it. By the time that speed change transferred all the way back to our place in line, we were practically down to idle speed. The river at this point, because of all the turns, shoals, etc, is very turbulent. Legacy, being a bigger boat with a deep and full keel, needs some speed and power to navigate turbulent water. We needed to increase, but the only way to do that was to start passing boats, which was not kosher with this group. But eventually we had to be “those people” who bucked protocol and broke free from the herd. We went back up to our standard 10 knots, grinned and waved really big as we passed each boat. We were considerate not to strongly wake the boats we passed, but we started moving on. As we made these moves, I was texting with my friend Brenda Wehrle, giving her a play-by-play. I was concerned the other boaters were judging our utter audacity, when Brenda reminded me that our transom reflects a hailing port of Navarre, FL, which hopefully told the other boaters that we were not from around there and were only happenstance participants in their event. That made me feel better. Finally, after about an hour and a half – certainly not through the entire canyon – the lead boat turned back and all the other boats followed suit. Like the true rebels we were, Legacy and her crew continued right on downriver at 10 knots! The scenery was gorgeous yet again, but we commented on how the leaves weren’t quite as striking and that the humidity in the air today was higher than it had been the first time we’d so fondly enjoyed the canyon.
We reached Shell Mound Recreation Area anchorage, west of Chattanooga and just east of the Nickajack lock, much earlier than anticipated, due to the strong current. We had the anchorage to ourselves and enjoyed another clear and beautiful sunset in basically no winds. Over on the bank, there was a Halloween type public event underway. We watched many eerily-decorated golf-carts parading by groups of children in costumes, handing out candy. The crowds remained there as sunset arrived, and a group of paddle-boarders (approximately 12 or 15 people) slowly streamed from the shore out into the water, facing the gorgeous sunset. We employed our binoculars to realize that each and every paddle-boarder, some standing as they paddled, some kneeling, was wearing a witch’s hat and cape! What was really strange is that those boarders remained in the water long after sunset, until it was almost pitch dark. It looked like a coven of paddle-boarding witches had gathered to worship the rare Halloween full moon. After a couple of adult beverages, Steve began trying to scare me by insisting he could see the evil boarders had all turned toward us and were paddling to surround Legacy for the night. Regardless of what was actually happening, it was certainly not your average, everyday lake-sighting! At least not for us anyway.
Position: N 35° 00.406, W 85° 36.101
Distance traveled: 45.3 NM
Total distance traveled: 811.9 NM
Time underway: 4 HRS 40 MIN
Total time underway: 101 HRS 9 MIN
Total marina nights: 39
Total nights at anchor: 11
Locks today: 1
Locks Total: 11