Day 33: Green Turtle Bay Resort, KY to Perryville Marina, TN

We were underway at 10:30am on Kentucky Lake, after a quiet night at Green Turtle Bay Marina at the north end of Lake Barkley.

That is an outstanding stopover, with exceptional facilities, friendly dockhands, and nice folks on the docks.  We put 130 gallons of diesel in the 211-gallon tank this morning, so our decision to press on rather than top off on the Mississippi was a rational one. It is a remarkable testament to the combined efficiencies of the new generation of Cummins engines and the shape of the Swift Trawler 34 hull that we have been able to confidently run all day, at speeds ranging from displacement to semi-planning, and arrive with about 3/8ths of a tank remaining. We ran for 15 hours yesterday, at speeds ranging from 8 to 13.6 knots, including a couple of delays at locks, and only ran the genset at night for air conditioning at anchor.

I just realized that I left you hanging as we awaited word about our transit of Barkley Lock yesterday late afternoon. Turns out that, while we did have to wait about an hour, the problem was a tow that was too long. The push boat put the barges in the lock, disconnected from them, and backed out to await their exit at the higher level, 57 feet higher to be specific, into Lake Barkley. With the lock empty and the doors opening, the lock keeper hailed us on VHF Channel 13 and told us to enter after a horn, indicating that the push boat would be safely tied up. He put us at the far end of the lock to keep us well away from the push boat's powerful wash once it had reattached to the tow awaiting 57 feet above us! We rigged one long bowline, took it around a floating bollard set on tracks recessed in the lock wall, and then backed gently down to loop a stern line around another floating bollard. Rising up in the lock was smooth and effortless for us, with no need to adjust lines. The pushboat needed about 15 minutes to reattach, and with a deep growl of its powerful engines, it moved slowly out into Lake Barkley. Several minutes later, we heard sound five horns twice in rapid succession, followed by a rapid deceleration of its engines. But that was yesterday…

…Today dawned bright and dry, and we were  cruising a bit east of due south on Kentucky Lake, doing 14 knots under thinly overcast skies on lightly rippled water. We had a spectacular beginning of Saturday.

This afternoon, we passed under the CSX Railroad Bridge next to the Hickman-Lockhart fixed car bridge over Kentucky Lake at Mile 100.4, where Captain Jeremy Hopkins climbed our mast to loosen the VHF radio mast base. The railroad bridge has a clearance of 24'6" and it is about 24'9" to the top of our antenna! Even though the Swift Trawler 34's mast can be easily dropped by loosening one bolt and removing another, this was the most expedient solution because of his experiences as a professional boat delivery captain.

Having passed numerous tows on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, while always respecting their power, we have been mildly surprised to see only two so far today. The last sighting was just before the above-mentioned railroad bridge, where two appeared to be working together to assemble a large tow. Our more immediate concern was small pontoon and fishing boats. Some seemed bent on wake jumping, others seemed curious and came too close. We dutifully slowed down to minimize dangerous situations, but sometimes that means pulling the throttles back to idle. Remembering that it is Saturday, we wanted every boater we saw to have a safe and enjoyable weekend afloat.

Best,

John