Ship’s Log: Days 21-25
September 22 - 26, 1999
Wednesday, Sept. 22
I awoke in the night thinking about the 12-volt system problem. I thought it had to do with the method the ground wires were attached on the various devices. First thing the next morning I reconnected the ground wires more directly to the batteries’ negative terminals and the problem was corrected. The 12-volt dc system is sensitive.
This was a busy day even though we stayed at the marina all day. Bob, Cheri and Bobby picked us up and we went to breakfast. Us boys all returned to the boat and Cheri took the car and was off to by provisions for us. At the boat, we tuned the rigging, set the sails and covers and generally cleaned up the boat. I also did laundry, after two and a half weeks, I had three full loads. In the early afternoon, Bob and Cheri took Ron to the nearby bus stop for a trip to Nashville and a flight the next day. Bob and Cheri then went to meet Cheri’s folks who were coming in by RV. Cheri was going to spend the week with her folks in the RV while Bob and Bobby were with me on Telesis.
That evening, Bob and Cheri picked Bobby and I up at the marina and we went back to the resort and had a cookout on the grill with Cheri’s folks, John and Pat Stratton. After a few adult beverages, we all decided to stay at the resort for the night.
Thursday, Sept. 23
We all went to breakfast then to Telesis. At 10:00 A.M. Bob, Bobby and I boarded Telesis and left the dock at Cuba Landing Marina with Cheri and her folks waving from shore. It was a beautiful day and we motored with almost no wind and lots of sunshine. Now we have sails, but no wind, darn! Bob and Bobby quickly learned the basics of river navigation and each took their turn at the helm. We used the autopilot most all the time and as the day wore on the Tennessee became much more like a river and less like a lake. Bob and Bobby experienced passing tow barges for the first time.
At 5:45 P.M. we dropped anchor behind Jeter Towhead Island at mile mark 153 having made 38 miles on the day. We had loaded the spare fuel cans in the dinghy with two of them filled. We didn’t have the load spread correctly, so the dinghy really dug in and slowed us a good ½ mph. The slower speed and late start cut down our miles for the day.
After the night before, we were tired and to bed early after having homemade burritos Bobby had brought with him. My new crew was on board and we were underway.
Bob Sharkey at the helm as Bobby Wolfe keeps a watch for large tows on the Tennessee River.
Friday, Sept. 24
Yet another beautiful day! High eighties and 10 mph winds from the south. We were up and underway by 7:30 A.M., a good early start. The wind was directly on our bow most of the day although we did unfurl the Genoa on a couple of bends in the river and were able to pick up an extra mph or two for short periods of time. We sailed every chance we had even though they were few. We encountered only one tow this day and it was a river cruise of several barges loaded with RV’s. Apparently the owners traveled in their RV’s as the barges took them down the river. Different. We also saw a lot of trailer homes and campers along the banks of the river in small groups. Occasionally we saw beautiful homes perched on steep hills along the river.
At 4:15 P.M. we dropped anchor in a secondary channel behind Wolf Island at mile mark 197 having made 44 miles on the day. We picked this anchorage for it is only a mile from the National Monument at Shiloh, the Civil War Battlefield. We are bucking stronger current now and it has slowed us some. Anchoring even in the secondary channel presented a moderate current of 2 mph or more by our estimate. We started the BBQ grill and fixed pork tenderloin and baked potatoes.
Saturday, Sept. 25
We were up early and Bobby Wolfe fixed some of his signature bilge stew for breakfast. As we prepared to pull anchor we noted the current was much less and the river had dropped more than a full foot since the night before. Obviously they are letting much less water out upstream at Pickwick Dam. We went aground as we moved toward the main channel, but were able to feel our way around the shoal and moved into the main channel. Soon we dropped two bow anchors and a stern anchor along the main channel across from Shiloh.
We went ashore aboard Teletubbie making two trips to get all three of us over. We spent a couple of hours touring the grounds and looking through the National Cemetery there. Then back to Telesis and down the river.
About noon we entered the lock at Pickwick Dam and Bob and Bobby locked through for their first time. They are becoming river rats. We again popped out in a beautiful recreational lake. Unfortunately, the wind was still right on our bow, so no sailing yet. At Tennessee River Mile Mark 215, we turned Telesis off the river ending our travels on the Tennessee River. We are now on the Tenn-Tom Waterway exactly 450 miles from Mobile, Alabama. I’ve covered about 900 miles of the 1350 miles of river travel and I’m right on schedule.
We took a slip at the Tenn-Tom Marina at mile mark 449 for two nights. Tomorrow we may do some day sailing on Picwick Lake, then head down the Tenn-Tom Waterway on Monday A.M.
Sunday, Sept. 26
Bob, Bobby and I took the opportunity to sail on Pickwick Lake today. We stowed gear aboard Telesis, left the dinghy at the dock and departed the marina. Winds were light and we used the full 170 Genoa headsail. It was overcast, but no rain. In true sailor fashion, we kept scurvy at bay with orange juice and vodka. It was a relaxed easy day sail.
We returned to the marina mid-afternoon and Cheri, Bob’s wife, was at the dock with her folks and another couple, friends from Memphis. We had cocktails and snacks aboard Telesis, then they left. Bob, Bobby and I had dinner nearby via the marina courtesy car and retired early. Tomorrow we start down the Tenn-Tom Waterway.