We found it. Our second home. On the water! A 4788 Bayliner in Chattanooga. We loved her. After numerous inspections, we wired the money Friday, April 24th to secure our boat.
Saturday, April 25th. The fun begins.
Molly came along to help us organize logistically. We had seen our boat a couple of times and spent a whole day previously on it, but nothing compares to the anticipation we experience before embarking our vessel. You would have thought we had never seen her. After spending $300 at Walmart for supplies, we boarded our new home!
Sunday, April 26th
ISLAND COVE, Chattanooga, Tennessee to GOOSE POND, Alabama where she will stay until July.
Before starting our journey we enjoyed our 1st meal of pancakes and sausages cooked in our small galley.
The twin diesel engines cranked with no effort. We were on our way. The Captain (aka Alan )maneuvered her like she had been his all along. Our path was smooth until it was my turn to take over the wheel. We encountered a flock of sailboats. Great. They have the right of way and they were dead center of the course we were taking. We managed despite my white knuckles!
We continued. Red buoy on the left and green on the right. Rivers are marked that way when you are traveling down stream. While waiting for the Chickamauga Dam to open for us we had our 2nd meal of ham & cheese on honey wheat. Why are sandwiches always better outside on the water?
Empty Swings
After a 3 hour wait for the Chickamauga Dam to open for us, we set out for Nickajack Lake where we planned to anchor for the night. What a breath taking cruise. The Tennessee River is beautifully edged, sometimes narrow and sometimes wide, with the green, lush mountains. We cruised at 16 MPH at times to make up for the time we had lost waiting for the dam to open. We decided, however, 10 was more pleasant. The captain explained to me that in the river system, one used MPH instead of knots which are typically used in open seas. One observation: there were way too many empty swings along the river for a 70 degree Sunday afternoon.
We finally found our little cove on the west side of Nickajack Lake around 18:30, much later than we desired, but well worth it. Our view for the night was amazing. We had mountains, a stone rock wall on our starboard side, and a peaceful, picturesque peninsula on port. Sitting on the stern we could see a railroad track across the lake a couple of miles away. I counted 3 trains as we enjoyed our dinner of grilled rib eye, new potatoes and asparagus. We toasted with some 2008 Mollydooker Shiraz from southern Australia that Alicia and Gerry back home had given us. Delicious.
However, everything was not perfect. Alan couldn't get the generator turned on. We were so exhausted, we decided to wait until we got to Goose Pond to figure it out. Good night.
Monday the 27th
Boy is the Tennessee river bottom muddy. Alan can't say anything about Molly's long showers, for he spent 30 minutes bathing our anchor. He also got the first cut. The anchor wash down door fell on him cutting the bridge of his nose. Needless to say, the door now has a safety rope tied to secure it from falling down when he's hoisting the anchor.
Nickajack Lock
They were ready to take us in soon after we radioed to tell them we were coming. Not much traffic today. The captain, Molly and I were becoming pros at this job. We put the fenders over on Starboard, tied up to the bollard and waited for the water level to lower us. Afterwards, the Captain cruised on. And as I said, we were feeling pretty proud of ourselves. After several miles downstream I noticed the fenders were still over the side. Oops. We were greenhorns. The Captain always says that about fenders left over the side of water vessels. What is it that they say about pride? Oh well.
Creeping Wisteria Vines and Gray Silos
When reaching the Guntersville Lake area around noon we realized that we hadn't seen another boat all morning. We felt special to have had the Tennessee River laced in Wisteria vines all to ourselves. We enjoyed everything from an old railroad trestle to an old arched bridge, in an little town called South Pittsburg, that reminded me of the one in St. Louis. Our journey had taken us about 100 miles and if you don't count waiting for the Chickamauga Lock, it took about 11 hours to get here.
NOW, it's Bahama Mama time. We reach our new home, Goose Pond Colony in Scottsboro Al. where we will dock our new lady for the next 3 months. We met a few neighbors in between working on the boat and settling in.
Tuesday the 28th
We spent the day cleaning and continuing to make our new home. With hardly any trouble, Alan got the generator working again. Only a popped circuit breaker. Another Bahama Mama time!
Captain, Molly and I got to walk one of the walking trails after lunch. Dinner tonight was a little stroll across the parking lot to The Docks where we ate “all you can eat” catfish. What a treat! Glad we had had our walk because the food was delicious! If you are ever there, make sure you save room for Linda's homemade bread pudding. Yum!
Wednesday, April 29th
Sadly, Molly leaves us today. Hopefully she'll not forget her time with us as our first guest! I will be reminded of her many contributions etched in the corners of our living space.
Thursday-Friday
We continue exploring every crack and corner of our vessel. Space is limited and its price escalates daily. Our frequent discussions go something like this: “Are you sure we need that?” “You don't want to be in the middle of the Dismal Swamp and your toilet breaks.” Who can argue with that.
SEA JAMM
One thing we didn't argue about was the name of the new lady in our lives. After the pleasing approval from our children, we decided on SEA JAMM, the first letters of our many children plus our names: Sherry, Ellen, Alan and Jonathan, Anna, Maggie & Molly. Alan gingerly placed her name across our stern and we quickly poured our nectar over the side into the sea to appease Neptune.
Friday, May 1st
Anna arrives around midnight with Ryan, her lovely housemate from Louisville. They unwind from their 5-hour journey and we head for bed. The weekend promises to be sunny and beautiful.
It does not disappoint. We cruised, hiked, sunned, and took SEA JAMM for her first poop pump out. Sounds pretty disgusting because we all have visions of Robin Williams' RV. However, it wasn't really bad when you have help that does this everyday. I'm sure Captain was disappointed when he didn't get to do it by himself. Not. We are definitely going to have to get more tip money to show these dock guys just how much we appreciate them.
After a great weekend and a cheeseburger at the Bait and Tackle store, Anna and Ryan departed for their long trip back to Louisville. They will be missed.
“One doesn't do well with what one doesn't love.”
I would be remiss if I didn't introduce you to three people that love what they are doing and that have helped to make our dream a reality. These three need no introduction because any boater east of the Mississippi knows them.
Our time with Captains Chris and Alyse Caldwell aboard their beloved Sandy Hook enhanced our dream for this lifestyle enough to last a life time. They are excellent teachers. They have made the start of this journey much easier.
Another person that must love what he does is Curtis Stokes. This renowned Yacht broker gave of his time so generously. We felt like we were his only clients as he tirelessly showed us numerous yachts all over the east coast. He helped make our dream become a reality with SEA JAMM.
What is exciting is that we are only beginning this journey.
The rest of this year we are looking forward to continuing our exploration of the Tennessee River system before making our way down to Florida in the Fall & Winter season.
To be continued . . .
