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We waited at the dock until the lockmaster informed us that the locks were clear. This was a 2.5 hour wait
as a large barge was being locked through from Watts Bar.
Exiting the lock onto Watts Bar, we follow a large cruiser and a rather fast houseboat further down river.
We enjoy the smooth ride as we follow the houseboat's path several miles through slightly choppy water.
The houseboat pulls off the channel for it's home port at Blue Springs resort just as we turn to port for
an overnight stay at Bayside Marina.
Bayside is a bit small, nothing fancy, but peaceful and quiet. It's under new ownership this year, and the
cafe is closed for the season, but we aquire a covered slip for the night and make use of the "nothing fancy" but clean showers.
Chili is the catch of the day (?) and then we hit the berth a bit early...it's been a wonderful day!
The next morning we wake to a light mist on the water. We top off the fuel tanks and head down river....after
our morning coffee of course.
A few miles down, we approach the Watts Bar dam. We idle up as close as we can, just to get a glimpse, and
not disturb a few local fishermen....then we point Thelma Lou upstream, and cruise away. This will be our starting point for
the next trip!
From the Watts Bar Dam we head to mile marker 567.6 where the Clinch river comes in. Here we dock at the
"Downtown Dock" and take a stroll through downtown Kingston. A neat little town. We have lunch at Taco Bell (somehow it just
didn't "fit" this trip...but it took care of lunch).
We do a slow cruise for a couple of miles up the Clinch River, and then return to the Tennessee.
We continue our cruise back up to the Fort Loudoun Dam, where we do our first "raising" in the lock. When
we came through here yesterday, the lockmaster gave us a small flyer explaining the lock system. Jo read this to me during
our cruise several times...it was almost like there was going to be a test at the end of the cruise.
There was that one part where it said that all aboard that were not needed on deck should remain seated
with their PFD on!...I think she was paying attention.
We cruise on up to mile mark 616.1 where we turn to port, and idle under the second low bridge to our stop
for the night. Concord Marina is massive, and looks to be new. Although our slip for the night isn't a covered one, the entire
complex is quite a bit more "fancy" than Bayside. It's a long walk to the bathouse, but we need some exercise at this point
in the trip. Everything is spotless, and the cost is the same...$1 per foot.
There's a huge clubhouse on high ground above the marina, and cheers can be heard as the locals watch the
UT football game. The parking lot is full and we seem to be among the smallest of boats in the harbor.
We prepare our cajun spiced turkey breast sandwiches, and start a pot of clam chowder on the stove. Doesn't
sound like they'd go together very well but I assure you that none was wasted....mmmmm!
We sit at the dinette, cabin door open, and enjoy the cool night air and distant cheers from the clubhouse.
The sky is clear with a beautiful full moon.
We hit the showers and return to the boat to tidy things up a bit, then sit and listen to some music before
calling it a night.
I go out like a light...but Jo is still awake when the clubhouse patrons start returning to their yachts
just beyond our slip. One group stops...and Jo hears..."That's a C Dory!...those are cool little boats!"...I can't believe
that she didn't wake me!
Morning comes, coffee on the stove, and we keep breakfast simple with breakfast bars and bananas.
We'd fueled up again upon arrival at Concord last night, although we really didn't need to.
We're back out on the main channel and headed for Knoxville again by 9:15am.
It isn't long before we hit the traffic coming from the football game. Large cruisers, usually 3-5 at a
time. We learn to just slow down if we meet them in the narrows, but the second set of boats are coming up at a very wide
portion of the river at mile marker 630.1....I decide that I'll steer to port under the Pellissippi Parkway bridge and avoid
the worst of the wake...bad idea!
Jo has the TN River guidebook in hand and starts reading about this wide area being deceptive just about
the time that my sounder goes from reading 58' to 6'!...I back down rather quickly and wait out the fleet.
The next fleet of cruisers came into view just before we rounded the bend into Knoxville. We went to a high
idle to wait out the wakes and Jo started reading from the guidebook aloud...I was paying attention to her reading since I
knew that I was well out of the way of the fleet. Then all of the sudden I was airborne...slammed my head against the ceiling
and saw Jo's arm and legs flying around...books...coffee...and what was left of the doughnuts levitated....all in what seemed
like slow motion...then....BAM!...we'd rode a wave that must have been a 5 footer! "Pay attention Larry!" was the order.
After making sure that our precious little C Dory hadn't broken in half, we proceeded to Knoxville, marking
the end of our first trip.
We found our truck and trailer to be unmolested, and no longer alone at the landing. Loading was a breeze
with the new sideboards, and we headed for home!
Just a few miles over those mountains and our trip will be completed!
Things we learned....
PAY ATTENTION!
The bed is VERY comfortable as is.
Slow down...take your time whenever possible and soak in every mile!
Cajun Turkey goes well with Clam Chowder.
The 22 Angler is really all we need. (for now)
Organize what you can organize...don't fret over the rest.
This was the first of many many wonderful trips!
Round trip miles....253
Average MPG 5.6 (boat)
Average smiles per mile...infinate!
 
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