December 3, 2022: We take the long way to our first full-service marina since leaving Alton, IL.
(continued from Cairo, IL to Paducah, KY)
Although Paducah, KY was a nice little town and I wouldn’t have minded spending another day there, it lacked the services we either needed or would need soon: water and a toilet tank pump-out. (And maybe a shower?) Besides, when we woke that next morning, the wind was howling, the waves were churning, and the boat was rocking hard against its fenders on the dock. It was time to move on.
So, after breakfast for all of us and a walk for my pups, we got on board and prepared to leave. I started the boat while we were still connected to shore power — another workaround for the engine battery issue — and while the engine was warming up, we disconnected shore power and started removing the lines that tied us to the dock. It was only when the engine was fully warmed up and ready to go that I gave Alyse the signal to release that last line. Between the wind and the current and the waves, I just wasn’t sure how smooth a departure I’d be able to manage — and there was a big obstacle to avoid just upriver from where we’d parked. Do It Now responded with ease and I powered us away from the dock and up the river.
The Route
There were two ways to get to our next destination at Green Turtle Bay at the north end of Lake Barkley.
One way was to take the Tennessee River, which had its confluence with the Ohio right there at Paducah. This was the shorter and more direct of the two routes, which might be why all the barges went that way. And that was the problem. Between the Tennessee River and Kentucky Lake was the Kentucky Lock and Dam which was notorious as a place where pleasure boaters like us would have to wait hours for tow traffic to pass before we could lock up. Even worse than that, another boat had gone that way just a few days before, found the lock completely closed, and had to backtrack all the way back to Paducah and go the other way anyway. That added hours to their trip and forced them to anchor outside the marina that night because it was too dark to go in.
The other way, which was more popular with Loopers, was to go farther up the Ohio River and then get into the Cumberland River. That was a longer and more meandering route with a narrower river and fewer tows. Between it and Lake Barkley was the Barkley Lock and Dam, which had a reputation for being more friendly toward pleasure boaters. I had been assured by many people that it was also a much more scenic route.
Both routes required going upstream all the way. While I suspected the current would be stronger on the Ohio than either the Tennessee or Cumberland Rivers, I didn’t think it would make that much of a difference time wise.
With the wait at Olmstead Lock still fresh in my mind — after all, it had been the longest wait for a lock so far on my trip — I decided to take the longer route along the Cumberland River.
The Ohio to the Cumberland
To say that the cruising conditions were challenging may just reveal how green I was this early in the trip. It was wicked windy and, like the day before, the direction the river flowed where you were was a direct influence on the water conditions.
Sometimes you’d have relatively smooth water with just a chop to keep things interesting. Other times you’d be riding in swells that, if you were lucky, were in front of you or behind you. Driving into these swells kept water splashing up on the bow and onto my windscreens, keeping my wiper blades running full time. (Fortunately, I’d fixed the two wipers that had stopped working along the Illinois River when I was back at Alton prepping the boat for the next phase of the trip. They just needed to be tightened and one would need tightening again.) Having the swells behind you had you climbing and descending them or sort of “surfing” along them. When they hit from the side, the boat rocked crazily, making me glad that drawers and countertop items had been secured.
It wasn’t dangerous, but it wasn’t fun. I’d been in worse on Lake Huron in a smaller boat. But that didn’t mean I liked it.
After a while I got a feel for it. I could tell which way the wind was blowing and clearly identify the stretches of river where it would be smooth or not smooth. It all had to do with fetch, of course. The farther the wind blew across the water, the worse the waves would be.
Finally, we turned off onto the Cumberland River and everything changed.
Cruising the Cumberland. In December.
The channel into the Cumberland went through a wide area of shallows and was protected by an island. The surface of the water was glassy smooth, just the way I like it.
Past all that, it narrowed significantly as it cut through Smithland and began curving east and north and east and southeast and — well, you get the idea. It was narrow and curvy. And smooth. A real pleasure to cruise on.
There were tows, of course, but not many. We caught up with one just before a big bend in the river and I wondered if he could even make the turn. When I called on the radio, I told him we were behind him, wanted to pass, but were in no hurry. He could tell us where and when to pass. He acknowledged that and, a few minutes later, after the first part of the curve, had us pass “on the two.” That meant go around his port side. I put the pedal to the metal and made the pass as quickly as I could, knowing he was going to swing wide on that side for the next curve.
I tried hard to see the scenic beauty all the Loopers had raved about, but all I saw were bare trees and a gray sky. I guess none of them had come through in December.
I didn’t take a single photo. I think I was starting to get tired of our relentless pace, traveling every day with so little to do at our daily destinations. Paducah had been a nice break; I hoped Green Turtle Bay, which I hoped to stay at for two nights, was even better.
The Last Leg
I started calling Barkley Lock when I was still a few miles out. The Lockmaster either didn’t hear me or ignored me.
I rounded a bend in the river and had the dam in sight when I called again. This time, the Lockmaster answered, telling me to call again when I was “at the bridge.”
The bridge was probably a quarter mile from the lock. I kept coin and called again from just before the bridge. The gates opened and I got the green light to enter the lock just when I was about to start circling.
We locked through. It had become routine, even for Alyse.
The lock gate opened out into a large lake, Lake Barkley. I followed the channel markers past a pair of mooring cells — large wooden structures that tows can tie up to while waiting for a lock — and into the marina.
I had some trouble figuring out where to go, but soon got my bearings and homed in on the fuel dock. A dock guy was there to help us tie up. Although I didn’t need any fuel, I topped off the tank with 27 gallons. What I was more interested in was pumping out the blackwater tank and filling the fresh water tank. All that was at the fuel dock, too, and we took care of all of it before pulling into our slip which was right in front of the bathrooms and laundry room.
It couldn’t be more convenient. I was looking forward to two nights at a marina with everything we needed.
(continued in At Green Turtle Bay)