Fort Loudoun

It was a quiet night behind Long Island, and surprisingly, the current seemed to stop for a while. Woke up to a nice sunrise, but the water was rather gross. Not just muddy in color, but a lot of foam. Got underway and the closer we got to the Fort Loudoun Lock and Dam, the current increased. Jeff on C-Play checked it with drift, at 3mph. Not a lot of debris today, but the dam had increased its output some from yesterday, and it was a rough ride into the lock. 3-4 ft standing waves coming off the dam as we entered the lock wall. And a bit of debris to dodge at the same time. Definitely more exciting than the water we experienced below the Watts Bar Dam as we entered that lock a few days ago. Other than that, enjoyed the scenery between Long Island and the Fort Loudoun Lock. Some nice homes, the Malibu Boat factory, and quite a bit of river front industry in Loudoun. As we came around Blair Bend, the entire point seemed to smell like Hops. The smell I remember from my truck driving days hauling Schlitz Beer. I suspected some production from corn. Nothing on my charts showed the name of the industry, but googling I found AE Staley, which produces quite a bit from corn. Entered the lock, which wasn’t completely calm due to the rough water outside. Once the gates shut, things smoothed out. The lift was 72’ I believe. Out on top, water just had a bit of chop from the breeze, with no noticeable current. Mystery Girl and Sunbeam went around a cove to anchor, while SeaSpray, C-Play and C-Traveler went out to dinner at Calhouns Restaurant. Manager is making an exception and allowing us to stay at their docks tonight. The lockmaster said that debris is starting to clear out. We did notice that water was much higher today than what we’ve seen previously.Read more