Upper Tennessee River

So much for thinking last night would be finished after moving away from the larger boats that tried to raft us in. All was good on our far end of the dock until 4am this morning. A couple decided to come sit on the end of the dock between us and SeaSpray, smoke and discuss rather loudly their sexual issues. Something about condoms and just getting out of prison… They left, but then just about to fall back asleep at 4:30a, the garbage truck came and banged the garbage bin. Anchoring out would definitely have been a better option… SeaSpray decided they would leave the dock a little bit late, and join C-Play and us on our way back from the mouth of the Tennessee River. Us and C-Play took off for the mouth, 5 miles away, where the Holston and French Broad Rivers come together to form the Tennessee River. It was actually pretty cool seeing the muddy water of the French Broad mix in with the clear water of the Holston. Ok, but before we got that far, our troubles were not quite over. Jeff (C-Play) thought he hit a log and had some vibration so we found a small dock and kayak launch just around the corner. Jeff skillfully docked his boat with about 3mph of current and then checked his prop finding one blade pretty dinged up. He hammered on it a bit to straighten it up, breaking some pieces off. Still some vibration, so he decided he would change it later this evening when we got to our anchorage for the day. We continued on the French Broad River a short distance to Pickel Island, home to a Sea Ray boat factory. It was interesting seeing all the molds they had stacked out back. Went past some more shoreline industry and continued back past Calhouns and got back together with SeaSpray. Passed several large boats that were likely heading up to Knoxville for the Vols game. Also passed the Tug Bearcat and its empty tow. Steve (Sea Spray) had called ahead to a marina he found and our luck changed. They were having a customer appreciation week and non-ethanol regular gas was $3.24/gal. Very inexpensive for marina gas! Also, we could stay in slips for free with the purchase of fuel. No showers available, but there was a restroom, small store, and electricity and water at the slips. Jeff backed into his slip so he could change his props from the dock. All seemed to be going good again! Until while checking out Jeff’s new props and looking over the outboard, we found a hole in the lower unit just above the lube drain screw. Also remnants of red paint. We’re now pretty sure that what he hit was a submerged Nun buoy. Tomorrow we think the marina may be able to pick C-Play up with their marine forklift, so Jeff can flush the lower unit with new oil, and also check the bottom of the hull to make sure there was no other damage. We are at the bottom of Gallagher Creek, at the Whispering Cove Marina, about 10 miles from Fort Loudoun. Super customer service and a nice marina, even without showers… Sunbeam and Mystery Girl are anchored on the Little Tennessee River, just outside of Fort Loudoun. We’ll join back up with them tomorrow.En savoir plus