Chapter 17: Boating in the Dark

Anchoring was cool! We picked a spot at Browns Chute—good water depth and just a little current. Anchor set on the second try. Sun was setting and the temperature was cool. We set the anchor alarm to wake us if the boat moved outside of 50 feet. Two beers down then bedtime. Problem-free night and the moon light was beautiful! Next morning, the sunrise was simply majestic. Raising the anchor went perfectly too (thank heaven) and we were on our way. Back to the muddy Mississippi with no wildlife, dodging logs and tree limbs, hailing tow captains to pass on the “one” or “two whistle,” and eating sandwiches for a third day. Weather was good so we kept cruising across the Mississippi, into the Ohio, and then Tennessee River.
We aimed for the Kentucky Dam Lock, which was just three miles from our marina destination. We arrived at 5:30 pm. Lockmaster was vague, but told us to wait by a green buoy and they would get us in. Pleasure craft are lower priority, which means we have to be patient and wait our turn. This also means captain Billy has to manage the boat in a steady, low-movement manner. After two hours, it was getting dark and we were still waiting. Bill called the Lockmaster. We were next and it would be just another 30 minutes. Not much we could do but wait. Finally, the lock chamber doors opened! We motored in slowly. No other boats and the chamber was DEEP! The lock would raise us 55 feet! By the time the horn went off and we got through the lock another hour had passed. It was complete darkness. Another first. Slowly we traveled across Kentucky Lake using our spotlight and a crummy flashlight. Bill’s brilliant navigational skills got us safely to the marina. We docked and tied up tired Maggie in the dark. We CAN do hard things!Read more