Month: October 2017

After saying farewell to Kenny & Carla on Friday, we left Grand Harbor on the Tennessee river in Counce Tennessee, and started our trip down the Tenn-Tom Waterway towards Mobile Alabama and the Gulf of Mexico. We hope to be in Mobile around the middle of November.

Departure on Saturday morning was Very Cold  , 38F !
So cold Mike & Nellie had to break out the stored away winter coats.

The early morning started with an oh-crap – the Auto Pilot is Inop.
It may not seem like a big deal (just have to steer the boat vs using auto pilot, right ?).
But the Auto Pilot also shows the location of the rudders, and when the rudders are strait vs turned. Rudders that are not strait significantly affect the ability to use the twin shafts to steer in tight marina quarters.

Apparently the Auto-Pilot issue was a cold temp related issue, shortly after we were under way, normal auto-pilot function returned.

 

Our initial ride down the Tenn-Tom was wonderful.
Very pretty sights, low barge traffic, and relatively quick lock passages.
The Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway (popularly known as the Tenn-Tom) is a 234-mile man-made waterway that extends from the Tennessee River to the junction of the Black Warrior-Tombigbee River system near Demopolis, Alabama.
The Tennessee–Tombigbee Waterway links navigation from the nation’s midsection (near the intersection of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama)  into the Gulf of Mexico, exiting in Mobile Alabama.
There are 10 Locks between Pickwick Lake (Grand Harbor Marina) in Counce Tennessee & Mobile Alabama.

Out first day on the Tenn-Tom we completed 60 miles & 3 locks, each with only 30ft drops.
Gettin’ Looped had the pleasure of leading a 6 boat flotilla thru the 60 miles & 3 locks, calling ahead by cell phone to the lock masters and communicating via VHF radio the lock-thru plan to the other 5 boats.
The flotilla leadership role comes simply from being the first one into & out of the first lock of the day.

Towards the end of the day, shortly before we got to Midway Marina in Fulton Alabama, I noticed on the chart plotter a place called “Murphree’s Landing Marina”.
Unfortunately the water levels outside of the channel would not allow a 43ft Viking on shore to explore.
The marina looked to be a very small place with max size boats of about 27ft.

We arrived late Saturday afternoon at Midway Marina, shortly after passing Murphree’s Landing.
Midway is a somewhat Bla-see marina, nothing special, folks were again very friendly.

We were only at Midway for 2 nights, Saturday & Sunday, Oct 28-29.
On Sunday we did a couple cool things.
We borrowed the Midway courtesy car and went to 2 places;
The first place we went was back to Murphree’s Landing Marina

When we arrived there was nobody around, it was about 11am Sunday morning, I was sure that all the Murphree’s were tucked away in a nice warm church.
So I called the owner Clifford Murphree.
Clifford Answered.
I told Clifford that my name was Mike Murphree, and that I was from Detroit, and that my dad had an uncle who lived in nearby Tupelo Mississippi, named Elvis Murphree.
Clifford said “well I’m currently in Murphy NC, but I think we are kin”.
He said that his grand dad and my dads uncle Elvis were cousins.
I sent my dad the photo, and my dad said that Clifford was his cousin.
My dad also said that he and his brothers Wayne & Charles threw dead fish down Clifford’s drinking well when they were kids.
I’m still not sure about all the facts, but it appears that we are related to Clifford (more research req’d, especially the fish story).

The second cool thing we did on Sunday was to complete our Elvis Presley tour that we started in Memphis Tennessee with our Graceland visit two weeks ago.
Midway Marina / Fulton Mississippi are right next door to Tupelo Mississippi.
Tupelo was the birth place of Elvis Presley.
So we went to the birth home of Elvis in Tupelo.
The Presley’s were very poor when Elvis was young.
The house was a very small 2 room house, with a combo living/bed room & a kitchen/dining/bathing room (note the steel tub at the back door).
No water or electricity.

The birth home showed quite the humble beginnings compared to where Elvis ended up after becoming famous (see Graceland post – port #34 Oct 9-14th, Counce Tn) .

Our next stop on the tour was the actual little Assembly of God church where the Presley family attended service. It was moved 2 blocks from its original location to the birth place property so visitors could see both significant buildings w/o having to travel 2 blocks. The structure has been restored and the pulpit is the original one from the time that Elvis attended service. Once inside the church, we sat down on the pews and a video presentation began. Three video screens dropped from the ceiling & covered the entire front wall and side walls of the church (not original equipment). The video consisted of sights and sounds of a recreated Pentecostal church service. The reenactment of “having church” was well done. At one point in the old home movie, Elvis was led by his parents to the front of the church where he was called upon to sing “Jesus Loves Me” in front of the congregation and then the pastor prayed a special prayer over him.
The pastor, Frank Smith was one of the early teachers of basic guitar chords to Elvis.
Unfortunately , we were told before the video began that photos & video of the service recreation were not allowed.
The video provided great insight into why Gospel music became such a large parts of Elvis’ life.
Elvis’ only Grammy awards were all for Gospel music (How Great Thou Are, You’ll Never Walk Alone, He Touched Me).

Next Stop = Columbus Mississippi
60 miles / 4 Locks

If you haven’t already, check out the GPS Tracker
We are making good progress towards Mobile Alabama & the Gulf of Mexico.
Expand the scale out to see the entire eastern half of the USA, and see the our full track

GPS Tracking Link = https://share.garmin.com/GettinLooped2017

 

This is a long update folks, a week-long summary.

This week on the Murphree’s Great Loop Adventure we had the treat of a visit from family. My brother Ken Murphree & 1st mate Carla joined us for a week of Looping.
They met us in Rogersville Alabama where we had just completed the AGLCA Rendezvous.
Kenny & Carla arrived late on Friday Oct 20th.
On Friday evening, we basically got them unpacked from the car/packed into the boat, had some drinks on the rear deck of Gettin’ Looped, and then had dinner at the Rogersville Marina Lodge.

Saturday – Oct 21
On Saturday we traveled from Rogersville Alabama to an anchorage near Florence Alabama. We traveled thru 2 locks; the Wheeler Lock & the Wilson Lock. The Wilson Lock is over a 100 ft drop from Wheeler Lake to the Tennessee river. The Wheeler & Wilson Locks were Kenny & Carla’s first experience going thru a lock.

The Florence Marina was booked for Saturday night so we had to anchor for one night before gettin’ into Florence Harbor. Our anchorage for Saturday night was on the Tennessee river between an active passenger car bridge & an ole unused railroad bridge. It was also just after the Wilson Lock near the deadhead of the Wilson Dam.  Carla grilled dogs for dinner and we played euchre well into the night on the aft deck (yea, no bugs).

While anchored Saturday night, we noticed a lot of people walking on the old railroad bridge. Later during the week, we went for a walk on the ole railroad bridge that we had anchored under a few nights before.

Sunday – Oct 22
On Sunday we moved from the anchorage into the Florence Marina, and drove the Florence Marina shuttle van back to Rogersville to get Carla’s car.
Sunday night we had drinks at “On the Rocks” and went to dinner at “Ricatoni’s Italian Grill” both in Florence Alabama.

 

Monday – Oct 23
On Monday we had a big day, going to 2 of the famous Muscle Shoals Recording Studios & and also visiting the birthplace of Hellen Keller.
The city of Muscle Shoals (just across the Tennessee river from Florence) is famous for being the home of 2 recording studios which have produced many well-known hits; FAME Studio & Muscle Shoals Sound Studio.
Prior to going to the studios, we watched a DVD loaned to us by our Looper pals “Pharm Life”.
The DVD was called “Muscle Shoals”, created by film maker Greg Camalier who pays tribute to a city that holds a prominent place in music history.

The DVD gave the history of the “FAME” recording studio created in the late 1950’s by a man named Rick Hall. FAME initially became famous for “when a man loves a woman” by Percy Sledge, and later by recording hits from Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and numerous others.
The studio band at FAME, created by Rick Hall, were 5 white guys named “The Muscle Shoals Sound & Rhythm Section. The 5 piece band consisted of members ; Pete Carr (lead guitar), Jimmy Johnson (guitar), Roger Hawkins (drums), David Hood (bass guitar) and Barry Beckett (keyboards).
These guys essentially created the “Muscle Shoals Sound”, a combination of southern/gospel/blues type sounds, and ultimately became more well know as “The Swampers”.
You may recall the Lynard Skynard song Sweet Home Alabama, which says “Muscle Shoals got the Swampers”. They were paying tribute to the studio band at FAME.
The Swampers helped producer Rick Hall make FAME Studio very famous and established Muscle Shoals Alabama as being a hot bed for creating a distinctive sound.

The Swampers left FAME in 1969 and with the help of a NYC producer Jerry Wexler (Atlantic Records) formed their own studio named the “Muscle Shoals Sound Studio”. The separation from Rick Hall at FAME was evidently due to new contract demands that Rick Hall was attempting to impart on The Swampers.
The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio became equally known as “3614 Jackson Highway”, the address of the studio in Sheffield Alabama. The Swampers, developed many hits for Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Bob Segar, Joe Cocker, the Rolling Stones and others. When Paul Simon arrived at the studio he asked to meet the band and was shocked to learn that the distinctive sound he had previously heard on other hits from The Shoals, was from 5 white guys.

 

 

Both FAME Studio and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio are still in operation. While famous for older recordings from Rod Stewart, Aretha Franklin, Bob Segar, Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, & The Allman Brothers, recent hit songs such as “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood and “I Loved Her First” by Heartland continue the city’s musical legacy.

In addition to the music history, Muscle Shoals was also the site of an attempted community development project by Henry Ford in 1922.
The original streets of Muscle Shoals were named after streets in Detroit due to Henry Ford’s influence in the area.
Ford Motor Company operated a plant in the Listerhill community 3 miles east of Muscle Shoals for many years before closing in 1982. Just like Detroit, Woodward Avenue is the main road through the city even today. Henry Ford’s inability to acquire land from the Tennessee Valley Authority foiled his desire to create a 75-mile Industrial Megalopolis from Decatur to the Tri-State border of Pickwick Lake

After touring the Sound Studios we stopped for a quick lunch at a place called “Champy’s”, recommended by the tour guide at FAME. Champy’s specializes in fried chicken & catfish (yum).

Also on Monday, we visited the birthplace of Hellen Keller, known as “Ivy Green”.
Ivy Green is the name for the childhood home of Helen Keller. The house was built-in 1820 and was a very nice home at that time. The actual well water pump where Helen Keller uttered her first word of “water” with teacher Anne Sullivan is located at Ivy Green.
If you are not a Helen Keller expert, she was born in 1880 and died in 1968 (same year the Tigers won the World Series). She became well-known for her perseverance of overcoming her handicaps of hearing, speech, and vision to become a well versed author, lecturer, and crusader for the handicapped.
Born physically normal, Keller lost her sight and hearing at the age of nineteen months to an illness now believed to have been scarlet fever.
Five years later, on the advice of Alexander Graham Bell, her parents applied to the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston for a teacher, and from that school hired Anne Mansfield Sullivan. Through Sullivan’s extraordinary instruction, the little girl learned to understand and communicate with the world around her. She went on to acquire an excellent education and to become an important influence on the treatment of the blind and deaf.
The story is well told in the movie “The Miracle Worker” starring Anne Bancroft & Patty Duke. We watched a short video clip of Helen giving a speech late in her life, it was amazing that a deaf/blind person could have become such an eloquent speaker.

Also on Monday (whew) we introduced Kenny/Carla to our pals from vessel Mother Ocean (Dennis & Jan).
Dennis/Jan gave Ken/Carla a tour of the cruise ship Mother Ocean, and after a few Beam/Cokes, the photos show that Kenny/Carla also became good friends with Dennis/Jan.

Also on Monday, we had dinner at a place called “Legends”

Tuesday – Oct 24
On Tuesday, we went to a place called “Tom’s Wall”, in Florence Alabama.
Tom’s Wall is a memorial to his great great grandmother.
In the late 1830’s, a young teenage Yuchi Indian girl was living near the Singing (Tennessee) River. Unfortunately, this was also during a dark time in American history known as the Trail of Tears, when Native Americans were forcibly removed from the Eastern portion of the United States and moved west. This young girl, along with her sister, were discovered by Army personnel and forced to walk to Oklahoma. She listened for singing waters in her new surroundings of Oklahoma and found none. Convinced she would die if she stayed, she escaped and spent five years walking back to Alabama. The journey was extremely difficult with many trials and tribulations along the way, however she returned to her singing Tennessee river.
In the 1980’s, Tom Hendrix, her great great grandson, visited the Yuchi people and had her journals translated and after the trip vowed to honor the great Native American woman. A wall of stones was going to be the memorial and over 30 years later, the monument is truly something to behold. It is the largest un-mortared rock wall in the United States. Each stone represents one step of her journey. Also, the shape, height, and width of the wall changes to represent the various obstacles she encountered. There are stones from over 120 countries that come in every size, shape, texture and unique geologic features you can imagine.
Tom Hendrix gave an interview prior to his death which said ““Over 32 years ago, I had the great honor and privilege of sitting with one of my great grandmother’s people. She changed my life. I told her I wanted to do something for my great grandmother. She said, ‘We shall all pass this Earth, only the stones will remain. We honor our ancestors with stones. That’s what you should do”.
The wall is over a mile long, it contains 8.5 million pounds of stone with no fill and no mortar. Hendrix worked for Ford Motor Company until age 55 when he then began to spent more than 33 years building the wall.
Tom Hendricks passed in Feb 2017, but we were able to meet his grand daughter.

After Tom’s wall, we visited the Spring Park Waterfalls.
A beautiful man-made waterfall within Spring Park, in Tuscumbia Alabama.

While driving to Tom’s Wall we passed several large cotton fields.

Wednesday – Oct 25
On Wednesday we took the ss Gettin’ Looped from the Florence/Muscle Shoals area (Florence Marina) to Counce TN. It was a return for Jonell & I back to Grand Harbor Marina at Pickwick Lake. We had to backtrack after the rendezvous in Rogersville, to get back near the entrance to the Tenn-Tom Waterway, and our upcoming ride down to Mobile Alabama.
On Wednesday night we had dinner at Freddy T’s with Kenny/Carla’s new pals Mother Ocean (Dennis/Jan) and new Looper pals Don’t Think Twice (Andy/Pat).
Pat had a steak & the biggest baked potato I have seen.

Thursday – Oct 26
On Thursday we went to the Shiloh National Military Park, home of the Civil War Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing.
The Battle of Shiloh was a major battle in the American Civil War fought over only 2 days April 6/7, 1862 in southwestern Tennessee.

We hired a Shiloh Civil War historian named Larry.
Larry’s family previously owned some of the land which is now the Shiloh National Park.
He gave us a very in-depth 2 hour tour of Shiloh.

Larry educated us about the battle as we drove around the grounds where many americans lost their lives.

The Story ;
The Battle of Shiloh began on April 6, 1862 and lasted for only two days.
It was fought between the Confederate army which was led by General Albert Sidney Johnston and the Union army which was led by General Ulysses S. Grant.

Before the Battle
Before the battle began, General Grant had set up a camp at Pittsburg Landing where he trained his new soldiers and waited for reinforcements from another Union force led by General Buell coming from the north. Pittsburg Landing (on the Tennessee river) was a critical supply line via boats, and source of fresh water for the men.

The Battle Begins
On April 6, 1862 at around 5 a.m, the Confederates attacked the Union position at Pittsburg Landing, attempting to surprise Grant’s Union forces and gain the victory before union reinforcements from the north could arrive. The initial attack was successful since most of the Confederate army was made up of new/untested soldiers and the more trained Union army was caught somewhat by surprise.

The Hornet’s Nest
The attack by the Confederates broke the Union lines very quickly but some of the Union lines managed to stay intact. There was one area that became known as the Hornet’s Nest because it was a battle held in a sunken road. This was where the Union soldiers who managed to stay in-tact were holding back the Confederates while reinforcements requested by General Grant started to arrive.

End of the First Day
The Confederates had won the first day of the battle because of Johnston’s surprise attack but the battle wasn’t over yet. – General Johnston Is Killed in action !

Despite the Confederates’ victory on the first day of the battle, they had suffered a great loss. General Johnston was shot and killed on the battlefield. When he got shot in the leg, he didn’t realize how serious the injury was because his leg was already numb from a previous hip injury & a full day in the saddle. The shot to his leg behind his knee eventually resulted in too much blood loss hidden by his boot, and he died at the end of the first day of battle.

Second Day of the Battle
On the second day of the battle of Shiloh, General P.G.T Beauregard replaced General Johnston’s position. He didn’t realize that the Union reinforcements (another 25,000 men) had arrived the night before so the Confederates fought a fierce 2nd day battle until General Beauregard saw that they were now highly outnumbered & ordered his Confederate soldiers to retreat, ending their hopes of blocking the Union advance into northern Mississippi.

Results
The result of the battle of Shiloh was that the Union had about 20,000 more soldiers than the Confederates, which earned them a victory on the second day of the battle.
Overall, the battle of Shiloh was one of the most bloodiest battles in the Civil War.
It was eventually followed by the Battles of Antietam, Chancellorsville, and soon after the 3-day Battle of Gettysburg, which would prove to be the bloodiest overall battle of the war.
The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 and ended May 9, 1865 and led to over 618,000 casualties (severe injury or death).

The tour that Larry gave us around Shiloh consisted of many sites including ; The Pittsburg Landing, the Hornets Nest, & the Shiloh Church.
The tour also showed us the hour by hour & day to day actual locations of the Union and Confederate forces.

The most interesting thing for me were some of the gravesites;
There was a large cemetery for the Union forces with individual graves & numbered markers (not names).
There was another area with the Confederate forces buried in a mass grave, reportedly 750 men in the mass grave below.
Evidently, the spoils of victory & ramifications of defeat.
But sadly, all men were our americans buried in two different ways.

Union Graves

Confederate Mass Grave (between the rows of cannonballs)

 
We also saw some less morbid sites.
There were several areas showing the staging of how the artillery lines were set up, and noting the fact that the Union Army was much better equipped than the Confederate.

There were also specific areas dedicated to the battalions of each of the states involved.

Larry also showed us some of his civil war possessions, cannonball shots and bullets.

We ended the day on Thursday with some drinks on the aft deck of Gettin’ Looped, Ken played with his drone taking some excellent aerial photos of Grand Harbor Marina, and we had dinner at the Aqua Marina Grill.

 

Friday – Oct 27
The sad day when Kenny & Carla had to return back home to Michigan !
Not sure why they had to leave, if they were missing Michigan weather it is supposed to be a low of 38f and rainy here in southern Tennessee tonight, with a high of 51f tomorrow (YUK, need to get further south quickly).

Next stop Fulton, MS (near Tupelo, MS the birthplace of Elvis).

 

 

 

Hey Blog Followers,

Sorry for the lack of updates, we have been very busy this past week at the AGLCA Looper’s Fall Rendezvous in Rogersville Alabama (AGLCA = America’s Great Loop Cruisers Association).
The event is 1 of 2 annual events for AGLCA members.
The intent of the Rendezvous is to share Great Loop knowledge between folks who have Completed the Loop, Current Loopers, and Loopers in Planning.
The event was held at the Joe Wheeler State Park Lodge & Marina in Rogersville Alabama.
It was a week long event with about 260 attendees and about 50 boats (about 100 active Loopers & 150 planners).

The activities this week included the following –
1. Classes discussing the upcoming sections of The Loop
2. Looper Crawls
3. Social Dinners
4. A Polo Match
5. Dinghy Races
6. Meeting a lot of new people & new friends.

1. Classes discussing the upcoming sections of The Loop
These classes are given by folks who have already completed the Loop multiple times. The classes at this weeks seminar included travel sections of the Loop between Rogersville Alabama & Norfolk Virginia (the Spring Rendezvous in Norfolk will cover the Loop between Norfolk & back to Rogersville). The classes include recommended marinas, anchorages, and potential high risk areas due to high & low tides/current, shoaling, etc.
The classes in the main conference room included the following sections of America’s Great Loop (the classes were mainly for Active Loopers).
– Tenn-Tom Waterway to Mobile, AL
– Mobile to Tarpon Springs, FL
– Crossing the Gulf w/o Drama
– Tarpon Springs to Jacksonville, FL – via Lake Okeechobee
– Fort Myers to Stuart, FL – via The Keys
– Side trip – Cruising the Bahamas
– Jacksonville, FL to Beaufort, SC
– Beaufort to Norfolk, VA
The classes in the secondary conference room included the following topics (these classes were mainly for Loopers in Planning).
– Buying your Looper Boat
– How to Finance your Boat
– Insurance
– Marine Electronics
– Emergency Medicine at Sea
– Reluctant Partners
– DIY Maintenance
– Locks
– Looping on a budget
– Selling your Boat after the Loop

2. Looper Crawls
Looper Crawls are a daily event where the newbie “Loopers in Planning” can come on all 50 of the “Active Looper” boats and talk to the owners about their boats.
You typically discuss why you bought your type of boat, what you like/dislike, and how you have your boat outfitted for the Loop. If you are in the process of buying a boat to Loop with, this is a great opportunity to compare many different types and sizes of boats.

3. Social Dinners
At the end of every tutorial day, there is a large group dinner for all 260 participants to compare notes from the day of classes and socialize.

4. Polo Match
On Wednesday of this week, the social dinner was off-site from the Joe Wheeler Park.
The dinner was held at a nearby Polo Field. The Loopers were treated to a Polo match, followed by a dinner, a band, and a lot of dancing.

5. Dinghy Races
This was a very fun event where Loopers race against time as a couple, against other Loopers, with one spouse giving directions to the other spouse who is blind folded. The dinghy race is also run in reverse gear (not so easy to steer). They only announced the winners, but me & Nellie finished in the middle of the pack. There were 12 boats that participated in the Dinghy race.

6. Meeting a lot of new people & new friends.
We met so many new friends at the Rendezvous. Many of the new people we met are not currently Looping, they have either completed the Loop or are in the process of planning their future Loop.
The most interesting of the new friends were Bobby & Wendy Wilson.
Bobby & Wendy completed their Loop in 2015/2016, but what was most interesting is that they completed the Loop in a 32 ft Bayliner, WITH THEIR 4 DAUGHTERS (remember, Jonell & I are doing the Loop in a 43 ft vessel with only 2 of us).
A large part of their desire to do the Loop with their entire family was that their youngest daughter Mia was born with a congenital heart defect. Mia’s heart condition affects her pulmonary function, and she has to do similar breathing treatments as our son Dan (imagine coordinating all the medicine deliveries).
Their desire to do the Loop was because they do not have certainty of Mia’s future health condition, and they wanted to create the family memories while they were still able to.
Bobbie worked while Looping, he runs a business which helps process credit card transactions. Wendy home schooled the 4 girls while Looping.
The Wilson’s are very active in AGLCA teaching courses such as ; Looping on a Budget & Looping with a Family.
They are wonderful, inspirational people.

The Joe Wheeler Lodge Complex
Aerial Video compliments of Ken Murphree = https://youtu.be/vN3jCC7vXko

The Joe Wheeler Marina

 

The Conference Room Environment

The Looper Crawls

 

The Polo Match

The Dinghy Race

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ncJhz9sOHuk

 

 

 

Hey Blog Followers,
Since Monday, we have been in Counce Tennessee on the southern border of Tennessee, near the Mississippi/Alabama border. We are currently at a place called Grand Harbor Condominiums & Marina.

Our trip on Monday October 9th began with some thick fog. We took the initial ride slow until the fog burned off.

After the fog burned off, and while under way down the Tennessee river, we again found some beautiful homes on pristine pieces of land.

The travel day consisted of about 60 miles & 2 Locks.
1st mate Nellie is Gettin’ pretty good at her job tying up in the lock.

We arrived at Grand Harbor Condominiums & Marina on Pickwick Lake about 5pm. We were met by new harbor master Neelie Potts (not Nellie). Grand Harbor is a large complex with ; 325 slips, Condos, Tennis Courts, Pool, Fitness Center, & Cable TV. Pickwick Lake is a small lake near the intersection of the Tennessee river & Tenn-Tom Waterway.

After a long tiring day, we were both very tired, and there are no restaurants directly on site at the marina. Nice guy Mike gave Nellie the night off and made an exotic dinner for two on Monday night.

On Tuesday we caught up on bills, errands, cleaning, and went to dinner with ole pals “Odyssey” (Bud/Sue), and new Looper pal John from “Gump Stump”.
All of these folks are very interesting people to talk with.

Bud/Sue from vessel “Odyssey”, have traveled to places like Greece, Etheopia, and have spent 2 weeks in the jungles of South Africa.
John from vessel “Gump Stump”, has went Peacock Bass fishing on the Amazon river.
John is currently doing the Loop single-handed, but will meet family in Florida.
The name of his boat “Gump Stump” originates from the name of a fishing/hunting club he is in with 7 other longtime buddies in Florida.

We had dinner at a place called “Freddy T’s” Restaurant & Beach Club, a tiki-themed restaurant & bar featuring a menu of steak, pasta, seafood, and large wine cellar. It is a large complex with lots of flat screens, TVs in the floor, live bands, dance floor, and rooftop bar.

On Wed/Thu we did something that I have always wanted to do in my life, we went to the home of Elvis Presley @ Graceland , located in Memphis Tennessee.
To get to Memphis, we rented a car from Enterprise about 30-40 minutes away from the marina.
Recently new Gold Loopers from Memphis, “Robin’s Nest” (Eric/Robin Barnhart), gave us a ride from Counce to Corinth to get the rental car. Robin also gave us some great tips on local stuff to do in Memphis.
When we arrived in Memphis, we checked in at the “Guesthouse at Graceland” a new 450 room complex just built last year in 2016. The place is beautiful and still smells new.

After checking in, we hurriedly changed cloths and went for drinks at a place in downtown Memphis called the Madison Hotel. Robin Barnhart had told us that the rooftop bar at the Madison was a “must-see”. She was correct, the view was spectacular, and the locals were very friendly, inviting us to share the fire pit on a chilly Memphis night. The river below is the Mississippi, the route you would take if you wanted to enter the Gulf of Mexico in New Orleans. Recall that Gettin’ Looped (& most Loopers) took the Ole Miss – the Ohio river – the Tennessee river – and soon the Tenn-Tom Waterway, to allow our entry into the Gulf at Mobile Alabama.

After pre-game drinks at The Madison, we went to dinner at a place called “The Rendezvous”, also located in downtown Memphis.
We were actually able to walk from The Madison Hotel to The Rendezvous.

The Rendezvous is a landmark BBQ restaurant in Memphis opened in 1948.
Memphis claims to be the pork barbecue mecca of the world, and for over 60 years, the Vergos family has been serving their signature dry rub ribs in a basement through a downtown alley across from the Peabody Hotel. The stories also say that you have to be invited to work at the Rendezvous by an active worker, it is apparently a difficult job to come by.

After dinner we returned to the beautiful Guesthouse at Graceland and watched a very good trio of young fellas play a bunch of old 50,60’s favorites in the lobby.

After a long day/night on Wednesday, we awoke early for our 9:15 am tour appointment at Graceland.

Graceland was built-in 1939, and Elvis purchased it in 1957.
Graceland was opened to the public in 1982.
Graceland is on a 13.8-acre estate in Memphis Tennessee.
The site was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on November 7, 1991, and declared a National Historic Landmark on March 27, 2006.
Graceland is the second most-visited house in America with over 650,000 visitors a year, second only to the White House.

The Graceland Home/Estate Tour shows the following places where Elvis, Priscilla, Lisa-Marie, and Elvis’ parents spent their time after Elvis became famous;

After the Graceland Tour, we also visited several Elvis memorabilia museums show-casing his ; cars, motor cycles, show outfits, & tributes from other musicians.
But the most impressive display was his wall of Gold/Platinum Records.
I was also surprised to learn that Elvis had made 31 movies during his acting career, there was a complete building dedicated to his acting career.

 

If a few weeks, we also plan to visit the childhood home of Elvis in Tupelo Mississippi. Interesting facts – my dads Aunt Jerry babysat for the king when he was a child in Tupelo. My dad’s uncle, who lived most of his life in Tupelo, was named Elvis Murphree.

Out of all the blog posts we have made, this one may be the least interesting to the blog followers. But it was one of the most interesting from the human interaction perspective.

Clifton Marina & our previous stop at Pebble Isle Marina in New Johnsonville, are known on the Looper circuit as two of the friendliest stops on the Loop.

There was nothing fancy about Clifton Marina, there were no “great shots” from a photo perspective, but the folks down here really made you feel special. They made you feel like you were a local, like they truly appreciated having you around, and truly seemed sad when you told them you had to get on down the road.

Gene, Sonya, Amy, and all the locals (Wooley, Coach, Bob) made the weekend very special. In addition, we spent the weekend at Clifton with Looper pals Odyssey (Bud/Sue) & made yet more Looper friends who we already are bonding strongly with ; “Heaven to Betsy (Steve/Betsy) & Resolute (Pete/Pat).

The Clifton Marina has a very unique outdoor patio with flat screen TV. It is a place where all the problems in the world are solved daily by “Wooley, Coach, Dennis, Bob, and others (sorry, no photo of the boys). All of the world problems are solved with humor and a lot of southern accent.
The outdoor patio became the bonding place between visitors & locals.
Gene & Sonya cooked up the very tasty burgers on the grill, there was plenty of beer and plenty of football this weekend, complete with Saturday nights stunner between Mich State & Michigan, and Sunday nights thriller between Green Bay & Dallas.

On Sunday, we went with Bud/Sue to the Walmart about 45 minutes away. We took the owner Gene Davidson’s personal Cadillac STS to the store. Gene is a special ole guy, he speaks every word from the heart, he reminded me of my late uncle Elvis from Tupelo Mississippi.

We had some pretty sightings during the weekend. A rainbow surprised us for about 30 minutes during the Mich/State game, and some of the trees are starting to change (not many yet, besides this one).

Oh yea, by the way – when we were coming down to Clifton, we saw some pretty nice homes along the Tennessee River.

Oh yea, by the way #2 – we are still eating very healthy !
Prior to leaving New Johnsonville, we had a pretty nice dessert (shown below) , after some incredible catfish (not shown, but fully eaten).

 

Next stop = back to opulence, Grand Harbor Marina in Counce Tennessee.

On Wednesday Sept 4th we left the wonderful Green Turtle Bay in Grand Rivers Kentucky, for Pebble Isle Marina located in New Johnsonville Tennessee (about 2 hours east of Nashville).

The ride further south was on the Kentucky Lake & the Tennessee river. Unlike the past week, there was no commercial traffic. The only boats we had to deal with were other Loopers & about 50 high powered bass fishing boats (potentially a tournament).

The ride down the Kentucky Lake & the Tennessee river was very nice, calm, pretty. The ride was filled with nice homes, tree-lined/curved shores, an old rail road bridge and a strange building structure.

 

Discussions with Clay and Billy at Pebble Isle Marina, after we arrived, revealed that the old building structure above is known as the Old Danville Grain Elevator or Danville Transfer Station.  It was built on the banks of the Tennessee River about 300 yards from the L&N Railroad in 1914.  The purpose of the building was to transfer barges of grain and other goods from the river to rail cars.
It contained six levels with the bottom three being open for boats carrying cargo to unload their goods from the river. The lower levels accommodated the water level fluctuation of the river. Two twenty-horsepower elevators carried cargo from the lower levels to trains docked at the fourth level. Primary commodities were peanuts, grain, limestone, iron, and cotton.
It was in operation until the early 1940s when TVA began clearing out the area for the creation of Kentucky Lake.  The lake would be created by building a large dam downstream at Grand Rivers, Kentucky.  The waters would permanently rise 55 feet which would flood most of the building and the surrounding area.

Further down river, we arrived about 4:30pm at Pebble Isle Marina. Unlike Green Turtle Bay, there was no pool, spa, or yacht club. There was just a very nice marina with a bunch of good ole boys. We had several folks who came to help us tie up and say howdy; Mark from the marina, and locals Gene & Jim. The setting is beautiful. When you come off the Tennessee river, you enter a very narrow channel (don’t deviate from the marked channel, I never do), and when you round the corner of the narrow channel, it dumps into a secluded small bay which reminded me and Jonell of the movie “On Golden Pond”. The photos don’t due justice. The harbor is small, and the marina is known by Loopers as one of the friendliest on the Loop. We are having the same experiences. Mark, Clay, and Billy have treated us like royalty.

Shortly after arriving and tying up we got settled in and invited locals Gene & Kathy Spears up onto Gettin’ Looped for some welcome drinks. We were soon joined by new Looper friends Mark/Sandee from Holland Michigan and Larry/Betty Matlack from Kansas. The 6 of us and Larry/Betty’s kids all used the 2 courtesy vans at Pebble Isle to go to dinner at a Mexican restaurant about 30 minutes away.

On Thursday we began the day with the Pebble Isle famous ” Billy’s Cinnamon Rolls” and coffee. The cinnamon rolls are well-known on the Looper circuit. I met Billy in the morning before my shower when I returned the keys to the van from the night before. When I got back from the shower and picked up Nellie, Billy had to go on a Tow Boat US run. So we had the morning cinnamon rolls with owner/operator Clay. We were treated to the rolls and about 30 minutes of Clay’s stories about ; Bass Fishing, Cat Fish noodling, the local fungus in the water that looks like a sponge, and a story about a friend or relative who is now intimately involved with the Army Corps, because he has invented some chemical which kills the Asian carp but does not harm the local game fish. Clay told us that last year that when you drove in/out of the marina the Asian carp would be flying all over. This year after the chemical treatments you see the Asian carp only floating up dead.

 

After the morning cinnamon rolls, we again borrowed one of the courtesy vans to go to the Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills Tennessee. The ranch consists of ; Loretta’s Plantation Home after she became rich/famous, a Replica of her Butcher Holler Home where she grew up, a replica of the Coal Mine #5 where her father worked, and The Coal Miners’ Daughter Museum. The grounds were very pretty with a waterfall on the creek which runs thru the property. Unfortunately photos were only allowed outside of the buildings.

The replica house of where Loretta grew up included many pieces from the real place in Butcher Holler Kentucky. Loretta grew up as 1 of a family of 10, with many members of the family being musically talented, but Loretta and her sister Crystal Gale became the most famous. Loretta Lynn, was originally Loretta Webb, but married Doolittle Lynn at a very young age and became known as Loretta Lynn Webb. Crystal Gale was originally Brenda Gail Webb, and assumed her stage name of Crystal Gale because there was already a singer named Brenda Lee with Decca Records, and she was asked to change her name. Loretta Lynn suggested the name “Crystal” after seeing a sign for the Krystal hamburger restaurant chain. Brenda Gail Webb thus became Crystal Gayle. Their childhood replica house was very rustic inside & out.

The plantation style home where Loretta lived in after becoming famous, is big/nice/etc, but is not as opulent as you would think. She lived here mainly in the 1970’s, and currently lives on the ranch property, but in a more modern single level ranch.
Many scenes from the “Coal’s Miners Daughter” movie were filmed in the plantation home. The home was originally built in the late 1800’s.

The coal mine was also interesting, attempting to re-create the feel of where/how Loretta’s father spent most of his life.

Finally, the museum was a wealth of Loretta memorabilia. It was filled with all her awards, show dresses/outfits, a tour bus motor home, Loretta owned cars, and gifts from other famous entertainers. Most of the memorabilia had hand written notes from Loretta on how she came to own the object, and what the particular piece meant to her.
Unfortunately, no photos were allowed inside.

Thursday afternoon we re-met some ole friends/Loopers Bud & Sue Hansen, who we had originally met at the Rogersville Alabama Looper rendezvous that Jonell & I attended in 2014. They are a wonderful ole couple from Cedar Falls Iowa . Jonell & I attended the Looper rendezvous in 2014 when we were just Looper Dreamers. During that week long seminar, we met Bud & Sue during a looper crawl on their original boat an aluminum hull 32′ Marinette called “When I’m 64”. Their trip in 2014/2015 was cut short due to family issues with aging parents.
Bud & Sue are now completing the Loop in their new boat “Odyssey”, a ’38 Ocean Alexander. They are the sweetest couple ever.

On Friday, I went for cinnamon rolls with Clay, and then went in for a long over due haircut at Stewart’s Barber Shop.
Owner/Operator Jason Stewart did a fine job, but nothing to compare to “Pat’s Barber Shop” in Royal Oak Michigan (1632 E Lincoln Ave, Royal Oak, MI 48067).

Tonight, Friday night, we will go for a farewell dinner at the Pebble Isle Marina Restaurant with Bud/Sue, Mark/Sandee, and Gene/Kathy, who are all now very good friends. We WILL see Bud/Sue at the next stop, and may see Mark/Sandee again, but may not see Gene/Kathy for a long time. It has been a wonderful stop.

Next Stop is Clifton Marina in Clifton Tennessee.
It should be another “laid-back” stop with good down home folks.

 

As we reported on the last post, we arrived at the beautiful Green Turtle Bay Marina & Resort on Friday September 29th. After our excitement of running the port engine out of fuel & grounding the boat on Friday, our Looper Life has settled down nicely over the last few days.

Green Turtle Bay Marina & Resort is a large complex with ; Condo Rentals, a 400 slip Marina, a Yacht Club, a Boat Works Repair Center, a Spa & Health Center, Tennis Courts, 2 Outdoor Pools, and 1 Indoor Pool. It is located on Barkley Lake along the Cumberland river, in Grand Rivers Kentucky.
http://www.greenturtlebay.com/

The Green Turtle Bay History is quite the story.
It was the vision to create this large complex by Bill Gary III, father of the now harbor master Bill Gary IV.
Bill Gary III, a lawyer by trade, and lifetime boater, spent a lot of his teen years and time with his children in the area waters and what was known then as Port KenBar. Port Kenbar was quite run down and poorly managed. During one of the summer trips with his kids, he looked around and had the vision of what the area could be.
In 1984 his vision started to happen with approval from the Army Corps to develop the property, attracting a few initial investors, and the incorporation of Green Turtle Bay.
But the area still had limited drawing capability until 1985 when the Army Corps opened the Tenn-Tom Waterway, essentially connecting Tennessee river to Mobile Bay (and creating a safer/shorter alternate Great Loop Route besides the Ole Miss to New Orleans).
The final piece of the puzzle was when Hollywood actress Frances Langford & husband Ralph Evinrude, came thru the newly opened waterway on a 108 foot yacht named Chanticleer in September of 1986. Their new found love of the area enticed them to invest in the family run business now known as Green Turtle Bay. Since then many family members have contributed to what is now known as “Western Kentucky’s Premier Resort”.

Bill Gary IV currently acts as the harbor master & vice president of operations.
Bill’s wife Machelle, a 20 year nurse by trade, acts as the director for the Jade & Earth Spa and Health Complex. Many other family members are involved, the rest of the staff acts like family (esp dockhand Bleu).

Our time at Green Turtle has been a mix of chores, fun, and great meals.

We spent Saturday doing chores; cleaning the boat & going grocery shopping to re-provision from the week of anchoring (Bill Gary loaned us his golf cart with large rear tray for the shopping trip).
We went to dinner at the Thirsty Turtle restaurant/bar on Saturday, with the folks who helped us get un-grounded – Jim & Debbie Pyke.

Sunday we took the boat out for a low/med/high speed test ride, checking for abnormal vibration from the grounding. Luckily, Gettin’ Looped was free of vibration and the stuffing box nuts continue to run cool at all speeds.

On Sunday night Nellie & I went to dinner at the Commenwealth Yacht Club within the Green Turtle Complex.
The club was very nice, with lots of wood accents and many wooden placards of all the boat names of the yacht club members. The club members were very friendly.
I had, maybe, the best meat loaf I have ever had.

On Monday we did more chores.
Mike changed the engine oils & Nellie did some cloths washing.
Gettin’ Looped is now at about 150 hours on the trip.
This was the 1st of 4 oil changes I have planned during the trip.

Just for info, we have travelled about 1500 miles so far, on our journey of about 6000 miles. We left Lake St Clair on July 15th, and plan to return to metro Detroit about next August.
If you haven’t already done so, Check out the GPS Tracker Link = https://share.garmin.com/GettinLooped2017

Monday night we had a blast going out to dinner with 6 other Looper Couples;  Lab Partners (Rip & Beth), Firestorm (Mike & Laurie), Mother Ocean (Dennis & Jan), Thistle (Greg & Reenie), Craic (Tim & Patti), and Donna Mae (Derek & Lori).
The Looper Gang is quite lively & the humor was abundant.

We went to dinner at a place called Patti’s 1880’s Settlement .
It is the nicest restaurant in Grand Rivers.
Patti’s 1880’s Settlement is a recreated historical log cabin village.
The place was all decorated in a Christmas theme, but I am not sure if this is the yearly look or if it was done with the approaching holidays. It is also the 40th anniversary of operation for Patti’s this year.

Patti’s 1880’s Settlement had a very unique restroom (not meant to be used as such), complete with tenant “Indian Joe”.
Who is Indian Joe?
In 1975, the Tullars lived in hotel without a personal bathroom or tub. Patti found a clawfoot tub she fell in love with at the Swanne Flea Market. Bill built a living room and bathroom onto the hotel just for Miss Patti’s tub. When the owner of the flea market decided to sell, he asked Patti if she would like to purchase Indian Joe. Joe had sat at the entrance of the flea market greeting customers for many years. Miss Patti decided he would be a perfect fit to what was then Hamburger Patti’s Ice Cream Parlor. Indian Joe sat in the foyer of Hamburger Patti’s until he was moved, due to making the children scared, to a corner in one of the dining rooms. Indian Joe sat for years enjoying a pork chop but he continued to cause customer jitters and Miss Patti decided he needed a bath. He was moved to the clawfoot tub and has remained there ever since. Originally the bathroom had a toilet along with the original whiskey barrel sink, but many were frightened to turn around and see the Indian. The room now remains a quiet spot for Joe to relax in the tub.

Nellie & I split the very famous 2″ thick pork chops & also split the Patti’s famous Chess Pie.

We are going for round #2 tonight with the Loopers, with docktails at the slip of Lab Partners (Rip & Beth) shown below. Their slip is normally occupied by a local, and most of the very nice Pier-5 is equipped with significant outdoor furniture, outdoor bars, etc.

Next Stop = Pebble Isle Marina in New Johnsonville, Tn.
Home of the Loretta Lynn Museum (so we hear ???)

Hey Blog Followers,

It’s been a heck of a week.
Gettin’ Looped has conquered the Mighty Mississippi & the Ohio Rivers !
We covered 300 miles in 4 days (whew).
We tied to a barge one night & were on the hook (anchored) 2 nights.
There was limited cell text/call service, but the 2G/3G service did not allow blog updates.
Also the days were very long and we were too whipped to write blog posts.
Therefore, we are now posting the entire week on this one blog update.
We think you will like this post, it’s a doozy !

Tuesday Sept 26  – Grafton to Hoppies Fuel Barge (Kimmswick,Mo).
We traveled from Grafton Harbor to the very Looper famous “Hoppies Fuel Barge”.
The trip was about 56 miles, and included 2 Locks ; Melvin Price & Chain of Rocks.
Hoppies is the last fuel stop on the Ole Miss for 200 miles.

Most of our friend Loopers spent Monday night in Alton Mo, but due to our power cable issue we spent an extra day in Grafton, and left from Grafton Tuesday morning.  We left Grafton about 7:30am and kicked Gettin’ Looped into high gear (22mph), and met 9 other Loopers right as they reached the Melvin Price Lock, yippee the lock was open and we could drive right in. All of the bollards were full, but our pals Firestorm (Mike & Laurie) allowed us to raft off of them in the lock. As we entered the lock – holy debris !
The Mississippi is known for lots of debris. We had to steer around a lot of small debris & a large 8 ft log inside of the lock, to raft off of Firestorm.

After leaving the Melvin Price Lock, we traveled thru downtown St Louis (farewell Jake & Mollie) and took photos of the Gateway Arch and other Looper boats passing the arch.

After departing St Louis, a 10 boat flotilla led by Gypsies Palace (thanks Steve & Debbie), snaked our way down river between anchored barges, northbound barges/tows coming at us, and southbound barges/tows that we had to pass. All the while under a 4 mph downstream current push. It was both nerve-wracking & an exciting adrenaline rush. This was especially true at the very narrow “Chain of Rocks Canal”, a man-made passage which allows vessels to avoid a very shallow section of the Mississippi.
The very narrow passage made the 10 boat flotilla snake train even more challenging to get around all the tugs & barges.

After passing thru the Chain of Rocks Canal & Lock, we were then in the home stretch for the very “Looper Famous Hoppies Fuel Barge”, the last fuel stop for 200 miles.
I must admit that I was a little nervous about the docking at Hoppies. The approach tips are listed as “head upstream into the current, and crab the boat over to the Hoppies Barge”. We made the approach one time to attach to the barge for fuel, and a second time to attach to the barge for our overnight mooring. Both docking events went very smoothly (yippie).
The Hoppies barge is just a very old/rusty set of tied up barges with fuel pumps and power, no water.
But the Mississippi & Ohio Rivers tutorials from the very famous “Fern” were price-less.

Now safely tied up, I was finally able to experience one of my looper dreams, which was to meet Fern & Hoppie, at the Hoppie’s Barge.
The Hoppie’s fuel barge has been on the Mississippi since 1934, and Fern has been giving advice on how to navigate the rivers since about 1973.
Hoppie is the ole fella & Fern is the ole woman (they reminded me of some of my old Murphree relatives met during my younger years in Mississippi & Alabama).

Fern is a sweet ole woman with a wealth of knowledge. Her advice changed our plans for one of our anchorages, and our path into the Green Turtle Bay Resort (changed from the Tennessee River/Kentucky Lock to the Cumberland River/Barkley Lock (due to high risk of long lock times).
About 10 boats full of Loopers gathered around for Fern’s tutelage, actively taking notes and asking questions.

Our second goal at the Hoppies stop, was to visit the famous Blue Owl restaurant in Kimmswick Mo. The Blue Owl is famous for their pies, especially the “Levee High Caramel Apple Pecan Pie”. The owner/operator Mary is a peach, and is also quite famous, having made pies for Paula Dean & Oprah.

That’s about it for Tuesday Sept 26 !
56 miles / 2 Locks / a 10 Vessel Flotilla / Hoppies / the Blue Owl.

Wednesday Sept 27 – Hoppies to Little Diversion River/Canal (Scott County, Mo)
We woke early due to the 110 mile journey from Hoppies to the Little Diversion River anchorage.
Upon leaving Hoppies we had 3 events within the first hour.
Event #1 was seeing the biggest waterway debris that I have ever seen, a floating log which had to be 50 feet long. In the photo below the log looks like a serpent with a body and head, it is actually the same log peeking out of the water in 2 places.

Event #2, a little further downstream, we also noticed a large log which apparently became stuck on the bridge during times of higher water.

Event #3 was the dreaded thump/clunk, followed by a “Loss of Steering”.
After a few seconds of “Oh-Crap”, I put the transmissions into reverse then forward, and the steering returned.

With no locks on the agenda for Wednesday, the voyage was fairly calm other than the “now normal” passing of barges & tows. We arrived at the Little Diversion anchorage about 3:15pm, a 9 hour / 110 mile day. Little Diversion is a drainage river/canal, but in non-rainy times provides Loopers a safe place to stay on the long voyage between Hoppies and Green Turtle Bay. The entrance/exit to Little Diversion is on a large bend in the ole Miss, and current is 4-5mph. Entry is simple via coming in against the current. Exit requires a “Sécurité” call on the vhf radio to make sure there are no tows coming around the blind corner.
We anchored that night with looper friends Mother Ocean (Dennis & Jan) and Thistle (Greg & Reenie), and two other unknown boats.

Thursday Sept 28 – Little Diversion Anchorage to Anchorage @ Mile Marker 948.5
Thursday was a very long /tiring day with about 80 miles to cover, but also 2 locks well known for delays.
The cruise went very nicely, but the lock delays were terrible with 2-3 hour waits. Olmstead lock is a new lock not yet complete, and we had to do a simple drive-thru. The problem was that we had to wait about 60 minutes for the Ok to drive-thru. The next lock #53 is an old lock being replaced by Olmstead. Once inside, the lockmaster directed us to “hover” during the 12 foot drop. It was quite the challenge keeping the boats off the walls due to the high current pushing us to starboard & high wind pushing us aft. Even the boats with thrusters struggled. But all was well after exercising the transmissions for about 45 minutes during the very slow 12 ft drop.
We departed about 7:30am in the morning and arrived at the anchorage at 6:45pm, an 11 hour/15 minute day !
We anchored with ; Mother Ocean, Thistle, and Tyre-Less.
Tyre-Less had arrived earlier due to their higher travel speed, and helped us all negotiate into the 10ft water around the 3-4 foot shoals.

Friday Sept 29 – Anchorage @ MM 948.5 to Green Turtle Bay Marina Resort
New Looper pal Leslie from Tyre-Less awoke at 6:30am to call the lock #52 , ten  miles down river (now on the Ohio River). It is usually much easier/faster to get thru the locks if you have multiple pleasure craft, so we agreed the night before to have a 6:45am vhf radio call to find out what the lock #52 said to Leslie about traffic that morning. The lockmaster told Leslie it was a normal day, and go ahead and head down for a potential 8:30am lock-thru.
Check out the sweet sunrise at 6:45am, maybe we should be gettin‘ up at 6:30am every morning (nope !)

We departed about 7:45am for the potential 8:30am locking, a 10 mile ride down river.
After arrival at #52, it was another 1 hour delay, followed by another “hovering” session. The Hovering in #52 was easy, current & wind were lower than the day before at #53.

After exiting #52 we were on our way up the Ohio river to connect to the Cumberland river, and make our way to Green Turtle Bay. The Ohio river, like the Ole Miss, was a very winding route with barges/tows parked in the middle, coming at us, and travelling in the same direction. The barge dodging was now starting to feel like normal business. Following pals Mother Ocean & Thistle, both equipped with AIS and Radar, made the journey easier to know what/who was coming around the next corner. (Note to Self – purchase AIS & Radar if we ever do the river systems again).

After lock #52, Mother Ocean & Thistle spent the night in Paducka, Ky.
Gettin’ Looped went directly to Green Turtle Bay.

This is where todays story gets interesting.

We continued traveling north on the Ohio river to get to the Cumberland river. Recall that Miss Fern recommended taking the Cumberland due to potential long waits at the busy Kentucky lock. The route on the Cumberland was a little longer, but we wished to heed the direction of Miss Fern.

Once on the Cumberland, the complexion of the day changed from all the barge traffic on the Ohio river to a more peaceful/tranquil setting.
We had only one single wide barge and one pleasure boat to pass.
The Cumberland had ; pretty homes, several working plants, rocked walls, several boat launch ramps, and was also a very winding narrow route leading to Lake Barkley & Lake Kentucky.

Just as things seemed like they were finally settling down, and about 2 miles away from the Barkley Lock, THE PORT ENGINE DIED !
After the initial 10 seconds of “oh-shit”, I went down and looked at the hard gauge on the port fuel tank, it was empty.
This occurred, in spite of the accurate digital gauge at the helm reading that I had only used 246 of 290 gallons. But the digital gauge at the helm reads total fuel used between both engines.
I then remembered from all the reading I had done about Gettin’ Looped, that there was a set of fuel manifolds in the engine room that would allow me to pull fuel from the generator fuel tank to the port side engine. After switching the proper fuel valves (closing the port eng tank, opening the draw to generator tank, and closing the generator valve) the port engine fired back up. I knew that after 2 days of anchoring and using the generator, I still had 40 gallons of fuel in the generator tank, so the port engine would now be ok. But, the starboard engine would still be a risk, and unfortunately the starboard hard gauge on the tank had went awol , and the new fuel gauge/sending unit that I installed a month ago in Michigan City was not reading accurately (another long story, not a direct part to part replacement for the original bad gauge).
Bottom Line = the port engine has consistently used more fuel than the starboard, and the actual range of the boat is closer to 250 miles vs the 290 miles I thought I could count on (@ an average of 10-11mph & 1mpg). I have kept good records of speed & fuel usage.

So we now arrive at the Barkley Lock, only 2 miles from Green Turtle Bay. I had called the lockmaster to explain our fuel woes. He tried to get us thru asap, but the wait outside the lock was still about 30 minutes. We used a start/stop strategy on the engines to maintain position between the dam/lock/and bridge, and conserve fuel (anchoring was not allowed).
After what seemed like an eternity, we were finally thru the Barkley lock, and Green Turtle Bay was only 2 miles away.
As we approached Green Turtle Bay, I noticed that the sailing line led to red/green markers about another 1/2 mile ahead of our location. We were in about 18ft of water, I chose an “alternate” entrance to hopefully get to the fuel docks before I potentially lost the starboard engine.
Big Mistake !
Follow your sailing lines & red/green markers !
After looking away from the depth gauge for only a few seconds, the 18 feet of water I remembered was rapidly turning into 8ft/4ft/CRUNCH.
Crap – Grounded.
I attempted to nestle the boat off the bottom, but hearing clank/clank made me stop.
I initiated contact with the marina for potential Tow Boat US assistance, but the Tow Boat was pre-occupied with another grounded vessel request about 20 miles away.
During the call with the marina, I received a vhf call from my new best friend Captain Jim Pyke on Looper vessel “Drift Away” (I wished that I could have drifted away).

Jim asked “are you ok ?”
I responded something like, “yes I am physically ok, but my props may have a different opinion”.
Jim advised “don’t do anything, remain in neutral, I will be right over”.
Jim and wonderful wife Debbie were heading for an anchorage nearby, because they could not get into Green Turtle until Saturday.
They deployed their anchor, unloaded their dinghy, and Jim approached Gettin’ Looped in HIS DINGY ?
Jim said after the fact, that he could see the lack of DINGHY confidence on my face.
Jim asked me to join him on the dinghy with my telescoping boat hook pole.
We circled the boat, using the extension pole to determine which side had the deeper water.
Jim then engaged the front of the dinghy into the bow of Gettin’ Looped and went to WOT on the 15hp outboard. After 5-10 seconds the bow began to rotate around. He then engaged the dinghy into the swim platform and pushed. Within about 1 minute, Gettin’ Looped was back in 6-8 feet of water and able to proceed to the correct entrance to Green Turtle Bay.
After the grounding, we entered the Green Turtle Marina at low speed, so I was not able to determine yet, the level of damage to the props.
On Saturday I scheduled a haul-out for Monday at 1pm.
Today/Sunday, we took Gettin’ Looped out for a low/med/high speed test drive.
Results = No vibration at the helm or at the stuffing box nuts & the stuffing box nuts remain cool under operation.
Mike , you are a lucky guy, FOLLOW YOUR CHARTS !

Obviously Mike & Nellie, treated Jim & Debbie to dinner last night. They are a wonderful couple out of South Carolina, about 8 months into their Loop. Jim had a lot of tips for Mike and our upcoming voyage up the east coast.

A wild week to be sure.
300 miles & 6 Locks in 4 days.
Nervousness, Excitement, Fatigue, Adrenalin Rushes, Meeting more great people !
We are loving this Looping stuff.

So now we can begin to enjoy our stay at Green Turtle Bay Marina & Resort (Grand Rivers, Ky).

The resort has ;  Condos, a Yacht Club with Restaurant access for visitors, a Yacht Sales Office, a Ships Store, a Boat Works Marine Service Center (who needs that), 400 Slips, Cable TV at each slip, Tennis Courts, a Beach, 3 Pools (2 outdoor/1 indoor), and a Grill Restaurant.

There are also 2-3 more restaurants in the nearby town, one well-known for their 2″ thick pork chops that we will evaluate later this week.

That’s it for now from Team Gettin’ Looped.
Talk to you in a few days.
Happy Birthday Lauri Scheller !