Day: 102
NM Today: 18
NM Total:
2089
Locks Today:
0
Locks Total:
82
Due to the
weather still being overcast and our next destination only a few miles away, we
were in no hurry to leave Ken Lake State Park today. We toyed with the idea of exploring the park,
but ultimately decided we would not see too much of interest if we did. We ended up spending quite a bit of time in
the marina office as Captain Clark talked to the locals about where to go and
where not to go for anchorages.
Two seasoned
fishermen plus the two men running the marina advised us against the anchorage
we had targeted in our plans. They told
us that anchorages on the east side of the Tennessee are to be avoided due to
heavy biting fly problems whereas anchorages on the west side do not have that
issue. Once again our “best-laid plans”
went by the wayside as our selected anchorage was on the east side of the
river. They recommended Cypress Creek
Anchorage as having no biting flies and being well-protected from every wind
except one directly from the south. We
revised our plans to have Cypress Creek as our next destination.
We set out
from Ken Lake just before 1300 hours. As
we travel down the Tennessee River now, we are following along beside the Land
Between the Lakes Recreational area that we visited by car while in Grand
Rivers, Kentucky. The landscape is
mostly the same with lots of trees along the water and an occasional bluff
thrown in for added character.
 |
| Bluffs on Tennessee River |
The
anchorage at Cypress Creek is also known as Fort Heiman Anchorage because it is
the site of the “forgotten” Confederate fort -- Fort Heiman, which was established
in 1862 and strategically placed to protect Fort Henry located across the
Tennessee River. Before completion of the fort, however,
Ulysses S. Grant came on the scene, and the fort was abandoned by the
confederate troops. Union troops
occupied the fort for one year before they too abandoned it. Later, in 1864, confederate troops reoccupied
the fort and used the site to capture a union steamboat and make raids on union
forces. By reading a bit about Fort Heiman, I learned that Fort Henry is now
under what is called Kentucky Lake, but the entrenchments built at Fort Heiman
can still be seen today and are considered a very good example of Civil War
earthworks.
When we
arrived at Cypress Creek / Fort Heiman Anchorage, no one else was there so we
had the place to ourselves. We found a
nice little spot and dropped anchor.
 |
| Entrance to Cypress Creek Anchorage on the Tennessee River |
Having just settled in, we noticed two boats coming in to join us in the
anchorage. Both vessels proudly
displayed AGLCA “looper” flags, so Clark pulled out the binoculars to check out
our company for the night. The first
boat he spotted was Penny Pinchin’
whom we met at Green Turtle Bay; the second I recognized even without binocs as
our friends on Palmetto Paradise whom
we met way back on the Trent-Severn in Canada.
What a pleasant surprise, and to think we (Clark and I) ended up here
basically by accident!
 |
| Penny Pinchin' and Palmetto Paradise Rafted up in Cypress Creek / Fort Heiman Anchorage |
Shortly after
they got themselves settled into the anchorage, Dave from Penny Pinchin’ came over in his dinghy to invite us to come over
for hors d’oeuvres and dinner later. He even
offered chauffeur service so we would not have to launch our dinghy to join
them. How could we refuse a great offer
like that?! We jumped at it and said, “YES!”
Clark has
noticed that one engine appears to be running hotter than the other, so he is a
bit concerned as to whether it is the sign of a bigger problem planning to
announce itself later. He checked the
engines carefully in the boat after we anchored and then decided he needed to
dive under the boat to take a look around to check the props and rudder for any
problems not visible from above water.
He aimed his thermometer at the water for a reading, and it came back as
68 degrees.
Clark was just
in the process of getting into his wet suit for the dive under when Dave came
over with the invite. As he got himself ready to go in the water, I
set to making a dish to bring over with us to share for our impromptu pot luck
dinner. When he surfaced from his dive,
Clark was pleased to report after his check of the boat bottom that nothing
appeared to be amiss down there.
As a bonus, Clark
even got a shower out of the deal as, after he stripped off his wet suit, he
decided to soap up and shower off! He was, however, chased from the quick shower
at the stern of the boat into the “real” shower in the bathroom by vicious
biting insects resembling over-sized mosquitoes who thought a wet, soapy Clark
was a tasty treat. Still covered in
shampoo and soap, he ran through the cabin quickly to change venues and
complete his rinsing off.
Fairly close
to the 5:00 invite time we called Penny
Pinchin’ on the VHF radio and said we were ready to be picked up. We left the boat a mess with wet suits,
weights, and towels strewn around and drying.
We figured we could deal with the mess when we got back on board. As promised Dave appeared shortly thereafter
to ferry us over to Palmetto Paradise
who hosted the pot luck get together.
We enjoyed
great food and wonderful conversation until it got to be just after
sunset. I needed to get back to the boat
while I could still see to get out of the dinghy and onto the one-foot square
piece of swim platform I have to land on!
 |
| Sun setting at Cypress Creek |
The good news is that Clark and I discovered that the three of us are all
headed for the same state park marina tomorrow, so we will see them again real
soon. Clark was happy to hear, when he
asked what time they planned to leave, “Not early!” as the answer. Looks like we may be joining a caravan for
the trip tomorrow!
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