We Woke up to some light fog and prepared for our voyage. We filled the water tanks and made our way to the fuel dock for a pump out. Since we knew we were going to be anchoring, and we had been told the power and electric was iffy at the next docks as well, we needed to be prepared to be self sufficient for a few days. Once we were emptied of waste and filled with fresh water, we made our way out to the river. We were travelling about fifty miles today, and didn’t have to fight too much current, just a little bit. This trip was going to take us about seven hours at seven knots. Since we didn’t actually get going until 9:30am, our arrival was planned on around 4:30pm. This gives us enough time to find the anchorage and get settled in before it gets dark.
The trip itself was another uneventful day. It was cold, so we debated about driving from the lower helm. We have done this during some rain storms. I had on an extra layer of sweatshirts and soon realized it wasn’t too bad. The wind was coming from behind, and I left the door zipped shut so it blocked it pretty well. The trip itself was pretty uneventful. We can see tow boats coming up so we are prepared for safe passing. If unsure, we just call them on the radio by name and they always answer back right away. We have been told they like the contact, as it makes it much easier to communicate what they want us to do, as they cannot see our name and it is easier than them just calling out “pleasure boat heading south…”- that can be anyone coming down the river. Lauren relieved me a few times and we made our way toward the anchorage.
When we arrived to the anchorage, we saw there were a couple of other boats there already. The anchorage was behind an island in the river. The channel runs up and down one side, and there is deep enough water on the other side to anchor out of traffic. The boats we saw were at either end of the island. We approached and creeped by the lower boat as we turned up toward the anchorage and into the current. We went about a hundred and fifty yards past the first boat and dropped anchor. Now you may know from past experiences anchoring has been a hit and miss for us. We had looked at the overnight weather and was relieved to see it was going to be a very calm night. No winds to speak of at less than two knots and dropping to what the Weather Channel just lists as ‘calm’. We dropped the anchor and watched our position for about an hour. We eventually would swing a bit as the anchor settled in and we were pushed to face the current, but we were not moving from this position. Once we felt secure, I took Frank in the dinghy to shore. We walked around a bit and explored some of the area then made our way back to the boat for the night. Lauren prepared dinner as I ran the generator to make sure we were charged up and we retired to a peaceful evening. We heard another boat come in after dark and anchor as well, but they were closer to the farthest boat, so we couldn’t make out the boat or name.Tomorrow we are heading to Clarksville, Tennessee and plan to get an early start.