We were going from mile 66 to mile 103.5. Almost 38 miles at five knots. Eight hours was planned for the trip, so we left our dock by 7am. The weather forecast was for rain starting around noon, and carrying on the next two days. By leaving this early, there was no one at the office to settle up with. We departed and turned south into the current and carried on. By 10am, I had called the marina and payed up over the phone. We also called Birdsong Marina to ensure there was space for us. Earlier in the week I had called them looking for information about if they could help with the prop. The owner who was on the phone was quite talkative, a second generation owner who has had it for sixty years. He had offered to contact a diver to go down and pull it, but we declined due to the fact we wanted to see the bottom completely to assess any other damages, if there were any. We were making our way and the speed was barely five knots, and dropping to four and a half at times. After taking turns piloting, we finally were close to the marina. I was instructed to call when we were close and they would send someone out to show us the way in. “The water level is the lowest I’ve ever seen!” exclaimed the owner on the phone during our conversation. “Yep, I know.” was my reply. We had to pass through a lock on the way and that was thankfully uneventful. Lauren now does the whole operation as I sit on the flybridge at the helm. All I have to do is get her close to the floating bollard and she does the rest. Once clear of the lock I made the phone call. We were close, and they were sending a boat out to show us the way. At this point the rain had started falling steadily, and we were driving with the enclosure sealed up, except for a small area we could see through. We followed the guide boat on a winding path through the bay, looking at buoys that no longer help guide anyone, but set them up for grounding. We came to the dock and were directed to a covered slip. Sweet! The dock has a roof over it, so the rain would stay off of the boat except for some spray. People also like these for the shade they provide in the summer. Once settled in, we hooked up our power and it din’t work. Oh jeez, really? We did everything we could to get power, including moving to a new slip, but apparently our boat and their power pedestals are not compatible. This isn’t too bad, as we can run the generator for our power when we need it, but it does use diesel and is loud and not very pleasant to listen to, but it is necessary when we do not have shore power. At least we were tied up for the upcoming storm. I was taken by golf cart to the office to check in, and I inquired about a courtesy car. The manager gave me the keys and the maintenance man took me to the car. I returned to the boat with the car, and Lauren and I went for a ride to get some items we needed at Walmart Superstore. The closest store was thirty minutes away, so we had the car until after dark. I had not been told what to do with the car once done, so we parked it and unloaded by the dock and kept the keys. I figured to take it back in the morning.
Day 2: We woke up to a surprisingly not raining day. We had been forecast for a storm, but it was a bit behind. There was another boat that came in with us yesterday; a houseboat that is decked out like a pirate ship, and they were departing. I was skeptical of this as they don’t have much room to take waves and the forecast wasn’t good. They left and I hope they had a plan to stop somewhere if it got bad. I took the keys back and was told to keep them in case we wanted to go anywhere today. Turns out we didn’t need it after all.
About mid day, the clouds got dark and the winds picked up. We were securely tied to the dock with many lines on each side, and we were on the end with an unobstructed view of a parking lot with a giant tent over some stuff. The tent had walls, so you couldn’t see inside it. Yet. The wind gusts continued to pick up and we heard reports of tornadoes in the area north of us. Trees were falling and the tent got completely picked up and thrown around. Items were rolling across the parking lot and waves were crashing into the boats at the dock. Mayhem was erupting as we sat securely inside with the animals, watching this unfold, rocking with the boat. The wind and storm lasted about twenty to thirty minutes, and then it was quiet. People were coming out of their homes and trailers surveying the damage and just gawking about. We took Frank for a walk to look too, after I checked all of the boats at our dock and made sure everything was secure. I had to pick up a few things that got blown off of boats, but there was no major damage. We even fished out a briefcase that was floating down the docks with paperwork and an empty money bag in it from 1990’s. Turns out it was junk in the pile that was blown into the bay. The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging around, having dinner and planning our next stop. We want to get to Clifton Marina, which is a Great Loop sponsor marina, and known as a good, cheap stop, but we will have to leave early to get there during daylight.