Mike and Beth's Adventures

Departing Green Turtle Bay for Nashville Proper planning and preparation are key to a successful and enjoyable voyage.  These activities were the main focus of our final day at Green Turtle Bay (GTB).  The tasks are several and repetitive.  This makes them easier as with reflection and review we had improved each of the processes.  For Amy Marie, the task groups were navigation, provisioning, weather, and vessel readiness.  Beth was primary on navigation and provisioning.  I looked after vessel maintenance, which consists of routine preventative maintenance and fixing those items and systems that weren't working properly.  We collaborated on weather and Beth would review her navigation decision with me so two sets of eyes could review and approve route decisions. Make sure your route follows the old river bed to assure sufficient depth We had a special treat when a fellow Ranger Tug R-27 owner, Bill, who had been following our blog, stopped by.  O...

Joe Wheeler State Park Joe Wheeler State Park We completed our Chattanooga sojourn by returning to Joe Wheeler State Park.  Upon arrival we picked up packages that we had sent there to fix items we broke on our two week and 400 mile round trip to Chattanooga.  The inverter died, operator abuse, and the microwave died, probably due to the bouncing it endured on the trip across country.  We installed both these items before leaving the next morning for Florence Alabama.  To get there, we had to travel through two locks.  First up was Wheeler Lock with a drop of 52 feet.  Within 15 miles we would drop 92 feet, the largest drop of the entire Loop, at Wilson Lock.  We were fortunate that the gates were open and we were able to transit Wheeler quickly.  At Wilson we waited about 30 minutes before we could begin our transit of that lock.  We were happy that we really had no delays of any consequence on our first day out of Joe Wheeler State Park. Th...