October 15, 2021 Green Turtle Bay and Rendezvous
Green Turtle Bay was the marina where we had decided to leave the boat for a few days to go to AGLCA’s Fall Rendezvous. We had to use their loaner vehicle to drive the 30 minutes back to Paducah to retrieve our rental car. There were LOTS of Loopers at the marina! And more arriving every day. We re-met some folks we had met earlier, had dinner with Noah Genda at the yacht club. Another night, we had decided the restaurants were not worthy of the $$ they charged, so, at my suggestion, the crews from Kittiwake, Noah Genda, and LeeAnn got together for dinner. I provided the spaghetti, Sarah from Noah Agenda provided some caprese salad, and Debra from LeeAnn brought a lovely tossed salad. We had a great time swapping stories and plans. I did just fine, had a G&T to start out, some wine with dinner…until Sarah offered a delicious mudslide. That drink put me over, way over the top! I didn’t get sick, thankfully, but Jonathan from LeeAnn did help me get home to our boat. We will see these folks on down the river.
We drove the 3.5 hours to Rogersville, Alabama, where we attended the 5 day Rendezvous at the Joe Wheeler State Park. We had an absolute ball, meeting and reconnecting with Loopers we had met up the way. The sessions covered the next segments of the Loop all the way to Norfolk (the site for the Spring Rendezvous). Dan and I found that, although the information imparted was good and well presented, we really didn’t learn anything that isn’t covered by the several guides we had already purchased and use daily. The trip was worth it, though, just for the social interactions. One other bonus, I had bit the bullet and bought us two Jupiter e-bikes – they were waiting for us at Joe Wheeler. While there, we put them together and took a test run. They’re going to add some real fun to our travels!
We returned to Green Turtle Bay on Friday morning. On the way, we stopped at a grocery store in Paducah and bought some supplies. Once back at the marina, did some laundry, greeted the Loopers who had arrived while we were gone. Unfortunately, the battery charger problem we had experienced before we left the boat did cause us some grief. The freezer/refrigerator that resides on the fly bridge did not switch to the 110 power provided by the connection at the dock, as it is supposed to do. What that meant is that, once the house batteries lost their charge, there was no power to the freezer box. We had about $200 worth of meat all nicely packaged in meal-sized portions that thawed and had to be thrown out. Grrrr! Cleaning out that mess was not my idea of fun. Back to the store, bought more meat to put in the freezer.
We left GTB with full fuel tanks, full water tanks, empty black tank, and provisions to last a while.
First night, we anchored at Bennets Cove. Water was a little “skinny” coming in, but the cove was lovely. It was protected from the currently prevailing south winds and from the big storm that came in overnight. The anchor held! We raked up a bit of mud upon exiting the cove…ugh.
Next stop we planned was at Cuba Landing. In my book, there is both a marina and an anchorage in there. We started into the entrance, we thought, and immediately ran aground. Dan was able to get us off, but not easily. There was a boat behind us who came on the radio with us, and then called the marina. The entrance channel for the marina is on the south side of a little island – no information on that was in my book or on our chart. Grrrr. So, instead of going to the anchorage, we surrendered and went into a slip at the marina. Fortunately, it was one of the least expensive we’ve found!
The problem with the batteries is that the installed battery charger has stopped working. What that means is, when we are not running the engines (the starboard engine charges the house batteries) the house batteries are not being charged. Even the generator does not charge the house batteries! Yikes. So, on the boat currently, we have two problems: one, the freezer box isn’t switching to the 110 power when the voltage from the house batteries isn’t available; two, the battery charger that keeps the house batteries charged isn’t working at all. Sigh. Dan got on the phone with customer support for the battery charger – we need to send it in to them for repair or replacement. Good news: it may be under warranty. Bad news: it’s in an almost impossible place for getting it out of the boat. He can probably do it, but it will take some boat yoga and probably cursing and moaning. We’ll have to limp along without it for some time, because it’s going to take a bit for Dan to extricate it from the boat and also because we are currently in the middle of nowhere – no UPS site near here. And, once they receive it and have it ready to ship to us, we will then have to figure out what address to give them!!
And, still, we are loving our time on the boat! Our cruise today down the Tennessee River was beautiful. The colors here are just starting to change. Even with the cloudy and cool weather, the views are simply beautiful.
Next stop, Clifton, Mississippi. The town is reputed to be charming and interesting!
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