Stats for Saturday, October 20, 2018

Origin:  Green Turtle Bay

Destination:  Dover Island Anchorage

Distance:  58.7 miles

Speed:  8.9 mph

Time on the Move:  6 hours and 34 minutes

 

We headed out of Green Turtle Bay and took Lake Barkley south toward the Cumberland River.  The lake was a much bigger stretch of open water than we have seen in quite some time.  The word is that if it is questionable, you actually need to check wind and wave forecasts because it is that big.  This is a big change from other areas we’ve seen on the rivers lately.  Luckily, today was gorgeous.  We were bathed in sunshine and warmth.  It was amazing!

We heard that you should be sure to stay in the marked channel throughout the lake because, while it looks like a big lake, there are many shallow areas.  And boy weren’t there?!  We would be in the middle of a huge stretch of water and see a big sand bar like this one sticking right up out of the water.  Thank goodness our autopilot understood that we needed to stay in the channel, as well.

Mike took a break from driving for a bit and made us lunch.  It was a nice change from the days when he had to be at the helm because it was so busy and stressful.  I can watch autopilot and change a heading hold no problem.  I can even slow down to pass a pontoon or fishing boat if I need to (usually).  Plus, I like to be in charge every once in a while.  **In case you’re keeping track at home, AIS is our #1 electronic upgrade and Autopilot is a close #2!!  We can’t imagine actually having to steer all the time!!**

While the scenery was beautiful, it looked like a lot of the same stuff over and over.  But, we enjoyed the ride, the sunshine, and the football game.  (We listened to Michigan beat Michigan State on XM.)  It was a good day!

We ended up in a quiet little anchorage behind Dover Island from the channel.  It was a very peaceful night.  Except for that one moment when it looked like a tow pushing barges was actually coming our way.  But it wasn’t.  It was actually turning and staying in the channel like we knew it would.  And there was that one other time when a smaller bow rider came whipping down the river right towards our anchorage.  We worried maybe they wouldn’t see our big 43 foot boat floating in the middle of the river, but of course they did.  So ya know, no worries.

Thanks for following along!!