Day 37: Friday, October 12, 2012
Underway: 7:10 am Motor Off: 5:45 pm Miles Traveled: 24 Stayed At: Anchor
First Things First: First time we couldn’t get the anchor up.
Mile 168 to Mile 192: Although we had a bright and early start (on a cool and overcast day) from our anchorage at Indian Creek, mother nature kept getting in the way of our progress upstream. First, it was raining lightly when we were leaving. We made it only about 3 miles upstream when a dark cloud started rolling in and we decided not to chance fate again like earlier in the trip (what would Bruce do?), so we anchored behind a small island, tucked in near a large catamaran upstream and two power boats farther back downstream also waiting out the weather. It rained cats and dogs and thundered off and on for a couple of hours. We impatiently read and snacked and watched the rain fall as we waited for better weather.
We finally decided to try again to leave at about noon and found that the anchor rode had wrapped around the centerboard at least once. The centerboard was down to try to keep us straight in the current. After guessing correcty which way to unwrap the line we then found out the anchor was stuck on something on the bottom. After “powering” (if you can call it that with an 8 hp motor) into deeper water, whatever it was fell off and released the anchor and we were off – for about 1 minute. We made it about 100 feet when it started raining again so we anchored for one final time (Cindy is getting her exercise as our anchor windlass). We left for good at 1:25 pm – our third try – and had an uneventful mostly dry afternoon motoring to our next anchorage at Wolf Island.
Wolf Island was a quiet anchorage and, although we are close to Savannah, Tennessee, we still don’t have internet or phone connections. A minor frustration but hard to get used to in 2012.
Wild Things: Saw a lonely white goat walking along the bank on one of the islands we passed.
In Passing: Hookers Bend, Flat Bluff, Sawmill Branch, Maple Slash Slough, Big Gum Pond and Coffee Bottom
