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Would We Do it Again ?...
You Bet Your Bottom Job !!
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Taken from the cruise logs of
the " Divine Miss T" By Alan Tyler |
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Ah yes, a week of cruising was just what the
doctor ordered! A week of no worries, a week of relaxation, what more could a
person ask for. It was June 2nd 2001, the dates were set, the float plan filed, and it was 8 am. time to set out from Goose Pond Marina, for the first of many trips on the Tennessee River. The destination was Joe Wheeler State Park in Rogersville Alabama. The skies were gorgeous, all was going as planned. With Fred Meyer's cruise guide within reach we were living the dream, at a leisurely pace taking in all the scenery. 100 miles in one day? No problem!.  The day was uneventful; we enjoyed seeing
the bat cave at the Guntersville Lock . There we met the lovely Guntersville
Lock "Mistress", who locked us through the auxiliary lock just to expedite our
journey into the unknown. We saw towering cliffs, bald eagles, barges and many
gorgeous boats of all shapes and sizes. Now on the Wheeler pool the wind picked up a little which made the heat seem almost comfortable. With a slight chop on the water we made the railroad lift bridge in the Decatur Alabama area and had a little wait until the span could be lifted due to rail traffic. We held or position & enjoyed a Coke and a smile until we got the go ahead from the bridge tender. As we left the bridge behind we noticed atop of the power lines one of those thrill seekers that likes to hang from a helicopter platform working on the high voltage system, with the key word here being "high". We snapped some video footage of this daredevil performing his daily routine of cheating the laws of physics & gravity. At about 7:30 we made the transient dock of Joe Wheeler State Park,  and I have to admit, this place was absolutely
Gorgeous. The sun was setting into the tree line of the western shore , only in
Key West have I ever seen such a beautiful sunset. We checked in at the office and paid our fee of $18.00 for the slip, the sunset alone was worth the modest cost of this fine establishment. We settled in, went to the lodge to eat a home cooked meal , and let the kids enjoy the swimming pool until mid- night. A long day, A romantic sunset, A great meal, and gorgeous surroundings, awe, yes this is the life! The next day after much consideration we decided to stay one more night at the lodge area and then lock down to the Wilson pool and check out the Doublehead Resort. We awoke on the 4th of June to a very hot hazy morning, we were taking notice of tropical storm "Allison" that was in the gulf area of Louisiana some 400 miles to the south of us and making it's presence known on all the news channels, but like I said it was after all some 400 miles away. We locked down to the Wilson pool and after exiting the lock we set a course to locate the Doublehead Resort. After a little looking, and a little silt kicked up by the props we located the small transient docks on the back side of the resort embayment only to find the resort deserted, except for one employee that we hunted down when we heard a door shut . The resort at this time wasn't officially open for the season yet but the employee still offered to turn on the power and water for the transient docks. We declined his offer to stay but did manage to take a stroll all over this fine resort area. The true detail and vision that went into this establishment is remarkable. Manicured lawns, waterfalls in the swimming pool area,(in which the kids had to indulge)... and Indian styled "Teepees" for snack and concession areas., There were also the most lovely log cabin's all along in a row with hammocks on the back decks for lounging around after a long day of sheer relaxation !! It was 3:30 that same afternoon where our journey started to become a lesson in reality. We've always read in the cruise guide that the Tennessee River system has its own weather patterns but never did we expect to realize just how right Fred Myers was. We decided we would head back up stream and headed for the Wheeler lock. During this time my wife Paula noticed a squall line forming in the West and I reassured her that it was nothing to worry about. It appeared to be blowing towards the Southeast and we were heading north. Nothing at all to worry about, right?! After a short wait we noticed the squall line was actually making a perfect circle of our location and as the storm grew closer and seemingly surrounding us; it was getting darker and starting to rain slightly. We hustled to get the canvas up & entered the Wheeler lock when the horn sounded the signal for us to proceed. We were well on our way up in the lock when we noticed the wind was picking up and low-and-behold as the upper pool became visible, we became horrified!! The torrent of waves crashing over the lock walls and with the howling wind the weather bulletin being announced was completely muffled. There was thunder like we never heard before, close lightning strikes, wind howling at such a level that it was painful! To top it all off , the lock gates were opening. Why would the lockmaster open the gates? I assumed later it's because we didn't think to ask to stay in the lock! The lightning prompted us to send the kids down below with lifejackets secured firmly around them. I even gave my own straps a little extra tug . With the lock gates fully opened it set in motion the most violent confused water that I have ever seen and we were at once looking at the lock wall with our bow pulpit. Just as I was certain that the next sounds I would hear would be the sickening sound of fiberglass and gel coat being ground into powder we pitched and was looking straight out the guide wall. This I felt would be the only chance we had to make it out. It was obvious that the other boaters in the lock as well had this same fleeing notion. With precision we powered out of the lock area and into the lake giving each other our own space in which to maneuver. We had roughly a mile to to reach the safety of the Wheeler Lodge harbor and this storm wasn't letting up any, heading the bow into the wind and waves. This is an inland lake and this just does not happen! But it was happening! Pushing the throttle up to 2100 rpm we were making steerage, and not until 2400 rpm did I notice any gain in headway. After plowing the bow into the water twice and as many times seeing a solid sheet of water flowing over the windshield and bimini top, we noticed that the kids down in the salon area was playing their own game of catching the flying objects, including the television! At one time glancing over to another cruiser with a fly bridge I actually noticed that I could see the whole lap and seat of its skipper. We all kept in radio contact with one another until we reached the safe and much more calm, sheltered waters of the Wheeler Lodge harbor. While making preparations to dock we noticed that a full crew was standing by on the docks more than eager to lend a helping hand. The docking was un-eventful and we graciously thanked each of them. The one thing that struck us as odd was that all the people standing by was wearing uniforms, they were all officers of the state park and they were notified by the lockmaster that a fleet of cruisers were heading into the harbor. This was when we learned that we could have requested to stay in the lock and lowered just a little bit down! Iif we only knew! It was also then that we heard un-confirmed reports of a 42 ft cruiser capsizing down on the Wilson pool. The winds finally subsided and the transient dock became more alive, when we all began to re-live our experience. Each Skipper, including myself started to figure out the mistakes each of us made during this hour of rough waves deep troughs, lightning & 57 mph winds across this shallow body of water. I realized that I had one of the most critical decisions to Make. We had three kids onboard! The question standing that I have no clear answer to is, what should I have done...should I have kept them in the cockpit area where the possibility of lightning strikes was a reality? Did I put them in more danger by sending them below where escape would have been near impossible if we capsized? Many members of the boating community have mixed feelings about each scenario.  Our next day was spent walking
around the Lodge grounds. Upon our arrival back to the docks later that
afternoon, we met the members of the
"NotSure Cruising Club", this gang of renegades from
the "bayou" areas of Louisiana are always on their way to somewhere but they
could not tell you when they're gonna arrive or where they're actually going.
These folks are what the cruising life is all about! With their daily "chip and
dip" ceremony and the chores of constantly updating the rules of the
organization (see their website, be prepared to laugh). After touring all of
their vessels and learning many of the "tricks" to make cruising life a little
easier, we snapped a few pictures of the gang for the net and we called it a
night .The next morning we awoke to thunder, rain and gusty wind, but we had to be on our way. The Decatur area was a dismal gray due to the overcast skies and rain. Later that afternoon we pulled into the ever popular "Ditto Landing" marina for a night at the transient docks, we were soaked, tired, and hungry, but we were having the time of our life. The main course that night was home-made tacos which everyone enjoyed. It's amazing just how good food is when your on the water, even dad's cooking tastes better. Finally, a fair weather day has begun. This day, the last of the trip, we pulled up to the pumps (both of them) and handled a few of the required boating duties. The dockhands at this marina was most helpful, polite and full of local knowledge about this area of the river. With the Guntersville lock in site we noticed that we had a little wait involved and dropped the hook while a tow was being processed through. It's amazing at the skill the tow pilots have. I could set and watch them for hours. The kids haven't grasped the appreciation yet of being able to watch things like this, but they will. We locked through and we would be turning into the channel at Goose Pond in about three hours. Many of the other tenants of Dock Two were there to greet and welcome us back home. We missed them all. As I backed "Miss T" into her slip and cut the engines my wife Paula stepped off the swim platform and most politely kissed the dock as a gesture of being glad to be home. Everyone got a big "kick" out of it. |
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| My very special thanks to Alan for sharing his story. | |
