Pictures from Pickwick

Just wanted to share some pictures from our weekend of fun in Pickwick, TN

Taking a boat ride around Grand Harbor Marina---

DOH!

As Freddy T's says, it's a great place for FOOD & FUN!

Driving along Natchez Trace --

I will be posting another update from the past week on the Tenn Tom Waterway in the next day or so - stay tuned.....

Nashville to Pickwick in 7 days and 350 miles

Well friends, it's taken me 7 days - 350 miles to get to Pickwick from Nashville. From which , Cristy and I just drove back to Nashville in 150 miles and 2.5 hours.

Up to now Cristy has selflessly and graciously been keeping everybody updated third person and even now she is typing from dictation b/c with my typing skills it would take me another week to relay the latest events.

It felt really good though extremely taxing to get myself out of the mud that night near Linton, KY. Once I had anchored at a precarious position not quite outside the channel, it began to rain, this not only temporarily dispersed the great plague of bugs but provided a nice natural shower in which to bathe.

The next day - Thursday, July 10th - I made it into Kentucky Lake and up to mile marker 40 on the TN river and anchored in a place called Vickers Bay in a comfortable 25ft of water. There was no crisis that evening to distract me from the agonizing sense of missing Cristy so in a lucky pocket of cell reception I called her on the brink of tears. I tried to console myself with some Buena Vista Social Club (music) and concocted the worst tuna fish sandwich ever imagined. One has to be very skilled to fuck up tuna fish but I did it with aplomb.

The next morning - Friday, July 1th - I had much trouble keeping the engine alive in forward gear so I hobbled two miles further up the river to Ken Lake Marina, where I spent the day performing a tune up. That night I began to panic about the TennTom Waterway, the core of engineer's charts are extremely simplistic and offer no information about anchorages or marinas. Since my first grounding on that ill fated day on Percy Priest Lake, I've always dreaded when my depth sounder got into the teens. The Channel in the TennTom advertises 9ft so I know I will be freaking out! I try to calm myself with deep breaths, perspective, Crown Royal and Beethoven's 9th. I'm way out of my comfort zone- No more bluster and independence. I just want my "Honey" (Cristy). As I enjoy another night at a dock plugged in with a/c, I realize I have become soft and old since I hatched this dream 8yrs ago. I long for open water and my honey.

Saturday, July 12th - I had a nice ride with not too much wind on the nose. The tune up seems to have done the trick and arrived at Pebble Isle Marina at 4:45pm. Took courtesy car to get oil & water and raced back to try and beat a heavy storm brewing. Just as I was getting the last hatch shut, the storm let loose with torrential rain and winds topping 50mph. As I secured the halyards, I noticed the boat behind me taping my transom completely liberated of it's moorings, I had to re-tie it with some of my lines. I thank all my lucky stars that I was not in the River during that gale and adjourned to the marina to have the best cheeseburger, french fries, side salad and cold beers I could remember. I bought a book giving some good information about the TennTom to ease my worries ahead.

Woke with the alarm at 5am - Sunday, July 13th - and noticed distant thunder & rain then rolled over scared of another bitch-ass gale like last night. I decided that I didn't want to stay so I had to toughen up a bit and get my rain gear on leaving two and a half hours later than I originally planned. The engine seemed to appreciate the oil change and the boat seemed to prefer carrying the dingy as opposed to dragging it. Aside from my anxiety about the TennTom, I am racked with a sense of loneliness. Remarked in my log, "This being alone stuff is bullshit. I think of all my friends in such reverie. I think of Cristy with gut wrenching longing."

Arrived at Clifton Marina, a crazy tight little harbour cut off the TN River, at 6:35pm. There is no cell service in this town and the lack of communication increases the sense of isolation. These never thought of towns between the larger heard of towns seem so exotic, remote and behind.

Motored out of Clifton Marina at 6:35am - Monday, July 14th - into the thickest fog I've ever seen. Poked ahead slowly in dread terror, unable to see past the bow of my boat or to the banks on either side when in the middle of the channel. I thanked all my lucky stars again for the fact that this boat came with radar and that I decided to remount it after six years of not using it. With the radar and my depth sounder, I was able to poke ahead for the next hour and a half until the fog cleared somewhat. Eventually, close to Pickwick Lake I regained cell service, spoke with my honey and received many wonderful messages from dear and concerned friends & family.

After a long struggle to keep my boat off the wall in Pickwick Lock, I found a nice anchorage just up river amidst lovely big houses on high bluffs in my preferred 40+ ft of water. I could hear the animated voices of the people in the houses and longed for society but was sure if I were in that society, I would rather be watching television and dreaming of escape & adventure. That evening I enjoyed an old bottle of Heineken which I cooled in the lake with some chili & corn and Ben Folds Five.

Having arrived at Pickwick with 18 days to make the next 450 miles, Cristy and I schemed to spend this windfall of time in Nashville rather than in Mobile, AL. So on -Tuesday, July 15th -after having tied up at Grand Harbour Marina poised at the top of the TennTom Waterway, Cristy came to pick me up and we drove back to Nashville to spend a few days together before I set out again. Wednesday and Thursday I spent pouring over charts, plotting my course down the TennTom to Mobile and from Mobile to Myrtle Beach, SC. If all goes well, the TennTom should take 9-10 days and the voyage around Florida should take 15-16 days.

Thank you all for your good wishes and most of all to Cristy for her undying support and patience!

Love,

Graham

There's Trouble Aground

Sorry for the delay in postings but I was out of town this past weekend and didn't have access to a computer...

Day 2 - July 9th, 2008

Well, he was off to a rocky start on the second day of motoring down the Cumberland River - at mile marker 71.5 he ran the boat aground! -- for those who do not know "running aground" means the bottom of the boat or keel gets stuck in mud,rocks or whatever is the bottom of the type of water you may have your boat in -- it can be very serious and very nerve racking for the boat owner.

Graham said the depth of the water changed very quickly from about 40ft to 5ft in a matter of seconds. It happened late afternoon and he spent at least a good hour or two working the boat to get it unstuck. I'm actually glad I was not around to witness this b/c I'm sure Graham had a few choice words about the situation. Fortunately, he was able to get everything movin' again with no damage to the boat.

This is one of the things Graham fears most about sailing because it's happened to him in the past with major damage to the boat. He was actually taking a girl out on a date to sail around Percy Priest Lake when he ran aground for the first time. He wasn't able to get out of this one and part of the keel broke off of his boat. They had to sit there and wait for a tow boat to come get them so it didn't turn out to be such a great date -which is a good thing for me ;)

Actually, one of the projects that he had to do while the boat was out of the water was to re-attach the part of the keel that had broken off. Yes, Graham went back to where he ran aground in the lake and fished out the rest of his keel in order to eventually put it back together. Such dedication!

Anyway, it was too late that evening to motor on down the river so he decided to re-anchor in another spot. This didn't make for an easy night since two different barges passed close by - one around 11pm and another at midnight. Needless to say, he didn't get a good nights sleep and was up early to move on to hopefully more favorable conditions.


** Answering Questions

Just wanted to answer a question that I had in an email which others may be wondering about -

1. What is Graham's final destination?

The plan is to motor down the Cumberland River, Tennessee River and The Tombigbee Waterway coming out in Mobile, AL into the Gulf of Mexico. His friend Chris DiCroce will join him in Mobile to sail around Florida to the East Coast. Possible stops along the way would be in Tampa, Key West and Wilmington,NC. I plan to join him along the East Coast to go North and hopefully meet up with my brother & sister-in-law around Delaware/Maryland/Virginia.

The total length of time this might take is dependant on weather, boat issues, stops, etc - but estimating around 2-3 months of time.

The advencha begins...

Hi folks

I decided to start this blog for Graham so I wouldn't have to repeat myself over & over with those who are interested in his progress. You must bear with me since this will be my first blog experience and I will be relaying information from Graham. I've already spoken with him over the phone multiple times and hope to give a good picture of how things are going along the way.

As most of you already saw from the pictures that I sent, he set off down the Cumberland River on July 8, 2008 around 10:00am from Rock Harbor Marina. He will travel roughly 50miles a day since the boat only motors about 5-6miles per hour and he will anchor or dock each night at various places along the rivers.

He was able to get to Clarksville, TN by the first night but had to wait two hours that afternoon to get through the Cheatham County lock which delayed his scheduled arrival. I drove up to Clarksville to meet him and spend the night on the boat since it's not too bad a drive from Nashville. I brought a couple of Mary's BBQ sandwiches and some cold beers to celebrate the success of the first day. The cold beer was much appreciated by Graham since he had such a long/hot day of travel. We stayed at McGregor Park Courtesy Boat Dock and were able to find some power so we could use the air conditioner on the boat. This made for a great nights sleep with no sweatin :) There was also a nice little thunderstorm during the night which cooled things down a bit.

We got up the next morning and had some breakfast bars and coffee w/ chocolate milk. Then we said our goodbyes once again and Graham motored on....

excuse the shaky footage but it was last minute with my camera so it's not the best -

A lil' background....

I've worked for close to 10yrs and spent plenty of money getting ready for this new adventure in my life. I sailed around Percy Priest lake for the first 6yrs just enjoying my time getting to know my boat and the art of sailing.

Once I made up my mind up to set sail for the great ocean, I had to start getting myself as well as my boat ready for the journey.

I started by taking the boat out of the water to do a complete bottom job. This was a long, hard year of sanding, repairing and applying many layers of apoxy paint to the entire bottom of a 33ft boat! Once I had the bottom done, I started on the inside - which included making many repairs, putting in a mahogany floor (to replace the carpet), making all new cushions and resteping the mast.

Next, I had to move my boat from Percy Priest lake to Harbor Island Marina on Old Hickory Lake which was very nerve racking since so much was invested and anything could happen on the road to the marina. I stayed at Harbor Island for a few months and then decided to motor down to Rock Harbor Marina/Blue Moon Lagoon so I could be on the dock...which made it a lot easier to continue work on my boat.

Once all the major work was done and the gear was bought for the trip. I was ready to take off and here is where I begin my adventure....

I would not have been able to accomplish such a dream without all the love and support from my family & friends which I am forever blessed to have in my life.

I hope this blog will help you enjoy the journey along with me!

Love,

Graham