Up the Cumberland River

Thirty miles up the river we came to the Barkley Lock. This is a newer, single chamber lock with a lift of 57'. When we arrived at the lock the lockmaster told us to anchor to the left side of the channel and expect an hour and half wait, he was just starting a lock down of a split barge load. The barge load is to long for a single lockage. The tug pushes the first nine barges in, three wide and three deep, unhooks those barges, backs out and parks the remaining barges at the top of the lock, unhitches and comes back into the lock. The lock lowers the load, opens at the bottom and the tug pushes the first 9 barges out at the bottom and ties up the barges. Then the tug backs back into the lock and is raised back up to the top where he backs out and reconnects to the remaining barges at the top. He now pushes these barges into the lock chamber and the lock is lowered to the bottom. The lock gate opens, the tug pushes the barges out and recouples them to the first load that came down, and then pushes the entire tow out of the lock. In this case it was 15 barges, 3 wide and 5 deep. After that process was done, we were directed into the chamber and given our lift up into Barkley Lake. We proceeded an additional 9 miles up river to Buzzard Rock Marina in Kuttawa, KY. We spent two nights and used Thursday to fuel up, pump out, buy groceries, and take off, repair a bent blade, and reinstall the starboard prop which was damaged when we entered the Kaskaskie River off of the Mississippi and an outcoming 35' cigar boat waked us good and we bounced the starboard prop off the sand bottom. I was able to get the boat into relatively shallow water and get under it easily with my third lung diving system.

On Friday, September 28, we motored up the river 34 miles through one of several wildlife refuge areas along the Cumberland, and spent the night anchored in Dry Creek.

Migrating White Pelicans along the Cumberland River.

Today we came up another 59 miles to Clarksville, TN and are spending the night at Clarksville Boat Club.

View over the bow looking up the Cumberland just north of Clarksville.

On Sunday we continued up the river to the Riverview Restaurant at Ashland City for a cat fish dinner. After dinner we turned around and went 5 miles down river to Harpeth River where we found an anchorage for the night.

On Monday morning, October 1, we took a dingy ride up the Harpeth to view a high rock wall before we pulled anchor with ODYSSEE and stasrted back down the river. Before pulling the anchor we called Cheatham Dam and learned he was locking a double tow and it would be at least two hours before we could lock through. So we left the anchor inplace and relaxed for an hour and a half before leaving the Harpeth. When we got to the lock another tow had arrived and it would be at least two more hours before they could lock through pleasure craft, so we dropped the anchor again just upstream of the lock. Finally at 2:00 PM we entered the lock for our 23' drop. We finished the day at Clarksville, at the town dock, which is free and has power to plug into.

On Tuesday morning we went to the post office and looked around the town at their historic districk, and left shortly after noon heading again down the river. We spent the night at anchor in Saline Creek.

River bank just downstream from Clarksville. Sunset over Saline Creek on Tuesday night.

Today, Wednesday, October 3, we arrived back at Buzzard Rock Marina where will spend two nights, reprovision, do some laundry, and change the oil in the generator. Plans are to leave on Friday and head south on the Tennessee River.