COLUMBUS TO PICKWICK LAKE

June 26 - We left Columbus Marina bright and early and headed up the waterway.  Stopped to refuel at Aberdeen Marina, which was not a good choice.  The channel back to it was long and very shallow with lots of tree stumps visible, and the reception at the fuel dock was not welcoming in the least.

We were fortunate to pass through seven locks without waiting; they were fairly close together.  Another boat (Sweet Dreams from Cape Coral) locked through the last three or four with us.  They were much faster than us, but the lockmaster required them to wait for us each time - the tortoise and the hare!  They accepted the delay graciously.  Below is their boat in Whitten lock, the tallest of the 12 locks on the Tenn-Tom.  It lifted us 84 feet whereas the others each lifted us about 30 feet.

Below is the lock wall looking up from Omega.

Exiting Whitten lock we entered Bay Springs Lake, a huge area with multiple fingers going out on both sides of the channel.  Alan and Susann (KAOS) were already there and came to meet us in their tender.  We anchored in a cove close to them so we could get together easily.  The water was clear and beautiful, and the first thing we did was enjoy cooling off in it.

We enjoyed Happy Hour aboard KAOS in this very picturesque setting.

June 27 - We decided to stay to enjoy the area.  A beautiful sunrise greeted us.

We offloaded our tender and enjoyed exploring our surroundings.  We met Valt and Sandy Melbardis from Knoxville aboard Amber Isle and enjoyed visiting with them.  By mid-morning the lake was teeming with boating activity which continued until dusk. 

It was a fun day - lots of swimming and poking around in the tender.  Above is Omega with her moustache!  We can't wait to get to a marina to scrubit off.  We capped off the day with Happy Hour aboard Omega with our new friends from KAOS and Amber Isle.

June 28 - We hauled anchor early and headed north to Grand Harbor Marina at Pickwick Lake.  Our friend, Chip Lucas (the Site Manager of the marina) welcomed us.  We met Chip at the Guntersville, AL Marina back in 2002.  This is our home for the next month.  It is in a beautiful setting and is a huge and very nice facility with about 200 boats of all sizes, shapes and descriptions.

We are delighted to be here.  It took us exactly one month, and we cruised approximately 1268 miles, a wonderful trip overall.

Pickwick Lake, TN is located where Tennessee meets the NE corner of Mississippi and the NW corner of Alabama.  The marina is just south of the junction of the Tennessee River and the northern end of the Tenn-Tom.