Pickwick Lake

Leaving the anchorage, AWEIGH continued up the Tennessee River ( heading South) until we finally arrived at the Pickwick dam ( 65 feet up). The method of securing the boat in these big locks is interesting and sometimes challenging. We have to loop one end of a line around a floating bollard, that’s built into the lock wall. The other end gets attached to a cleat. Judy’s job is to lasso the bollard as we come alongside. Actually she’s getting pretty good. The picture was taken looking up the side of the lock in the slot where the floating bollard rises. It is like a six story building.

Pickwick Lake is a large man made lake (55 miles long) created by damming the Tennessee River. Although the river continues on for several hundred miles, we left the Tennessee and began the Tombigbee Waterway which runs four hundred miles down to Mobile Bay. Because of our boat problems, we elected to stay at a good service facility, known as Aqua Yacht Harbor. It is located right in the corner of Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. We found this 600 slip marina and boat yard to be a first class marina with very capable, professional repair people.
After two nights at anchor, it was nice to hook up to power and water again. In order to get the work done, we needed two days there. The first evening at Aqua Yacht, we took one of their loaner cars and went to dinner with a couple from Indianapolis who are also doing the Loop.