Day 116: Watts Bar Lake to Fort Loudon Lock

Day 116: November 11: Another chilly morning. Put the sweatshirts and pants on; at least until we get UW and the sun has a chance to warm things up. Seems like we are still chasing 80. 

I was looking forward to pulling up the trot line, hoping for a great big catfish to compliment Sandra's bass. David had me pull the line and sure enough I felt something tugging. Success, we had a good size one and we would not go hungry today! 


We left the dock at Watts Bar around 9:00 am. David led our small entourage of two out of the harbor; he radioed back for us to look at the two boys fishing on the bank. We turned around and saw a statute of two young boys dressed in overalls, sitting on a bench. Reminiscnet of days gone by; could it be Tom Sawyer sitting with a friend, waiting on the river's edge for hours, hoping for the feel of that slight tug on the line? It reminded me of John and David trolling for hours up in Canada. Eventually patience and perseverance was rewarded as it is in life! Cruising along for hours conjures up thoughts or memories such as this. 


As expected, the sun quickly warmed the flybridge up and soon we were shedding sweatshirts; happy to travel in silence as we became lost in our own thoughts, enjoying the sights and sounds; taking it all in, nature and industry all sharing the same waterway. 


We called the Fort Loudoun Lock, requesting an upstream passage. The Lockmaster was cheerful and helpful; telling us he would be ready for us. As we were being lifted, he poked his head over the railing and chatted with each of us; this was a first one to do so on the TVA system. It was surprising and much appreciated. "Be safe y'all". 

Fort Loudon Lock and Dam is located near Lenoir City, TN, 55 miles downstream from Knoxville. The 60' by 360 ' lock raises and lowers river-craft about 70' between the reservoir and Watts Bar.  It is the uppermost dam on the Tennessee River and was the last to be built. The lock takes its name from the 18th century British fort built on a nearby site during the French and Indian War. The fort was named for John Campbell, the fourth Earl of Loudoun and commander of British forces in North America at the time.



We exited the chamber and made our way to a great anchorage at Fort Loudoun State Historic Park. 


We dropped the hook and it grabbed in about 18' of water like we have never seen before; producing a really good jolt. It was getting dark rather quickly but folks were still on shore enjoying what the park had to offer. John took the dinghy to shore to check out the marina; we then headed to Zendeavor for a bite to eat!



Traveled 55.5 NM in 7 1/2 hours. One more day to Knoxville. 





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