Goose Pond Cruise - Lake Guntersville Sailing Club

August 2009
www.lakeguntersvillesailingclub.com
It’s been an interesting Summer. Wind in the afternoon and nights during the week. Some
great sailing. A surprising amount of things to cover this month. And thanks so much for the
responses. We have a great article and pictures from Bill and Vicky Hicks about River Cruising
up to Chattanooga and the recent cruise down to Wheeler with the Frosts, Kuhlmans, Zannis,
and Hicks. Don’t forget that September 7th is a late Labor day and the cruise to Goosepond is
all set. But we need a head count for reservations up there at the marina and the restaurant.
I decided to include the little bit of history because I’d love to get more input from you all.
The people I’ve run this by have been very interested and start to muse about all the good and
bad boats they’ve owned. Please send me your sailing history. Pictures if you have them. If
not I probably have a file photo of the kind of boat. Include a little bit of a story about each
one. I know just reviewing my own boats brought back a lot of memories. And I realize now
why I’ve always been so broke.
This is your newsletter so please let me know what you want to see in it. More technical discussions, more about boats, more stories, just let me know. And please send me any stories or
pictures you might think are interesting.
P.S. The hobie sixteen will be featured next month. We sort of ran out of space this month.
Sterling
VISIT BY BOY SCOUTS TROOP 28, SATURDAY OCTOBER 10
Boy Scout Troop 28 will be visiting the Lake Guntersville Sailing Club on Saturday, October 10 again, following last year’s most successful outing. The Club is looking for members to take one, two or more scouts
for a sail that day. There is a race scheduled for that date and so the scouts assigned to racers will participate.
Those of you who are cruisers can take the boys out and do whatever you want letting the boys do all the
heavy work on the halyards and sheets and, maybe, steering. If you are interested, please let me know by email or by a note at the clubhouse indicating how many boys you can take setting out just after 11:00am.
Please volunteer your boat, as this is a great opportunity for introducing and encouraging a new generation of
sailors.
Dick Potter, e-mail is [email protected].
Goose Pond Cruise
The Goose Pond Cruise is all set up for Labor Day Weekend. But Clark Mason needs a
head count. The plan is to cruise UP to Goosepond on Saturday, September 5th and have
dinner at the DOCKS that evening. Even if you just plan to drive up and join everyone for
August 2009
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dinner Clark still needs a count for the restaurant. Goosepond fees for overnighting are $15
under thirty foot and $20 under forty foot. Since Monday is a Holiday there’s no hurry to get
back.
EMAIL CLARK MASON WITH YOUR RESERVATIONS AND PLANS
[email protected]
Commodore
Keith Kuhlman
Our organized activities have been a little light in July and August as
it is just not the best time to sail. However, that will be changing soon with our Fall line up starting with a
cruise to Goose Pond. Be sure to sign up with Clark Mason, be you sailing of driving, so we have an idea
of how many dinner reservations to make. Unfortunately, the marina will not reserve slips so it is first come
first served. However, that has not been a problem in the past as they have seemed to have plenty of slips.
For the other events, check the calendar on the website at: lakeguntersvillesailingclub.com.
We continue to see the number of members grow this summer. I will have to apologize for not being up to
date on all of them. Getting pictures and keeping the membership book up to date has been difficult. So
everyone, please don’t be shy. If you see a new face, go up and introduce yourself. The best part of joining a club is typically the people you meet and interact with. We do have a new member information sheet
that Quill is getting most people to fill out. From that we get contact information so everyone is added to the
Binnacle email list. It also asks if the new member would like a mentor. We have been a little slow getting
that done but expect to find enough volunteers shortly. But, the best is if our more seasoned members spontaneously interact and “invite” the new comers to participate. That is real club spirit.
Speaking of participating, I think we all need to recognize the efforts of the many that have help revive our
club over the past several years. Like many clubs, ours has had some very active times and other timers
where we were just maintaining. I think we have been on a sustained “active program” for several years
and we all hope it will continue. It is hard to name names but some great credit goes to the new owners and
Quill who have put in some much need maintenance to dress up the place and make it a pleasant place to
visit. Then there are the social committees that over the years have planned the dinners and get to gathers
that help being us all together. Racing was pretty non existent five years ago and now we are bordering on
over thirty events a year. Communications are really on a roll with a Binnacle that not only covers the club
activities but is full of interesting sailing history. All that takes a lot of work and will only continue if everyone takes on a little piece of the duties. So if you have an idea for and activity or program please propose it
and be willing to work on it. If many of us take on one duty or one event our calendar will remain active and
exciting.
With that said we are beginning to set up the leadership team for next year. Since it is difficult to fill the
elected positions each year we will be asking the membership to approve a new set of by-laws that will set
the term of office for elected officers to two years. The plan will be to end up with staggered elections so
that half of the board remains in place each year for continuity. We will also be proposing some changes
to simplify the by-laws and eliminate some unnecessary language. The plan is to post the new proposal in
September.
August 2009
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Dick Potter
Race Chairman
The lull in racing is coming to an end with a Novelty Race on August 22. This will be organized by Amy
Stapleton so look for information on the notice boards in the Shelter and the Club House.
But first I must review the recently completed Summer Series that turned out to be a personal triumph for
“Hot Shot” Amy and her crew, “Pyro John” as “No Name” convincingly won both the Summer Saturday Buoy
Series and the Summer Sunday Pursuit Series. This means I am going to have to take a serious look at the personal handicaps! The second places were split between the “As Usually Consistent” Kuhlmans on “Teagarita”
and Capt. Sterling Phillips on “Volant”. Now I have to review Sterling’s nickname since he seems to have
gotten over his previous complex of cuddling up to the buoys. Third place in both series went to Rich Mason
on “Escape”, which was the result of his sailing at just about every opportunity and is also notable since he
generally sailed his Hunter 34 single-handed. The full results are given in the tables below.
Now we can look forward to the Fall Series, which starts on the weekend of September 12/13 with the Skipper’s meetings at 11:00am on both days. Then Sunday, September 20 sees the 4th leg of the Joint Pursuit races
with Brown’s Creek. In practice there are only two races left both of which will count in the final standings
since the previous three races have all been abandoned because of weather.
Finally, note in your diaries that Saturday, October 24 sees the “Autumn Challenge”. This one-day two-race
regatta with breakfast and dinner at the Clubhouse is a great day of racing with the fleets divided into Spinnaker, Non-Spinnaker A (experts) and Non-Spinnaker-B (none-experts) so there will be a place for everyone to
participate.
Dick Potter, Race Chairman
Pursuit Races
Race Results Summer Series
Buoy Races
Amy Stapleton No Name Catalina 27 1st
Sterling Phillips Volant Colgate 26
2nd
Rich Mason Escape Hunter 34
3rd
B&K Kuhlman Tegarita Cat 320
4th
Clark Mason Cut N Back Hunter 280 5th
Nick Bluler No Name Capri 22
6th
K&K Pfieffer Phoenix Benateau 32
7th
T&G Brown Mystic T Benateau 321
8th
Roger Erickson A Viking ODAY 32
9th
Brent Beam Windsong Cat 320
10th
Amy Stapleton No Name Cat 27
1st
B&K Kuhlman Tegarita Cat 320
2nd
Rich Mason Escape Hunter 34
3rd
Charlie Rains No Name Capri 25
4th
Sterling Phillips Volant Colgate 26
5th
Nick Bouler No Name Capri 22
6th
T&G Brown Mystic T Benateau 321
7th
Randy Rathman Providence Pearson 31 8th
Roger Erickson A Viking O Day 32
9th
Chip Megan Etoile S-2 27
10th
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I have run this idea by quite a few people and the response has been great. I’m including these boats this
month to get the ball rolling. I’ve already had some pictures sent to me and lists of boats everybody has
owned. Please send me your boats and maybe some memories of them and pictures if you have any. I have
a huge photo archive of sailboats and probably can find a picture if you don’t have one. I think this would
be a great way to share your sailing experience and sort of do a little nostalgic trip down memory lane.
Send any info or pictures to me at [email protected].
8-18-58
My First Sailboat. A Melges MC Scow built in 1950. I was
eight or nine when my father let me buy it for $45. He probably
paid more. That’s what I had. Strip planked cedar. I sailed it
for a long time with my Partner, Sissy. Kept it at our summer
place in Lake Geneva. I think the last year we went up there
was ‘58 and I don’t know what happened to the boat. No life
jackets, no nothing except an Edson seat pump to keep it from
sinking because it leaked so bad.
My second sailboat was A South Coast 21. As you can see
I’ve always been a fractional sailor. This boat was very radical for it’s day. Fractionally rigged, Fin keel, and spade rudder.
Unfortunately the hull, designed by Carl Alberg was a typical
Alberg design and not a good match at all for the spade rudder
and fin keel. I called it LOCOMOTION because it was so hard
to steer. It would round up and auto tack. And It broached so
easily it was wild. I had a love hate relationship with the boat.
The man who sold it to me told me the Seagull Engine was
completely reliable and that turned out to be one of several
used car type stories he told me. The engine would never
start when you needed it . I kept it on a side slip at Santa Barbara and sailied it in and out with some very
interesting arrivals. The boat recently resurfaced for sale in Texas where they hve a large fleet but I decined.
South Coast 21
Hull Type: Fin Keel Rig Type: Fractional Sloop
LOA: 21.00 LWL: 14.33 Beam: 6.92 Draft (max.) 3.00 Listed SA: 206 Displacement: 2000 Ballast: 625
Designer: Carl Alberg Builder: South Coast Seacraft Co. (USA)
Hull: FG Bal. type: IRON First Built: 1965 Number Built: 300
I raced the boat in Santa Barbara
PHRF and if it was light air and
the seas were moderate we did
pretty well. But the boat nearly
cost me my PhD. A professor on
my committee who claimed to be
a hot shot sailor in New England
came out with me one day and got so sea sick in the Channel he lay in
the cockpit face down until I could get back to the marina. He didn’t
hold a grudge and I never ever mentioned it again.
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I can’t find a picture of the SnowBird. They were cat rigged twelve feet
and just amazingly fun to sail. I bought it some time around 1966 because
there was a large fleet of them at the Santa Barbara Sailing Club. I raced it.
It was designed and built by WD Schock and mine was built in 1918 of cedar and was much faster than the Fibreglass variants. We were low points
leader two years in a row. Had to replace the deck from rot. Sold it to an
art professor for twice what I paid for it. It had a rather odd name and being slightly superstitious about that I left it. YELLOW BIRD. The hull was
a rather gaudy yellow.
This is from something they called the Flight
of the Snowbirds in Newport Beach each
spring. In the early century they might have
three to five hundred boats. By the early sixties it was down to maybe fifty and the class
just sort of disappeared. The aluminum masts
made the boat much different. No bend to
depower.
My chronology gets a little hazy here. But a friend of mine and I found a twenty two square meter in a
barn at a marina and nobody knew who it belonged to or where it came from. The boat had a sort of hump
in the keel from sitting so long without being properly supported. We steam bent about twelve new ribs,
redid part of the keel, removed the outboard well, and replanked a few planks. Stripped it, recaulked, and
bought some new dacron sails for the boat and raced it on Alton Lake, on the Mississippi. It hated light
air. It was built by the Kundusen yard in Sweden in 1920 or 21. We weren’t sure. Spruce mast and boom
that was pretty radical because the mast step had ball bearings so the mast actually rotated slightly. An idea
that would resurface fifty years later. It keeps the angle of attack just perfect. Unfortunately the boats hate
light air. They like about fifteen or more. But even in ten they are very fast and very easy and fun to sail.
My partner kept the boat and moved it up to Racine.
The left photo is a file photo. The one on the right is
of Drew and me on Alton lake in absolutely no wind.
August 2009
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I have a lot of pictures of Secret Love but everybody
knows what a J-30 looks like. Mine was US 2. We
were J-Boat dealers at the time. The older boats had
no seat backs ala J-24. You sat on the deck. And no
bridge deck. The traveler was mid cockpit. A real
pain in the ass. The later boats changed that with a
very narrow bridge deck and the traveler at the hatch.
And proper seats and seat backs. But it was a wonderful boat and extremely seaworthy. Not exactly
a boat to voyage on because of the lack of water
and fuel but I would take one anywhere. They were
amazing sea boats and loved wind. But it would
sail very well under just the main. The Yanmar two
cylinder in mine produced just 12 horsepower which
was woefully inadequate but Weight is the Enemy of
Speed. The boat had excellent sailing properties and
could easily be sailed in and out of the slip.
I raced Secret Love with an all girl crew of beach
waitresses I taught to sail and we sometimes did
pretty well finishing fifth one time at the Nationals.
When they went to composite sails I just couldn’t afford to remain competitive in the class.
Ron Holder was an old California friend
of mine and we sold his fourteen and seventeen foot boats. When Hobie bought
him out they had just designed the 20 and
we took one and smoked everybody in
the Whale of A Sail on Lake Carylse. I
bought the boat and later it was modified
to include a bulb to meet the self righting
requirements of MORC. The boats are
very fast. They will plane. And really
pretty forgiving unlike some of the later
sport boats like the Elliotts I liked the
boat because I could trailer it to regattas
behind a regular car and set it up to sail in
about ten minutes. A very pesky boat that
is still winning in PHRF. Problem Child
is still racing.
HAUL OUTS BOTTOM WORK BOTTOM PAINTING BOATDOCKTORS
BLISTER REPAIRS
MISC. REPAIRS
BROKERAGE
256-652-0916
CALL QUILL FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF BOATS AVAILABLE
August 2009
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Apollo 16 named VECTOR. I was an AMF dealer
and when they showed me the new Apollo designed
by Bruce Kirby I bought one. Mostly for my kids
to use. It was fractionally rigged with excellent
Harken hardware and a furler. Elvstrom bailers.
Centerboard. And very, very, fast and fun and a
bit wild in heavy winds. It was so intelligently
laid out it just shocked me that they never could
sell a lot of them. I sailed the boat a lot. Kept it
for a long time and sailed it in the Atlantic and
in the Sound at Wrightsville beach. Just a really
almost perfect boat but not one to forgive mistakes.
This is a fourteen foot dory I built to go on top of our motor barge. Built of quarter inch plywood with
glass over and foam in the bow, stern, and under the seat. If you look close you can see the sculling notch
in the stern. The boat had a very small spirit rig but it pushed it along. Very stable and you could load it
up like all dories. Rowing was a problem. I ended up making another daggerboard that only protruded
about ten inches and it made the boat more stable an let it track under oars much better. We also had a
little motor that clamped to a mount on the side. We sold it on EBAY to somebody from Arkansas and
towed it to Poplar Bluff Missouri where they picked it up. A very interesting couple. He said he was going to use it to drift fish the Ozark Rivers. It was certainly strong enough. JUDITH B was a very pretty
little boat
AMF 2100 JUDITH. I always admired these boats and
when I decided to get another sailboat after powering for
some time I remembered how much fun they were. We
found one up in St. Paul Minnesota and ROAD TRIP. It
was eighty here and snowing there. We bought the boat
cheap knowing it had some issues. I didn’t know the
entire deck from the storm hood back was rotted. It had
been sitting out in the weather for years and years and the
water started seeping down the very long genoa tracks
and eventually rotted the balsa from the hood back to the
stern.
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The AMF 2100 was a wonderful boat designed by Ted Hood for AMF with non ballasted daggerboard and
950 # of lead in the bottom. Flush deck with an astounding amount of room in the cabin. They never sold
well because they were very expensive. Full Harken hardware and excellently built. A great bendy Kenyon spar. And deceptively efficient going up wind. It did get overpowered off the wind because the ballast
wasn’t down low. But a really, wonderfully designed and built boat. The only problem with our’s was that
it had been sitting for years in the snow and ice and had leaked down the long genoa tracks and rotted out
almost all the balsa core. So I ripped the entire deck off and re did the whole boat. I did the deck in vacuum
bagged nida core and epoxy. THIS STORY AND PICTURES MIGHT BE A GOOD BINNACLE STORY.
Anyway I hated to part with the boat and sometimes wish I still had it. Note the reflective beads in the red
stripe. Showed up at night big time. Blue is hard to see at night. An interesting comparison between the
SC 21 and the AMF. Same length but radically longer water line on the AMF. 6.25 beam versus 8.25 on the
AMF. Displacement 2,199 # and 950# ballast versus 2,000# and 625 ballast. 206 sq. ft of sail versus
298 sq. ft of sail. And the Holder 20. Displacement LOA: 20’4” LWL: 18’5” beam: 7’10”
draft: 3’7” (down) displacement: 1160 pounds ballast: 360 pounds sail area: 198 square feet
COGATE 26 ON IT’S TRAILER AT OUT HOUSE. NOTe THE VERY UNUSUALLY SHAPED KEEL
AND RUDDER.
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CLOSE UP OF THE WINGED OR ANVIL SHAPED
KEEL WITH THE TRAILING EDGE FIN.
When we sold the AMF 2100 we were looking for a boat that would be more capable. We wanted more
cockpit room and since we live right on the lake cabin size wasn’t so important. I pretty much honed it to a
J-80 or the Colgate. But after going to Charleston to actually experience the J=80 we knew we couldn’t possibly sail it with two people. The boat is almost identical to the COLGATE except for the retractable boom
and the asymmetrical spinnaker. BUT IT WEIGHED FOUR HUNDRED POUNDS LESS. I also liked the
Colgate because it is not cored contruction. Precision builds wonderful boats. And I’d always admired Jim
Taylors boats. The boat is very roubust and very easy for me to sail single handed. It does have one fault.
It’s terrible in very light air with the tiny jib. Steve Colgate told me he couldn’t help me much when I told
him we lost rudder control up current in three knots. He vowed he’d never sailed in that little wind. They
designed the boat to be good up to thirty.
When people come down to the school
the show must go on. And the Solings
used to scare people. In fact the boat
was delivered with a European Union
Class B offshore certificate. It’s proven
to be a wonderful boat and after sailing it about 160 times over two years
nothing has broken, no repairs. It’s
made with vinylester resins but also
barrier coated at the factory. The only
wood on the boat is the tiller. It’s also
has positive foam floatation and I’ve
seen pictures of one that got completely
flooded by leaving the hatches open
over night in a storm at a mooring. It sat
just perfect on it’s lines fore and aft and
side to side. That was a positive point
for us. The boat loves wind and with
two aboard doesn’t need to be reefed
until about twenty two knots. I have sailed it alone in thirty but with just the main.
August 2009
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Tennessee River Cruising Under Sail by Bill Hicks
At the marina, I can see the Seibold Branch Light and Daymark from Bill of Rights’s cockpit. It’s a reminder
that the mouth of Seibold Branch where it joins the main body of the Tennessee River is our gateway to some
of the country’s best, freshwater cruising.
For years, Vicki and I had been content to stick to the familiar waters of Guntersville Lake where we all know
there are some inviting anchorages with beautiful scenery. A couple of years ago, we felt we were ready for
a more challenging cruise and, when encouraged by a seasoned cruiser go along with him and his wife on a
cruise to Chattanooga, we accepted his offer.
Our plan called for a “shakedown” leg to Goose Pond Marina, supper at their nearby restaurant and if both
boats were working OK, we’d leave early the next day for the embayment at the foot of Little Cedar Mountain which is on the river’s north shore about 2 miles above Nickjack Dam and almost 50 miles beyond Goose
Pond Marina. The leg from this anchorage to Chattanooga’s riverfront is another 37 miles and includes the
passage through the Tennessee River Gorge which is said to be the most scenic stretch of the river. Chattanooga has to be one of the river’s best destinations with many places to go such as the Tennessee Aquarium,
the Hunter Museum of Art and many good restaurants. All are within walking distance of the riverfront piers.
There is also access to free public transportation if you want to take a tour of the downtown area. Well, the
cruise turned out as planned. We stayed a couple of days in Chattanooga and enjoyed the aforementioned
things to do plus the unexpected pleasure of being in the midst of a prep school and intercollegiate rowing
competition with several hundred competitors. Our friends and mentors went further upriver to spend a couple
of days with their daughter on Chickamauga Lake so we returned independently. We had been well prepared
and felt good about our ability to handle whatever challenge might have arisen. Thankfully, we had a trouble
free and memorable cruise home.
After that experience had settled in, we turned our attention to downstream possibilities. We and the Kuhlman’s had discussed the idea of a cruise to Joe Wheeler State Park a while back and it had simmered away for
a year or more. When the cruise began to gel this spring, Keith opened it up to other interested sailors and we
were ultimately joined by the Jean-Marc and Melissa Zanni as well as John and Linda Frost.
Just a couple of weeks before our planned departure, Guntersville Lake was at flood stage and littered with
debris. We wondered what the current would be like below the dam. Nevertheless, planning began in earnest.
John Frost produced a model plan listing day by day activities, distances between intermediate stops, estimated times, estimated fuel consumption, whether meals were likely to be aboard or ashore, and contact information.
The idea was to begin the cruise with a Friday evening rendezvous at Hambrick Hollow which is just above
Guntersville Dam. Saturday’s leg would be 50 miles to Decatur’s Riverwalk Marina for an overnight stay.
Sunday’s 28 mile jaunt to Joe Wheeler State Park would establish our base for sailing and further exploration
of the immediate area including a visit to the Mussel Shoals Sailing Club a few miles below Wheeler Dam on
Wilson Lake.
Again, the cruise went pretty much as planned. The weather settled down by our departure date and the raftup at Hambrick Hollow was as pleasant as any day of the cruise just to confirm that “our lake” has much to
offer the cruiser. Our lock-through the next morning was uneventful and the river below the dam was, for
the most part, flanked by pleasant scenery with an occasional attention getter such as 350’ high Painted Bluff
at mile 344.8. When passing the Tennessee River’s midpoint at mile 326, the John Black Mountain Light &
Daymark, I toasted it with a swig of cool, green tea and thought to myself that the little embayment there
might be a good place to anchor on some future, downriver cruise. We arrived at Riverwalk Marina in time to
secure the boats at their well made transient pier and look around a bit. It’s mostly a power boat marina with
a few, vintage sailboats in the open slips. The whole scene there is a little loose (we never did find a way to
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pay our transient docking fees), we had shore power but no water, and there were no bathrooms. Nevertheless, it
served its purpose rather well.
After a “couple” of drinks aboard Kokomo, the Frost’s accommodating C320, we all went to the nearby Hard
Dock Café for supper. The service was abysmal, but the food, which was finally served a couple of hours after
we had placed our orders, was actually pretty good or maybe we just so hungry by then that it seemed that way.
While we waited and had a “couple of more” drinks, the band arrived and proceeded to setup right next to us.
The Frost’s had to move over to make way for a 6’ tall speaker. The band began to play at 8:30PM. No Jimmy
Buffet here … think Pink Floyd and LOUD. Well, the folks on the outside deck had a right to hear the music
too, didn’t they?
After supper, Jean-Marc and Melissa showed us some impressive moves on the dance floor. It was fun watching
them perform, but when the checks were finally presented by our diplomatic waiter (he did a good job of keeping us from storming the kitchen), I think most of us were ready to head for the boats and get some well earned
sleep.
At the outset of the cruise, the Zanni’s had planned to keep Boy Toy at Riverwalk Marina and bring her back to
the LGM the following weekend. The rest of us were the only things moving in the marina or on the river early
Sunday morning. A railroad lift bridge is just below the marina and the remaining obstacle on the downriver
cruise. We didn’t know quite what to expect, but the bridge tender was pleasant enough, raised the bridge to its
maximum height and we were soon on our way to “Wheeler”. The next 15 or so miles are a tour of Decatur’s
industrial waterfront and the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant which is quite a contrast with the wildness of
the river above Decatur. The lake is shallow outside the ship channel, so attention to navigation aids is important until reaching the mouth of the Elk River. Sailing is shore to shore from there to Wheeler Dam, about 10
miles of some of the widest water on the entire river. We were looking forward to some unfettered sailing with
no shoals and no weeds to consider. It was calm that day, a sign of things to come.
Joe Wheeler State Park Marina has just about everything for transients beginning with excellent floating piers,
30 amp power at each slip and enough water pressure to do a wash-down in 5 minutes. Our early afternoon arrival allowed us plenty of time to secure the boats, hook up the shore power and check the place out. Most of
the group headed for the pool. By then, the cool night at Hambrick Hollow was a distant memory and summer’s
heat had begun to assert itself. There’s nothing like a coldie at poolside to celebrate the successful downriver
cruise, right? Wrong. The park is in a dry county and the rangers are on the prowl for violators. Dixie cups are a
good way to keep the rangers guessing when ashore.
The park has a well deserved reputation as a cruise destination and is a favorite of the America’s Great Loop
Cruise Association which holds a rendezvous there each October. It’s easy to see why the Catalina 22 National
Championship Regatta will be held there in 2010. It does have a few shortcomings, though. The restaurant is
just OK with the breakfast buffet being its best offering. The two marina bathrooms have one shower each and
are a ¼ mile hike from the 65 slip transient marina. They are for the use of permanent marina tenants as well as
transients. It wasn’t terribly crowded when we were there, but a few more transients and there would have been
queues at the bathrooms.
Now, back to one of the main reasons for taking the cruise to Joe Wheeler State Park and that would be the opportunity for some great sailing in those wide open waters. Charlie and Deanna Rains had driven over for the
weekend to join the party and the Kuhlmans took them sailing in a light but steady breeze. That was it! It was
dead calm the rest of our stay and the only real disappointment of the cruise.
Monday was spent messing around at the park. Tuesday, we all loaded up on Teagarita, the Kuhlman’s C320,
for a lock-through to Wilson Lake and a day trip to the MSSC. The original cruise plan called for anchoring out
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on Wilson Lake, but it was hot by then and the allure of shore power and air conditioning nixed that idea. I had
made arrangements with the club’s acting dockmaster to meet us there and show us the way into their small but
well organized harbor. When had secured the boat, we went ashore and were given a guided tour of their just
completed clubhouse. They cleverly juxtaposed the old clubhouse’s slab foundation, columns and roof with the
new clubhouse to create something akin to the relationship of the LGM’s clubhouse and covered picnic area.
The view of Wilson Lake from their clubhouse complex is truly inspiring. I think the MSSC will become north
Alabama’s sailing club of choice for small boat sailors as time goes by.
On the way back to the park, we noticed a cruise equipped Island Packet 35 sitting in an eddy below the lock.
We eased alongside to say “hello” and met Randy and Jackie Williams for the first time (we were to see them
later below Guntersville Dam and eventually at the LGM.) Their three, friendly Dachshunds immediately
boarded Teagarita for a look-see and casually hopped back aboard their boat when Randy called them as the
lock began to open and we prepared to return to Wheeler Lake. In that brief visit, we learned that Randy and
Jackie have lived aboard for over a decade and had most recently been cruising in Guatemala and elsewhere
along the Central American coast. They sailed from Guatemala to Mobile and up the Tenn-Tom to the Tennessee
River and Guntersville to be close to their north Georgia mountain cabin. Randy has a USCG 100 Ton Captain’s
license and is an ASA certified sailing instructor. Jackie is a retired jeweler. These are interesting folks to say the
least.
Since sailing wasn’t in the picture and we had done the other things we wanted to do, we decided to begin the
return trip a day ahead of schedule. On the return trip from Chattanooga, we observed that it was almost like a
new experience due to the different perspective and had the same feeling this time.
Before long, we were back at our Riverwalk Marina transient slips and, thanks to the Vannis, were soon enjoying supper at a restaurant in old, downtown Decatur. The Zannis drove both of their cars to the marina and
provided transportation for all to the restaurant. The food was the best of the trip and a nice break from being
confined to what the riverfront had to offer.
We left early the next morning knowing that thunderstorms could be an issue. John Frost was monitoring weather radar with his iPhone and kept us posted as storms developed on both sides of the river. Our bailout option
was Ditto Landing at the Hwy 231 bridge. As we approached the bridge, we had a go or no-go conference and
decided to press on. About 20 minutes later, a dark cloud appeared to the south accompanied by a loud clap of
thunder. I thought we might have our weather moment, but we slipped by without incident.
As we approached Guntersville Dam, we again saw the Williams as well as a towboat with lots of barges waiting below the dam. The main lock was closed for repairs and it appeared that we would be in for a long wait as
the barges were disassembled and put through the auxiliary lock one at a time. There was a strong current. The
boats were hard to control. We tried to anchor but the current was opposed by the wind which caused anchor
rodes to become fouled on keels .
While trying to extricate ourselves from this mess, the main lock opened and we were asked to enter. In addition to the four sailboats a power boat had arrived. The lockmaster must have observed the difficulties we were
experiencing and decided to stop work on repairs (a couple of bollards were stuck at the bottom of the lock) to
let us lock-through without having to wait for the towboat. Tying up to the lock’s bollards went smoothly for
everybody but Vicki and me. It must have taken us ½ dozen attempts to lasso our bollard. Our locking-through
experiences are about evenly divided between pretty smooth and pretty hairy. We’ve got work to do before we
tackle another lock.
As the lock filled, there was a little turbulence as usual. When the lock gates opened to reveal our familiar and
beautiful Guntersville Lake, I think we all must have felt the same thing, that is was good to be “home”. When
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the horn sounded for us to leave the lock, I opened the throttle and our engine quit. After several attempts to
get going, I realized that the problem was probably fuel starvation due to a clogging, primary filter and that
the engine would run at a lower RPM. I radioed Teagarita and Kokomo to let them know that we were experiencing engine problems. They throttled back and accompanied us at a somewhat slower than usual pace back
to the marina. It’s good to have a buddy or two on a cruise to provide some security in case of such events.
We had just put in a 60 mile day and John’s suggestion that we have our cruise ending supper at Wintzell’s
was welcomed by all.
At the end of a good cruise like this you feel accomplished, a little weary and ready to resume your normal
life, but certainly open to the thought of another cruise.
To paraphrase a recent Hallberg-Rassey advertisement, if you are at the confluence of time, money and
health needed to do some cruising, perhaps you should go for it.
Reflections
Accessories
Just about any cruising auxiliary sailboat can handle cruises like these. The following accessories are just
about essential:
. Extra fuel (depending on your tank’s capacity) since you will be under power most of time on a river
cruise.
. A bimini to limit sun exposure and provide some shelter if it rains.
. A VHF radio for communications with fellow travelers as well as locks and bridges.
. A cellular telephone for calls to marinas, takeout food services, etc.
. Refrigeration or a good ice box to preserve perishable food.
. Cockpit cushions
. 4 big fenders for protection when locking-through.
. 2 anchors, bow and stern, to limit the boats movement at anchor (if necessary).
Cost
Think of cruises like these as “staycations” of sorts. A week’s vacation devoted to a river cruise is an economical alternative to the typical road trip. In our case, if we excluded the cost of the dog sitter and one
luxury dining experience, the cost of the remaining meals ashore,
transient docking and fuel for the Wheeler cruise was just over
$300. We consider our onboard provisions to be no different than a
week’s groceries at home. We dined ashore more than planned and
used our cruise provisions well into the next week at home.
Spare Parts
We skimped on spare parts and could have really paid the price if
our primary fuel filter had clogged anywhere but back home on
Guntersville Lake. Before taking a long cruise, check your engine
manufacturer’s list of spares to have aboard and stock up on filters,
impellers, belts, oil, coolant and whatever else they suggest. If
you need special tools (like a filter wrench), be sure to have them
aboard as well.
Knowledge
Cruising under sail is the subject of many books. A couple of my favorites are Cruising in a Nutshell, the Art
and Science of Enjoyable Coastwise Voyaging in Small Auxiliary Yachts by Tony Gibbs and Sensible Cruising: The Thoreau Approach by Don Casey and Lew Hackler.
Navigation
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Navigation is pretty straightforward on the river, but you should have a copy of Tennessee River Navigation
Charts published by the US Army Corps of Engineers and a copy of The Tennessee River Cruise Guide by
Fred Myers aboard. Fred’s book is out of print, but you can get a CD containing a PDF of the last edition at
www.tnrivercruising.com
Rear from left
Beverly, John,
Melissa. Front
from left
Keith, Linda,
Bill, Vicky,
Jeanne Marc
At the Hard
Dock Cafe in
Decatur.
Leaving Riverwalk Marina at Decatur
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Transient Docks Riverwalk Marina
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Sunset on Joe Wheeler Lake
Painted Rock
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Above. Lookout Mountain Tennessee
Below. Tennesee River Gorge on left at Nickajack
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All
Aboard
Kokomo.
Hamrick Hollow Dusk to left Dawn to Right.
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Dock Master
Quill Briggs
256-652-0916
Call Quill with Billing
Issues and any facilities
issues.
Quill’s Dock Boys eagerly await to help with your every need.
The dogs are back. The girls
didn’t work out very well. My
informal poll had the dogs over
the girls three to one.
NEW ADDRESS
Please MAke payments to
LAKE GUNTERSVILLE RESORTS
404 Montgomery Street
Gadsden alabama 35901
Alabama Marine Police
256-582-1099
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