Rockport Landing, Tennessee River

This blog will chronicle our (Pat and Patty Anderson's)

cruising adventures on the Great Loop!

DAY 175 - September 22, 2017

The trawler that had been anchored up the bay pulled out quite early. We had our usual morning routine, Baxter to shore, coffee, breakfast, then weigh the anchor and head out! As far as we can tell from the charts Kentucky Lake ends somewhere near Dry Fork Bay, and the channel narrows and becomes the Tennessee River, and it also appears that is approximately the location we left Kentucky and entered Tennessee. We decided on Rockport Landing as our anchorage for tonight, the only open question being how it would be to land Baxter, but we thought we would take a look at it first.

The cruise up the Tennessee was uneventful. We did not really see much that was interesting, and we made pretty good time. We only saw two types of boats on the river - the go-fast bass boats with the pedestal fishing chairs and pontoon boats! Again for almost the entire time we had no cell service. As we got closer to Rockport Landing, we had a weak cell signal. Along the way, we got an email from Gail Thomas on The Good Life. They heard somebody come into Dry Fork Bay but did not know it was us, and we of course did not know it was them in the trawler! Gail said they were headed for an anchorage at Mile 106.5 behind an Island, and I asked if that was by any chance the Rockport Landing anchorage in Active Captain, and it turns out it was!

The Rockport Landing anchorage is one of the deepest anchorages we have encountered. Depths between 35 to nearly 50 feet all along the middle of the channel. We probed the edge of the channel looking for a shallower spot, but the best we could find was 32 feet, so that is where we set the hook! The adjacent shore had a little inlet back to a pool. The inlet had rocks on one side and mud on the other, so I knew I could land Baxter on the rocky side. Gail and Bob on The Good Life were anchored a few hundred feet in front of us. Where we ended up was not really protected by the island, but there was a pretty good sand bar to protect us from wakes, and the winds were predicted to be light.

It was another hot day, so the first order of business was to take a swim! Just like Dry Fork Creek, the water was clear and nice and warm - no shock to any part of the anatomy when it hits the water! Gail emailed that they had started their genset and turned on the air conditioning and invited us over. So I put the second seat in the Sea Eagle, and we paddled over to The Good Life. Gail had snacks and I confess that I drank one of Bob's Bud Light Platinums. Hey, it was cold and fizzy, and went well with the cheese, crackers and smoked whitefish that Gail set out!

Gail and Bob lived in the same area we live in, we live 15 miles  north of Bellingham, and they lived 15 miles south. Bob was a Navy man, and after he put in his 20 years, he went back to school and became a librarian at Western Washington State University, from which Patty and I graduated in 1968. They have four kids - quadruplets! Gail showed us pictures of their kids then and now. Gail and Bob have sold their Bellingham home and are relocating to Olympia to be closer to their grandchildren. They are planning to cruise The Good Life all the way around through the Panama Canal back to Olympia. They are well aware of the hazards of the Pacific Ocean off Northern California, Oregon and Washington, but think they can do it. We sure hope they are right!

We probably visited for an hour and a half, when I realized I needed to head back for Baxter duty, so we said our goodbyes and paddled back to Daydream. Like last evening, it cooled off nicely, and we felt no need for a fan let alone the air conditioner. It looks like we will both head for the Clinton Marina tomorrow, some 53 miles away. We'll have to get up a little earlier than normal and burn some fuel!