October 13, 2009

Port Departed: Green Turtle Bay
Port Arrived: Paris Landing, TN
Miles traveled: 43 miles
Total miles traveled to date: 410

Departed Green Turtle Bay at 7:15AM. Headed through the Barkley Canal and into the Tennessee River. The current was again in my face. Was able to make 4.8 to 5.5 knots. According to the charts, I had 215 miles of current ahead of me. Again the weather was cloudy and overcast. Just past noon it started to rain. Since I was in Tennessee, I kept thinking about the star of the state Al Gore and wondered what happened to global warming.

Arrived at Paris Landing TN at 4:15PM in the rain. Purchased fuel and tied up for the night. Paris Landing is a marina owned by the Tennessee State Park System. They had a golf course and a very nice hotel. Was told that when I wanted to go to dinner all I had to do was call the hotel and a park ranger would pick me up and drive me to dinner.

Met a sailor named Buzz. Buzz had sold everything he had bought a 15 foot boat and was making the same trip to Mobile on the river system that I was. His boat had 2 two horse Honda motors. Small boat but handled well and was safe and sturdy. We talked about the weather and agreed to meet at 6PM for the trip to the hotel for dinner.

Returned to the boat about 8PM and had a beer with Buzz on Water Mark as his boat was too small for entertaining. Buzz told me that he had retired and just went through a divorce and was heading for warmer climates to start the next chapter of his life. A very humble man with lots of guts.