October 14, 2009

Port Departed: Paris Landing
Port Arrived: Birdsong
Miles traveled: 37 miles
Total miles traveled to date: 447

Departed Paris Landing at 11AM. Departure later than usual as I had to rewire the connector to the auto helm. It had gotten soaked and was shorting out. With the auto helm working my steering partner was ready for work.

Passed an abandoned building in the middle of the river. Took several photos as this was an exciting “discovery”. The building looked like it once had a commercial purpose. Now it was a skeleton sitting in the middle of the Tennessee River.

We headed for Birdsong Marina. Arrived about dark. Met two Great Lake sailors on “The Illusion” from Medina OH. Dick the captain had put in in Louisville at the same Marina as the Water Mark. He too had trouble stepping the mast. Finally after sever days in the river, he saw a crane and talked the guys working it to drop his mast in place. He invited me aboard the 31 foot Pearson for a beer. We compared navigation techniques and stops along the way. His final destination was Key West. Hope to see him again in FL.

Birdsong Marina is two miles up a winding creek. The sign says the channel is well marked. I had trouble staying in the secondary channel and had two soft groundings as I miss read several markers because I was talking on the cell phone. There were interesting hunting blinds situated along the creek.