We left that anchorage. Jeff saw another possible anchorage on the chart at river mile 80.2. However, he went aground again and put our engines in reverse to back out. This time the propellers sounded like they were hitting gravel rocks. Jeff put the dinghy down to try and tow us off. However, the boat was stuck too firmly and finally Jeff quit when the tow line got caught around the dinghy prop. At this point he called TowBoat US for an emergency tow.
Five minutes later, a large tug and tow came past us. Barbie said, maybe the wake will get us of the ground. Jeff was skeptical, but as the wake rocked us, we did get free. We started the engine and were back on our way at 4:40 PM. We were very grateful and called TowBoat US to cancel the emergency request.
We went another 10 miles and anchored behind Dover Island at Dover TN. This was a beautiful anchorage - easy to get in and fantastic holding ground. The town is a stop for a Riverboat which we saw as we went by.
Riverboat at Dover, TN
It turned out to be a lovely anchorage all night. The current, of about 2 miles an hour, kept us pointed up stream. The temperature was 83 and partly cloudy. We enjoyed a dinner of pork chops aboard Aisling Gheal. We slept very well.
The next day we went 37 miles to Clarksville, Tennessee. Because of flooding that had happened in the spring, the entrance to the marina had shoaled. Barbie kept very close to some "lily pad" fountain heads in the channel and we did not go aground. Once past the opening it opened up to a lovely marina with a depth of 8 feet. It was very hot, 94, we were glad to have AC. Rick, the dock master, was very helpful. The walk from the marina to grass was quite long and up a very steep incline. When I told him we had two old dogs, he got us a cart so that we could transport the dogs from the boat to grass. We rented a car in Clarksville and spent the next day exploring and eating at a lovely brewery.
Clarksville TN Marina
The next day, Friday, September 13, we cruised 43 miles to the Commodore Yacht Club in Nashville, Tennessee. It was HOT - 93 - when we arrived. We turned on the AC and rented a car. We went to a restaurant that was close and Jeff thought it had good food. As we entered the restaurant, Barbie noticed the smell of cigarette smoke and thought, "I haven't smelled cigarette smoke in a restaurant for a long time. I guess we're in the South". We sat at a table, ordered our food. After our food came the people at the table behind us, started smoking. It was unpleasant and the food wasn't that great. After we finished our meal and were about to leave, the people behind us must have finished their meal and lit up an after dinner cigarette. Barbie noticed that they would take a puff on their cigarette and then blow the smoke up so it did not interfere with them, but blew back on us! Jeff looked up the Tennessee law about smoking in restaurants. If the restaurant has a sign that says: MUST BE 21 to ENTER that means there can be smoking inside. After this experience we started noticing if there was a sign as we entered. If there was, we did not go in that restaurant.
In TN this sign means the patrons can SMOKE!
On Saturday we visited a quilt shop and found the house at 3808 Nebraska Ave, where we had lived 40+ years ago. When we lived in the house, it had a grate in the floor in the middle of the house that had the furnace below it in the basement. This was Barbie's first experience of living outside of Boulder, Colorado. We moved there in January of 1971 and moved to Towson, Maryland, in August of 1973. After the first winter with ice storms, Barbie did not want to live where there were ice storms. After the first summer, Barbie did not want to live where there was heat and humidity. We got both in Maryland, but it wasn't as hot plus we started sailing on the Chesapeake Bay. The house on Nebraska Ave looked as if it had been remodeled with new windows and probably AC. It was a very nice brick house.
Our first house while Jeff was a graduate student
Sunday was our day to visit Vanderbilt University where Jeff did his undergraduate and graduate work and Barbie worked as the librarian in the Biology Department. There were a lot of changes on the campus and the Biology building had been completely rebuilt. Jeff tried to locate his mail box where he received letters from Barbie, but that was all changed.
Visiting Vanderbilt University after 50 years
We also drove past St. Thomas Hospital where Emily was born. It was totally changed. We were going to go to some downtown breweries for lunch, but we would have had to pay $12.00 to park. We went back out into the suburbs and ate.
St Thomas Hospital where Emily was born 1972
We cruised back to Clarksville on Monday and enjoyed another meal at the brewery. Tuesday we got the oil changed in the engines and Barbie did the laundry, which we do about every two weeks. Again, the employees were wonderful. Before we left on Wednesday we got a pump out. We cruised to the same anchorage by Dover Island. It was hot - 91. Since we were anchored we had to run the generator if we wanted to use the AC. We were able to run the generator for several hours before it stopped. By this time the temperature was cooler outside. We opened up the companion way and hundreds of mayflies were all over the electronic screen. They also started coming in the boat.
At anchor, swarms of Mayflies were attracted to our lights
We quickly closed the the companion way door and kept the hatches closed. Luckily the AC had cooled the boat enough and the outside temperature was cooler so we were not too uncomfortable. Jeff and Barbie had never seen a swarm of mayflies before. They are related to dragonflies and live in the adult stage for only 24 - 36 hours. They are attracted to light. They do not bite or sting people. The next morning Jeff swept up thousands of dead bodies that were on the deck and the cockpit.
Mayflies were attracted to the anchor light
Thursday, Sept. 19 we cruised back to Green Turtle Bay Marina. We took the golf cart shuttle to town and enjoyed dinner at the local restaurant. The next morning Jeff spent several hours getting all of the mayflies off the roof of the cockpit and the boat and washing the boat. The mayflies had been attracted to the anchor light we had when anchored at Dover Island. They were inches thick.
