Cruising Aboard S/V Night Music: The Journey Begins

Alright then, the actual cruising story has begun.

Sarah and Mickey arrived late Friday night. With all their chores; tending to their 3 dogs and 2 cats, buying groceries, getting the house ready for sitter, driving a car to Clarksville marina so they would have a way home, etc., it made for a hectic day for them. We very much appreciated the effort they made to come and begin the voyage with us. We took our time leaving the marina as we had last minute things to do but by 10:24am we were on our way. The day was as beautiful as one could wish for, cool enough for sweaters, a cool front having passed through. After an hour we reached the first dam, Old Hickory Lock and Dam. We had to wait about 2 hours for a double barge carrying coal to come through going upstream. Because of space limitations the tug could only push one set at a time through. The drop/lift is roughly 60 feet and while the Lock master can hurry the flow, he must attend to the turbulence that would cause. We were all a little nervous having never experienced locks but we did fine. You tie up to floating bollards that are in channels in the walls every 300 feet or so. That means one’s boat is very close to very yucky walls, so fenders out and a boat hook handy. Left the Lock around 2pm and went merrily down the stream for 30 minutes til the engine died. Anchored, checked fuel filters, sought advice via phone from Gene and then Nick, determined it was a loose connection on the lift pump. Yay, got underway at 4:30, went for another 2 hours and found an acceptable anchorage. Steaks on the barbie and good friends and wine, a lovely evening. By 5:00am with the flow stopped from the dam, the boat had swung perpendicular to the shore, so off we went. River smoke danced and hovered above the water like dragonflies as we moved along. Traveled through downtown Nashville, Sarah and Mickey pointing out landmarks. Made Cheatham Lock and Dam around 4:00. A much smaller dam, smaller drop and no waiting. Got into Clarksville around seven. Nice marina here, brand new and we are the only transients. No live a-boards here. Dinner at a Mexican restaurant, a quick run to the grocery store and Mickey and Sarah departed for home. Did some chores, let the cats explore and went to bed. On waking this morning, decided another day at this marina was in order before resuming the journey. The Cumberland is lovely, mostly trees, rocky cliffs and some pleasant homes, the people are friendly but we’ll be glad to be sailing in blue waters. Not many pictures as I forgot to charge the batteries, alas.

getting underway