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A dam on the Tennessee River forms the Kentucky Lake; the dam is in sight from the marina in the town of Gilbertsville, Kentucky. The lake is 184 miles long and has a shoreline of about 2400 miles, making it one of the largest man-made lakes. There are lots of places to anchor and spend time, dingy into the beach, and swim. Anne and I will probably do some of that rather than spend all the time at the marina. There is another lake, Lake Barkley, fed from the Cumberland River. Between the two lakes is the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation area. This was created by President Kennedy in 1963 and is about 40 miles long (170,000 acres). There are 200 miles of hiking trails, various campgrounds and picnic areas, accessed by 300 miles of back country roads and by boat. We plan to do some exploring here also.

THE INLAND WATER SYSTEM: Perhaps my biggest eye opener on this trip has been the vastness of the inland water system. We all recognize the various rivers from high school geography, but I have acquired charts that interconnect them. Road maps don’t show the detail and usually you only have one state at a time. As boaters we have been aware of the Great Circle Route, usually up the Hudson, through the Erie Canal into the Great Lakes to Chicago, through the canals into the Illinois River, the Mississippi River, into the Ohio River, the Tennessee River, Tombigbee River and Mobile River down to Mobile, around Florida and up the East coast. Anne and I are doing the section from the Keys to Mobile and up the Tenn-Tom river system and Tennessee River.

Here’s a brief sketch of where you can go on the inland river system. Leaving Florida we traveled the West coast of Florida using the Gulf inland waterway from Fort Myers to Tarpon Springs. The inland waterway ends here and we went outside to Carrabelle, Florida, where the inland waterway picks up again and runs to Texas. We went as far as Mobile Bay where we turned north. Leaving Mobile, we traveled the Mobile/Tombigbee river system. The first to branch off is the Alabama River, which goes to Montgomery, Alabama, and the next is at Demopolis, where the Black Warrior goes off to the northeast to Birmingham, Alabama.

At Demopolis we entered the Tenn-Tom waterway (more on this later). The Tenn-Tom runs for 234 miles to the Tennessee River. The Tennessee River is navigable for 652 miles from Knoxville to Paducah, Kentucky, where it joins the Ohio River. Going east on the Ohio you can get to Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, or you can take the Cumberland River off the Ohio to Nashville. 46 miles west of Paducah, the Ohio joins the Mississippi at Cairo, Illinois. Going north on the Mississippi will take you0. to Chicago, and further to Minneapolis, Minnesota. There are two rivers going off the Mississippi – the Arkansas to Little Rock and Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the Missouri River, which goes to Kansas City, Missouri, and Sioux City, Iowa. The Mississippi also goes south but is not advised for pleasure boaters. There is much more current and commercial traffic, and not nearly as many stopover spots. If you want more, there is always the Apalachicola River that goes northeast off the inland waterway about 170 miles east of Mobile and goes to Columbus, Georgia. The system is absolutely mind-boggling.

The Tenn-Tom Waterway runs from Demopolis, Alabama 234 miles north to the Tennessee River. It’s the largest project undertaken by the U.S Army Corps of Engineers. The first survey was done in 1874, was put on a back burner, and didn’t get started until 1971. Construction was completed in 1984 and the Grand Opening was in June, 1985. The fact that it was built after the National Environmental Policy Act and in compliance with the same probably accounts for the scenic landscape that looks more like a river than a canal. The government apparently acquired much of the land and is actively managing it for wildlife and for camping, hiking, fishing and hunting. There are some private homes, but the lake areas created by the dams appear to be undeveloped except for some campgrounds and boat ramps. The "reason" (in order for Congress to approve the funds) for the system was to shorten the route from the Gulf Coast to ports such as Chattanooga and to avoid the swift currents of the Mississippi, and also to provide jobs and income to the region. The commercial traffic never lived up to expectations. Mostly we saw coal, chemicals, and wood products, including lots of paper mills. The river apparently hasn’t really been discovered by boaters as we encountered very little traffic. We were alone at the anchorages where we stayed. We stopped at a state operated marina in Tennessee for fuel and to stock up the boat. There were 35 empty slips and the harbor master said he didn’t expect to fill them. I got the feeling they expect and are trying to encourage more boaters to explore the area. Again, this is an area that can use the economic boost of tourism.

LOCKS: We started at sea level and locked up to 414 feet above sea level by passing through 12 locks. The highest lifted us 84 feet. All the locks on this waterway are 600 feet long and 110 feet wide. When you do the math you find the lock that lifted us up 84 feet required about 46 million gallons of water. The lock fills in about 15 minutes. As you might imagine, there is some turbulence while filling. We locked down 55 feet on the Tennessee River, which was a much smoother ride.

THE TUGS AND BARGES: You cannot push a bunch of barges on the ocean – therefore we seafarers were unaware of what barge traffic was all about. Because of the size of the locks on the Tenn-Tom, tows (they call them tows even though the tug pushes) are limited to three across and three barges long. Standard barges are 190’ long and 35’ wide, although the newer barges are 200’ long. One barge has a capacity greater than 15 rail cars or 60 semi-trucks. The tugs in some cases are 80 to 100’ long. Again, do the math and you’ll find it’s a tight fit. Usually, they leave a barge off next to the tug (the tow is now made up of eight instead of nine barges). Once the tow is in the lock, the tug disconnects and goes into the open slot – the gates close and the lock fills or empties – and life goes on. Meeting these tows on the narrow turns can be exciting as the front of the tow ends up on one bank while the tug is close to the other bank – leaving little room for Another Adventure. Upon spotting a tow coming around a corner, we did some 360’s. Luckily they don’t travel fast: about 6 or 7 knots.

Little did we realize that the lock on the Tennessee River was over 1000 feet long. That opens another world for the tows and we saw one that had the new 200’ barges -- seventeen in all. We talked to the towboat captain and he said his tow was 1200 feet long without the tug, which I estimate at 80 to 100 feet.

BAY SPRINGS LAKE: This was a great spot and we spent five days at anchor. This is a 6,700 acre lake with 113 miles of shoreline, all of which is owned and controlled by the government (the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers). The water is exceptionally clear and is fairly deep right up to the shore. The depth in the middle is about 40 feet. The swimming was great--we went in everyday right off the boat. The Corps made this a lake by digging out and eliminating most of the trees and stumps. Again, there were no businesses and no houses, just some boat ramps and campgrounds and hiking trails. Most of the shoreline is forest. Lots of small sandy beaches attract boaters, especially on weekends. The one exception is one marina that was built before the waterway opened.

THE TENNESSEE RIVER: This river is somewhat of an anomaly, since it flows southwest from Knoxville into Alabama then moves slightly northwest to where the states of Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee come together. Now instead of continuing on to the Mississippi River (which isn’t far) it heads almost due north to join the Ohio River. This is the only river where we have had the river flow working for us. Actually, the current isn’t much of a problem since the dams control the flow, reducing it to maybe a knot or two. We also learned that, in river jargon, if you’re going with the flow, you’re going "down bound," and you're going "up bound" when against the current. This replaces the normal north, east, south and west directions that most coastal boaters are accustomed to using. The Inland Water System is a different world.

About the Author: Anne and Alan Andrews have been cruising aboard Another Adventure for a little over three years. This adventure started as a way to lengthen their boating season by moving south from their location in Connecticut. They decided that their existing boat wasn't suited for living aboard, as it was set up for summer cruising in New England. Their new boat is a 42 foot Duffy from Atlantic Boat Company in Maine. They bought the hull and cabin top from Atlantic Boats and contracted with a finisher on Cape Cod. Anne, and then proceeded to do much of the carpentry and finish work themselves. Their original departure date was the Fall of 2002, but the boat wasn't ready and they were homeless as they had sold their house and furnishings. They spent the winter of 2002 in Rhode Island renting a summer cabin (heated) and working on the boat daily. They finally got underway in June of 2003.

Until this year, they have been following the sun up and down the East coast - Florida in the winter and up as far as Maine in the summer. After talking with some boaters who had come down from the mid-west and had done the "Great Loop", they decided to come up into the river system. They say that it's been exciting and the boating there is grand.

Anne and Alan both have their U.S.C.G. Masters Captains' Licenses and have been boating together for about 25 years. So far it's been a great experience and they have no immediate plans to move back ashore. They will be heading back down South in September ending up in Marathon in the Keys for the winter. Many of their boating friends say they are envious, but have yet to join these full-time live-aboard cruisers. It's really a different life style, the Andrews say, and not suited for everyone. But they love it.

Editor's Note: For a detailed list of all the charts needed on the Inland River System, please order one of our free Passage Planners of the Great Circle Route.

Quimby's Cruising Guide is another great resource for the Inland Rivers of the U.S., and makes a prefect planning tool if you are considering following in the wake of Another Adventure!