May 17, 2010---Awakened to find the wind was not blowing. What a nice relief. Moved boat to the fuel dock to pump out the holding tank. Left the Aqua Yacht Harbor dock at 0845. It did not take long to pass Grand Harbor Marina and enter the Tennessee River at the tristate border of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. A couple of miles from Pickwick lock a radio call alerted the lock operator of our position. He indicated he would get the lock ready. Upon arrival there was just a short wait before the gates opened and we got the green light. Keith is handling the line in the lock.
Tennessee Valley Authority built this lock and dam in the 1930's. The dam is 113 feet high and 7715 feet wide. Normal lift in the lock is 55 feet but can lift up to 63 feet. Pickwick lake is created by the dam and stretches 53 miles. The power plant generates 240,200 kilowatts of electricity. Traveled 60 miles today in 7 hours counting lock through time. The current was about 2 mph just downstream of the dam but settled to an average 1 mph. We maintained 10 mph at 1600 rpm and reached Clifton Marina in Tennessee at 1545.
Having been here last fall we had no problem making the short turn into the slip near the levee.
After settling in for a while we enjoyed a hot cheeseburger fresh from the marina grill. The french fries were excellent too.
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