Ocean Breeze: Great Loop Date: 10.06-07.2010 (Wednesday & Thursday): Quiet, Relaxing and Beautiful…

Day #55 & 56: 1426.8 total miles (11.0 miles & 26.0 miles)
Locks: 12 total (today: 0)
Port #25 – Duncan Bay, KY; Land Between the Lakes (Anchorage)
Port #26 – Panther Bay, KY; Land Between the Lakes (Anchorage)

After a long rest in a nice marina, we all were ready for adventure. Sea Estate had caught up with long time Looper friend, Blue Angel. Jim has plied these waters frequently. He picked out two nights of anchoring that were in pristine, serene settings. The beauty and quiet was indescribable.

Both anchorages were in Kentucky Lake in coves off of Land Between the Lakes. This area was created by the Tennessee Valley Authority. It is enjoyed by boaters and fishermen nearly year round.

Kentucky Dam creates the largest manmade lake in the eastern United States. It backs up the Tennessee River for 184 miles and creates a lake that stretches south across the western tip of Kentucky and nearly the entire width of Tennessee. At maximum normal operating level, Kentucky Lake covers 160,300 acres.

More important than the project's size are the jobs it performs. Kentucky Dam is the spigot that TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) uses to help control floods on the lower Ohio and Mississippi rivers; it is the gateway to the Tennessee River waterway and is a major generating plant in the TVA power system.

The huge job of building Kentucky Dam took six years from the start of construction on July 1, 1938, until the reservoir began filling on August 30, 1944. The dam is more than a mile long and rises 206 feet above its foundation.

The Tennessee is the nation's fifth largest river within the lower 48 states in terms of flow. The Kentucky Dam is just 22 miles upstream from Paducah, Kentucky where the Tennessee River flows into the Ohio. Water from the 40,200 square mile Tennessee Valley passes through the dam. This strategic location and the vast flood storage capacity of Kentucky Lake make it possible for Kentucky Dam to reduce or even temporarily shut off the flow of water from the Tennessee to help lower flood crests on the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. With the other dams in the TVA system, it helps provide flood protection to 6 million acres of land in the lower Ohio and Mississippi valleys and reduces the frequency of flooding on another 4 million acres. In the many years since Kentucky Dam was completed, this flood regulation has reduced damages in those areas by millions of dollars.

Entire towns had to be completely relocated when the Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkely were built. Thousands of people had to be relocated. The present-day cities were created after the lake was formed. Old foundations and streets, previously flooded, are still visible during winter pool. Highways were even relocated, including US 68 and US 62, along with state routes and smaller streets. The Illinois Central Railroad was relocated and can still be seen under water from low flying planes above.

Our first anchorage was in Duncan Bay, a cove in Land Between the Lakes. It was just 11 miles from the Kentucky Dam Marina. We arrived and anchored just after noon. The day was beautiful and warm…not a cloud in the sky. One other Looper boat was anchored in the bay when we arrived…Miss Ruby.

Jeanie and Wes are from Conneticut. They, with their son, built Miss Ruby. Her hull was laid from a lobster boat mold. The rest is their creation and what a beautiful trawler she is. Jeanie and Wes will be giving one of the presentations at the Fall Rendezvous for the AGCLA in three weeks.

Todd and I dropped the dingy. It was such a beautiful afternoon. We took the dinghy in and out of the little coves that make Duncan Bay. We stopped by Miss Ruby and chatted for a long time. Miss Ruby invited the crews from all four Looper boats for Happy Hour. It was interesting to hear about the 7 years of sweat and creativity that went into Miss Ruby.

We also visited with Hank and Mary in Dahl House II. They had tucked into another of the coves in Duncan Bay. What a lovely couple living their life dream. One thing we’ve noticed…all the full time cruisers have the same smile on their faces…and it never disappears!

The night was quiet and black as pitch. The moon was totally dark and every star could be seen in the sky. Todd and I understand why folks relocate to this region.

Thursday morning, Blue Angle and Sea Estate were up and on their way to the second anchorage at sunrise. NII Wishin and OB chose to take a slow wake up and leave a few hours later. Miss Ruby pulled her anchor about the same time we did. Their destination was different. We won’t see them again until AGLCA Fall Rendezvous.

Our next destination was Panther Bay, 26 miles further up Kentucky Lake. As we entered we saw Sea Estate and Blue Angel anchored in South Panther Bay (one of the coves in the bay). The cove looked a little tight so we decided to take a look at North Panther Bay, a little farther in the bay itself. We dropped anchor but couldn’t get a hook. The anchor came up clean leaving us wondering if there was any good mud on the bottom to hold us. I put the anchor down again with no luck so we moved over the South Panther. Ed and Jim assured us there was plenty of room. I dropped the anchor, got a fair tug and we were set for another wonderful afternoon and night tucked away in Paradise.