Clifton Marina to Grand Harbor Marina

  

Clifton Marina was a bit of a disappointment and the town did not have much to offer. We had planned to stay an extra day in Clifton but two things changed that plan. First, Tropical Storm Karen is headed for the coast somewhere near New Orleans and will curve toward Atlanta. Our Florida advisors suggested that we may need to find a spot to hunker down for three days as the storm passes. We might experience heavy rain and since we are on rivers that drain that rain it would affect our travel. Secondly, the facilities were not as good as we had hoped. So we decided to take another long cruising day and head for Grand Harbor at the junction of the Yellow Creek and the Tennessee River. Yellow Creek connects the Tennessee River with the Tombigbee Waterway. We are at the junction of Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi, since we are on the RDB (Right Downward Bank) of Yellow Creek we are in Mississippi. We plan to stay here for three days to ride out any effects from Karen.

Off to an early start

Very pretty cruising day, we departed Clifton at 6:45 planning to go 62 statute miles and the Pickwick Lock (55 ft. lift). We plan about 2 hours for a lock lift and today were very fortunate to arrive at the lock and drive right in for the lift, 5 pleasure craft in our group.

A modern home nestled on the bluff

Homes along the river are beautiful with many designs and interesting locations. Some are high on a bluff overlooking the river, while others are on stilts some two stories high. As we cruised the river, we were called on the radio but could not identify the vessel sending the call. As it turned out, it was a two time Looper Van Carter, we discussed river conditions, lock expectations, and he provided some local knowledge about the rest of our trip. He will attend the Rendezvous later this month at Joe Wheeler State Park in his motorhome.

The current increased as we approached the lock, I was cruising at 2200 RPM that normally would provide 7.3 knots/8.5 mph, our speed dropped to 5.0 mph so we were pushing into a 3.5 mph current. That current speed is very apparent at each buoy, the buoy leans over and there is a significant wake behind the buoy.

Newer homes on stilts

So we are here at Grand Harbor Marina, very nice facility, very friendly staff, happy as clams. More about Grand Harbor and the town of Pickwick over the next couple of days.

Some smaller

Others very large

This one has a tram to the water