Golconda to Green Turtle Bay
We were thinking that a 09:00 departure from Golconda would be sufficient to get us into Green Turtle Bay on Lake Barkley sometime in the afternoon. Well, 09:00 turned into 10:00 before we pushed off, which meant we were already running behind… Read More
Date: August 16, 2017
Time: Departed Golconda Marina at 09:50. Arrived Green Turtle Bay at 18:45.
Engine Hours: 8.11 hrs (2364.4 – 2373.4)
Distance: 51.8 miles
Weather: Overcast with 30% chance of rain. Temps at 83° with high to be 87°. Winds 5-8 mph. Seas calm with ripples.
Smithland Locks were a pretty easy pass-through and it would have been a quick jump to the side of the Ohio River for the mouth of the Cumberland, but we were warned about trying to get there by crossing the head of the island. That meant traveling further downriver to the foot of the island and them making our way back north to fetch the Cumberland, which was more time spent that we didn’t count on. And then….. bam! We were in the current on Cumberland River which, in this bizarre situation, flows south into the Ohio River. Our speed went from about 9 mph on the Ohio to about 7 mph on the Cumberland which meant… you guessed it, more hours needed for a daylight passage.
At mile 15 on the Cumberland, half the distance to the locks to enter Barkley Lake, it was already mid-afternoon but we couldn’t push it any harder. We radioed ahead as we approached Barkley Locks at 1745 and fortunately they were ready for us. As we made our way through the locks we looked up and saw our friends Rick and Monica waving us through and later presented us with some awesome photos. The sun was starting to fade at 1845 as we found our slip at Green Turtle Bay. We were home.
