Ride Round the Rivers
23-OCT-2020 Friday – Paducah Transit Dock, Paducah, KY (~OR mile 935) to Green Turtle Bay, Grand Rivers KY (~Cumberland River/Lake Barkley mile 372) 26.2 nautical miles (~30.2 statute miles)
37°00’27.0″N 88°13’35.8″W
37.007489, -88.226605
Elevation: 352 feet
Total Elevation Change: +50 feet
Locks (1)
Kentucky Lock and Dam
States (1): Kentucky
First time we’ve been surrounded by one state, western Kentucky.
Looping a second time is like rereading a good book. There are parts of it you remember and parts you don’t. The exciting thing about Looping the second time is that the author has ripped out a few pages and inserted new.
Along the Way
Leaving Paducah up the Tennessee River.
We decided to take the path less traveled by Loopers. Almost all Loopers avoid the section of the Tennessee River we ran today. They travel the longer, farther up the Ohio River to the Cumberland River, Barkley Lock and into Lake Barkley route. We did that last time.
This Tennessee River to Kentucky Lake section is heavily commercial and known to be very busy with heavy barge traffic. We didn’t encounter any all day.
coffee break? 
dry docks 
barge on dry dock 
Two will do. Pushing a barge onto dry dock for maintenance. 
tow on dry dock
The first bridge is I-24, the second is US 62 and then the Kentucky Lock and Dam.
Setting the anchor to wait it out.
We got here at 10:30am and the lock was closed till 1:00pm, a 2.5 hour wait. We had hoped to be through the lock before the rain came. We weren’t.
1:00pm. The Kentucky Lock is a massive lock with a 57 foot lift. It was constructed by the Tennessee Valley Authority, is the longest dam in the TVA system at 8,422 feet. We only lifted 0 feet today as the Kentucky Lake level is lowered each Fall to prepare for heavy Winter/Spring precipitation and run off.
doors opening 
entering the lock 
up river doors are just deep enough for navigation. lower section is concrete. 
massive down river lock doors closing 
smile Mary 
up the bollard. it’s raining down 🙁 
Splash of a big old smiling Asian carp 
Kentucky Lake ahead 
Last look Kentucky Lock 
Kentucky Lake for miles and miles and miles
We could have continued on south but we wanted to go overnight at Green Turtle Bay Marina on Lake Barkley.
Barkley Canal 
into Barkley Lake 
the massive Barkley Lock and Dam 
I could live here 
or here
Green Turtle Bay
a first class marina
It’s in the details. The above picture might not mean a lot to non-boaters but look at the lines/ropes laid out along the port edge of the dock. This dock is staged and ready to catch and secure boats. Fuel docks like this and a great dock hand make it a breeze to come in and fuel. First class.
BTW Our slip is on the other side of the red and white American Tug.
We got settled just before the rain.
Being a Gold Looper is nothing here. There’s a Platinum Looper three doors down but no one is there. If you really zoom in to the lower right in the picture above you can see a Platinum Looper burgee.
Ride Round the Rivers
The green is our current route through this area. We took the blue section last year.
The Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area is between the Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley.
Drolleries and Yuks
Why are school lunches so much better in Kentucky?
They are thoroughbred.
Why did Kentucky’s Murray State University disband its water polo team?
All the horses drowned.