View Larger MapLocation: 35 37 19.00 N, 84 47 47.00 W – Anchorage Lowes Branch – near Watts Bar Resort

Today was a fine day for cruising. It was partly sunny with low humidity and in the low 80’s. We would cover 60 miles today, transit the Watts Bar Lock and find a cozy anchorage for the night. We are within 70 miles from our destination and expect to arrive around mid-day on Sunday. We all enjoyed the passage especially on a nice day. We all realize that we are getting close to the end of our journey so were soaking up every sight and savoring every moment along the way. Mac and Carolyn took the helm and enjoyed spending some time helping Persistence find her way to her new home.

As we approached the Watts Bar area it is difficult to miss the Nuke plant’s cooling towers. The crew prepared Persistence for the Watts Bar Lock. The Lock has a 48 foot vertical lift. We had to move our fenders from the starboard side to port at the instruction of the lockmaster. Apparently the lock has three bollards on the port side and one on the starboard side.
After setting the fenders the crew waited on the foredeck for the lock doors to open.

Our anchorage was just a couple of miles beyond the lock. The water depth was deep at 36 ft well into the embayment (cove). We anchored in 23 ft of water and had plenty of swing room. We settled in for a quiet night had a great spaghetti dinner by Chef Mary.