Great Loop Day 066 Nov 2, 2016, Clifton Marina to Pickwick Landing State Park Marina
Clifton Marina to Pickwick Landing State Park Marina
“Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.”
― Rumi
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DAY 66 Wednesday, Nov 2, 2016. Clifton Marina to Pickwick Landing State Park Marina. Congrats to the Cubs. It was some game. So glad to hear most of it on the radio with a Cleveland station WTAM 1100 AM out here in Tennessee. Well, things should get back to normal soon.
Clifton is a small marina but able to fuel up a 72ft luxury pleasure craft. Arrived last evening and is the largest private craft I have ever seen on the Tennessee River. Make no mistake it did take up the entire fuel dock. They were gone when I woke up this morning.
Good Morning!
48.6 miles today and the last 5 were in pretty heavy upriver current. There was a trawler who passed me a few miles before the Pickwick Lock and the lockmaster gave him a lift so by the time I got to the lock I had to wait about an hour to get thru. Maybe it's time to rename my sailboat the Rodney Dangerfield because I get no respect.
One other note, halfway up the river this morning a familiar boat was approaching from behind. It was TwoLynne, the boat Steve (who I met in Alton Marina) had single-handedly welded that boat from scratch. Looks like he found a deckhand and they were on their way to Grand Harbor going a full 2 mph faster than me. Knowing Steve’s prowess around diesel engines I couldn’t refrain from shouting…
“Hey! Steve! How about putting a diesel engine in the Sea Marie!”
Twolynne motored past us on her way south.
I notice there are more residential homes on this section of The Tennessee River. The east bank is notably the flood plain and the new homes that are being built are done so on stilts with stairs leading to the home high above the ground. Some have the lower portion covered and holds the garage. Some banks on my left (East) are too high to see beyond but I noticed farming equipment parked near some homes. Agriculture is a big business here. The westside bank is primarily limestone cliffs with sections of what appears to be softer sandstone. One home was seriously in danger of collapsing over a cliff. Every now and then signs face the river announcing houses and lots for sale.
House on eroding cliff. Want to buy a cheap house?
Mickey is on deck watch duty. He points his ears to where I should steer avoiding obstructions. Well, that lasted all of 30 seconds! No jigger of rum for you tonight!
Limestone enbankments.
Homes with a beachfront.
…I’ll be out till the cows come home.
As I was approaching the Pickwick Dam and Lock my thoughts were deliberating the possibility of reaching Grand Harbor for the night. Grand Harbor has grocery stores nearby. And by the looks of the chart, I will be anchoring more often. I will need provisions.
It was about 9 miles and that would take another 2 hours or less to get to Grand Harbor since the lake wouldn't have this blasted current. All that would depend on what time I would pass through the lock. I could hear the radio transmission from the trawler ICW Traveler that passed me and had got to the lock first. The gate would be opened for him. I thought there would be ample time for him to lock thru and the water would be lowered for my entry. Not so. With the lock in my sight, I radioed the lock, no answer, tried on channels 13, 14, and 16, and no answer. I phoned the lock on the number provided in the guidebook and that also went unanswered. I slowed down to idle to wait for a reply. Finally, they answered. Told me the wait would be an hour. Nothing to do but wait and the sun was boiling me alive as it was lower in the sky so that the bimini could not protect me. I used the Afghan and attached it to bimini Velcro hooks for shade while keeping the boat pointed into the current. In the lower part of the lock, the water escaping was a bubbling torrent and thought it was going to be a bumpy wait but turned out not the least.
After a half-hour wait, motoring in place, I got word on the VHF marine radio the lock nearest the shore would open and power up to the 50 ft mark. Searched the lock walls for markings there were none to be found. Then high above I see small signs with the numbers 400, 300, and 200, this was a long lock. 100 then 50 and a floating bollard nesting inside the wall. Then I realized the bimini was up, the first time I locked through with it up. I removed the starboard strap which gave me easy access to the deck. I easily lassoed the starboard bollard with a free dock line I use for this procedure. Holding on to the line I can move the boat forward and back sitting next to the folded inflatable dinghy on the deck. The ride up 57 ft was smooth and pretty fast considering the huge amount of water needed to fill the chamber. The forward gates opened, the horn sounded and I was free to continue. Thanked the lockmaster as we exchanged pleasantries and I caught sight of Pickwick lake. Nice, calm, and inviting.
Free from the upriver current.
The Sea Marie easily sped up to 6mph with a quarter throttle. There were times on the river I had to go 3/4 throttle just to maintain 4 mph. Checking my navigation app the marina was just to my right. The call earlier said they would be closed but I could use any dock I liked. Dusk was falling and any attempt to go to Grand Harbor was out of the question. Entering the marina entrance I slowed and idled into a slip. Each slip has a sign posted that reads Do Not Park Leased Slips. I said that's just fine with me, I left my car ‘parked’ at home. Boats don't park they dock.
Quickly fixed up dinner from what remained in my cooler. A fitting evening for my ballpark hot dogs, beans, and salad. Mickey had a can of tuna.
Ballpark franks and Bush Beans for dinner.
I was getting settled in. I had my shore power cable hooked up and the juice was on. As I was writing my log notes, a voice from the dark welcomed me to the marina. Cliff Campbell was his name, lives in Memphis an hour and a half away, and was staying on his father's 37ft sailboat for the night. Employed as a sales rep for a bulk metal recycling firm and had clients he was going to visit the next day.
I had my Am/Fm/Shortwave radio out trying to get a station calling the world series game. To my surprise, the voice of none other than Tom Hamilton, the Cleveland Indians announcer came booming in. WTAM 1100 signal from Cleveland, Ohio was reaching me here. If I recall it has one of the strongest signals allowed by the FCC, 50,000 watts of power.
My daughter texted me that she and her husband Don were at Progressive Field watching the 7th and last ballgame of the season. I jokingly text her to yell really loud so I can hear her over the crowd noise.
My daughter sent this from Progressive Field in Cleveland. Game 7 tonight
So I'm sitting here in an empty marina with Mickey listening to the play-by-play with my emotions running all over the place. Even though we didn't win, this game will undoubtedly go down as one of the most memorable games of the World Series. And hearing the voice of Hammy describing the game was sugar in my coffee, so nice not having to endure the verbal garbage coming from the biased Fox Sports announcers.
Game 7 of the series would go down as a classic, with some calling it the greatest Game 7 in World Series history, comparing it to 1924, 1960, 1991, 1997, and 2001 for its drama and tension. Former Indians player Jim Thome threw the ceremonial first pitch before the game while members of the Cleveland Orchestra string section performed the national anthem. The pitching matchup was between MLB earned run average (ERA) champion Kyle Hendricks, who had started Game 3 for the Cubs, and Corey Kluber, who had won games 1 and 4 and was pitching on three days' rest. Kluber came into the game 4–1 in the postseason with a 0.89 ERA.
Dexter Fowler led off the game with a home run for Chicago off Kluber, becoming the first player ever to hit a lead-off home run in a World Series Game 7. The Indians tied the game in the bottom of the third inning with an RBI single by Carlos Santana after Coco Crisp doubled and advanced to third on a Roberto Pérez sacrifice bunt. The Cubs scored two runs in the fourth inning with a sacrifice fly by Addison Russell (Kris Bryant running aggressively to tag up from third on the short fly ball and slide under the tag at home) and a double by Willson Contreras. To start the fifth inning, Javier Báez hit a home run to center making it 4–1 on the first pitch he saw to knock Kluber out of the game. ALCS MVP Andrew Miller came on in relief and gave up a walk to Bryant and RBI single to Anthony Rizzo to push the lead to 5–1 (Bryant's aggressiveness again instrumental as he was attempting to steal second on the hit, allowing him to score all the way from first). In the bottom of the fifth inning, Hendricks retired the first two batters. A two-out walk to Santana, which included a pitch that was called a ball and appeared to be a strike, persuaded Joe Maddon to relieve both his starter and the catcher. This move, along with others throughout the series, would be highly criticized afterward, as it appeared to some that Hendricks was pulled out too soon.
Jon Lester, who had started Games 1 and 5, came on in relief for the first time since the 2007 ALCS, coincidentally also against the Indians. David Ross (who usually caught for Lester and was playing in his final game) committed a throwing error that allowed Jason Kipnis to reach base and put runners on second and third. A wild pitch that ricocheted off Ross's helmet allowed Santana and Kipnis to score, narrowing the Cubs' lead to 5–3. To atone for his blunders, the 39-year-old Ross hit a home run to center, in his last official at-bat of his career, in the top of the sixth to make it a 6–3 game, becoming the oldest player to hit a home run in a World Series Game 7.
Lester retired the first two batters in the eighth inning but was pulled after a José Ramírez single that Russell did not field cleanly at short. Maddon opted to use Aroldis Chapman, who had thrown 42 pitches in Game 5 and had also pitched in Game 6, despite the fact that the Cubs had already built a large lead. Brandon Guyer promptly hit a run-scoring double off Chapman, making the score 6–4. The next batter was Indians center fielder Rajai Davis, who had hit 55 career home runs in 11 seasons entering this game, and who was hitting .132 in the postseason up to that point. Davis hit a dramatic 2-run home run off Chapman, just barely clearing the left field wall and the left field foul pole, scoring Guyer and tying the game, making the score 6–6. Davis's home run was the latest-occurring game-tying home run in World Series Game 7 history. Many fans and Chapman himself believe he blew the lead due to his unnecessary use in Game 6.
The Cubs squandered a scoring chance in the top of the 9th. Ross led off with a walk and Jason Heyward grounded into a fielder's choice to take pinch runner Chris Coghlan off the bases. Heyward stole second and advanced to third on a throw to second by Yan Gomes that got away from Kipnis. At this point Cleveland's Terry Francona made a defensive change in left, replacing Coco Crisp by inserting Michael Martinez in right and moving Guyer to left; this was eventually to backfire for the Indians. Javier Baez attempted a squeeze bunt with two strikes--another decision by Maddon which drew criticism--and fouled it off for the second out. Dexter Fowler would eventually ground out on a spectacular game-saving play by shortstop Francisco Lindor to end the top of the ninth. To the shock of many observers, Aroldis Chapman was asked by Maddon to return to the mound for the bottom of the ninth, but promptly retired the Indians in order, facing Carlos Santana, Jason Kipnis, and Francisco Lindor.
With the game tied 6–6 after nine innings, a sudden cloudburst resulted in a 17-minute rain delay. During the delay, Cubs right fielder Heyward called his teammates into a weight room behind Chicago's dugout and told them, "We're the best team in baseball ... for a reason... Stick together and we're going to win this game." After the game, many of Heyward's teammates credited him with renewing their spirits.
When play resumed in the top of the tenth, Kyle Schwarber promptly led off with a single off of Indians pitcher Bryan Shaw. Here Maddon made a good move, replacing Schwarber with pinch-runner Albert Almora. Kris Bryant then hit a deep fly ball to center, and Almora tagged up and advanced to second base in what was called the "savviest baserunning play of the season." After an intentional walk to Anthony Rizzo, Ben Zobrist stepped up to the plate. Zobrist had been 0-for-4 in the game, but he delivered a clutch RBI double into the left field corner, scoring Almora and breaking the tie, making the score 7–6. Zobrist later said, "I was just battling, grinding up there. Fortunately, that last one he left over the plate and up to where I could just slap it down the line, and that was all I was trying to do."
After another intentional walk to Addison Russell, Miguel Montero, who had replaced Ross at catcher and was hitting just .091 in the postseason, delivered another clutch single onto left, scoring Rizzo and making the score 8–6. Trevor Bauer, the losing pitcher of Games 2 and 5, relieved Shaw and got out of the bases-loaded jam by striking out Heyward and retiring Baez on a flyout to escape further damage.
Carl Edwards Jr. was called on to finish off the Indians in the bottom of the tenth, but after retiring the first two hitters (Mike Napoli and José Ramírez), he walked Brandon Guyer, who took second base on defensive indifference. Rajai Davis, following up on his eighth-inning heroics, lined a single to center, making it a one-run game, and the score 8–7. Maddon then called on Mike Montgomery, who had zero career saves. Montgomery retired Michael Martinez (the replacement for Crisp who had scored the game-winning run in Game 3 but had struck out in his only two at-bats of the Series) with an infield grounder fielded by Bryant, who threw to Rizzo. This ended the game and the World Series, with the Cubs winning the series and ending their 108-year World Series championship drought. Zobrist was awarded the World Series MVP award after hitting .357 in the series and delivering the go-ahead hit.
Well, that's pretty much it for the night except as I closed the hatch boards and settled in bed I hear unusual noises out in the cockpit. Something was rattling the empty tuna can left for Mickey. It's pitch black outside. Then hear something walking above me on deck. Sticking my head out of the hatch would put me in a vulnerable position. I shine a flashlight out the side windows, but nothing. I lock down the forward hatch. I slowly take down the top hatch board and shine the flashlight around. Nothing but the tuna can is gone. It's quiet now could hear a pin drop. I check above me. Nothing. Stick my head out cautiously, shine a light at the dock, and from underneath the dock in a crawl space a pair of shiny eyes stare right back at me. It's a critter. Wearing a bandit mask. A raccoon was pillaging my boat. And it wasn't the first time, there was an empty box of Town House flatbread sitting on the float that keeps the dock up. A handy hideout for this masked marauder. With no more goodies to find he slithers away into the darkness. I can sleep now. So until next time... Fair winds and gentle seas...
Mickey getting over the loss of Cleveland to Chicago
Comments from 2016:
Bob Zwald, Almost to Alabama. Please let the geologist in me know when you cross the divide and are heading downstream again. Curiously fascinated!
