Caney Creek on the Tennessee River mile 562

Interesting day we spent on the river. We are slowing down and only traveling 30 miles a day. We will be in Telico Lake tomorrow where we will met Jesse & Kathy Reed who are traveling up from Englewood to see their daughter and to spend a few days with us.

After we got underway and had settled in I spotted a Seadoo off our port. I took note of it because it was in the river channel and no one seemed to be around it. I moved Skinwalker closer and noted it was not anchored no one was in the water or on it and it was slowly drifting down the river.

I immediately called the coast guard on VHF 16. The coast guard group here is the Ohio Valley, Kentucky Group out of Louisville Kentucky, but they had a work station just across the lake. They really were not too interested in helping out other then to make a radio announcement like this: Pahn-Pahn, Pahn-Pahn, Pahn-Pahn, Hello all stations this the United States Coast Guard Group Ohio Valley etc. A Sea doo has been found at Mile marker 471 and taken in tow be on the look out for any person or persons that may have been passengers: (for those who are not nautical Pan-Pan pronounced Pahn-Pahn is like a call on the radio to get attention. Other calls are Security pronounced say-cure-tay and the one everyone knows is MAYDAY.

The coast guarde asked what I was going to do with the seadoo and I said oh doo maybe I should just take it home to Florida with me. They didnt acknowledge that so I told them I would take it to a Marina. A TVALE guy heard the call I put out in his truck. (Tennessee Valley Authority Law Enforcement). These guys have jurisdiction of all Gov TVA land along the river and on the river. They also have Coast Guard ratings and state ratings so they can ticket you on any road or on the water. He met us at a marina and took custody of the Sea-Doo. I said "wait one minute here. I have a captains license with a towing endorsement. This baby is mine until I settle with the owner". I was showing off.

Well the owner lived 45 minutes away and was enroute to pick up his sea doo and to get a ticket because it was not registered so I gave my card to the officer to give to the owner and we left. I really wasnt going to charge him because I remember, vividly, the sailboat owner that helped with our dinghy.

Later in the day we were getting ready to enter a lock after waiting for 2 hours and a 55 boat comes up behind us and hails us by boat name and then calls me by my name. Gee, who is this guy. Well it turned out to be a couple we had met at the Florence Marina on Amber Isles. We chatted briefly and we ended up following them the rest of the day.

As we headed into an anchorage for the night some guy gets on the radio and yells,hey trawler we go to 68 on the VHF and this guy is looking at us from his dock. He sould his treaawler a couple of years ago but still has the bug, so he invites us to staiy at his dock. We do, and had a really nice quiet eveining at his dock.

We have been invited back to visit with them on our way down river.

Capt'n Lynnie and Skinwalker