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Old 05-02-2015, 07:19 AM   #41
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Tony, Looks like we will be back home at Goose Pond on Sunday. We will look you up when we get there. I think Ray has headed out already. At least his boat was out last week end while we were there. Enjoy your stay. Check out the golf course if you have that habit. Last time i played there, long time ago, it was very nice.
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Old 05-02-2015, 07:56 AM   #42
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.... Looks like we will be back home at Goose Pond on Sunday. ....................

Hi

I met Ray yesterday while I was walking around for exercise. Strange that I don't recall seeing him on here.
Anyway, we will be here Sunday, we plan on staying for a month. Come by and introduce yourself. We are on the transient dock near the fuel stop.
We are nosed in and have an inflatable dink on the back. The boat name is Serenity , but I don't think you will be able to see the name from the dock.
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Old 05-02-2015, 11:08 AM   #43
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Marine Max handles the Ross' Landing Marina. It is down town. Probably would not be good for a month.

Probably Island Cove Marina would be the best best for a long stay. It is up the lake several miles.

I live near the waterfront, so let me know if you will be downtown.

I will be back in town Sunday evening or Monday.
You may want to do both. Ross' Landing puts you within walking distance of so much of the beauty of the Riverwalk area including the aquarium. Then Island Cove puts you out of town a ways but gives you a wonderful setting catering to boaters. In between, you have Chickamauga/Erwin and Lakeshore and Gold Point and Big Ridge, all quite crowded and still requiring a car to get to town.

Now at the lower end of Lake Nickajack, before reaching Chattanooga, you might want an overnight stop at Hales Bar (especially if you are late clearing the lock). They are, however, always in some kind of flux.
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Old 05-02-2015, 01:47 PM   #44
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BandB and Tony. Just out of Nickajack lock on the left is Shell Mound recreation area. Public dock no electric but usually quiet and Free. Have a caretaker lives on site. launch ramp and camp grounds. We usually stay there on the way to Chatt.
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Old 05-02-2015, 02:01 PM   #45
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BandB and Tony. Just out of Nickajack lock on the left is Shell Mound recreation area. Public dock no electric but usually quiet and Free. Have a caretaker lives on site. launch ramp and camp grounds. We usually stay there on the way to Chatt.
Yes, just on the left, just beyond Shell Mound was plans for a Rarity property but like most, they went bankrupt, this one before it really got started. It was going to have a golf course and a marina. At one time they even had some of the parts for the docks I believe. Last I knew the whole thing was available from the bank asking around $12 million but willing to probably take whatever anyone would offer.

I think their dream was for it to be the development people would come to from Atlanta. Obviously it wasn't targeted to the residents of Jasper, TN.

Shell Mound sounds good. Last I knew there were no pump outs available at Hales Bar. Do you know if that's still true?
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Old 05-02-2015, 05:49 PM   #46
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Yes, just on the left, just beyond Shell Mound was plans for a Rarity property but like most, they went bankrupt, this one before it really got started. It was going to have a golf course and a marina. At one time they even had some of the parts for the docks I believe. Last I knew the whole thing was available from the bank asking around $12 million but willing to probably take whatever anyone would offer.

I think their dream was for it to be the development people would come to from Atlanta. Obviously it wasn't targeted to the residents of Jasper, TN.

Shell Mound sounds good. Last I knew there were no pump outs available at Hales Bar. Do you know if that's still true?
John (Thunder) Thorton assembled the property, and then sold it to Rarity. We were one of the first builders invited to participate in the build out of the community. My son and I took a hard look at it. We were concerned about their marketing plan and finances. They also had us look at a proposed development up the river at the Hiawassee River. Same concerns. It turned out we were right in our concerns. I guess luck beats skill.
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Old 05-02-2015, 06:01 PM   #47
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John (Thunder) Thorton assembled the property, and then sold it to Rarity. We were one of the first builders invited to participate in the build out of the community. My son and I took a hard look at it. We were concerned about their marketing plan and finances. They also had us look at a proposed development up the river at the Hiawassee River. Same concerns. It turned out we were right in our concerns. I guess luck beats skill.
Later in the process I saw much of the plan too as well as some of their other locations. This made zero sense and was way under capitalized. The cost just to put in the basics is huge. And a Trevino golf course? In Jasper, TN? This is an area for moderately priced homes and condos. Getting people from Chattanooga to move out there would be hard. For vacation homes pulling those from Atlanta also hard. I saw what the people who bought lots paid and it was at least double any reasonable market and, of course, without the development finished, far worse. This could be an incredibly beautiful area but not in the pricing structure planned.

Even if one purchased it for a third of what the bank was asking, the cost of finishing the infrastructure, the situation with prime property already sold, the issues of marina and golf course, make it a very difficult project. One of the huge problems is that Rarity sold the best waterfront lots and already took that money.
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Old 07-23-2015, 07:45 AM   #48
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We are on the Little Tennessee

Sorry I have been absent for a while, just haven't been on web much lately.
Anyway here is my update:
We left Joe Wheeler State around the first of June. Spent a few days in Guntersville, Al. area and then went to Goose Pond Colony Marina (Scottsboro, Al.) and stayed almost 2 months. Part of that 2 month period was spent helping a friend get a new-to-him sailboat from Mobile, Al to Joe Wheeler State Park. That took 2 weeks which was fairly uneventful. Had to stop and make minor repairs along the way and also some weather days. Goose Pond Colony marina is a great place to stay. We really enjoyed it there.
From there, we went Chattanooga, Tn which took a few days - 2 days actual travel and a few days at anchor. We didn't stay as long as we planned. Originally, I planned on spending a month there but we couldn't get a monthly rate from anyone and so after 4 days of doing the tourist thing, we felt like that was enough. We had been there before and so we had seen and done everything we wanted to.
After Chattanooga, our next main stop was going to be Tellico Lake/Little Tennessee River. It took 3 actual travel days and several anchoring out a dn marina days along the way. We ended up at Tellico Marina and all I can say is WOW!, this place is awesome both from a boat and a car point of view. Nothing like looking at the Smokey Mountains every day. After a few days here, we rented a car (Enterprise - very, very cheap on weekends) and drove back to Goose Pond Colony and retrieved my van.
We are on the Little Tennessee River AKA Tellico Lake 20 river miles south of the Tennesse River just short of Knoxville, Tn.
WE love it here, there is so much to see and do in the area, We have a very reasonable monthly rate and a great marina manager. We plan to stay here at least through the fall foliage and not sure if we will winter-over or not. And I thought retirement meant no major decision making.
Life is good.
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Old 07-23-2015, 09:35 AM   #49
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Wow Tony, Great to hear from you . Sounds like a great trip and a cool place to stay . We hope to make that exact trip someday . Thanks for posting .
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Old 07-23-2015, 09:41 AM   #50
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Sorry I have been absent for a while, just haven't been on web much lately.
Anyway here is my update:
We left Joe Wheeler State around the first of June. Spent a few days in Guntersville, Al. area and then went to Goose Pond Colony Marina (Scottsboro, Al.) and stayed almost 2 months. Part of that 2 month period was spent helping a friend get a new-to-him sailboat from Mobile, Al to Joe Wheeler State Park. That took 2 weeks which was fairly uneventful. Had to stop and make minor repairs along the way and also some weather days. Goose Pond Colony marina is a great place to stay. We really enjoyed it there.
From there, we went Chattanooga, Tn which took a few days - 2 days actual travel and a few days at anchor. We didn't stay as long as we planned. Originally, I planned on spending a month there but we couldn't get a monthly rate from anyone and so after 4 days of doing the tourist thing, we felt like that was enough. We had been there before and so we had seen and done everything we wanted to.
After Chattanooga, our next main stop was going to be Tellico Lake/Little Tennessee River. It took 3 actual travel days and several anchoring out a dn marina days along the way. We ended up at Tellico Marina and all I can say is WOW!, this place is awesome both from a boat and a car point of view. Nothing like looking at the Smokey Mountains every day. After a few days here, we rented a car (Enterprise - very, very cheap on weekends) and drove back to Goose Pond Colony and retrieved my van.
We are on the Little Tennessee River AKA Tellico Lake 20 river miles south of the Tennesse River just short of Knoxville, Tn.
WE love it here, there is so much to see and do in the area, We have a very reasonable monthly rate and a great marina manager. We plan to stay here at least through the fall foliage and not sure if we will winter-over or not. And I thought retirement meant no major decision making.
Life is good.
I'm amazed at how many people loop but then miss out on the beauty of the Tennessee River. Totally different from coastal cruising. Relaxing and peaceful. When we loop, it is our intent then to keep that boat in that area at least a couple or three years. We're enjoying your trip as we want to cover all those places you're seeing. We want to explore all the Tennessee, then the Cumberland, the Ohio, the Missouri. So much inland beauty. The only one we've been on is the Tennessee.
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Old 07-23-2015, 03:47 PM   #51
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The rivers are totally different than coastal cruising in many ways. For one thing, river cruising is more challenging. Amongst other things, river anchoring is probably the biggest fear to get over. Running aground on the coast means stuck in sand or mud. Running aground here could lead to possible severe damage and even sinking. Hard rocks are a big thing up here. The Tennessee River is comprised of a lot of mountain cuts and -flooding. Speaking of which, i recently saw a new-to-me map reference while looking for an anchorage: "Flooded Trees". I assume you can drive over them this time of year, but not smart to anchor. Don't know about winter though when the water drops about 7 foot.
We are not loopers, just boat gypsies. We try to enjoy an area for several weeks to several months. This also includes playing leap-frog with my van which is also a mobile mini-storage. So far I have flown, taken a Greyhound Bus and rented a car to get back to my van.
Next year we will be taking the Tennessee to the end which is the Ohio River.
And then onto the CUmberland. We are thinking about Cuba after that - not sure yet.
Hope to catch up to some more of you guys along the way.

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Old 07-23-2015, 04:14 PM   #52
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Good to hear from you Tony! It all sounds awesome. We plan on casting off for Kemah and then working our way down to South Padre, next week.
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Old 07-23-2015, 04:44 PM   #53
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We're still trying to figure out where we want to go this year. I'am still wanting to return to Lake Michigan, the north channel and Lake Huron. There is also the desire to cruise the Tennessee River and the TennTom maybe even the gulf but I doubt I would go that far south. I've even thought that going up the Ohio River may be a interesting trip. I suspect what will happen is we'll leave the marina and decide then which direction to head. Maybe we'll see you somewhere along the way.
The Cumberland to at least Nashville sounds great. As to the Ohio, all the way to Pittsburgh sounds nice to me. It obviously can't be a winter cruise, but also, from what I've read, don't cruise it on weekends. Take them for sightseeing as I've seen pictures of crowds waiting for locks that were quite crowded.

That's part of the beauty of boating. There is always somewhere new to go on top of all the places we'd like to return.

As we use to dream of retirement, we'd never been to Fort Lauderdale to even dream about it. However, the Tennessee River was certainly in those dreams.
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Old 07-23-2015, 06:46 PM   #54
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Good to hear from you Tony! It all sounds awesome. We plan on casting off for Kemah and then working our way down to South Padre, next week.
Blue, glad to hear from you too. South Padre is a fine destination. I lived in Rock Port (along your way, just shy of Corpus) for around 9 or 10 months after Katrina kicked us out of Slidell, La. If you have time, a few nights in Port Aransas is cool down near the ferry area or further down at Island Moorings Yacht Club and marina.

Have a blast

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Old 07-23-2015, 08:25 PM   #55
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Thanks for the update Blue. You guys seem to be on the perfect pace!!!


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Old 07-23-2015, 10:05 PM   #56
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Tony, The term sunken trees means trees that are upright and just below the water. They've been under water for years but are still very solid(and your depth meter will say 18-20 feet when you're among them). They'll bend up a prop very easily. On the Tellico River, don't go past Ballplay Creek! In winter, at low water, the trunks are about 2-3 feet out of the water and are about 8-10 inches in diameter. Right now, they're about 2 feet below the water and you can't see them unless you're looking straight down at them. I'm at Sequoyah marina at the mouth of the Tellico, about 1/2 mile from you. I'll keep an eye out for you and say howdy. Ben
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Old 07-23-2015, 10:19 PM   #57
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Hey Ben


We were there for dinner last week. If I knew, I would have waved.
I'll keep my eye out for you also. Last week, we took the van for a drive on the Tail of the Dragon. The admiral was sea-sick. LOL
For those of you that are not familiar, the Tail of the Dragon is world famous for bikers. There are 318 turns in 11 miles through the mountains and many are switchbacks.
I will PM you my cell.
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Old 07-27-2015, 08:22 AM   #58
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Tony

As come back through The Shoals, drop me a PM. We live on Wilson Lake, and keep our boat at Florence Harbor. Will cook some BBQ chicken with North Alabama white sauce !
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Old 07-27-2015, 09:47 AM   #59
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Thanks for the offer and I certainly will.

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