After a full week of anchoring in beautiful Kentucky Lake, we continued to stay on anchor the rest of the way down the Tennessee River into Pickwick Lake. The reward for 11 nights on anchor in a row? Finding what might be our favorite anchorage yet.

Kentucky Lake slowly narrowed as it turned into the Tennessee River, and we were continuously in awe of the fall foliage changing right before our eyes. After several years in Florida, we haven’t seen the leaves change in quite some time, so despite the chilly temps, it was a nice reminder of home.

Our streak of days without locks soon came to an end as we rounded the corner to get into Pickwick Lake. The Pickwick Lock was ready for us right as we pulled up, so we took that as a good omen for the rest of the locks to come (12 more, and yes, we’re counting). We anchored just past the lock near Pickwick Landing State Park in a quiet and serene anchorage. The only boat traffic we encountered was Loop boats leaving the marina and two bass boats. 

We debated staying in that anchorage for another night or two after enjoying delicious wings at Sunken Ship Bar & Grill, but we had heard about a waterfall anchorage 10 miles away that we were eager to check out. All I can say is that it did not disappoint. 

We were a little unsure of what to expect, considering the marked anchorage on the map looked a tad smaller than what we’re typically used to anchoring in. However, any worries were quickly washed away when we pulled in and saw nothing less than 15 feet of water below us. Evan set a stern anchor for peace of mind, though we might have gotten away without one. Our buddy boat Slacker rafted up to us shortly after, and we enjoyed two wondrous nights anchored in front of the Yellow Creek Waterfall. 

With 11 nights on anchor under our belt, it was time to head into a marina to refill our water tanks, re-provision and get some other chores done, and there was no better place to do all of that than Safe Harbor Aqua Yacht. Situated on the border of Tennessee and Mississippi, there were several options to choose from for groceries. Safe Harbor Aqua Yacht also has three (yes, three!) courtesy cars for cruisers to use, which may be a marina record for the marinas we’ve come across in the last 3,400-plus nautical miles. Luckily for us, we did not need any work done on the boat, but we saw dozens of Looper boats being hauled out here for various types of maintenance. We saw firsthand how quickly they were getting boats in and out to avoid long delays for a crowd ready to keep moving south. 

Saturday morning, we reluctantly backed off from the comfort of the dock at Aqua Yacht and made our way 30 miles south to Bay Springs Lake. The next two weeks will consist of completing our final locks and making headway to Mobile Bay, Alabama, where we’ll be back in saltwater. 

Cheers to continuing the adventure!