Oct 253 min read

Gar Party and Rendezvous at Joe Wheeler Park (#65)

Getting to Joe Wheeler Park was quite a process. The main commercial lock had a crack in the doors after the hurricanes and they are trying to repair. There is a smaller auxillary lock that the barges and recreational vessels need to use to get up the Tennessee river.

We had to sign up for a flotilla at Florence Harbor Marina and wait three days to be one of 5 boats allowed through the locks that day. We all woke up at 5am to be ready for a 6am departure. The lockmaster was supposed to call us at 6am with instructions but he was the weekend lockmaster.

Our lead boat Therapy finally got the call at 8am, and the lockmaster explained that when he got to work he opened a box of monkeys and he was spending all his time trying to get them back in. We heard him tell the tugs on the radio that they needed to reorganize their barges to fit in a 65 foot lock, and if they didn't cooperate they would be sent to the back of the line. He also listed off 8 tugs/barges and the order they could enter the locks. He also explained that he had over 200 hours backed up.

We were told to arrive at 10:10am, and then had to wait another 2 hours. We finally got through at 2:20 and had gone only 3 miles.

This lock sprayed 30,000 gallons of water in the area next to the second boat. No one wanted to raft up there for fear of damage to their boats.

For the second part of the Wilson lock, we had to wait to let the boats from the other lock come and pass us. The lockmaster gave instruction as to which boat would leave and in what order.

The remaining 17 miles had one more lock that went much faster and we arrived at Joe Wheeler State Park for the America's Great Loop Rendezvous

The capacity for the event was 250 people and 40 boats. We brought the Sparkling Star and showed her to fellow Loopers. We also shared that she will be for sale at the end of our loop in April/May. It was very hard to say we would sell her. We were able to find 6 interested future loopers.

The purpose of the Rendezvous is to learn details about our future routes. However, this year so many of the marinas on our path have been devastated by two hurricanes. We had planned to do the Steinhatchee route in the big bend, but Helene hit the city straight on. Everyone left the rendezvous with enhanced friendships, more information, but no clear direction on where we should all go.

See the Sparkling Star by the black dinghy cover for the Shooting Star.

On the first day, Laura arrived and met this nice man with his dog sitting on a park bench. He had a Muscle Shoals hat and I asked if he had taken a tour there. He said he had worked there for many years. His name was Randy McCormick, and was responsible for the piano intro to Bob Segar's Old Time Rock and Roll. I asked if I could take his picture and he agreed.

We missed the official pictures so we took our own. This was the 25th anniverary of AGLCA.

There was a gentleman from TVA that explained how important our inland waterways are and that they are underfunded. The locks were designed for 50 years and are at 75 years now. He asked us all to text LOCKs to get our voices heard.

The highlight of the visit was the Alligator Gars that showed up when we turned on our green underwater lights. At one point we probably had close to 50 as each day more and more came to visit. We also shared the fun with our fellow loopers and invited them to our Gar Party!