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LMPS Breaks Cabin Fever
with Cruise to Norris Lake, Tennessee
By P/C Debra Allen, AP
Thank you to John and Valerie Hunter for all of the hard work
that went into planning a terrific small boat cruise to Norris Lake, Tennessee,
20-24 August 2020! We were all suffering from cabin fever due to COVID-19 and in
search of recreation while observing social distancing. The Shanghai Resort and
Marina was just what we needed as our entry point to a lake composed of the
Powell and Clinch Rivers along with a multitude of creeks surrounding a wildlife
management area.
All told, we had 16 boats and 19 couples on the trip, which
consisted of half the group towing on Thursday and the second group towing on
Friday. The long weekend of excitement started early with Keep 'N Cadence
experiencing a trailer issue before even getting out of South Carolina! Not to
be outdone, but certainly not on purpose, P/C Charlie Bruce hardly made it out
of his neighborhood before needing a new tire on his tow vehicle. And, we won't
even talk about the monsoon group two drove through to reach our weekend
getaway.
Yet, after navigating a "road" reminiscent of that going into
Devil's Fork State Park that our members know well, we arrived at Shanghai to
clearing skies. Overlooking Shanghai Cove was the 24-room lodge with a large,
second-floor porch from which we could see our boats. And, with only 24 rooms,
you realize we practically owned the place. Down the hillside, past additional
trailer parking was the floating marina, which hosted Castaways Grill and Bar
featuring large outdoor dining, as did most of the marinas our members
discovered during their time at Norris Lake.
Actually, we cruised just shy of 200 miles, visiting Sequoyah
Marina, Stardust Marina, and motoring by the Norris Dam Marina when we checked
out Norris Dam! We discovered a beautiful cove in which to raft up and spent
several pleasant hours bobbing in the cool waters before continuing to explore,
travelling to Lost Creek, circling Bear Hole Island and Wood Duck Island. One
afternoon we cruised Cedar Creek, toward Cumberland Mountains, until Yankee
Pankee almost ran out of water and we turned around and headed back with the
sun setting to Shanghai Resort where we enjoyed a second night of bagpipe music
by Mike Urquhart. And, on the evening we celebrated RJ and Debbie Becht's 40th
wedding anniversary and KT Tripathi's 60th birthday, we enjoyed old favorites
and originals by a young guitar player!
Again, the trip wasn't all roses and while we have no bent prop
nominees, P/C Fred Ruinen had to replace his alternator and P/C Tony Dodson
encountered an issue that was attributed to water in his fuel. Then there was
the excitement of more tire changing on the return trip to South Carolina.
Charlie didn't make it to Knoxville before having to change a trailer tire,
while George Williamson, who was towing his 26-foot cruiser, made it 20 miles
further before having to change one of his, and P/C David Allen made it to
within 10 miles of home when he had to replace a trailer tire in yet another
monsoon -- we were lucky in that the rain while at Norris Lake most of the
significant rain took place at night. Well, there was that rain while we waited
to get water and electricity back on one morning! But, you'll have to get that
story from one of the cruisers!
Click on the first thumbnail below to open the photos from our
trip. You'll notice a couple of photos with RJ and Debbie with friends who
joined them from out-of-state to celebrate their anniversary on Norris Lake,
where they all boated when the Bechts lived in Ohio. A special thanks to
information provided by John and Valerie Hunter and photos from RJ Becht.
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