28 September 2016 - One of the most scenic legs of our trip was the last one, from Joe Wheeler to Ditto Landing in Huntsville, AL. We had a gorgeous blue-sky day with a nip of fall in the air as we passed familiar landmarks that felt like home. Decatur, AL has the busy RR lift bridge that may require a wait depending on the traffic. After passing under I-65 the river from there to the 231 Hwy Bridge looks like itprobably did 200 years ago. There is very little sign of civilization except for the occasional dirt boat ramp or a clearing along the bank. Redstone Arsenal takes up the last 10 miles of the north bank and Morgan County backwoods on the southern bank. Viridian snaked through the last big S curves on the Tennessee before getting to the US 231 bridge where our home port of Ditto Landing sits on the Madison County side of the river. We hailed the Harbor Master on CH-16 and were given docking instructions as we approached the inlet for the harbor. Viridian nosed her way in and around the harbor until we came to rest in a transient slip between the Nina and the Santa Maria replica ships. These two ships were touring our area in celebration of Columbus Day and were staying at Ditto for a week to allowing people to come on board and see what life was like in 1492 on the highest-technology sailing vessel of that day. It's not every day that the captain of the Nina walks over to you and says "Nice boat"!
We are here
That's the news and here's the views:
Route From Grand Harbor Marina to Joe Wheeler SP
Wilson: Facts + Figures
- Construction of Wilson Dam began in 1918 and was completed in 1924.
- The dam is 137 feet high and stretches 4,541 feet across the Tennessee River.
- Wilson Dam is a hydroelectric facility. It has 21 generating units with a net dependable capacity of 663 megawatts. Net dependable capacity is the amount of power a dam can produce on an average day, minus the electricity used by the dam itself.
- Wilson is the largest conventional hydroelectric facility in the TVA system. Only Raccoon Mountain Pumped-Storage Plant near Chattanooga can generate more hydroelectric power.
- Wilson Reservoir provides 166 miles of shoreline and 15,500 acres of water surface for recreation.
- The main lock at Wilson is 110-by-600 feet. With a maximum lift of 100 feet, it is the highest single lift lock east of the Rockies. An auxiliary lock has two 60-by 300-foot chambers that operate in tandem.
- On average, 3,700 vessels pass through Wilson's locks each year.
- Wilson has a flood-storage capacity of 50,500 acre-feet.
Deep Water Ship heading down the Tennessee for the Mississippi and into the Gulf
El and I are on the feed burner and looking forward to the journey with you.
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