1 October 2004
As the sun rose over Kentucky Lake this morning not a sound could be heard on board. The Trader rocked gently back and forth and golden, syrupy water surrounded the boat on all sides. We were delayed until 10 pm last night in a dam lock, and just anchored in the middle of Lake Kentucky upon departure of the dam, and the sight of the lake this morning was a treat for the eyes after arriving in complete darkness last night. We pulled the pick and started our day's journey. We traveled down the Kentucky Lake all day, passing grove after grove of huge trees hundreds of years old and full of every color imaginable until arriving to the night's destination, Cuba Landing, around 9 pm at night. This put The Trader and her Captain in a precarious predicament; after a preliminary look at the entry and channel from a trip through in the tin boat, it was obvious this would be a challenging maneuver, made all the more difficult by the complete darkness. The channel was very narrow, about 25 feet across, running mere yards from an island in the middle of the lake. The current was running strong and the port buoy was nowhere to be seen. As we entered the channel the current grabbed the Trader and nudged her onto a muddy bank, setting us still. A local dock worker and fisherman named Toby came out of the dark Tennessee night on his two-tiered bass boat with a lovely blonde friend, and as Tyler was pushing The Trader with the tinny, he pulled The Trader from the mud bank and into the channel. It was just a little boat, but that 200 horsepower Merc really packed a punch and got us off of there. We pulled into the dock and were greeted by a group of locals who gathered "to watch the show". It turns out that running aground here happens often, and that we were far from the first boat to find that mud bank. They were surprised to see a brightly painted open ocean vessel pull into their local dock and were full of questions and advice for tomorrow's exit from the docks and back into the Kentucky Lake and down the Tennessee River. They came onboard and brought a bottle of wine, and before we knew it, we were in the middle of a night of laughter and stories. People from these parts are simple country folk, friendly, humorous and speaking with the strongest accent imaginable. It was truly difficult to understand what was being said at times. They invited us to breakfast tomorrow, so we are really looking forward to what promises to be a cultural experience in the morning. Right now the boat is quiet once again, only the buzzing sound of insects on the river banks can be heard. The Trader and her crew are at peace, resting for what will be another eventful day down the river tomorrow.

-Tony Roberts




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