
We passed this tree covered with Birds at Browns Ferry.
We arrived at the Wheeler Lock at 11:30 and waited for 30 minutes while they filled the chamber for us. We exited after a very slow 46-foot drop at 12:30. Since we were so far ahead of our schedule, we killed the engine and sailed for a couple of hours under spinnaker alone. The wind was light, so we were only making 2 knots, but it was a beautiful sunny day and we had no deadline.

For three days, we had been hearing a sailboat named "Debonair" calling the locks and bridges behind us. When we slowed down to sail, they caught up with us. I called them on the radio and it turns out they were from Blue Springs Marina on Watts Bar and were delivering the boat to Lake Wilson to sell it. It was a Beneteau (like ours) only 2 feet shorter. We took their picture as they went by.

At 2:45 we tied up at Steve and Toni's beautiful private dock in Six Mile Creek. They cooked a feast of a dinner for us and showed us what Alabama hospitality is all about.
Thursday was a "lay day" to get back on schedule, so I did some boat chores. I removed and adjusted the fuel tank sending unit so that the gauge will be more accurate. Then I climbed the mast to lubricate the pulley (called a sheave) at the top because we noticed it was sticking as we raised the sails on Monday. No matter how many times you've done it, climbing a 50-foot mast gets your heart rate up.

Our batteries and food supplies have been recharged, so tomorrow morning we will enter the tallest freshwater lock in North America, the Wilson Lock at Florence Alabama.
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