Riverbend Survivor

We've been going to the Riverbend music festival in Chattanooga for the last several years and this was to be no exception. The trip had been planned for months to go with some friends we have known for nearly 30 years. This was done way before we knew that we had the boat or when we could actually get it moved. Since the big trip was completed and the boat was there, we figured we would just go stay on it and try for a spot on the wall at the festival.

I got on a waiting list and hoped for a call, but no luck. The boat was our hotel and we just drove in the first two days we were there. That was all good since we could walk around to the various stages and see different performers as well as the main stage. Wednesday was Dirks Bentley and Thursday was Lynyrd Skynyrd. It was great fun! Sadly, our friends had an emergency and had to leave early Friday morning. 

At this point, Regina and I decided to just go down to the Chattanooga Riverfront and anchor. This will be the first time we have seen the concert from the water side. Our slip neighbor "Doc" had already gone down and had a front row spot. The plan was to raft up with him so off we went on our first solo trip. Lock down thru Chickamauga was no problem although I must admit the perspective of locking down is way different than going up.  Doc was there with another boat so we rafted up on his port side, set the anchor and settled in to enjoy what he described as AMATEUR HOUR!!  This was Friday so the weekend was beginning. Today turns out to be relatively calm compared to what would happen on Saturday. 

Saturday was the final day and includes an amazing fireworks show. Everybody comes for that. We spend the afternoon fending off various boats that try to ram into us and struggling with a couple of others who actually hook the anchor rode of the boat we are rafted with. Thinking this couldn't get much worse, some guy in a boat in front of us decides to take a swim in the 3 knot current. We try to throw him a life ring, but he's gone too quick and he ends up about a half mile down river before he finally gets picked up.  

The crowd continues to arrive and attempt to deal with the flow and set things supposed to be anchors??  Now here we're talking buckets filled with concrete, CMU blocks, and all sorts of tiny little hooks usually tied on with something like ski rope. Most of these will not set, so its back and forth trying to hook. And then when these "anchors" let go, seeing how many others could be knocked off of theirs as they float downstream. This continues for hours, but finally is over before the fireworks begin. When the fireworks show is over, the freak show begins again. People are going in every direction, running into one another and getting tangled up. We just stay put and hope they will all miss us!!

Its now Sunday and time to head back to the marina. We wait until about noon and then head upstream for the lock. About the time we start, so do about 10 other boats!  This is getting interesting.  We all have to wait at the lock for a tug/barge to get thru and when we finally get in, there are 15 boats in the lock!!  Crazy maneuvering is required to get everyone in, but somehow it works. Up we go, one at a time we get unhooked and out the top side. From here is just a quick trip to the marina and by 3 Blue Ayes is back in her slip.  We survived!!!