Okay, it wasn’t wild. It was actually pretty chill. But it was wet.

We pulled out of Pebble Isle at 0700 and turned into the current of the Tennessee River. It was a calm, cool morning with some high clouds. We spent most of the day cruising at between 9 and 10 mph and dodging the frequent fishermen cruising to their favorite spots.

Later in the day, it started to rain. The rain became more steady with bands of heavier stuff. We turned on the radar just to give us a little more visibility and kept chugging along.

As we came around the bend to Clifton Marina, I called to make sure they had enough water. We had read about people being concerned about the depth and the river was low. The nice man assured me that they never had less than six feet, so we sailed on in.

Clifton Marina is relatively small, but they have a long dock and several slips for transients. As we pulled in, we tucked between the long dock and the scary rock levee that makes for a very well protected marina. The staff helped us in and were absolutely delightful.

The marina has a restaurant and bar with live music about 30 feet from our bow. It was about 1400 and they were having a benefit for the family of a young police officer who had been killed in the line of duty while responding to a domestic disturbance. We enjoyed our late lunch and honored a young man who gave his life in service to his community.

After dinner we decided to walk into town and see what there was to see. Clifton is a small river town with a cute main street. Nothing was open, but the street and homes were decorated in either patriotic or Halloween decorations… or both. The Cliftonians (Cliftons? Clifts? Cliftonites?) seem to love their town and it shows.

We got caught in a heavy downpour on our way back to the marina. We thought to bring an umbrella with us, but it is really only big enough for one person. I got to the boat with a soaked right shoulder and Wendy’s left shoulder was equally soaked.

Clifton was a welcoming port in the storm… or shower, at least.