While Clarksville may not be "way down yonder on the
Chattahoochee," McGregor Park received a visit from a yacht owned by
country music singer Alan Jackson and its crew.
Jackson, however, was not onboard the yacht.
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Eddie Trimble, captain of the
Lady J, who maintains the upkeep of boats for Jackson, stopped by
Clarksville on his way to Pickwick Dam, Tenn., where the boat will
have some paint work done.
The 62-foot-long boat, which Trimble said is a "pristine" 1964
Burger created in Wisconsin, is very unique.
"There were probably only two of them made in 1964 like this,"
Trimble said.
Trimble said Jackson has been on the boat several times, and
operates it himself.
"He's a very good boater," Trimble said. "He wasn't able to come
with us today."
Marina talk
Trimble said he was invited to stop here by Larry McMillan,
chancellor of the 19th Judicial District, to talk about what types
of people a marina in Fairgrounds Park would attract.
"I don't have any dogs in this hunt," Trimble said. "Or maybe I
do because I have a lot of friends who would like to stop out here."
Trimble, who built relationships with many boaters as a boat
delivery captain earlier in his life, said boaters in trollers who
explore a loop of rivers around America are always looking for
"interesting side trips."
"Those kind of people look for side trips, like through the
Missouri and Arkansas rivers," Trimble said. "Something that's not
part of the main loop."
Trimble added that rivers in Tennessee have been a favorite for
those types of folks, called "loopers."
"The Cumberland River could be developed that way," Trimble said.
"There's quite a few people that come through here already. The more
nice things you do here, such as a marina ... could bear great
interest for these people to come stay a week or two or three."
Many loopers do that in areas such as Green Turtle Bay Resort and
Marina in Grand Rivers, Ky. and in his hometown of Pickwick Dam.
"Where I'm from, they'll come and stay a month or two — they're
in no hurry," Trimble said. "If you get enough interesting things
... they'll stay a while."
Trimble said the loopers are connected through boating
associations and through social networking Web sites and blogs,
adding that if they visited here and enjoyed it, the word of mouth
could bring more.
"You need a marina here — it's a good place for it," Trimble
said.
Mayor Johnny Piper sat on the boat, along with Trimble and
McMillan, and he used the opportunity to promote the proposed
marina.
"This is the reason we want a marina here — for people like Eddie
with the Lady J coming through," Piper said. "We want Clarksville to
be a place where they want to stop and visit and learn about
Clarksville what we all know."
Piper said the Lady J's visit is an example of what type of
activity a marina in Clarksville could see.
Marina history
Piper announced his support of the marina in May, and within a
month the council appropriated nearly $400,000 for construction at
Fairgrounds Park.
Greg Batts, owner of Cadiz's Prizer Point marina was selected
last year as a marina manager.
theleafchronicle.com
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