Chattanooga’s community of yacht owners have not settled here by accident. As a major waterway, the Tennessee River offers adventure for boats small and large and for boaters both casual and veteran. In fact, via the Tennessee, experienced boaters with outfitted vessels can venture virtually across the world—to Canada, South America, or even Europe. Here at home, the city’s well-equipped waterfront offers the opportunity for yachters to spend weekends docked in the heart of town, within a short jaunt of restaurants, cultural venues, and shopping. If you haven’t before thought of Chattanooga as a yachter’s paradise, consider how these local couples have established lifestyles firmly rooted around serious—and luxurious—boating.
Alicia Cooper and Bill Farris
Alicia Cooper and Bill Farris set their wedding date for December 5th of this year so as not to disrupt their summer boating schedule with the hullabaloo of nuptial preparations. Bill laughs at himself even as he says this, “So, yes, we’re pretty serious about boating.”
A native of Saltville, Virginia, and 34-year Chattanooga resident, Bill bought his first boat in 1977 when he saw it sitting along the side of the road with a “for sale” sign hanging from its hull. Since that time, Bill estimates that he’s owned 12 boats, each new purchase a bit larger than its predecessor.
In September of 2008, Alicia and Bill bought a 45-foot Four Winns 458 named “Doctor’s Orders,” which they had custom-built in Cadillac, Michigan. A custom-build allowed them to choose not only the colors and fabrics that they prefer, but also the electronic components that best suit their needs. “Doctor’s Orders” has two 600-horsepower motors, cruises at about 30 miles per hour, and is what Bill calls a “social boat,” easily fitting 10 to 12 people comfortably in the cockpit. What’s more, the boat boasts a wet bar, sleeping for six, and a hydraulic swim platform outfitted with a wave runner. With all these features, Bill predicts that he’ll hold onto “Doctor’s Orders” for quite a long time.
The real fun of owning a boat, however, isn’t the features, but the availability of opportunities to utilize them; with easy access to the Tennessee River, Alicia and Bill have plenty. “We do a lot of downtown stuff—Beer on the Bridge, Wine over Water,” says Bill. “We love the waterfront.” They also enjoy jaunts up and down the Tennessee River to Watts Bar Lake, for visits to restaurants and marinas, and to Knoxville—a 175-mile journey—for UT football games. “We like to go out, drop an anchor, and spend the weekend,” says Bill.
For Alicia, a native of Cleveland, Tennessee, and an independent travel consultant who works with McKee Foods, and Bill, a senior vice president at U.S. Xpress with a 22-year tenure, weekends generally start Fridays at noon, when they set out aboard “Doctor’s Orders” with Bill acting as captain and Alicia as first mate. Oftentimes, boat-owning friends accompany them on these relaxing excursions. Bill notes that he prefers locations of pure seclusion, “without cell phone access,” he stipulates.
After retirement, Bill hopes to extend these journeys farther, perhaps to the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Keys. However, for the time being, he’s content with quiet weekends on the Tennessee, his fiancée as first mate, and “Doctor’s Orders” lolling peacefully in a scenic cove.
Bill and Mary Kilbride
When Bill Kilbride was 16, he left his Long Island home for a seasonal job aboard a foreign flagship. During that summer and several that followed, Bill traveled to Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Poland, and Europe as a deckhand aboard ships. The son of a World War II Merchant Marine captain, Bill is one of five children, all of whom are active boaters. Therefore, when Bill and his wife Mary moved to Chattanooga 17 years ago, there was no doubt that the Tennessee River would become their weekend playground.
Four years ago, Bill and Mary purchased a 45-foot-long Grand Banks, their second, and named it “Riverben” in memory of their son Ben, a water lover, who passed away at age 11. With their three other children—Sara, a 22-year-old University of Tennessee senior studying communications; Hannah, a 17-year-old Baylor junior; and Addie, a 14-year-old Baylor eighth grader—Bill and Mary most appreciate the features of the “Riverben” that provide so much enjoyment for the entire family.
And the “Riverben” has an abundance of these features, suited for both luxurious and efficient travel, such as teak and mahogany detailing, deep freezers for food storage, satellite television, and full baths. From a technical point of view, the Kilbrides also appreciate “Riverben’s” maneuverability, her ease of maintenance, and her solid, reliable construction, not to mention her ability to tow a ski boat for the girls.
Bill, president of Mohawk Home, and Mary, a volunteer for such organizations as Baylor School, 4 Bridges Arts Festival, Chattanooga Food Bank, Bright School, and Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy, met in Chicago where Mary was working for Sears, Roebuck and Company and Bill for Dean Witter. After tenures on Wall Street, they moved to Chattanooga when Bill was offered a job in the floor covering industry.
Although Bill has a 45-minute commute to his Mohawk office, one reason the family chose to live in Chattanooga was because of the Tennessee River. Most of all, the couple says they enjoy the freedom that easy access to a major waterway offers. “We can travel the Tennessee to Chicago, New York, anywhere in the world,” Bill says.
The furthest the Kilbrides, who boat year-round, have taken the “Riverben” is to the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Keys; eventually they hope to complete The Great Loop, which will take them down the Tennessee and the Tombigbee Waterway to the Gulf, where they will then circle eastern North America and through the Great Lakes.
While their kids are young, however, they are content to stay close to home, taking advantage of Chattanooga’s wonderful resource, the Tennessee. Most of all, Bill says, “We recognize the incredible opportunity that we have with the Tennessee River and what a treasure it is. We can’t take it for granted - we all have to work together to protect it.”
Mickey and Shay Wix
Mickey and Shay Wix named their 48-foot Carver Californian “Sydney Gray” after their 9-year-old granddaughter. However, they had a little explaining to do to Sydney’s younger brother, Andrew. Shay recalls, “We told him that yachts are named after girls, and fast boats are named after boys.” The Wix’s dinghy, a sunny, yellow kayak, carries the name “Andrew P,” which delights 7-year-old Andrew Patrick.
Sydney and Andrew, who reside with their parents in Birmingham, figure heavily into one of Mickey and Shay’s favorite boating activities—entertaining. The kids have their own cabin, decorated in a fun graphic-print fabric. Additionally, the “Sydney Gray” features a large indoor-outdoor four-seasons living space where the children can play. The galley hosts a full-size refrigerator, range, and space for Shay to turn out what she says are “better meals than I cook at home.”
The Wixes purchased the “Sydney Gray” nearly two years ago after Mickey conducted an extensive search for “the perfect boat.” The “Sydney Gray,” then moored on the Lake of the Ozarks, was disassembled, shipped, and reassembled in Chattanooga. At that time, the couple made some aesthetic updates to the 17-year-old vessel. Today, Mickey still visits the boat every afternoon to work on small projects. “It’s my place to piddle,” he says.
But marina-life doesn’t just mean staying on the boat; within the local community, where individuals are often recognized by their boat’s name rather than their last name, there is a true sense of camaraderie. Indeed, on many weekend afternoons, slip-neighbors often host impromptu parties on the pier.
When the Wixes crave a bit more solitude, they don’t have to travel far for peace and quiet. “We can come out here on Friday and, if we just go across the river, there are several really nice little coves where we can anchor and it’s just like being 500 miles away,” says Mickey.
The Wixes are not, by a long shot, the only adventurers in their family. At present, Shay’s sister and brother-in-law are completing The Great Loop, circumventing eastern North America by boat. Shay’s father, at age 70, hiked the Appalachian Trail. Shay and Mickey’s son, Darby, has visited 57 countries in the past few years as a pilot with AirMed International, an air medical transport company. Shay actually started her adventuring at age 16 when, on the same day, she failed her driver’s license test yet soloed her first airplane. “If I could get a ride to the airport, I was good to go,”
she jokes.
When the Wixes retire—Mickey from Watermen Incorporated and Shay from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee—and are no longer limited to weekend boating, they hope to conduct an annual leisurely trip to the Gulf, where Shay’s parents reside, to celebrate Thanksgiving. They plan to remain in the Gulf for Christmas and Mardi Gras, then start their journey north to spend the summer in Chattanooga, arriving home around May. If that sounds like a long time to cover the 400 or so miles from the Gulf, Shay reminds us, “It’s not about getting there; it’s about making the trip.”
Oftentimes, a change in scenery is all that is needed to release the stress of daily life. For Alicia Cooper and Bill Farris, the Kilbrides, and the Wixes, boating on the Tennessee River provides that easy, convenient escape. Whether floating in a secluded cove, cruising the gorge to enjoy fall foliage, docking downtown for a weekend of Riverbend fanfare, or making The Great Loop, the Tennessee River is the commencement of many journeys: intimate weekend excursions, once-in-a-lifetime milestones, and fun-filled adventures with family and friends.