UP the Rivers (and down a bit)

The Ohio and Cumberland Rivers (and Nashville)

Wednesday, September 29^th

Quiet night, woke up to a light fog. The anchorage was about ½ mile from the construction site for a new dam and lock. It has been under construction for about 20 years now. Funding (or rather lack of it) keeps stopping work.

Very few tow boats compared to the Mississippi. No wind and the river is flat calm today. The first lock and dam we came to we just passed over the dam since the water is so high the lock can be bypassed. The Dam (a wicket dam) is designed to be lowered so boats can pass over when the water level is high enough.

The Ohio is almost a mile wide here. Wider than the Mississippi where we were.

We called Lock 52 (the next lock) and were told that we might have a 4 hr. wait. When we arrived the estimate was about 2 hrs. There were 18 tows Northbound and 15 tows Southbound waiting for the lock. We dropped anchor and got ready to have lunch while we were waiting. Twenty minutes after the anchor went down the lockmaster called and told us that as soon as the next southbound tug cleared we could go on in. What a break to catch the lock between stages.

Ship Stuff

The tows can not pass each other near the lock since there is not enough room. While they are waiting they push the front of the tow on to the river bank and hold it there. When the Southbound tow comes out of the lock it needs to travel past a number of Northbound tows waiting on the riverbank. The Northbound tows need to wait for the Southbound tow to pass before they can pull out and enter the lock. The tugs waiting along the riverbank are stretched out for about a mile. In order to expedite the locking process they can cycle up, and another Southbound tug can enter the lock and lock down before a Northbound tug could clear the bank and enter the lock. Therefore they stage 6 Southbound Tugs and then 6 Northbound tugs. In between stages there is a wait for the last tug to clear the waiting tugs. The lockmaster was able to slip the three of us through without holding up the next tug. We could not lock up between Southbound tugs (even though the lock went up empty) because the next Southbound tug had pulled up right at the lock door to expedite the process. It takes quite a while to maneuver a 12 to 24 barge tow into position. They only have about a foot of clearance on each side of a three wide tow in the lock..

End Ship Stuff

The Gang comes to the Beach
L-R Brenda, Dave, Sue (standing), Joe, Carole

We took a look at the town dock in Paducah, Ky and did not like the look so we are heading on closer to the Cumberland River for an Anchorage.

We anchored behind Towhead Island. While I was walking Annie, Joe from Quixote got cabin fever and launched their dinghy, so he and Sue picked up Dave and Brenda (The Old Grouch), and Carole and joined me for a walk on the island. Lots of deer, raccoon, and Heron Tracks in the sand. Of course Annie had to jump in the river and then roll in the sand. By the time I got her back to the boat she had sand everywhere. The inside of the dinghy looked like a sandbox. Out came the hose and Annie and the boat got a good rinsing. Gotta love the fresh water!

Thursday, September 30^th

Great Blue Heron sitting on a snag in front of us at dawn this morning.

Heron on a snag in the Morning

After the fog lifted we moved on to the Cumberland River and were treated to another change of scenery. Narrow and winding – lots of vegetation, fewer barges, and rock cliffs on one side and sand beaches on the other.

Beach full of Black Vultures

Lots of Black Vultures and a few ducks we have not been able to identify yet.
Several rock quarries and rock crushers along the banks, and we are starting to see more tugs moving barges around the facilities.

One of many stone quarries

Seven turtles on a log.

We are seeing a lot of turtles sunning themselves on the stumps and rocks in the river.

On through the Barkley Lock and in to 'Green Turtle Bay Marina. There are about a dozen loopers here. It seems that this is one of several nodes on the loop where almost all of the loopers stop. It is a nice marina, nice people, good facility with an indoor pool and spa.

I spent the afternoon cleaning the hull. In the evening 10 of us went to Patti's for dinner. I think Patti's owns the town. There is Patti's this and Patti's that – every other building has their name on it. The restaurant is famous for their 2” thick pork chops and mile high pies for dessert. The decor and atmosphere reminded me of Zabers (for those who remember it). Christmas decorations and lights and tinsel stringers in one room. Plastic strings of pine boughs in another. Santa Claus dolls in the store part (where we had to wait since we had a ½ hour wait on a Thursday night).

Friday, October 1^st

Mail came today- still 2 more packages to come. If I can get the water pump today we may be able to leave on Sunday. I promised Carole two full days here. While waiting for the water pump Q's End rented a golf cart and everyone went to town. The town is Grand Rivers, KY but should really be called Patti's, KY. After running all over the one street to find a hardware store we went about 4 miles down the road and ½ mile on a divided highway in the golf cart to find the place. We tried to eat a hot dog place, but were told that they only served lunch by appointment. Patti's was eat if we wanted to eat, so that's where we ate. They make a big todo over anniversaries and birthdays. The staff gets the entire room to sing after making an announcement. While we there this time they announced that a young man had something to say to his girlfriend – and he then proceeded to propose to her in front of the room.

Cocktails at the indoor pool at 6:30 only to find out we had only ½ hr . Before the pool closed. It worked out O.K. Later Carole wanted Pizza for dinner only to find out that no one delivered here. Linda (on Q's End) remembered that the Yacht Club at the Marina had Pizza on the menu so we all headed there. Surprise! It was not a Pizza but Pizza in a dish. This is another dry county so we bring our own (last night a t Patti's also) and they charged us $5.00 to open our own bottle. Patti's did not charge, nor would they touch the bottle. They would loan you a corkscrew however.

The water pump arrived in the late morning and when I opened the package it was the wrong pump.It was my mistake and it will be costly. All along I thought the engine (as I was told) was a Volvo TAMD40 and parts previously were the right parts. The engine is a TMD40 – oh well lesson learned.

Several phone calls later and the right pump was on its way and the wrong pump was on its way back.

I did manage to rewire my hour meter so that it shows actual engine hours and not just how long the switch was on.

Saturday, October 2^nd

Three couples took the courtesy van to Paducah. Stopped at some stores in the morning and made a very important stop at a large liquor store where we all stocked up. It might be hard getting the groceries in the van, but we got the important stuff.

The waterfront area is well done. The 12' high flood walls have murals painted on the landside. Several Art galleries/museums, a street art show, buildings with hand painted tiles for the front wall and the restaurant where we had lunch had art on the walls . All in all a pleasant town.

We went grocery shopping on the way home and just managed to squeeze everything in the van.

We were all too tired for a social hour tonight..

Sunday, October 3^rd

My dinghy davit kit arrived yesterday and I also found out that my pump had arrived, but I did not get it until 10 o'clock this morning. I spent the day on maintenance & repairs. While I was installing the new water pump I found that the hose going to the water heater had gotten well past its replacement timer. Although it was not leaking, it was so bad I was afraid to touch it for fear that antifreeze would leak all over the bilge. I replaced the hose while doing the water pump. I started the engine and all is fine.

Since I was already working down there I changed the oil in the generator and also changed the engine fuel filters. A good afternoon's work.

Carole was off visiting the National Quilt Museum which allowed me to leave the hatches open without worrying about her falling in to the engine room.

We also had the local canvas shop repair the seams on some of our canvas top. He did a good job and quite reasonable.

The cocktail hour was bittersweet. The group we have been traveling with, some since the Georgian Bay are heading in different directions. Joe and Sue on Quixote are selling their boat and heading home. They did the part they wanted to see and are ready to move on. The Old Grouch is going to Chattanooga, Windsong is going to poke around the Tennessee River, as is Lazy Dolphin, and Q's End and us are going up the Cumberland River to Nashville. We will meet up with some of them at the rendezvous in Alabama, but we are all on different agendas after that.

It was another cold night – temperature dropped to 38 degrees – a good thing the heater works!

Monday, October 4^th
Headed out on a cold, clear, calm morning. The Cumberland River is actually a lake (Lake Barclay) for many miles. The lake was created by the building of Barclay Dam. We are looking at a large expanse of water that is mostly 10-15 ft. deep. The channel is the old riverbed and is 60' deep and wanders a lot. We have to keep a sharp eye on the charts and the channel markers. Many of the sandbars are covered with flocks of White Pelicans – hundreds of them. Another of the shallows had 60-80 Common Egrets feeding and of course the ubiquitous Great Blue Herons. 

Lots of Pelicans

Close up of  lots of Pelicans

Pelicans landing

Common Egrets feeding

And if you want to see how many pelicans look at this video

Cliffs along the river

Some of the banks are rock walls which was the old riverbank. Our original plan was to go about 45 miles today, but we decided to do a long push so tomorrow we can arrive early and spend some time in Clarkesville. The anchorage behind Dover Island was supposed to be 20 ft. deep at normal pool (this is a reference level set by the Corps of Engineers). The river is now 4' below normal pool. When we arrived at Dover Island we could not find anything less than 30' deep. At the upper end of the island it is supposed to shoal to 12ft. The shallowest water we could find was 15 ft. and this would be 19' at normal pool. We finally anchored almost past the island close to the river in 15 ft. of water.

We barbecued some chicken and watched a DVD before hitting the sack.

Tuesday, October 5^th

Sea smoke in the morning.

Woke up to heavy fog and the thermometer in the 30's. I would have gone back to bed, bed Annie needs to go to shore in the morning. Cold, wet and sandy when I get back to the boat and I can not go back to bed. Cleaned up the dinghy and stowed it back on the transom. By the time I had coffee and checked the email the fog was lifting. We got underway at 9:30 to a beautiful sunny morning with only a little sea smoke on the water.

Tied up in Clarkesville

An easy run to Clarkesville, TN. A nice city dock with power – no water or bathrooms, but it is free. The Parks and Recs liaison came down to the dock to meet us and give us maps and town information. It is Wilma Rudoph's home town and there was a statue of her near the docks. The walk in to town was uphill all of the way, so we had to stop at the Wild Horse Brewery to quench our thirst before continuing on our explorations. We are back in Yuengling country! Have not been able to get it since leaving NY state. We went back there later for dinner and had a pretty good meal.

Wednesday, October 6^th

Mornng fog in Clarkesville

Tow half down the Tug is still up at the top in the lock.

More fog this morning. Since it was not as cold last night the fog lifted early. I am glad we did not try to get all the way to Nashville today. At Cheatham Lock we had a 2 hour wait for a tow to lock down. It was a 3x5 tow and only the barges got in and locked down the first time. They then had to float all of the barges out of the lock on an almost non-existent current – it took forever. They then closed and refilled the lock and brought the tug down. Finally the tug had to reattach the tow before heading off downstream. Fifteen minutes later we were out of the lock and on our way.

All together and heading out

We anchored behind Gower Island for the night. It was very narrow so we dropped an stern anchor to keep from swinging in to the bushes on shore. The slow cooker had been going all day and we had a great stew for dinner.









Thursday, October 7^th

So much for my stern anchor holding. We woke up to find the boat turned completely around. The wind died during the night and they must have opened the next dam some because the current turned the boat around, although we did not get close to the bushes. So the anchor must have done some good as it got close to the shallow water.

On to Nashville. The docks here are rougher than Clarkesville and they charge for them. There are no bathrooms or showers at the dock. The upside is that they are right downtown. We walked up Broadway, across 2^nd, up Commerce to 5^th, back to Broadway and down to 1^st. We were never more than 20 steps from a bar/saloon and there was country music or Blues playing in every one of them!

Boats at the dock looking at downtown Nashville
The floodwaters were 1/2 way up the first floor of those buildings

We started to walk to a restaurant that was recommended and declared it too far, so we got a cab to take us to a German Restaurant across the river. Tom and Linda(Q's End) and Carole liked it. I thought it was fair at best, but then I am not a fan of German food.

Friday, October 8^th

There are several free bus routes around the downtown area. They are designed to discourage tourists and commuters from driving a lot. Carole and I used it to get a feel for the area. Since it was mainly a commuter route we took we had to determine what it was we were seeing on our own. It did take us to the Country Music Hall of Fame Museum which was our intended destination. We just took the long way around to get there.

We spent most of the day there. We did take a lunch break at Jack's BBQ. The line was out the door and inside it ran the length of the building and the counter was on the way back to the front. We chose our food and the plates were made up as we walked by. The pulled Pork Sandwiches were really good.

Back to the Country Music Hall of Fame for the second half of the self guided tour. The museum is very well organized. The displays guided us through the early development of Country Music by using artifacts, old film, and music clips. Not being real Country fans the tour was really informative and we learned a lot and I now have some appreciation for the music.

At least Carole had a western hat!

In the evening we took a cab to the Grand Old Opry. Tom had gotten us tickets since this was the 85^th Anniversary weekend we thought we would need them. We tried to get Saturday Tickets (Dolly Parton was going to be there) but is was standing room only. We had never thought about the fact that it is a live radio show, and that there would be commercials between most performances. We saw a number of performers (most of which I had never heard of) each doing two numbers. Krystal Gale and Connie Smith were two of them. And there was a surprise visitor, Charles Osgood of CBS Sunday Morning showed up. He played some piano and sang several old favorites. I think he really was a surprise because when he started to play the house musicians took several bars to pick it up. It was a really good show.

The sound board - 100 inputs across the board

Being greeted by Minnie Pearl

We had planned to go out for Catfish after the show. I had been talking to the Sound man I had inquired about the soundboard he was using (we were seated one row up from it) and we wound up talking about boating. He offered to take us out through the stage door and give us a ride to the restaurant. Meanwhile Carole talked to several of the Ushers/guides during the intermission. They called the restaurant for us and we learned that they stopped serving before the show ended. They put their heads together and could not come up with anywhere else to eat after the show. It seems that since the flood last May many of the places near the river had not been able to reopen. Opreyland had just opened two weeks ago.

Joe's Crab Shack

We went back to town and found a great place. Joe's Crab Shack. Tom and Linda had lunch there and raved about it so we all went back there. Besides having Snow, Dungeness, and King Crab at reasonable prices they have draft beers two for one, including Yeungling. $3.75 for two. It was a late night, but well spent.

Saturday, October 9^th

Late start and we used the Blue Line Bus to go to the farm market – it is also the German Festival today. As we went through the farm market we realized that we could shop there on the way home after the German festival. We also learned that a highly recommended restaurant was around the corner. We went to the festival and had a beer, the lines to get a German Sausage were really long and we thought that possibly the restaurant might be a good option. Great choice! The sign at he front of Monel's said that they did not serve lunch on Saturday. A walk around to the door showed up a paper sign that said: “due to the German Festival we are serving lunch today”. Service is family style. Starting with a cucumber and coleslaw salads. White beans, potato salad and sauerkraut were served along with Bratwurst, pulled pork and skillet fried chicken. Banana pudding for dessert. All very, very good. Amazingly the total cost per person was $14.00. We pigged out and will have a very light dinner.

We walked back to the Farm Market which is open every day. Vendors are mostly there every day. Lots of Organic produce and meats. The meat is all packaged and frozen. There was a dairy farm that used glass bottles that people brought back for reuse. When the milk supply for the day was gone they left.

Black Crowned Night heron

We took the bus back to the boat and there was a Black Crowned Night Heron on a snag in front of Q's End.

The Batman Building

I wandered around town for a while. I wanted to take some pictures of the AT&T building, known locally as the Batman Building. The flood last May wiped out a lot of the area. The flood really was devastating. We were docked about 40' below the street level and the flood waters were 6' deep in the street and in the buildings! There were pictures showing the water in the street. I walked up on the walking bridge across the river to take some pictures and the black Crowned Night Heron was still on the log.

The streets here are crowded and noisy. Every saloon is packed. We looked in to several places to eat and the Country Music was too loud. We went to Joe's Crabhouse for a lite dinner.

We have a long day tomorrow so early to bed.

Sunday, October 10^th

Looks like another cool morning and hot afternoon. The last three afternoons have been in the mid 80's.

It is very calm on the river. We are still seeing lots of Great Blue Herons. Except for the flocks of Starlings and Pelicans these are the most common bird we see. The countryside seems to change back and forth from farmland and fields to rock face and hills. Sometimes houses and sometimes commercial (usually rock quarries). The remnants of the flood also show. Lots of broken branches and limbs on the shore and trash in the trees. On one stretch there were hundreds of plastic bags in the trees. We also saw a plastic flower pot 20' up in a tree. The leaves are starting to change color and the hills are dotted with splashes of yellow and Orange in the green.

What amazing luck again (not)! We arrive at Cheatham lock just as a tow that fills the lock is entering. Only one tow a day and we manage to find it going both ways. Not only do we have to wait, but we will have to catch up to him to pass it after we get out.

It only took 1 1/2 hrs. to get through the lock and then two more hours to catch up and pass the tow. In an another hour we reached Clarkesville.

I plugged in to shore power only to find it dead. A phone call brought out someone to check it out, but he needed to call an electrician. We went out to dinner and when we got back found a note saying my plug was bad. I was thinking “it worked this morning” and I had tested the receptacle with my meter before I called. I now know that the prongs on my meter are not long enough. It took about an hour to make a temporary safe repair. We have power and air conditioning tonight.

Monday, October 11^th

Slept in this morning. We did not get underway until almost 9:00. Warm and clear and the trees are getting more colorful.

I got a call from Leigh and while telling him of the electric plug story he found one in his pile of parts and will get it sent out today. OOPS! It is Columbus Day and the Post Office is closed.

Dry Creek Anchorage

The River is widening as we more in to the lake portion. We are seeing more and more Common Egrets in the shallows. There are some groups of 50 or more in an area, and there are still lots of Great Blue Herons.
We pulled in to Dry Creek to anchor for the night. It is a little shallow in the entrance, but we anchored in 15' of water. We took the dinghy to shore and hiked on the rocks and in to the woods. Carole did not want to climb the bank in to the woods, so Annie and I did while Carole wandered around on the rocks taking pictures.

Carole grilled some chicken and did not burn it. She has been frustrated with our BBQ because it flares up really easily. She has been getting at it and tonight was really great.

Watched a DVD and turned in early.

Serendipity at anchor in Dry Creek - Carole looking on

Cumberland River Cliffs

Tuesday, October 12^th

Overcast and cool this morning. We planned a really short day of 15 miles today, but a call to the State Park Marina changed our mind. It seems that with the lake at winter pool level there is very little water there. It is enough for us to go in but we were told that the channel is really narrow and we might find bottom or a stump where it is not expected. Since we have reservations at Green Turtle Bay for the night we decided to go on. Also tonight Liz and Tony on Two Turtles are there and we can spend some time with them.

The lake has really opened up and we are seeing lots more Pelicans in addition to the Common Egrets.

Pool Levels are a way to keep the boating traffic informed on water depth. Although there are no tides the water level fluctuates with rain upriver and the hydroelectric power demands. The Corps of Engineers (COE) uses and altitude reading that they call “normal pool”. For Barklay Lake it is 359.0 ft. They also have gauges many places where you can sometimes read the current pool level. I say “sometimes” because the gauges are quite often unreadable. We can call the locks or check on line also to learn the current pool level. In the fall the normal pool is lowered to make room for the winter and spring rains to fill the lakes without flooding the nearby countryside., It works occasionally. Lake Barklay is no 4 ½ ft. below normal pool.

We continued on to Green Turtle Bay Marina t meet up with Tony and Liz. Seems that they got hooked on “Small Beers” and at every Social Hour, Tony brought out the makings. “Small Beers” are made in small shot glass sized glasses. You pour it 2/3rds full of “43” Brandy and then add whipping cream on top. Let it sit for a few seconds, the cream comes to the top and it looks like a little glass of beer. It is really tasty. We all had a round then someone brought out a can of Mocha/rum flavored whipping cream and was making them with a Mocha twist. I stuck with one – not taking any chances. Ate a spaghetti dinner on Two Turtles with Tony and Liz.


Some of the more interesting views along the river.

Morning fog on Barclay Lake

Heron on a red Nun

Heron on a green can

Anything to stay alive

Castle on the Cumberland built in the late 1800's
It is really a Maximum Security Prison

Where did the water go?

Don't need no stinkin dirt!

Trees without borders

When we leave here we are heading up the Tennessee River to the AGLCA Fall Rendezvous.

Down River – Chicago to the Ohio River

Friday, September 17^th

Parked Barges

Once we left the downtown area it is all industrial. Scrap yards, train yards, and a boat yard. I am wondering where they put all of the boats in Winter. There are thousands of boats and we only saw one storage yard with a travel lift. Farther down were chemical and oil depots, coal fired power plants, and sand & stone yards. Saw a lot of barges on the sides, but not very many on the move.

We tied up on the wall in Joliet, IL with power provided. Social Hour with seven other looper boats tonight. Went to the casino for the buffet, but it was not only expensive ($26.00), it was very small. We went to a nearby pub and had a decent sandwich.

Saturday, September 18^th

Off at 7:50 to catch the nearby lock. The loopers that left 7:00 were still waiting and all seven of us locked at one time. We proceeded to lock through the next lock together also.

No room at the dock

When we arrived at Ottowa (only five of us – two continued on) we found two loopers there already and no room at the town dock. There were four 30' finger piers not shown in any of the guides so three of us tied up there. The other two rafted outside the loopers that were already there. Social Hour wasget in the Marina washed out by a rainstorm, although there were a few holdouts that were sitting in the rain with umbrellas.

Sunday, September 19^th

Squeezing out of a lock

Overcast and rainy. Another early start. Six boats arrived at Starved Rock Lock only to find a 15 (3x5)barge tow locking up. We waited 45 minutes and had to move out of the channel to let the tow out of the lock. When we exited the lock we were facing an 11 barge tow that almost blocked the whole exit. After dodging around the barges the parade proceeded onward.

We saw our first flying carp today. They were not as big nor as high flying as I expected. We are also seeing lots of Great Blue Herons, some Common Egrets, and Green Herons. One of the loopers described what are probably Snow Geese. I am not reporting on the Vultures, Canada Geese, or Seagulls all of which are ubiquitous.

Top is video of the flying Carp
Lower is Great Blue Herons along the riverbank.

At 3:00 in the afternoon we marched in to Henry Harbor Marina. Well we did not actually get in the Marina. We were tied up outside on an old lock wall. The marina inside is only 3 ½' deep. The five boats took up the entire lock wall. We came in 1 at a time to get tied up before the next boat came in. Appearance wise this is one step from Deliverance. The people however are really nice, easy going and friendly. An inexpensive bar/restaurant with only the ten of us for customers made for a fine evening.

Monday, September 20^th

Off we went just early enough to get in front of Lazy Dolphin who anchored out last night. They promptly passed us. At 7 ½ mph they are much faster than our 7 mph.

This part of the trip is on the Central Flyway and we are seeing more and more Great Blue Herons and Common Egrets. We also saw several flocks of over 100 White Pelicans.

A few Pelicans on a sandbar

Four of Harry's River Boats

We stopped for fuel at Harry's Marina. I think it may be the graveyard for Casino Riverboats. There were about ten of them. I think that Harry collects them.










We went to the Illinois Valley Yacht Club and we were barely able to get in. We were dragging mud all the way from the river. It was hot and I used the weather to give the deck a major scrubbing. The pool was closed so Happy Hour was at a cabana by the empty pool. Only four looper boats as the other three went on to Peoria.

Tuesday, September 21^st

Another warm day. We started out going 5 miles and then waiting 2 ½ hrs. for a tug and barge to get through the lock in Peoria. The tug and barge combinations that are over 600 feet have to break in to two parts to get through the locks. The first half is pushed in to the lock and is disconnected. The tug and the rest of the tow back out. After locking up or down the tow is pulled out by mechanical mules with tow cables and tied up. The lock then cycles and the tug and the rest of the barges enter and lock through. The the two halves have to be reassembled and leave before any other boats can lock through. Commercial traffic goes first. We anchored while waiting and when I brought my anchor up I got mud on my nice clean deck. Even the washdown pump was bringing up muddy water. I guess not only the Mississippi is muddy.

A view along the Illinois River

Which one is the optimist? Pessimist?
Think about the river flooding

The trees way of dealing with the flood waters

These were not trimmed by man

Another big bird day. In addition to the herons, egrets, and pelicans we saw three Bald Eagles. Two mature and one immature. Otherwise a long somewhat uneventful day looking at the levees. The river is quite pretty outside of the industrial zones.

We pulled in to Tall Timbers Marina, Havana, IL. While sitting at the Social Hour an immature Green Heron hopped by.

Lots of Thunder and Lightning tonight. Fortunately we were at dinner and not in the middle of a Barbeque.

Wednesday, September 22^nd

Left about 8:30 planning to go about 40 miles to an anchorage. It was so pleasant traveling (and we go a lot faster downstream) that we decided to go 60 miles to an anchorage just outside the channel.

We spent the day counting birds and butterflies – shows how busy we were with navigating the Illinois River. I think I forgot to tell you that after the first day on the Chicago River we were on the Illinois. Anyway, in one half hour (about 4 miles) we were able to count 26 Great Blue Herons along the banks of the river. We also saw a lot of Common Egrets, 8 Bald Eagles (4 in one tree) and 54 Monarch butterflies. The latter actually pleased Carole as she has felt that there are fewer every year due to habitat destruction.

Passing a tow

A very pleasant day. Only one lock AND we actually got to overtake and pass a tug with a 15 barge tow! At top speed (about 9 mph) it took us 5 minutes to get by.

It is going to be a warm night. Tomorrow we hope to push on to Grafton, IL at junction of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, another 60 mile trip.

Thursday, September 23^rd

Nice night at anchor last night. Sat on deck and watched the moon rise. Annie got to run on a sand/shell beach. The sides of the river are really muddy. Long mud flats up to the tree line. When I walked Annie this AM I made the mistake of thinking the mud was dry as it looked all cracked and dry. What a mistake! Annie and I got really muddy. When we got back onboard it took nearly 20 minutes to get the mud off of us, the dinghy and the boat deck.

Wind is blowing 20 – 25 knots from the south, against the current. A nice 2' chop on the river slowing us down. Nowhere near as bad as a 2' chop on Lake Michigan. It is slowing us down, but since we are with the current we are still making 8 mph. With all of this wind we are not seeing many shorebirds.

Grafton Harbor Marina is a first class facility. We have a covered slip – a first for us. The marina put our 4 boat entourage on the same dock. Party Time! The pool and hot tub (yea!) are still open so the party moved there. Grafton is small, but has lots of restaurants. The group chose the Pig Pit BBQ. We are back in reasonable price restaurant territory again. ½ rack of ribs was $10.50, sides were extra, cash only. They did have an ATM if you were short of cash. And beers were only $2.00. Bud, Bud Lite and Miller Lite were the only beers they had.

Friday, September 24^th

Serendipity, Mitch and Annie under cover

Being under cover was great last night. It rained hard, so we were told, and we heard nothing. Taking a day off the river today.

Started the day by going for a haircut. A lady barber that made getting a haircut at the Book and Barber a visual treat. And I got a good haircut too. Carole went shopping and had her haircut – at a different place.

I finished putting snaps on the screen that Carole finished last week. We now have screens all around. I was also able to put on the antivibration mounts on the generator that were sent by Leigh last month. And I removed the manual seawater pump in preparation for adding a soap dispenser. Naturally everything took longer than expected. I finished up and made it to the pool in time for a beer.

Dinner at an upscale restaurant was really good and not very expensive, although we did sit in the basement. Dungeon actually. It was the only place they could seat the ten of us. Pretty nice really.

Saturday, September 25^th

On to the Mighty Mississippi!

The requisite St. Louis Picture

½ mile from the marina we entered the Mississippi River. Making 10 mph now. Lots of Junk in the water. We are told that the river is near flood stage at St. Louis. That is 2 locks away and past where the Missouri joins the Mississippi.

Fern's River Briefing

Making about 12mph now and we arrive at Hoppe's Marina in Kimmswick, MO at 3:30. Fern, the owner, loaned me her van to go to the Walmart with two other people. When we returned she spent an hour giving all of the people docked there a briefing on the river and how to run it. Where the dangers are, where the anchorages are and how to deal with the tows. Carole now has many more things to worry about.

We learned about wing dams – they are dams that are underwater to divert the river in to the channel so that less dredging is needed. However they are also close to the surface – depending on the water level – and pose a danger if you run over them.

Also learned about underwater weir dams, tugs and how to pass them, turbulent current locations, missing buoys, and because of high water, diving or pop up buoys. River sounds like a lot of fun.

Sunday, September 26^th

A rough night for sleeping. Logs and other debris was coming downriver and banging in to the hull and tugs going by were bouncing us around. We woke up to overcast, rainy weather with the river up 2-3'since last night and still lots of debris coming down river. Carole declared today a no go. Everyone else in the entourage agreed. I spent the morning getting my Georgian Bay Blog caught up and Carole did some sewing. I then joined Tom, Dave and Joe watching football. Carole, Linda, Brenda and Sue walked to town to spend more money (I think it is called “shopping”).

Fog is predicted for tomorrow.

Monday, September 27^th

Clear and cool this morning, so off we go. Long day planned. We hope to make 110 miles today. The Mississippi current will give us 50 of those in ten hours, so we are effectively only going 60 miles. It is still a ten hour day.

Most of Fern's talk is proving useful. The turbulent spots were not exceptionally turbulent, but submerged dams, pop-up buoys (we got to calling them Jack-in-the-Box Buoys), and tugboats abound. One bonus for us is having The Old Grouch in the Group. They have and AIS on the boat. This is similar to an EPIRB on airplanes. It receives a signal transmitted by all commercial, and some pleasure boats. The signal gives the Name, location, speed and course of the vessel. The AIS unit puts this information on the chart screen. Dave would relay that information to the boat in the lead so they could contact the tug before we could even see it if it was around a corner. We could then let the tug know there were small boats ahead and ask them where they would like us to pass them. It beats radar since it gives us the tug's name and we could “see” around corners.
The biggest tow so far was a 40 barge tow – 6 wide by 7 long. In case you think I have forgotten how to multiply, there were only 4 barges on the first row.

Nothing Here

Now You See It

Now You Don't

Not as much debris today, although lots of Jack-in-the-Box Buoys, and several buoys were loose and racing downriver.
The banks are all wooded with rolling hills and cliffs, almost no houses or industry.

Cliffs on the Mississippi

The swirling water and the tugboat wakes make for an interesting day. The wakes from their propellers are huge. In the muddy water the wakes look like big muddy hills.

Muddy Hills from a Tugboat Wake

Another Tugboat Wake

Except for the tugboats I had pictured a much different Mississippi. It is not as wide as I thought and not as flat. It is prettier than I thought it would be.

Sunset in Little Diversion Creek

We pulled in off the river in to Little Diversion Channel. A very pretty quiet anchorage – out of the current and no wind. Getting in to the anchorage was very interesting. We had to turn up in to the current and go to almost full throttle to enter from downriver, then at the last second, as we left the river, I had to turn in and throttle back in order to enter safely. Of course there was a downed tree across ½ the entrance with a floating log blocking part of the other side.

There was a beautiful sunset and an easy row to shore for Annie's romp.

Taking Annie to shore at Little Diversion

Tuesday, September 28^th

Cold and clear with a bit of sea smoke on the water. Annie got in her romp and Q's End decided to make a run for the Ohio River and maybe all the way to the Cumberland. Being much slower the three of us left, Quixote, The Old Grouch, and us decided we would go to an anchorage about 8 miles short of the Ohio. Just as we were ready to leave (Q's End was already underway) Old Grouch reported 1 tug going downriver and 4 tugs waiting for it pass so they could go upriver. These huge tows do not like to pass each other around curves, so they wait. We were too slow getting going. Had we gotten in front of the downriver tow we would not catch the prop wash from the upriver tugs since they were only holding station at the side of the river. Instead we waited an hour and a half for all the traffic to clear before we could leave the Little Diversion Channel. When we finally got out we had to race ahead of another down bound tow to get clear water.

We finally got some good news from Q's End. The Ohio River is only running about 1 mph. We made good time and decided to pass the original anchorage and head up the Ohio for 15 miles to an anchorage. We may be able to make Paducah, KY tomorrow.

Carole is taking the boat on in to the Ohio. From the Big Muddy to a Blue-green river. The water at the junction looked like a Lava Lamp with swirls of brown in the blue-green. We were going 13 miles an hour (14 mph at one point) down the Mississippi when we started the turn up the Ohio we were going 4 mph and now we are doing 6.3. I am pleased since I had visions of going 3 mph up the Ohio and thought at that speed we could have a fuel problem. The next available fuel is 100 miles away.

15 miles up the Ohio we found a nice place to anchor. Close to shore and well out of the channel. The banks here are sand so Annie did not have to take a mud bath like she did on the Mississippi. I saw lots of bird tracks in the sand and also what looked like muskrat tracks. The banks are actually Levees. When I climb to the top I find farms on the other side. Climbing up is not easy, there is a lot of brush in the way, dead trees, and piles of broken branches left by the river when it floods. Annie loved it. She would jump in the river then roll in the sand. Every time I tried to wash off the sand by throwing a stick in the river, she would roll in the sand before bringing the stick back. We had sand all over the the back deck until I broke out the hose and washed her off.

Had Old Grouch and Quixote over for Social Hour and we watched a beautiful sunset with friends.

We are headed up the Ohio to the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers.