We arrived in Mobile on Monday afternoon and tied up at Turner Marine on the Dog River. Since then we've been doing a variety of things. The mast was quite dirty from getting trucked from Chicago and then sitting here. We washed it, then spot cleaned with Fantastic, then rubbed with a cleaner compound and then polished with two coats of paste wax. On a 68 foot long mast. I use the term "we" very generously. Chris did about 80% of the work. I was busy getting lines rigged, checking the internal wiring and various other maintenance details. I've also been busy producing a video for the marina. Happy to continue using my 30 years of experience. Hopefully I'll pick up many more productions along the way to help fund our excursion.
We also borrowed the courtesy car for a half day to go shopping and to get a long overdue haircut! Everybody noticed that one, I hadn't had it cut since late August!
We're taking the car out to Mobile on Sunday to shoot some of the local attractions I'll feature in the video. I'm interested in seeing the USS Alabama battleship. There's also a lot of museums here for a relatively small city.
We're not sure exactly how long we'll stay here. I have a fair amount of work left on the video and we need to get the mast stepped onto the boat plus other projects. We may stay here through Thanksgiving! Hard to say. Currently the weather is very pleasant. Hi's are in the 70's and lows in the 40's to 50's. That will start to drop in December and we hope to be in St. Petersburg by mid-December.
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Friday, November 11, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
Goin' Mobile!!!
We couldn't resist the lure of salt! And our boat really missed its mast. So we got a good start this morning and pushed on down the last of the river, into Mobile harbor and out into Mobile Bay. The harbor is a narrow fairway lined with ocean going ships, tugs and barges. I love heavy metal! The bay was wide open water, the first we've seen since Lake Michigan. There were waves, real waves! Not just wake from passing boats.
Because we pushed on faster than we had planned, I got caught not updating our towing policy till this morning. Boat US is the AAA for boaters. The annual premium for inland waters is quite low but they charge extra for coastal coverage. Towing is NOT cheap. So this is a good deal even with the higher coastal premium. But the update can't take effect till midnight after signing on!!! Everyone we talked to about the approach to the marina said Do Not Leave The Channel! The channel has 8' of water and out of the channel it gets as low as 2'. We draw 5' 6". I just knew we'd run aground and get stuck with no towing coverage for this one day. But that was just one more nightmare that did not come to fruition. Me worried? Naah. (Chris, not a word!).
Even this morning it was quite chilly, low was around 40d on the river. But the gulf water is 77d and wow that makes a big difference. Shorts & T-shirt weather!!
I've contracted with the marina to produce a marketing video for them. We'll be hangin around here for 10 days to 2 weeks. We'll get used to it!
We've gone Mobile!
Because we pushed on faster than we had planned, I got caught not updating our towing policy till this morning. Boat US is the AAA for boaters. The annual premium for inland waters is quite low but they charge extra for coastal coverage. Towing is NOT cheap. So this is a good deal even with the higher coastal premium. But the update can't take effect till midnight after signing on!!! Everyone we talked to about the approach to the marina said Do Not Leave The Channel! The channel has 8' of water and out of the channel it gets as low as 2'. We draw 5' 6". I just knew we'd run aground and get stuck with no towing coverage for this one day. But that was just one more nightmare that did not come to fruition. Me worried? Naah. (Chris, not a word!).
Even this morning it was quite chilly, low was around 40d on the river. But the gulf water is 77d and wow that makes a big difference. Shorts & T-shirt weather!!
I've contracted with the marina to produce a marketing video for them. We'll be hangin around here for 10 days to 2 weeks. We'll get used to it!
We've gone Mobile!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Our Ups And Downs Are Behind Us
We had a great visit with Mary & Tony in Demopolis. They drove over 2 hours just to come see us. And they came bearing gifts, a dozen eggs fresh from their own chickens! Chris made me a tasty omelet while underway the next morning. YUM! Thank you Tony & Mary. Speaking of Demopolis, the tow boats stop there to fuel up. I managed to get a tour of one. Twin 1800 hp diesel/electric motors! Nice to see the insides of what we've been passing often for 2 months. Very impressive piece of machinery.
We shoved off early Friday morning, headed for 'Bashi Creek', allegedly a decent anchorage. The first of our pack of 5 boats went into the creek, barely. There was less than 4' of water and several logs. He did manage to anchor inside but the rest of us had to anchor in the river. The river that gets tow traffic with massive barges, any time day or night. This was a fairly wide section of the river and the tows use the one side only so we were fine. One passed around midnight, commenting on the large pack of boats on his radio. The second came by in the pre-dawn fog. Thick fog! I can't believe they can run massive barges up this very narrow, winding river at night in fog.
This Saturday morning the fog took an extra long time to lift. We didn't get underway until 9AM. And we're off to find another sketchy anchorage. This one is even worse, there is no wide spot out of the sailing line. I crept in to a small inlet till I found 6' and dropped the anchor, then backed out and dropped a second anchor out in the main river. I ran the stern anchor down the side and tied it to the bow so we can pivot in the wind if necessary. The mouth of the inlet is wide enough to allow me to swing. Not very good, but there is no wind so we should be fine. I think! This is reported to be the last of the poor anchorages...we hope so!
This WAS the last day of locks! No more ups & downs for S/V Freedom. We did 12 on the Tenn-Tom & 24 in all from Chicago on down. For the most part, they were very easy, especially the locks on the Tenn-Tom that all have floating bollards. I drive the boat up abreast of the bollard, Chris tosses a line around the pin and we tie the line off. Piece of cake. A few times we had to wait for tows/barges to use the lock but most of the time when we radioed ahead to the lockmaster, he'd have it waiting for us on our arrival. All in all, a very interesting experience.
We shoved off early Friday morning, headed for 'Bashi Creek', allegedly a decent anchorage. The first of our pack of 5 boats went into the creek, barely. There was less than 4' of water and several logs. He did manage to anchor inside but the rest of us had to anchor in the river. The river that gets tow traffic with massive barges, any time day or night. This was a fairly wide section of the river and the tows use the one side only so we were fine. One passed around midnight, commenting on the large pack of boats on his radio. The second came by in the pre-dawn fog. Thick fog! I can't believe they can run massive barges up this very narrow, winding river at night in fog.
This Saturday morning the fog took an extra long time to lift. We didn't get underway until 9AM. And we're off to find another sketchy anchorage. This one is even worse, there is no wide spot out of the sailing line. I crept in to a small inlet till I found 6' and dropped the anchor, then backed out and dropped a second anchor out in the main river. I ran the stern anchor down the side and tied it to the bow so we can pivot in the wind if necessary. The mouth of the inlet is wide enough to allow me to swing. Not very good, but there is no wind so we should be fine. I think! This is reported to be the last of the poor anchorages...we hope so!
This WAS the last day of locks! No more ups & downs for S/V Freedom. We did 12 on the Tenn-Tom & 24 in all from Chicago on down. For the most part, they were very easy, especially the locks on the Tenn-Tom that all have floating bollards. I drive the boat up abreast of the bollard, Chris tosses a line around the pin and we tie the line off. Piece of cake. A few times we had to wait for tows/barges to use the lock but most of the time when we radioed ahead to the lockmaster, he'd have it waiting for us on our arrival. All in all, a very interesting experience.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Moments Like This
We're anchored in an off channel below the Heflin Lock. I like to keep the VHF radio on to monitor activity around us. The night lockmaster comes on the radio. In a fantastic Alabama drawl, she gives colorful instructions to a downbound tow entering her lock. That alone was priceless. I went up on deck to watch the action. In a black night with clear sky I can see the first wisps of fog rolling in as the massive barges emerge from the lock. They are pushed by one hell of a piece of machinery with 2 piercing spotlights shooting laser beams of light down the river. I just happened to look up to the million stars above when the biggest shooting star I've ever seen goes streaming across the sky. It was brightly illuminated for at least 6 or 8 seconds. I'm sure my wish will come true!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Living On The Edge!
We had a nice day of river cruising after departing Midway Marina. But we don't travel at night so we needed to find a place to drop the hook. Several guide books recommended a few coves above the Aberdeen lock & dam. When we tried to get into these coves, we ran aground. Now what? Called the lockmaster and he suggested anchoring above the spillway. Really? Above the spillway that the river flows to and drops about 30'? That spillway? Well, there was 10' of water there and it was a calm night and we were out of options. So that's where we anchored last night, on the edge of the spillway! I had dreams of our little "barrel" going over Niagara Falls!
We're living on another edge today, sort of. We're on the edge of the Alabama / Mississippi border. And we found a very peaceful anchorage on the edge of a deep side channel. Fired up the BBQ for some good grillin' while enjoying a fine sunset under a clear blue sky.
There was no fog this morning so we were able to get underway 2 hours sooner than usual, plus we timed 2 locks perfectly, avoiding delays of waiting on tugs. These variables of weather, locks and anchorages make scheduling just about impossible. Which is why 'we have no schedule and we're sticking to it'.
We're living on another edge today, sort of. We're on the edge of the Alabama / Mississippi border. And we found a very peaceful anchorage on the edge of a deep side channel. Fired up the BBQ for some good grillin' while enjoying a fine sunset under a clear blue sky.
There was no fog this morning so we were able to get underway 2 hours sooner than usual, plus we timed 2 locks perfectly, avoiding delays of waiting on tugs. These variables of weather, locks and anchorages make scheduling just about impossible. Which is why 'we have no schedule and we're sticking to it'.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Hot Tub Halloween
We left Grand Harbor on Friday morning. Nice place. We're now off the Tennessee River and in the Tombigbee Waterway. This canal was cut in the 70's, connecting the Tennessee & the Black Warrior Rivers, it was a bigger project than the Panama canal. We anchored out Friday night above the Whitten lock & dam. The temps dropped into the 30's but we stayed very warm by baking spaghetti squash in the oven. Toasty warm. We re-warmed up the boat by baking muffins in the morning. We did much better at staying warm than I expected.
Weather like this generates fog, a LOT of fog. Luckily it lifts fairly fast once the sun comes up. We got underway to the Whitten lock around 9am. This lock down is an 87' drop, the largest lock we'll travel. It's BIG! We shared the lock with 4 other boats, the largest pack to date. There are a string of locks along the Tombigbee and they like to coordinate lockings. So we 5 all traveled together to 2 more locks. Freedom was the slowest boat in the group but we didn't really hold up the pack by more than about 10 minutes.
We dropped out of the pack to stop at Midway Marina, they all pushed on further. We're glad we did. Stopping earlier in the day gives us some time off the boat, always nice to get out and stretch the legs. Midway was hosting a Saturday night Halloween party for their seasonals & us transients. So we got some free food, some time to hang out with the locals, a great costume display and some live music. Plus we met up with a new pack of boaters that came in after us. We'll all form up in the morning to lock down several more locks on Sunday. We topped off the evening with a dip in the marina hot tub, under a crisp starry night. WOW, that was the hottest hot tub I've ever soaked in!
Of course, it is another foggy morning. I'm getting some computer work done while we have good internet. Fog will lift soon enough.
Weather like this generates fog, a LOT of fog. Luckily it lifts fairly fast once the sun comes up. We got underway to the Whitten lock around 9am. This lock down is an 87' drop, the largest lock we'll travel. It's BIG! We shared the lock with 4 other boats, the largest pack to date. There are a string of locks along the Tombigbee and they like to coordinate lockings. So we 5 all traveled together to 2 more locks. Freedom was the slowest boat in the group but we didn't really hold up the pack by more than about 10 minutes.
We dropped out of the pack to stop at Midway Marina, they all pushed on further. We're glad we did. Stopping earlier in the day gives us some time off the boat, always nice to get out and stretch the legs. Midway was hosting a Saturday night Halloween party for their seasonals & us transients. So we got some free food, some time to hang out with the locals, a great costume display and some live music. Plus we met up with a new pack of boaters that came in after us. We'll all form up in the morning to lock down several more locks on Sunday. We topped off the evening with a dip in the marina hot tub, under a crisp starry night. WOW, that was the hottest hot tub I've ever soaked in!
Of course, it is another foggy morning. I'm getting some computer work done while we have good internet. Fog will lift soon enough.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
It's A Small World After All
We spent 3 very peaceful days anchored in Dry Creek, well illustrated in our previous post. Today we upped anchor and moved about 6 miles to Grand Harbor marina. One of the reasons for stopping here is to take advantage of their courtesy car to get some shopping done. We hit the local super mart and found it lacking so we drove into Savannah, Tn; about 15 miles further. It was getting on lunch time so we started looking for a place to stop. Hmmm, A & W! Love A & W root beer, but we wanted something local. We were about to go back to the A & W when we saw this place called Fish Hut. Lots of cars in the lot, lets try it! Casual dining, very friendly locals, and catfish from the Catfish Capitol of America! All the small tables were occupied so we sat at the end of a large one. A few minutes later we were joined by four local businessmen. Nice guys, we talked fishing. I then asked about the local businesses and we hear they all work for a manufactured home company. Chris almost didn't say anything but decided to ask if they new her former co-worker from Detroit who moved to Mississippi and is working for a manufactured home company. SURE, we know Tony!!! What are the odds? They all had plenty of good things to say about Tony (imagine that!). We're trying to meet up with Tony & Mary next week further down the trail. And the catfish was EXCELLENT!
After a fine lunch we did stop at a Kroger. Good selection of what we needed so we dropped almost $200 stocking up.
Where we're tied up at the marina is a long walk to the laundry, so they lent us a golf cart. Chris volunteered to do laundry and took the golf cart. The run includes some steep inclines down to the docks and hard turns to avoid going into the drink. I think she spent more time on the links than she's let on..."Hellen Wheels" is her NASCAR name down here.
Too many cold nights here so we're pushing south. We should be in Mobile in about 2 weeks!
After a fine lunch we did stop at a Kroger. Good selection of what we needed so we dropped almost $200 stocking up.
Where we're tied up at the marina is a long walk to the laundry, so they lent us a golf cart. Chris volunteered to do laundry and took the golf cart. The run includes some steep inclines down to the docks and hard turns to avoid going into the drink. I think she spent more time on the links than she's let on..."Hellen Wheels" is her NASCAR name down here.
Too many cold nights here so we're pushing south. We should be in Mobile in about 2 weeks!
Monday, October 24, 2011
Land Ho!!
Yet another interesting situation. We decided to anchor in Dry Creek on Picwick Lake today. The Army Corps of Engineers chart shows plenty of depth. As we approach the area, I'm also checking my Garmin chart plotter. Dry Creek isn't there! We keep going in with around 20' of depth. Soon, according to the chart plotter, we're on dry land! We dropped anchor in 12' of water in a VERY nice cove, just as the Army charts show. I would have expected Garmin to make their charts based on the Army charts. Who knows. Here is a shot of the chart plotter. The red line is our track:
Garmin, what's up with that?
We'll be staying here a few days. Hi Tuesday is reported to be 80 degrees!
Garmin, what's up with that?
We'll be staying here a few days. Hi Tuesday is reported to be 80 degrees!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
We're all in the same boat
Chris and I have discussed our cruising plans with a lot of friends and family. More than a few have expressed concerns with our being together 24/7 in a small space. Really, a legitimate concern! There's no place to go to get away. We're together all the time while underway, dealing with whatever the waterway throws at us. We're together all evening when at anchor. We do split up a bit when we're at a marina, but not for long.
The first few weeks were quite stressful. We had to change plans at the last minute, diverting away from the Erie canal and sailing north around all of Michigan late in the season. We had to figure out what to do with our mast while running down the rivers and through the locks. We had the rather inhospitable Mississippi River to deal with. And we cut all ties back on land, there was no turning back! Good reasons to stress out.
I'm happy to report that after 6 weeks, we're getting along better than ever! Does Captain Bligh bark on occasion? Never! Does the Admiral question the captains judgement? Perish the thought! Well, nobody's perfect. But we've both noticed that we are working well together and we're having a lot of fun together.
Just thought you'd like to know!
Today was animal day. Along with the many bald eagles, herons and pelicans we've been seeing on the Tennessee, today we saw a raccoon, a fox & a bull trying to mount a cow! Tomorrow we lock up at Pickwick dam into Pickwick lake. We hear there are some very pretty anchorages and the weather is projected to be excellent. Hi of 80 on Tuesday!! It just keeps getting better and better.
Thanks for tuning in.
The first few weeks were quite stressful. We had to change plans at the last minute, diverting away from the Erie canal and sailing north around all of Michigan late in the season. We had to figure out what to do with our mast while running down the rivers and through the locks. We had the rather inhospitable Mississippi River to deal with. And we cut all ties back on land, there was no turning back! Good reasons to stress out.
I'm happy to report that after 6 weeks, we're getting along better than ever! Does Captain Bligh bark on occasion? Never! Does the Admiral question the captains judgement? Perish the thought! Well, nobody's perfect. But we've both noticed that we are working well together and we're having a lot of fun together.
Just thought you'd like to know!
Today was animal day. Along with the many bald eagles, herons and pelicans we've been seeing on the Tennessee, today we saw a raccoon, a fox & a bull trying to mount a cow! Tomorrow we lock up at Pickwick dam into Pickwick lake. We hear there are some very pretty anchorages and the weather is projected to be excellent. Hi of 80 on Tuesday!! It just keeps getting better and better.
Thanks for tuning in.
Friday, October 21, 2011
I've got my love to keep me warm!
We anchored out in a very nice cove last night off Kentucky Lake. The overnight temp dropped well into the 30's, but we kept plenty warm inside the boat. Chris baked spaghetti squash (more excellent dining), the hot engine radiated some warmth and we have plenty of blankets to snuggle under. In the morning I fired up the oven and Chris baked banana nut bread. The sun rose bright and warm, heating up our full cockpit enclosure very quickly. It wasn't long before we were peeling off clothes. I finally put on shorts for a few hours in the afternoon! This cold snap will reportedly last one more day and then we'll have low's in the 50's for a while. I'll still have my love to keep me warm, so wearing shorts will continue to be necessary!
We'll be leaving Kentucky Lake tomorrow morning where it narrows down into the Tennessee River. Back to being river rats.
We'll be leaving Kentucky Lake tomorrow morning where it narrows down into the Tennessee River. Back to being river rats.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Mississippi & Ohio
We're on the Cumberland River now above Barkley Dam.
It took us 5 days to run the Mississippi & Ohio rivers. They were interesting; but rather tedious. Finding stopping places to get off the river at night was not easy. Most of the 'scenery' was industrial with barge/tows punctuating the trip. We feel we really accomplished something by conquering this hurdle. But it wasn't 'fun'.
We sat an extra day at Green Turtle Bay marina to wait out some weather. They provided a courtesy car for us to make a grocery run so we're stocked up for the next leg. Can't wait to push on up the Tennessee River. The plan includes a short side trip up to Chattanooga, we hear the scenery there is fantastic. We'll pass by the turn onto the Tombigbee waterway that takes us downstream to Mobile. When we get to Chattanooga we'll backtrack to the Tombigbee to resume the treck south.
We're beginning to catch up with the 'herd' of cruisers that are headed south. We'll slow down a bit now to avoid the crowds, such as they are.
It took us 5 days to run the Mississippi & Ohio rivers. They were interesting; but rather tedious. Finding stopping places to get off the river at night was not easy. Most of the 'scenery' was industrial with barge/tows punctuating the trip. We feel we really accomplished something by conquering this hurdle. But it wasn't 'fun'.
We sat an extra day at Green Turtle Bay marina to wait out some weather. They provided a courtesy car for us to make a grocery run so we're stocked up for the next leg. Can't wait to push on up the Tennessee River. The plan includes a short side trip up to Chattanooga, we hear the scenery there is fantastic. We'll pass by the turn onto the Tombigbee waterway that takes us downstream to Mobile. When we get to Chattanooga we'll backtrack to the Tombigbee to resume the treck south.
We're beginning to catch up with the 'herd' of cruisers that are headed south. We'll slow down a bit now to avoid the crowds, such as they are.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Our trip summary so far
Thought we'd list where we've been so far.
9/12 Departed St. Clair Shores & Jefferson Beach Marina; anchored in Port Sanilac harbor.
9/13 Stayed put in Port Sanilac harbor to ride out weather
9/14 Sailed to Harbor beach, anchored in harbor
9/15 Rode out weather in Harbor Beach
9/16 Sailed to Port Austin; stayed in Port Austin Marina
9/17 Sailed to Harrisville; anchored in harbor
9/18 Sailed to Presque Isle in blustery weather; took dockage in the closed marina
9/19 Stayed in Presque Isle for the free electricity...for heat!
9/20 Sailed to Hammond Bay harbor of refuge; took dockage in the closed marina
9/21 Sailed to Mackinaw City; docked in Mack City Muni marina
9/22 Stayed in Mack city; shopping, chores, weather
9/23-24 Motored 36 hours straight to Lake Macatawa, Holland, Mi; anchored off Eldeans Shipyard
9/25-26 Stayed in Lake Macatawa; relaxed
9/27 Sailed to St. Joseph Municipal marina
9/28 Sailed to Crowley's Yacht yard, East Chicago.
9/29, 30 & 10/1 Crowleys; dropped mast, prepped for shipping, dinner with friends, chores & shopping
10/2 Motored to Joliet on the Illinois river; tied to town wall. Avoided prison time.
10/3 Motored to Springbrook Marina in Seneca, Il
10/4 Motored to Buffalo Rock State Park; anchored in the river. Beautiful spot
10/5 Motored to Peoria; tied to free town dock
10/6 Stayed in Peoria; shopping, chores
10/7 Motored to Quiver island; anchored, dodged massive barges in the middle of the night!
10/8 Motored to Bar island; anchored in the river. Beautiful spot
10/9 Motored to Diamond island; anchored in river
10/10 Motored to Alton marina; Alton Il on the Mississippi
10/11, 12 Stayed in Alton 3 nights to relax, hot tub, shopping & many chores
10/13 Motored past St. Louis to Hoppies in Kimmswick, Mo. Tied to their barge & fueled up for the long run down
That sums up one month on the run from old man winter!
9/12 Departed St. Clair Shores & Jefferson Beach Marina; anchored in Port Sanilac harbor.
9/13 Stayed put in Port Sanilac harbor to ride out weather
9/14 Sailed to Harbor beach, anchored in harbor
9/15 Rode out weather in Harbor Beach
9/16 Sailed to Port Austin; stayed in Port Austin Marina
9/17 Sailed to Harrisville; anchored in harbor
9/18 Sailed to Presque Isle in blustery weather; took dockage in the closed marina
9/19 Stayed in Presque Isle for the free electricity...for heat!
9/20 Sailed to Hammond Bay harbor of refuge; took dockage in the closed marina
9/21 Sailed to Mackinaw City; docked in Mack City Muni marina
9/22 Stayed in Mack city; shopping, chores, weather
9/23-24 Motored 36 hours straight to Lake Macatawa, Holland, Mi; anchored off Eldeans Shipyard
9/25-26 Stayed in Lake Macatawa; relaxed
9/27 Sailed to St. Joseph Municipal marina
9/28 Sailed to Crowley's Yacht yard, East Chicago.
9/29, 30 & 10/1 Crowleys; dropped mast, prepped for shipping, dinner with friends, chores & shopping
10/2 Motored to Joliet on the Illinois river; tied to town wall. Avoided prison time.
10/3 Motored to Springbrook Marina in Seneca, Il
10/4 Motored to Buffalo Rock State Park; anchored in the river. Beautiful spot
10/5 Motored to Peoria; tied to free town dock
10/6 Stayed in Peoria; shopping, chores
10/7 Motored to Quiver island; anchored, dodged massive barges in the middle of the night!
10/8 Motored to Bar island; anchored in the river. Beautiful spot
10/9 Motored to Diamond island; anchored in river
10/10 Motored to Alton marina; Alton Il on the Mississippi
10/11, 12 Stayed in Alton 3 nights to relax, hot tub, shopping & many chores
10/13 Motored past St. Louis to Hoppies in Kimmswick, Mo. Tied to their barge & fueled up for the long run down
That sums up one month on the run from old man winter!
Monday, October 17, 2011
River boating, by Chris
Boating on the rivers is very different. We do not worry about the big waves, our decisions to stay or move to our next destination is not nearly as dependent on the weather. Having no mast or sails makes the decision easy, we will NOT sail today. We do have to worry about all the commercial traffic. Tows, freighters, barges all have preference at the locks and through the rivers.....in other words, we need to communicate with them and get out of their way! As we worked our way south, the tows and barges got bigger because the last lock on the Mississippi is near St Louis. The barges are huge and take up the entire navigable river, in certain areas. Now that we are on the Cumberland and Tennesse rivers, there is a LOT less commercial traffic.
Locks are also what makes river travel so different. Some are very easy to negotiate and others...not so much. Yesterday we had two locks to go through. The first one was open. We were told to pass right over the wickets, there was plenty of depth. This was true, but the wind was blowing against the current and it made for a very choppy, confused sea. In other words it felt like going through a washing machine. The second
lock was open and we only waited for about 30 minutes to get in. We were told to have two thirty foot lines ready and available. Ed and I navigated in and got set up fairly quickly but others locking with us kept getting blown off the wall before they could get the lines set. It took them three tries. This was a very stressful situation with the wind howling and nothing we could do to help. This was our first lock that we traveled up.
Today we traveled through the largest lock yet. This one was 57 feet up. You enter into a big cavern and the gates close....very intimidating. Despite the intimidation factor, we did just fine. It was one of the easiest locks yet.
Locks are also what makes river travel so different. Some are very easy to negotiate and others...not so much. Yesterday we had two locks to go through. The first one was open. We were told to pass right over the wickets, there was plenty of depth. This was true, but the wind was blowing against the current and it made for a very choppy, confused sea. In other words it felt like going through a washing machine. The second
lock was open and we only waited for about 30 minutes to get in. We were told to have two thirty foot lines ready and available. Ed and I navigated in and got set up fairly quickly but others locking with us kept getting blown off the wall before they could get the lines set. It took them three tries. This was a very stressful situation with the wind howling and nothing we could do to help. This was our first lock that we traveled up.
Today we traveled through the largest lock yet. This one was 57 feet up. You enter into a big cavern and the gates close....very intimidating. Despite the intimidation factor, we did just fine. It was one of the easiest locks yet.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Missississississippi River
We spent 3 more days cruising down the Illinois River to the mouth of the Mississippi. Several nice peaceful anchorages and great weather.
The Mississippi, just below the Illinois River junction, is very pretty with high bluffs. The leaves are just turning. The river is wide and the traffic is minimal. Made for a nice afternoon introduction to the Mighty Mississippi. First stop for us is Alton, Il., just in time for Monday Nite football featuring the Deee-troit Lions. Good to see them playing well! Tuesday & Wednesday were chores time at the marina. Laundry, cleaning, waxing, fuel filter change and other assorted details. Tuesday nite was a beautiful night in the marina hot tub under a full moon! NICE!
I needed some extra fuel jugs for the long upcoming run on the river. I asked a dock neighbor where to go and he volunteered to drive me to the farm store. Always great people hangin' around the marinas.
The need for extra fuel jugs is because of a 250 mile run between fuel stops. There are no services from just south of St. Louis down the Mississippi to the Ohio River and up the Ohio past Paducah to the Cumberland River and Lake Barkley.
The fuel stop just south of St. Louis is called Hoppies. It's run by a great elder couple Fern & Charlie. Hoppies is just several barges strung together on the river. Very basic, rustic, primitive. But they have fuel & water so it is a must stop before the 250 miles. They also have afternoon sessions conducted by Fern on what to look for and where to stop. She is a very colorful character. Charlie is the last living "lamplighter" on the Mississippi. He used to light lamps on bouys every night. Made the stop worthwhile just to chat with her. We enjoyed our stay at Hoppies.
The Miss. river water levels are always down in the fall but this year is especially low. One good stop recommended to us is the Kaskaskia River just off the Miss. So we pulled in there the first night after Hoppies. Well, we TRIED to. WHACK!! Hard into a sand bar. OOOPS. Luckily, my solid fiberglass keel didn't mind a sharp encounter with a sand bar. But we sure did stop quick. So back out & head further down the river. Time to improvise. There are wing dams on the river to control the flow. We picked one and pulled in behind it. We weren't totally out of the flow of the river but good enough, barely. On top of the current flow, the wind was blowing pretty hard down the river as well. These two things combined for concern with a dragging anchor. So I set alarms of 11pm, 2am & 4 am to get up and check position. Made for a fitful night of sleep but we didn't move at all.
We got back underway at dawn. With all the current flow, we averaged 9 knots instead of our usual 6. So we managed to run 91 miles almost all the way to Cairo at the mouth of the Ohio. Another beautiful night at anchor with a little shrimp sauteed in the cast iron skillet. But the day wasn't without some excitement. We came upon a big barge/tow rig that was negotiating a sharp turn and holding up traffic, including us in the process. When he finally did make the turn it was time for us to pass. This rig was 5 barges long & 3 barges wide. Each barge is about 100' long & about 40' wide. He's moving about 8.5 knots and the best I can do is about 10 knots. It takes a LOOOONG time to pass. I hailed him on the radio to see if he was OK with it and if there was traffic ahead. He said to come on through! Well, we get about half way past and I can see another big barge rig coming upstream at us. The river is not THAT wide. I sent Chris to the bow with some vaseline to grease the hull so we could squeeze between them. It was a hairy moment running between those two barge rigs! Just another day of "Rollin On The River".
Tomorrow we head up the Ohio River. We loose the favorable downstream current of the Mississippi and our fuel consumption will go up fighting the current. How much will our fuel burn increase? Will we have enough? Stay tuned...
The Mississippi, just below the Illinois River junction, is very pretty with high bluffs. The leaves are just turning. The river is wide and the traffic is minimal. Made for a nice afternoon introduction to the Mighty Mississippi. First stop for us is Alton, Il., just in time for Monday Nite football featuring the Deee-troit Lions. Good to see them playing well! Tuesday & Wednesday were chores time at the marina. Laundry, cleaning, waxing, fuel filter change and other assorted details. Tuesday nite was a beautiful night in the marina hot tub under a full moon! NICE!
I needed some extra fuel jugs for the long upcoming run on the river. I asked a dock neighbor where to go and he volunteered to drive me to the farm store. Always great people hangin' around the marinas.
The need for extra fuel jugs is because of a 250 mile run between fuel stops. There are no services from just south of St. Louis down the Mississippi to the Ohio River and up the Ohio past Paducah to the Cumberland River and Lake Barkley.
The fuel stop just south of St. Louis is called Hoppies. It's run by a great elder couple Fern & Charlie. Hoppies is just several barges strung together on the river. Very basic, rustic, primitive. But they have fuel & water so it is a must stop before the 250 miles. They also have afternoon sessions conducted by Fern on what to look for and where to stop. She is a very colorful character. Charlie is the last living "lamplighter" on the Mississippi. He used to light lamps on bouys every night. Made the stop worthwhile just to chat with her. We enjoyed our stay at Hoppies.
The Miss. river water levels are always down in the fall but this year is especially low. One good stop recommended to us is the Kaskaskia River just off the Miss. So we pulled in there the first night after Hoppies. Well, we TRIED to. WHACK!! Hard into a sand bar. OOOPS. Luckily, my solid fiberglass keel didn't mind a sharp encounter with a sand bar. But we sure did stop quick. So back out & head further down the river. Time to improvise. There are wing dams on the river to control the flow. We picked one and pulled in behind it. We weren't totally out of the flow of the river but good enough, barely. On top of the current flow, the wind was blowing pretty hard down the river as well. These two things combined for concern with a dragging anchor. So I set alarms of 11pm, 2am & 4 am to get up and check position. Made for a fitful night of sleep but we didn't move at all.
We got back underway at dawn. With all the current flow, we averaged 9 knots instead of our usual 6. So we managed to run 91 miles almost all the way to Cairo at the mouth of the Ohio. Another beautiful night at anchor with a little shrimp sauteed in the cast iron skillet. But the day wasn't without some excitement. We came upon a big barge/tow rig that was negotiating a sharp turn and holding up traffic, including us in the process. When he finally did make the turn it was time for us to pass. This rig was 5 barges long & 3 barges wide. Each barge is about 100' long & about 40' wide. He's moving about 8.5 knots and the best I can do is about 10 knots. It takes a LOOOONG time to pass. I hailed him on the radio to see if he was OK with it and if there was traffic ahead. He said to come on through! Well, we get about half way past and I can see another big barge rig coming upstream at us. The river is not THAT wide. I sent Chris to the bow with some vaseline to grease the hull so we could squeeze between them. It was a hairy moment running between those two barge rigs! Just another day of "Rollin On The River".
Tomorrow we head up the Ohio River. We loose the favorable downstream current of the Mississippi and our fuel consumption will go up fighting the current. How much will our fuel burn increase? Will we have enough? Stay tuned...
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
River critters
This is Chris.
I am always on the lookout for interesting wildlife on the water. We have been seeing Egrets and Great Blue Heron along the banks of the river. They are so common that we joke that they are mile markers! Saturday night we anchored behind Bar Island on the Illinois River. Just up from us was a point of land that had hundreds of Pelicans resting for the night. Sunday morning they formed into some interesting formations as they flew past us on their migration south. We have been seeing hawks and those CRAZY jumping carp. Early morning and just before dusk they start jumping. We have had them get so riled as we go by that one or two have thumped into the bottom of our boat. It has been very entertaining...so far. As the saying goes, it is all fun and games until someone gets hurt. I have heard, but not seen an owl and we saw a family (I think) of Bald Eagles, along the bank. Two adults with white heads and one juvenile without the white head. I will maintain my lookout and maybe there could be a critters video in the making?
I am always on the lookout for interesting wildlife on the water. We have been seeing Egrets and Great Blue Heron along the banks of the river. They are so common that we joke that they are mile markers! Saturday night we anchored behind Bar Island on the Illinois River. Just up from us was a point of land that had hundreds of Pelicans resting for the night. Sunday morning they formed into some interesting formations as they flew past us on their migration south. We have been seeing hawks and those CRAZY jumping carp. Early morning and just before dusk they start jumping. We have had them get so riled as we go by that one or two have thumped into the bottom of our boat. It has been very entertaining...so far. As the saying goes, it is all fun and games until someone gets hurt. I have heard, but not seen an owl and we saw a family (I think) of Bald Eagles, along the bank. Two adults with white heads and one juvenile without the white head. I will maintain my lookout and maybe there could be a critters video in the making?
Monday, October 10, 2011
A bad day on the river is better than a good day at the office!
Friday started out great. We had a good evening Thursday night in Peoria and the morning weather was perfect. We cast off at 8AM with the Peoria lock a few miles downstream. That’s when the day started to deteriorate. First, we had to dodge falling concrete from construction on the bridge just above the lock. Then we had to circle while waiting for a very large tow to lock down or anchor. Circling is tedious so we decided to anchor. Just as we were about to drop it, we were hailed by another working tow headed right at us. He needed room to enter a small creek with his barge. So we decided to head back upstream under the debris bridge to cool our heels in more open space. That lasted 4 hours! There was another tow in line ahead of us and he was a chemical barge so we could not join him even if there was room. As we’re finally getting ready to enter the lock, fellow cruisers who slept in came motoring up just in time for our opening. Nice timing! We also shared the lock with a canoeist who is paddling all the way to New Orleans. And we thought we were adventurous in our 42’ boat!
Places to stop for the night get sparse on this part of the river. And low water levels make it much more difficult for a deep draft sailboat. We pulled into the backside of an island after reading reports of deep water well past the coal docks. Well, the deep water ended right at the end of a line of barges. There weren’t any good alternatives, so we dropped the hook there along with our companion. Around 11pm, we were awoken by a tow with 4 barges wanting our space. We chatted with him on the radio, very friendly and helpful. We upped anchor and moved out of his way and re-anchored in a small space between two sets of barges tied to shore. He promised there would be no issues there. He did come back later and haul away the coal barges downstream of us. We had to be gone by 7am as the coal unloading would begin then. No need for coal dust showers in the morning.
Oh well, it all worked out fine. No real danger, just many inconveniences. Saturday made up for it with another beautiful day.
Sorry for the delay in posting. Internet was very thin on the lower Illinois River.
Places to stop for the night get sparse on this part of the river. And low water levels make it much more difficult for a deep draft sailboat. We pulled into the backside of an island after reading reports of deep water well past the coal docks. Well, the deep water ended right at the end of a line of barges. There weren’t any good alternatives, so we dropped the hook there along with our companion. Around 11pm, we were awoken by a tow with 4 barges wanting our space. We chatted with him on the radio, very friendly and helpful. We upped anchor and moved out of his way and re-anchored in a small space between two sets of barges tied to shore. He promised there would be no issues there. He did come back later and haul away the coal barges downstream of us. We had to be gone by 7am as the coal unloading would begin then. No need for coal dust showers in the morning.
Oh well, it all worked out fine. No real danger, just many inconveniences. Saturday made up for it with another beautiful day.
Sorry for the delay in posting. Internet was very thin on the lower Illinois River.
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