Archive for September 14th, 2010

September 14th, 2010 | Author:

Up at 6:30 and off the hook by 7. We only had .7 miles of the Mississippi left. The Mississippi gave us her current to help us go faster. The Ohio was not going to help us at all.  Once into the Ohio, we entered a busy area where the tows are tied to the shore, anchored in the middle of the river, or being repositioned for their upcoming journeys. There was less trash in the water but more tows to watch for.

We continued on pass the spot where the new Olmsted Lock is being constructed. My goodness. It is incredible how large this one is. It will replace 52 and 53.  We knew 52 was coming up next…no, the river was so high that the wickets were down and we went right by it. Score one for us! No wait.

We had heard that 53 was congested. Having checked the website we knew it could be a long wait unless there was an opening. But, as luck would have it, the lock master said to come to the waiting area…We passed barges waiting to lock up; in front of us were the Nina and the Pinta (no kidding, replicas but!). There are 2 locks here, a large one and a smaller one for smaller barge loads and, of course, we “recs” (recreational boats). There was not a small barge that could be locked down or up, so he opened the gates and in went the Nina, the Pinta and the …..no, Prime Time. Score two for us! We had heard from loppers that they had to wait until the next day to get through.

We passed the city of Metropolis. Of course this is where Superman was from…however, the mural on him on a water tower could not be found.

From here we could smell the anchorage. We had gone so far yesterday that a shorter day would be nice for us. We went by Paducah, Quilt Capital of the World. This is a walled city. There are huge walls with large openings so that cars can drive through and go down to the parks near the river. These walls protect the city from floods; there was one this year. Large metal gates are secured in the openings and the city is safe.

Here is where one must decide whether to do the Tennessee River and the Kentucky Lock which is more commercial, or the Cumberland to the Barley Lake Lock, less commercial. We had reservations at Green Turtle Bay on Barkely Lake and the Cumberland Towhead anchorage was but 14 miles away. The towhead won.

We have been traveling alone. Perhaps not a wise move, but we like thinking that when we want to anchor there are not 4 other boats with us all needing a spot. The Towhead was empty. Kelley picked the perfect spot. Down came the anchor. We locked in. And Kelley had his safe landing beer. Well deserved, I might add!

Mississippi River: Mile 7.7  (Boston Bar) to Mile 923.5 on the Ohio River (Cumberland Island Towhead )

Miles covered: 62       Bridges: 7          Locks: 2 (but one down)

Left at 7 am      Arrived at 2:30 pm

Category: 2010, Cruising, Kentucky  | Comments off
September 14th, 2010 | Author:

Mississippi Mud Pie! Now I know why it is call that. The river is brown. It takes both of us looking ahead watching for floating logs, or worse, branches or trees stuck in the river waiting to get your props. Kelley continues to call the approaching tows – rarely do they answer; it seems that we meet them in a narrow curve where there is turbulence! We have learned that if the tow is negotiating a turn, it is best to be prepared to take the inside curve.

Generally Loopers travel from Hoppies to Little Diversion Channel. That is a run of  almost 110 miles. We did have the current with us. Having left at 6:40 we were surprised to arrive at the Channel at 3ish. It was hot and the Channel is well protected, from everything (except bugs). So we looked at Skipper Bob and decided to stay cool for a bit longer we would go onto Browns Chute, 27 miles away. We thought we would get there by 4. We did.

We pulled in and Kelley got us to a perfect spot. The current was running and dropping and securing the anchor was easy – stay in gear and not let the current push you back too quickly. It was perfect – until we heard something making a nosie – and not consistently. I opened the hatch to the engine room and saw that the props were free spinning. The noise would drive us nuts. We had one more option from the book. Boston Bar, 14 miles away.

Up came the anchor with many branches attached, and we went on. We kept looking at the channel as we went wondering where we could pull in if we needed to for the night. There are spots where the barges don’t have anchors set, but they are not marked on the charts as safe. On we went. Finally, we neared the spot and there was another boat there. And what was the noise? Rifles! They were shooting into the hill! but, it was after 6, getting dark, and we went in. We anchored in front of them. They had the nice view of the cove and we saw the hills. No current to speak of, no wind, secure anchor; we were home for the night.

Mississippi River: Mile 158.5  (Hoppies Marina) to Mile 7.7 (Boston Bar)

Miles covered: 151       Bridges: 3          Locks: 0

Left at 6:40 am      Arrived at 6:30 pm

Category: 2010, Cruising, Illinois, Mississippi River  | Comments off