Ship’s Log: Days 11-15
September 12 - 16, 1999
Sunday, Sept. 12
Nancy and I pulled the hooks at 9:15 A.M. and motored Telesis onto the Mighty Miss with threatening clouds. The Missouri River was behind us and we were headed south. Almost immediately we favored the east bank and entered the Chain of Rocks Canal, a 10-mile long ditch with tall levees on either side that bypasses the low water dam above St. Louis. At 10:30 A.M. we entered Chain of Rocks Lock and Dam 27 and by 11:00 A.M. had cleared it. It is a newer lock with floating bollards, which made it very easy to pass through. One line amidships wrapped around the bollard holds the boat against the lock wall as the lock drops or rises. We locked through with one other small sailboat, which also had its mast on deck.
Below the lock, we re-entered the Mississippi River and were almost immediately were along side the Arch and Downtown St. Louis. The Rams were playing at home so a large number of people were tailgating along the river below TWA stadium. After passing by the downtown area, we entered the commercial riverfront. Wow, the number of barges, docks and businesses was surprising. From St. Louis down to the Gulf of Mexico there are no locks or dams so very large tows of barges can be moved up and down the Mississippi River. Once to St. Louis the size of the locks dictate smaller barge tows.
At about noon it began to rain, HARD! Navigation became a bit more exiting as we had large barge tows traveling in both directions, smaller boats working along the banks and a brisk south wind was kicking up a chop on the river and the rain. We did get some confront by communicating with the large tow captains. The tows use channel 13 for boat to boat navigation. The captains would acknowledge our presence, confirm their intentions and suggest a safe course for us. We didn’t feel that we were about to be crushed like a small bug even though we were within very close quarters at times. A 30-foot sailboat sure seamed small in this world. We continued south with the other small sailboat close behind.
At about 2:30 P.M. we arrived at Hoppies Marine Service below St. Louis in Kimmswick, MO at mile mark 158. It continued to rain hard and we tied off at the fuel dock and only took on 10.6 gallons. The other small sailboat also docked at Hoppies. We waited for the rain to let up before we moved to our overnight slip and joined in an informal party for Mr. Hoppies Birthday, which was the following day. An hour or so later, Ron Finney arrived on the dock. Arlene and her friend Margo were in the car out of the rain. We moved Telesis to her overnight slip and went to the Wenom-Drake House B&B in Kimmswick, MO. A real shower felt great. We had a small celebration at the B&B then went to The Old House restaurant for dinner.
It seems that the first day of traveling a river brings rain. The first day on the Missouri River was the same way.
Monday, Sept. 13
Nancy departed for the St. Louis airport early to catch a flight back to Jacksonville, FL. Joe Penn, a friend and co-worker in the Zurich Insurance companies picked Nancy up at the B&B. Nancy was scheduled to return home anyway, but we had some concern that Hurricane Floyd (wouldn’t that be a “him-icane”?) might impact Jacksonville and as our home is right on the Intracoastal Waterway, that could be a problem.
After breakfast at the B&B, Ron Finney and I used his car to go grocery shopping and returned to the B&B to pick up Arlene and Margo. We went to the river and loaded the boat and Arlene and Margo departed to return to Kansas City.
A little more about the other sailboat that followed us into Hoppies on Sunday. It was an old fiberglass Coronado 25 built in the 60’s, powered by a small outboard engine and named Walkabout. Her owner, Perry, was in his late 20’s or early 30’s. He’d departed from the Green Bay area, came down Lake Michigan to Chicago onto the Illinois River and now the Mississippi. He was headed south to Beaumont, TX to see an uncle. Walkabout was not what you’d call in Bristol fashion, in fact she was a mess and Perry’s seamanship seemed very thin. But he was a voyager, interesting in his own way and very cordial and polite. We wished him well and a safe journey.
Ron and I spent the rest of the day doing boat maintenance. We changed the oil, replaced a broken port (window) on the port (left) side in the head (bathroom). Afterward we had a glass of port (wine) to celebrate. NO, not really, but it just shows how silly sailor talk can be. We stowed gear and got ready to be underway. Cell phone calls to Nancy in Jacksonville really raised concern with the hurricane. It was a real threat. Should I depart or wait in St. Louis in case I needed to return to Jacksonville because of the damage caused? Nancy and I decided to discuss a plan the next morning after the weather predictors gave more information.
It was hard to imagine a hurricane, as it was beautiful in the St. Louis area. Ron and I had dinner on board and turned in early.
Mississippi River watershed
Tuesday, Sept. 14
I had several early morning conversations with Nancy. The hurricane was expected to pass offshore of Jacksonville but could still produce heavy rain, storm surge and winds of 80 to 100 miles per hour. Nancy would evacuate and go inland to her brother’s home. It would be Wednesday before the storm passed and Thursday before I could return to Jacksonville, so we decided I should continue the trip.
Ron and I departed at 9:15 A.M. on a sunny, cool day. Another great day! We motored down the Mississippi with no real problems. We continued to be among the BIG tows. The largest we saw were five barges wide and six barges long, a total of 30 barges with two towboats pushing them. With no locks to clear, they can push BIG tows on the Mississippi River. We met one tow in a tight bend in the river and one of his engines had stalled. He was doing everything he could to hold the tow in the current neither moving up or down river. We heard later on the radio that he had gotten his second engine back up, and had he not he was about to “crash.” I don’t know what that would mean, but it doesn’t sound good.
We dropped anchor at 6:30 P.M. 25 miles above Cape Girardeau, MO at mile mark 76 near the mouth of the Big Muddy River on the Illinois side. Today we made 82 miles in just over nine houses. We had planned to enter the small river, but the water was too low. We anchored on the Mississippi in moderate current with a bow and stern anchor that held us well.
Nancy was at her brother’s home and waiting to see what Hurricane Floyd was about to do to Jacksonville.
Ron and I ate aboard and turned in early.
Wednesday, Sept. 15
The 15th of each month causes me to reflect. For 34 years, the 15th of the month I received a months pay from O’Brien. The last several years it was through direct deposit, the money just showed up in my checking account. That hasn’t happened for the past three months. WOW, where have the last two and a half months gone? For the time being, having the time to do what I’m doing is a lot more important than the lost income. I don’t suppose I can keep this up for a long time, but until January of 2000, I’m going to enjoy it. After all, Nancy gave me the rest of the millennium off.
Ron and I awoke to another great day. We had breakfast aboard and prepared to depart. Each morning the engine is checked over before getting underway. I check the oil, the water strainer, and the anti-freeze level and then inspect the engine visually. It is leaking a small amount of oil and it collects in the engine’s separate bilge. It is a small amount; a single paper towel soaks it up. The fuel tank is topped off from the jugs on deck; today we put two cans or about 10 gallons into the tank, which filled it. We still have 10 gallons in cans. The fuel tank continues to deposit sediment in the inline fuel filter and today I installed a clean one. I have one more left. The engine is then started and allowed to warm up for five or more minutes before we pull anchor and get underway. Other than the dirty fuel tank issue and earlier alternator problem, the engine has run without a hitch.
I called Nancy in Jacksonville at her brother’s home. The storm passed about 6:00 A.M. and went out to sea, high winds and rain were still an issue. She thought it would be Thursday morning before she could get back to our house. We must still wait.
The anchor was up 8:45. Ron and I took the two-hour shifts at the wheel. The Mississippi is not as wide as I would have thought. In many places it is no wider than the Missouri. Of course, the Missouri is now at normal flow or a little up and the Mississippi is very low now. The only concern is the fuel filter issue. I have no more clean filters and dirt continues to come from the tank. I cleaned out the last dirty filter one and kept it in reserve in case the current filter plugs up. We see lots of barge tows and small fishing boats, but only rarely a pleasure boat.
We dropped anchor about 4:30 P.M. at mile one on the Upper Mississippi River at the Mouth of the Ohio River near Cairo, IL. We’ve covered 75 miles in just less than 8 hours. I immediately called Nancy as I’ve been out of cell phone contact most of the day. She and her brother and sister-in-law were at our home. The roads into our area had been reopened earlier than expected. We had only slight damage to some scrubs and no damage to our house. The electricity was on so no problems with the fridge or freezer. The threat had passed, so my trip would not be interrupted at this point. I felt badly that Nancy was left to deal with the situation alone, but it worked out.
Ron and I anchored Telesis below a “towhead” in the river, a small cut. Again, the low river didn’t allow us back into the cut very far and we anchored in moderate current, bow and stern. A 36-foot trawler traveling south had also anchored there and we had a discussion with the skipper. This was his first Mississippi River trip also. Ron and I discussed my taking the dinghy ashore and walking into Cairo to get fuel filters and five gallons of gasoline as “insurance” for the trip to Paducah, but decided it was not necessary.
We had grilled steaks aboard and went to bed at dark. We slept well until about 3:00 A.M. when we realized the bow anchor had dragged. The stern anchor was holding so we were turned 90 degrees to the current. All hands on deck for anchor drills! We got the anchors up, reset the bow and then the stern. It was back to bed, but hard to sleep once that had happened.
Thursday, Sept. 16
Today we leave the Mississippi and turn back north on the Ohio River. We added five gallons of fuel to the tank and kept five on deck in reserve. We were up and underway by 8:15 A.M. It was brisk, windy yet sunny. My first day to wear long pants and long sleeved sweatshirt. We turned up the Ohio and found very little current against us. The wind from the north was a much greater factor than the river current. We were able to average five miles per hour over the bottom according to my GPS.
The Ohio is more like a long narrow lake than a free flowing river. Above Cairo and below Paducah we passed through locks and dams that restrict the river. The locks are very old and in fact are being replaced by a single, larger, modern lock called the Olmstead Locks and Dam that is under construction just above Cairo. On old locks 52 and 53, each boat passes two long lines fixed to the boat to a lock hand on the lock wall. He takes a wrap around a fixed bollard atop the lock wall and passes the bitter end back on deck. You control your boat with the lines as it rises, as in our case, or falls as the lock fills or empties. Ron’s first lock experiences were of this more challenging kind. As we exited lock 52, our second lock of the day, a barge tow was stationed directly in front of the lock gates. In fact we had to exit the lock by going through a small gap between the lead barge and the gate. It was much closer than I would have preferred, but what the heck, it is really their river, and we are just guests.
About midday the last new fuel filter plugged and shut down the engine. I quickly replaced it with the cleaned old filter, but now the question was, would it keep running until we get to Paducah and buy more clean filters? I cleaned the second plugged filter to use as a back up to the first, but we made Paducah without problems.
We docked about 6:30 P.M. at a marina under construction below the Executive Inn Motel in Paducah. There is little other than a dock and a ramp there, but we could go ashore near downtown. We had made 47 miles on the Ohio and cleared two locks in just over 10 hours. Ron and I cleaned up and went into downtown Paducah for dinner. Paducah is a small, old river town. We ate at Jerameha’s, had a couple of drinks and returned to Telesis for the night.
Ron Finney secures Telesis to the lock wall as the gates close behind.