Ship’s Log: Days 1-5
September 2 - 6, 1999
Thursday, Sept. 2
Moving the boat to launch into the Missouri River was scheduled for Thursday because Kansas will not issue permits for oversize loads on the Friday before a holiday weekend (Labor Day). The boat hauler, Jerry Early, picked up Telesis on her trailer at 1:30 P.M. at Port Perry Services boat yard. She was then hauled the 45 miles to Atchison, Kansas. It was a bit of a shock to follow her in a car at speeds exceeding sixty miles per hour. I’d spent weeks planning my trip at four or six or even eight miles per hour on the water, now we were traveling at ten times that speed. We arrived in Atchison without event and by 3:15 P.M. Telesis was tied safely along side the docks on the Missouri River maintained by the Atchison Yacht Club. I have to admit that I was nervous about how the old sailboat would do in the river current, but she handled it fine. Special thanks to Larry Purcell of Purcell’s Landing and the Atchison Yacht Club for allowing me to tie off at the docks for two nights while I prepared to depart.
Friday, Sept. 3
A number of friends from Perry Yacht Club (PYC) and my family came to Atchison to help with final preparation and provisioning. We built wooden struts to support the mast, added fuel and water and completed numerous other tasks. For fear that I would miss names, I’ll simply say that I greatly appreciated each and every one of them for their help. You know who you are. THANKS!!!! You are very special people.
That evening, we had a bon-voyage dinner and party at the River House restaurant right there on the riverfront. It was a wonderful evening with very special people. Most stayed the night in Atchison at B&Bs, motels or camping in the City Park next to the docks.
One of the things I hadn’t really anticipated was the helpful support we received from the folks in Atchison. Most notable were the friendship of two aged-but-still-excited-about-boats Atchisonians: Jack Windsor and Rod Dierking. The two of them had completed the “loop” of the Eastern United States a few years back. The “loop” is down the rivers as I am doing, around Florida, back up the East Coast, up the Hudson River, across the Great Lakes to Chicago, back onto the Rivers to where you started. WOW, right now they’re in Atchison! Rod invited me to visit him on his boat in Dunedin, FL in October. I really look forward to visiting with him when I have more time.The local newspaper also showed great interest in the trip and spent time with my friends and I. An article is scheduled to print in the Wednesday, September 8 issue. When I see a copy, I’ll relay the content or post it here on the web.
Friday, Sept. 4 – Departure Day!
Several years ago, I read an article about sailors leaving on an extended cruise, sort of the “dos and don’ts.” One of the don’ts was, “Do not have a big bon-voyage party the night before your departure.” The reason stated was that there are so many last minute details to take care of that the party and celebration wear you out and distract you from all that needs to be done. Well, they were pretty much right. We had originally said we would depart at 10:00 A.M. We were no where near ready, so we moved it to Noon. We still were not ready, so we moved it to 2:00 P.M. Then a big thunderstorm moved in and, unrelated to the weather, the engine gave us a little problem. So we finally left the dock in Atchison, Kansas, Missouri River mile mark 23, at 3:45 P.M., with rain soaked friends and family on shore waving good-bye while my brother, Stan, had military march music on a boombox and Gary Templeton fired exploding flares into the air. Quite a send off. On board were Nancy, my son Shane and his friend, Fran.
We motored down river in rain – at times quite heavy – and were met just above Leavenworth by our PYC friends Hank Freeman and Marge Conklin aboard the powerboat of their friends, the Runyans. Another couple from PYC, our friends Ron and Arlene Finney drove ahead of us down the river and every 10 miles or so they would be on the riverbank waving to us as we passed. That was quite unexpected. Hank, Marge and the Runyans escorted us down the Missouri River to the entrance of the Platte River at mile mark 391 and guided us through the shallow entrance. We dropped the anchor in the Platte River at 6:45 P.M. Our friends in the powerboat left to trailer their boat and gave Shane and Fran a ride to their car.
After a late start, we had covered 32 miles in three hours and the trip was really off to a good, although wet, start. Nancy and I dropped into our bunk exhausted as soon as it was dark.
Sunday, Sept. 5
During the night we had quite heavy thunderstorms with heavy rain at times. In fact, lighting struck very near Telesis on several occasions, but we were at safe and sheltered anchor in the Platte River. After a slow start and breakfast, I decided to look into the engine problem of the day before. Long story short, it seems Telesis road trip to the launch site stirred all that old junk in the bottom of her fuel tank to the point it clogged fuel filters and carburetor jets. I disassembled and cleaned the carburetor and replaced the filters and she was running well. Over the years I’ve become expert at the maintenance of the Atomic 4 carburetor.
Because my son Shawn had to work Saturday, we wanted to meet and say farewell so we arranged to meet him in Parkville, MO, that afternoon. Nancy and I motored out of the Platte River at about 11:30 A.M. and dropped anchor at 1:45 P.M. near mile mark 389.5 behind a river jetty across from Parkville a trip of about 13 miles. It was sunny and breezy. We untethered our dinghy, an 8-foot Walker Bay with 2 bhp kicker and experienced our first dinghy trip on the Mighty MO. The way the current plays on a small boat is something to experience, but the dinghy did very well. Nancy has began to refer to the little boat as Teletubbie. We met Shawn in Parkville and he transported us to pickup a few last minute items. We had an early supper with him and then ferried ourselves back to Telesis for our first night at anchor on the Missouri River.
Platte River watershed
Monday, Sept. 6 (Labor day)
We awoke to very heavy fog on the river so our plan for an early departure was delayed until the fog lifted. We used the time to begin getting things more organized below. We are coming to realize that for the next several weeks, Telesis will be a motorboat. Therefore, everything doesn’t need to be as secured as if she were sailing. Also, we have a lot more aboard than ever before, so finding places to store it all is a challenge. This is going to take some time.
We departed Parkville at about 9:30 A.M. after adding five gallons of fuel from the deck cans. The weather was again delightful. We motored toward Kansas City, making good time. The boat ran well and handled the river very well, but an inconsistent chirping sound from the engine compartment and the voltage meter readings indicating that the alternator was not functioning gave me cause for concern. We motored through the downtown area of Kansas City and out the east side. The possibility of a bad alternator lead to the decision to hold up in Kansas City (KC) to have it tested, serviced or replaced. Far better here than in the middle of the state. We called our friend Christy Chester cell phone to cell phone. She was in the Independence, MO, area and insisted that she come to meet us so we could use one of her cars to run whatever errands we needed.
We first tried to anchor behind a jetty near Highway 291 and La Benite Park, but the hole behind the jetty was too deep, almost 40 feet. We moved down river to near the Independence City Power Plant just west of Missouri City. Christy had driven in ahead of us and obtained permission from Gary Moore at the plant to use it as a landing place. We anchored behind a Jetty and Nancy and I went ashore. Nancy returned to home with Christy, took a quick shower and returned to the river with the car. While she was gone, the Missouri Water Patrol stopped by the boat and suggested I consider moving Telesis as she was in shallow water and the river was dropping. I don’t think I would have had a problem, but after Nancy returned, we moved down river and finally anchored behind a jetty at mile mark 344. We spent the night there having covered only 34 miles for the day.