On Thursday, September 25, three trawlers and one tug boat left Alton to tackle a five day river trip together. There would be no true marinas along the following 310 miles of river systems. The days would get to be slow and long ( one hour of driving a car at 70 mph is like cruising in a boat for seven hours at 10mph! ) During those long hours the comaraderie of our fellow boaters developed into steadfast friendships.
The 'Mighty Mississippi' River didn't let us down with it's facts we had read and heard about. The muddy, swirling waters normally run fast at 3-4 knots to give boats an extra boost. The many other waterways entering into the Mississippi create extra turbulence to prepare for. Add the extra wake when a big towboat passes with a full load of 25 barges and you have cruising at a whole different level of awareness. We aways knew these upcoming days were going to be a part of the trip we signed up for!
The recent flood added another 3 knots plus the water truly looked like liquid, swirling mud. Later I would recall that whenever I tried to take a photo with a reflection of the land in the water, there was no sparkle or shine to the water. Just dull and poison looking. An abundance of turbulence from extra swollen water gave reason for a continual lookout for potentially submerged bouys. These red and green bouys were not in the right places on several occasions either. Many a time they had moved right next to each other. ( Boats need to follow these red and green markers on their river charts and stay between them within the proper channels.) Unfortunately on our third day, one of our boats did hit a submerged bouy and had to back away from us and get towed to Green Turtle Bay Marina, KY which is where we all ended up anyway. Fortunately, the boat being towed had the right boating insurance to cover it!
While traveling, we would set our alarm to wake up around 6 or 6:30 a.m., just before daylight. One of our friends would always get on the marine radio to give us our morning greeting: " Good morning kids, are we ready to go play?" He and his wife were a lot of fun and were a tremendous help informing us with the necessary information along the way because they had done this trip before a few years back.
The banks of the Mississippi River were fun to look at in spite of the drab water. On both sides there were plenty of forests and sandy shoals. It was easy to imagine the river tales of Mark Twain and others. We went past Chester, IL where Popeye the Sailor man was born, and Metropolis, IL, the town made famous by Superman.
We all read our river charts each mile of the way, communicating constantly on our marine radios; the leader of the day would call out a warning whenever he saw something to watch out for. The first boat heading out would be our cruising leader of the day. This leader would also radio the approaching towboats to politely ask which way we should pass. To give you an idea of the magnitude of the barges, it is estimated that one barge can hold the equivalent cargo of six or seven train cars full. The biggest towboat we have passed so far had 30 barges on it! By the way, a tug boat becomes a towboat when it has the barges attached.
We listened to these tow boat operators on their own radio channels with interest. They would chatter to each other with their thick southern drawls that sounded like they were speaking a foreign language. They talked about the currents, how they were going to pass each other, objects in the river and once in awhile we'd hear something about those idiot pleasure boaters. When we'd ask them how to pass, they would come back with either a one whistle pass (meaning he wanted us to pass him on his port (his left) side and a two whistle pass was to pass him on his starboard (or right side).
After anywhere from four to seven hours a day of being on the go we'd all settle in either on a free dock wall, an anchorage, or a lock wall. Once on the Ohio River we tied up to a cement lock cell right out on the open river! And at the end of the day, happy hour on someones boat was a must.
Our plan had us going through St Louis soon on the first day. It is a fascinating town to look at as you pass by, however, it is a very busy comercial port and you really have to be alert constantly. The recent flood caused this port to close for awhile and the closure was the first time in it's recorded history! We were thrilled to have Freedom's Turn's photo taken by one of our traveling boaters here! Charlie's friend Peter Bakker, who had visited us with his wife and mother-in-law earlier at Grafton, works very close to the Eads Bridge (the first bridge over this part of the Mississippi) and told us to give him a call and he would come and take a photo of us as we passed. We did and it was a thrill to know he was up there sharing in our excitement! Thank you Peter!
The first night we tied up to the Kaskaskia Free Lock wall. We joined two other boats here who would remain with us for the rest of the way. The next morning was eventful; first we saw a beautiful early morning sunrise, then as we left, an Asian carp (invasive species) hit our boat, jumped 4 feet in the air and landed inside our boat in the side well! We heard a load thud and thought for sure we hit a very bad thing. When Charlie could leave the helm, he posed for a photo to prove we really had the fish on board. Very messy to clean up. Not a great way to get fish!
The next night we stayed off the Mississippi in a small channel called Little River Diversion Canal. Peaceful anchorage by all. On to the Ohio River.
When Freedom's Turn saw the calm, sparkling blue-green waters of the Ohio River, I bet she was smiling. Charlie said he felt like he had gone from poison to purity. A photo we enclosed here shows the amazing color difference between the two rivers. That night our gang tied up to Federal concrete cells that were part of the partially completed (2013) Olmstead Lock and Dam. Normally this tie up would not have allowed for pleasure craft, but the lock is still being built and is nonfunctional at this time. As with any lock, it is mandatory that you call the lock master ahead for permission to tie up.
On our fourth day, we reached the Cumberland River and were now in Kentucky. We anchored in an area called the Cumberland Tow. The water was 81 degrees and Charlie jumped in for a swim! We saw our first glimpse of fall color and it was a delight to see. The air had more of a crisp feel and the temperature was dipping into the 70's. The thoughts of our Michigan autumn season came to our minds fast and strong.
On our fourth day, we reached the Cumberland River and were now in Kentucky. We anchored in an area called the Cumberland Tow. The water was 81 degrees and Charlie jumped in for a swim! We saw our first glimpse of fall color and it was a delight to see. The air had more of a crisp feel and the temperature was dipping into the 70's. The thoughts of our Michigan autumn season came to our minds fast and strong.
On day 5 we saw an amazing thing. Perched on a large dead grove of trees, hundreds of Turkey Vultures watched us go by! On this day we geared up to go through the Barkley Lock, which raised us 67' up. This was the the last "event" before we ended this leg of our adventure because right around the corner was our meeting place for several of us loopers: a full serviced marina called Green Turtle Bay in Grand Rivers, Kentucky.
At the conclusion of this second main leg out of ten, we are grateful for three things: one: an awesome performance by Freedom's Turn, two: lots of rich American history learned, and three: thank goodness this blog is finished for today!
Charlie says hello as he reads and adds bits to this blog.
Hope all is well with you and yours,
Linda
