We Are in Mississippi

Progress toward our southern goal is being made. We are currently in Fulton, MS, on the TennTom River, half way to Mobile from our last post. The Tennessee River system was wonderful. It was almost as pleasant as being in the North Channel. We have found wonderful little anchorages along the way, out of the path of the tows.


The process of working our way down here has involved traversing many locks.

This can be a rather simple process or a pain in the butt. The above pictures are taken in a lock where we locked down 84 feet. This is largest single lift that we will traverse. We have waited as long as 2 1/2 hours or had the lock doors open when we got there. One guide book tells you

take a single wrap on the bollard and do not tie off both ends. The other book says to take a double wrap and tie off both ends. We are using the the first method. The bollards are metal posts attached to the lock walls that go up or down with the water. There have been no real issues except when the wind catches the bow and begins to blow us around.

We have charts of the river system that we borrowed from Ann and Jorma Poronto and cruising guides by Skipper Bob and Fred Meyer. These, along with our chart plotter, give us the information that we need to have to find our way around. Most of the information has been pretty reliable.

We are currently staying 3 nights at a low key marina that has a boaters lounge, free wireless, courtesy car, and a hot tub. Tonight we are headed to the restaurant where most meals are under $10. It should be a cheap dinner given the fact we are in a dry county.

Since our last post we have had a couple of gremlins on the boat. Some idiot, me, left the cap off of the fuel tank overnight and we had rain. By the time I found it was off, it was too late. When we left Green Turtle the engine quit after about 15 minutes. I changed the filter, went back to the marina, bought some "dry gas" for the fuel, and then we headed out again. That night as we were headed into our anchorage, we found the bottom with our keel. Yes, we ran aground, or ran "amud". I have helped many folks go through a process called "kedging off" so I had the experience to get Danny's Fault out of the mud. It involves taking an anchor out away from the boat in the dingy and then retrieving it from the big boat. It was just a pain to do and then the mud in the dingy and around the boat that need to be cleaned up.

The other problem was discovered last night. The kitchen sink drain developed a leak and all liquid going down the kitchen sink was headed into the bilge. It was good we were at a dock. A quick trip to the hardware store and a few bucks and I had the parts. I spent this morning fixing the sink and now all is well. Rob

At one of our anchorages we heard cows but didn't think anything of it. Dulcinea, a boat we have been traveling with, called us the next morning and said to look outside and see the pygmy goats. Besides the cows now we can list goats in our animal sightseeing list. Going down the river we have seen lots of turtles, wood ducks, vultures, and even snakes. Jude

Hangin' Out

Just a few thoughts and pieces of info as to our status.


First, the day before we arrived where we are at now located we logged over 1049 miles. For those of you who follow the Iditarod, that is the distance of the race. Now, I am not even coming close to comparing what we have done so far to the mushers who brave the Iditarod Trail, but we do know what it means to travel over 1100 miles at 6-12 mph. We have lots of goodies that they don't. No dogs to tend, hot showers every once in a while, good food, happy hour with new friends, Internet and once in a while TV. Wow, I guess that also means that we have electricity every now and then. All of the creature comforts that a musher does not have. 1100 miles is a long way.


Second. I have had a couple of questions from some of the non sailors who are reading this blog as to how we live. Well, the boat has a V berth in the bow. Jude and I climb in from the aft end or the head of the bed every night. We head in on all fours and then turn around. Kind of like a dog turning circles before they lie down. I will be glad when I can get out of bed from the side rather than the head! When one has to get up in the middle of the night to get a snack, or to pee, it means going through contortions. Aft of the bed is the head (toilet) on the port side and a closet on the starboard side. After that comes two bench seating on both sides of the boat. A table folds down for our dinner table. Moving aft is the galley on the starboard side. We have a propane stove, microwave/convection oven, and a refrigerator. The fridge is not what you have in your kitchen. It is a cold plate that is down in a hole that was at one time a built in ice chest. It is always a challenge to find what you are looking for in there. From there we move upstairs and outside to the cockpit area. There is room for 6 people to sit there comfortably as long as it is not raining. We have a BBQ grill on the back rail that makes a great steak dinner. We have a 10 foot inflatable dingy that we can use to get to shore when we anchor. We either tow this behind the boat or carry it on the fore deck. Showers--when we were in the North Channel we would jump in the lake. After getting in the river system this was not an option. The water in the Illinois River and the Mississippi was disgusting. Now that we are in the Tennessee we can swim again if we want. We either use the marina shower or we set up solar showers and get cleaned off in the cockpit while moving. Nobody is close enough to gawk at a couple of old farts. This was a concern before we left, showering not gawking, but has become a non issue.


The distance we travel really depends on the circumstances at hand. While clearing the flooded Illinois and the high current Mississippi, we would set a 6:30 alarm (still dark) and be moving by 7:00 AM (sunrise). On one of these days we did 80 miles. One hell of a long way for a boat that does 6.5 mph. Those were the days when the current gave is a boost up to 10 mph. For the next few days we will not be moving at that pace. No alarm, start moving when we want, anchor by 3 in the afternoon. Yes, we anchor the boat someplace where we are out of the current and out of the way (hopefully) of the tows (tug and barge combinations). We will usually spend 3-5 nights on the hook (at anchor) before we find a marina to take care of business. (Fuel, water, pumpout.) We have a holding tank for all of our black water but the grey water goes directly overboard. We will get a pumpout first thing in the morning and be on our way.


We are traveling with a group of boats who are doing what is called "The Loop". The Loop is a circle that starts where ever one starts, but goes through the Great Lakes, down the river system to Mobile, over to Florida and then up the east coast and back to the Great Lakes. Obviously one can start this trip from anywhere along the path. When we got hung up in Ottawa, IL, we had one boat that only needed to get to St Louis to finish their Loop.



As to social life, we have a happy hour most every night with the folks who are doing the loop. As we move along we run across the same people. Even with the different financial background we all have something in common: the experiences along the way. It is a very easy fraternity to join, all you have to do is, as Nike says, just do it.





Left, the Vee berth.

Right, from the Vee berth aft. Behind Jude's head is the propane stove, the coffee pot is on the counter, behind the coffee pot is the hole that leads into the cooler. The steps lead outside to the cockpit area.

This is taken from the companionway (stairs) looking down in to our "living" area. The v-berth, hanging locker, Jude's couch, stove and counter on the right and Rob's computer and couch is on the left side. The table is behind the burgundy cushions to the left of center in this picture.

If you want to play Where's Waldo, can you find the cat box?

Rob

We are a Sailboat Again

The mast went up on Thursday and the sails went on Friday, we are a sailboat again.


We are currently at the Green Turtle Marina in Grand Rivers, KY. We decided to take a week at the dock here given the fact that the weekly rate is equal to the 5 day rate. We were going to have to spend a 3 night stay someplace to put the mast back up anyway. Plus that there is a festival here in town this weekend.




The trip down the Mississippi River was interesting and tense. Danny's Fault has a top speed of about 7 miles per hour and with the river current we were traveling at speeds of up to 12 mph. There were numerous logs and sticks in the water that we were dodging, when we could see them. Daily we were hitting something unseen in the water. As a sail boat, the keel helped to protect the prop. The power boats are not that lucky.




The Miss River has been so altered and controlled by the Army Corps of Engineers that it is nothing like the Mark Twain tales. There are levees; wing dams on the sides of the river, pointing down stream, that are just at or below water level; weir dams under water that point slightly up stream to help flush out certain areas; and there are things called wicket dams that can be raised or lowered depending on how much water is the the river (Illinois and Ohio, none on the Miss). Most of the depths were in the 20-30 feet range, but there were holes where depths of 60 feet were not uncommon. In these areas the boiling current would take charge of the boat and tell Danny's Fault where we were going.



South of St Louis we stayed at a marina called Hoppies, a place with character. Fern, the owner who reminded Jude of the character in the old TV show Tugboat Annie, gave us a briefing of the river from her place to where the Ohio comes into the Miss. Her knowledge was invaluable. Our last anchorage on the Miss was off to a small channel on the right hand side that was on the outside side of a turn. This caused the current to be greater there and gave us a bigger challenge to get into the cut. With the engine revving higher than usual, we made it in at a whopping speed of about 2 mph into the anchorage. Sure is tough going against the flow of the Miss.






The next day we turned up the Ohio River, the south border of Illinois. Many others who have done this trip have hated the Ohio due to its current. The water is at very low levels so we had no problem with the current. Our anchorage for the night was not as safe and secure as advised. At 9PM, after dark a tow with empty barges came within 100 feet of our starboard side. Later that night our traveling companions, Adamant 1, had the same experience on their port side! The next morning we again headed up stream and had to wait 2 1/2 hours to get permission to go through the next lock. Commercial traffic has priority and pleasure craft is at the bottom of the list as to who gets to go next. After locking through, we headed further up the Ohio to where the Cumberland River comes in. We anchored is a safer place that night.

We had a rainy trip up the Cumberland River but finally got away from Illinois and arrived at Green Turtle Marina by 1 PM. This is a nice place. We have used the courtesy car to go into Paduca, KY, and make a provisioning trip to Sam's. There is a nice indoor pool that we have used and we had a group hot dog roast on the beach the other night. Since we have been here the weather has been perfect, high 70-low 80. The next bit of rain is to be on Tuesday. Guess when we take off!




Speaking of next Tuesday, the Discovery Channel will begin its newest series on the Iditarod. Jude and I are in the trailer so we assume you would be able to see us on the program. We were working the start line at Willow. We are the last two officials in the starting chute, Jude on the musher's right, and Rob on the musher's left. Watch for us.


Tomorrow or Monday we will do a bit more planning for our next few stops. Our traveling companions left yesterday headed further south in Kentucky Lake to a couple of anchorages. We will probably catch up with them in the near future.


Before we left we put Sirius radio on the boat so that we could listen to Michigan Football. As I sit here and listen to Toledo take the lead on Michigan, I am glad that there are a lot of other thing on Sirius!!



Jude managed to get fairly close to a Great Blue Heron. We have seen hundreds of them along the rivers. We have also seen Bald Eagles, White Pelicans, and a few deer.









Good luck to all. We will be able to receive email until Monday night if you want to get back with us.
Rob

Mississippi River here we come

We finally made it. Danny's Fault is in Grafton, Illinois. Wow we never thought we would see the Mississippi River. We saw a tremendous amount of flooding and homes that have a "bathtub ring" around them from the high water. We have anchored numerous times in the North Channel but last night we anchored in a 2 knot current. This was behind an island off the Illinois river.What a new experience. We are still traveling with Adament I (Canada) and we have picked up a new boat to travel with Phebus (France). They have been sailing for 2 years and have 3 teenagers on board. With their limited English they have sort of attached to us .We also help them with their translations. We are now known as the United Nations Cruise! The boat from Great Britian is slightly ahead, but we think we will catch up with them tomorrow. Sorry no pictures this time. Will put double on next time. Jude