Log 28
Day 104
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
6:15 AM CDT
Location: Green Turtle Bay Marina, Grand Rivers, KY.
Weather: 77* with 67% humidity; light wind...predicted to be 92 and mostly cloudy today
The lowest it got last night was 77*. This morning when I came to the back deck it was very warm and muggy. There is a light breeze so I opened up the side doors and some of the isinglass and it feels pretty good. The sun is not up yet...when it does come over the hill I’m sure it will warm up fast...but they are predicting it to be mostly cloudy today. I hope so, because I am not a big fan of the heat.
Yesterday was a relaxing day at GTB. Deb made pancakes and we both enjoyed a lazy breakfast because we knew we were not on any cruising schedule. About mid morning we took a dock walk...one of my favorite things to do.
(Side note: When I typed the above sentence I thought about all the dock walks I have been on, at the many marinas...and decided to take another one...now. So I stopped typing and took a long walk...I’m back now) Anyway...this is a big very nice marina with probably at least 200 big boats docked here. A place where most folks doing the loop stop for a while. Deb and I also wanted to take a dinghy ride so after lunch we dropped the dinghy and headed out on Lake Barkley. The wind was out of the east, and it made it tough going heading into the waves out on the lake so we hugged the shore and ducked in and out of coves...and there are lots of them. We wanted to go to the cove we stayed in for a week when we rented the houseboat with Beccah’s family in July because we thought it would be loaded with boats partying. Well, we made it to the cove, but found only a few boats anchored...maybe because it was the end of the holiday weekend. It was so hot we came back to the boat and Deb went up to the pool. I sat in the air conditioning and watched the end of the NASCAR race that I had taped the night before. Deb cooked some great tilapia (I think that is how you spell it...anyway it’s fish) on the stove and we made it an early night.
The next few days will be spent getting a few things done on the boat list. Steve and Claudia Larry (we worked at TLC together, and he retired 1 week after me) will be driving down from Dixon, IL on the 11th, and Steve will be bringing his fishing boat down as well. He and I plan to see if we can catch a few fish and enjoy the area. People come from all around to fish here...maybe we can figure out why.
I probably will not be sending many updates over the next few days...as there will not be much to report that is of any “cruising” interest. If anything of significance happens...I’ll send out a note.
I’ll keep you posted.
BK.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Monday, September 01, 2008
Deb's 2 cents Labor Day 2008
Labor Day 9/1/08
Ahoy All!
As you know, we’ve landed at Green Turtle Bay and will be here for a couple of weeks. It’s a great marina, lots of boating activity all around to watch. Bob tells me that the ship’s store is a very good one…lots of boatical things to buy. (I saw a cute tee-shirt!)
We’ve had a couple of cruising days and understandably, things are a little disheveled right now. After enjoying the rest of the Labor Day weekend, we’ll get right on that!
We had a couple of wakeful nights at anchor, on Friday and Saturday night. It was beautiful where we were both nights…very calm and quiet (the locusts and frogs were the noisiest things around!)…but still, I constantly wondered if the anchor was holding. I would set a landmark out the back window before we went to bed (a tree, or a break in the tree line or something that stands out) and all night long, I would wake up and look out that window to make sure my "mark" was still in the same position! I remember one anchorage a couple of years back, I looked out the window and SWORE we were moving! I went out to the helm area and stood for long minutes, staring out the window and watching the water move by (seriously!) I even woke BK up saying, "I think we're drifting." Turns out it was just the wind on the water making ripples in the moonlight. Sheesh! So that's usually how I spend my nights at anchor. On Saturday night at the Cuba Towhead (behind the island on the TN River) I was looking out that window regularly until 2:00 am and I'll have to admit...when BK went topside and kept watch...then I slept like a baby! I think I owe him a night on watch duty!
But yesterday we pulled into Green Turtle Bay Marina and tied HQ securely in a slip. We put fenders and lines all over the place! And after a quiet afternoon at the pool for me and a cool afternoon on the boat watching the race for BK, and following a couple of long days and sleepless nights, at 9:00 pm when we headed for bed, we both looked at each other and smiled...looking forward to a great night's sleep!
We were here on vacation in July on a rented houseboat with Jeff, Beccah and the kids. It'll be fun to check out the places we explored while with them. At that time, we found a great cove to anchor and stayed there all week. It was quiet enough to be able to play on the houseboat slide and swim all day long without the worry of other boats getting too close. We got there on a Monday and had it all to ourselves all week long. But early on Saturday, boats started trickling in, rafting off each other and cranking their stereos up! Seems we had stumbled upon this part of KY Lake's version of "Party Cove"! So today we're going to pack a cooler and take a dinghy ride over to that cove to check out the Labor Day partiers! It's supposed to be 95* and sunny and this being the unofficial last weekend of summer, the cove should be packed!
But first, a little TLC for HQ. BK's outside washing the last few days of cruising off the boat. Seems the anchor is a little muddy (hm-m-m...I must have missed a spot) and we're bowed into the slip so he's excited about the fact that he can get to the bow and really get it clean! (Simple pleasures!) I'm going to straighten up a bit (nothing too strenuous...it's a holiday after all) and then get the cooler ready! Another great day on a boat!
Enjoy your days off...I'll chime in again soon.
----- First Mate Deb -----
~I found out that the first mate runs the ship...everyone reports to the mate, except the captain. Doesn't that sound like a position of importance? (Now I just have to get someone else on board to boss around!)
Ahoy All!
As you know, we’ve landed at Green Turtle Bay and will be here for a couple of weeks. It’s a great marina, lots of boating activity all around to watch. Bob tells me that the ship’s store is a very good one…lots of boatical things to buy. (I saw a cute tee-shirt!)
We’ve had a couple of cruising days and understandably, things are a little disheveled right now. After enjoying the rest of the Labor Day weekend, we’ll get right on that!
We had a couple of wakeful nights at anchor, on Friday and Saturday night. It was beautiful where we were both nights…very calm and quiet (the locusts and frogs were the noisiest things around!)…but still, I constantly wondered if the anchor was holding. I would set a landmark out the back window before we went to bed (a tree, or a break in the tree line or something that stands out) and all night long, I would wake up and look out that window to make sure my "mark" was still in the same position! I remember one anchorage a couple of years back, I looked out the window and SWORE we were moving! I went out to the helm area and stood for long minutes, staring out the window and watching the water move by (seriously!) I even woke BK up saying, "I think we're drifting." Turns out it was just the wind on the water making ripples in the moonlight. Sheesh! So that's usually how I spend my nights at anchor. On Saturday night at the Cuba Towhead (behind the island on the TN River) I was looking out that window regularly until 2:00 am and I'll have to admit...when BK went topside and kept watch...then I slept like a baby! I think I owe him a night on watch duty!
But yesterday we pulled into Green Turtle Bay Marina and tied HQ securely in a slip. We put fenders and lines all over the place! And after a quiet afternoon at the pool for me and a cool afternoon on the boat watching the race for BK, and following a couple of long days and sleepless nights, at 9:00 pm when we headed for bed, we both looked at each other and smiled...looking forward to a great night's sleep!
We were here on vacation in July on a rented houseboat with Jeff, Beccah and the kids. It'll be fun to check out the places we explored while with them. At that time, we found a great cove to anchor and stayed there all week. It was quiet enough to be able to play on the houseboat slide and swim all day long without the worry of other boats getting too close. We got there on a Monday and had it all to ourselves all week long. But early on Saturday, boats started trickling in, rafting off each other and cranking their stereos up! Seems we had stumbled upon this part of KY Lake's version of "Party Cove"! So today we're going to pack a cooler and take a dinghy ride over to that cove to check out the Labor Day partiers! It's supposed to be 95* and sunny and this being the unofficial last weekend of summer, the cove should be packed!
But first, a little TLC for HQ. BK's outside washing the last few days of cruising off the boat. Seems the anchor is a little muddy (hm-m-m...I must have missed a spot) and we're bowed into the slip so he's excited about the fact that he can get to the bow and really get it clean! (Simple pleasures!) I'm going to straighten up a bit (nothing too strenuous...it's a holiday after all) and then get the cooler ready! Another great day on a boat!
Enjoy your days off...I'll chime in again soon.
----- First Mate Deb -----
~I found out that the first mate runs the ship...everyone reports to the mate, except the captain. Doesn't that sound like a position of importance? (Now I just have to get someone else on board to boss around!)
Log 27; Day 103; September 1, 2008; Green Turtle Marina, Grand Rivers, KY
Log 27
Day 103
Monday, September 1, 2008
7:30 AM CDT
Location: Green Turtle Bay Marina, Grand Rivers, KY.
(Click here to go to Google Maps and see where we are today)
Weather: 78* with 70% humidity; light wind...predicted to be 95 and sunny today. HOT
Based on my timeframe the last couple of days, I slept in this morning...getting up at 6 am. Even then it was getting hot and humid and you can feel it is going to be very warm today. I have already put up our sun screens (they are white mesh material made of a soft type of canvas that we put over the windows and isinglass to keep the sun out of the helm) on the boat and turned on the A/C in the helm area, and the other 3 in the cabin as well. I’m sure the A/C in the helm will have trouble keeping up today with this kind of heat...but it will keep the humidity out and feel very good compared to outside. This is important, because when we’re on the boat (and not sleeping) we spend about 90% of our time out in the helm (see the pictures of Deb and I in our “positions”).
Yesterday...we had a nice comfortable day of cruising. We left our anchorage just off the Tennessee River and went about 1 mile to get back on the Ohio. We traveled up the Ohio about 12 miles to join the Cumberland River and then went up the Cumberland 31 miles to the Barkley Lock (the picture will give you an idea of the size of this lock). Barkley Lock is one of the biggest we will be in on the entire trip. We went up 64 feet in less than 10 minutes. It is amazing to think about the amount of water they put in that chamber that fast. After exiting the Barkley lock we only went 1 mile to GTB (Green Turtle Bay Marina) our home for a few days. (Note; If you click on our location it will take you to Google Maps and you can get a good picture of where we are. To the right of the blue marker is Lake Barkley; to the left is Kentucky Lake; just above it is the Cumberland River; and above and to the left is the Tennessee River) Upon arrival we stopped at the fuel dock and got fuel (the first since Alton, IL) and also pumped out our holding tanks. I put 235 gallon of fuel on. 105 gallons in the starboard tank and 130 gallons in the port tank. I put more in the port tank because this is the side the generator pulls from and I calculated that is about how much we have used since we left Michigan. Once in our slip we did not get much done the rest of the day...it was so hot and neither Deb or I had the energy to do much. So Deb went to the pool and I sat in the air conditioned helm and watched the NASCAR race. After a dinner of pork chops on the boat grill we were both in bed by 9 pm.
Today...not really sure. We both agree that we need to clean and organize the boat because we have not done anything as we have been cruising the last several days. But it is Labor Day and we should honor this holiday by taking it easy. The good news is we will be here several days and so there is plenty of time to do any chores necessary. We also plan to do a lot of exploring on the dinghy while we are here...so we’ll see what happens.
I’ll keep you posted.
BK.
The first time you enter a lock like this it can be kind of intimidating
Here is a shot of GTB Marina...HQ is on the far right side of this picture
This is what I call the helm area and what I mean when I say I am looking out the back of the boat. This picture was taken when we anchored just off the Mississippi River...which you can see in the backround. This is where I sit and watch TV; write the logs; and of course this is where we enjoy cocktail hour.
This is a shot looking at Deb from where I am sitting on the shot above. Deb spends most of here time here reading each morning and late afternoon. The TV you see is where we watch most of the TV on the boat.
Day 103
Monday, September 1, 2008
7:30 AM CDT
Location: Green Turtle Bay Marina, Grand Rivers, KY.
(Click here to go to Google Maps and see where we are today)
Weather: 78* with 70% humidity; light wind...predicted to be 95 and sunny today. HOT
Based on my timeframe the last couple of days, I slept in this morning...getting up at 6 am. Even then it was getting hot and humid and you can feel it is going to be very warm today. I have already put up our sun screens (they are white mesh material made of a soft type of canvas that we put over the windows and isinglass to keep the sun out of the helm) on the boat and turned on the A/C in the helm area, and the other 3 in the cabin as well. I’m sure the A/C in the helm will have trouble keeping up today with this kind of heat...but it will keep the humidity out and feel very good compared to outside. This is important, because when we’re on the boat (and not sleeping) we spend about 90% of our time out in the helm (see the pictures of Deb and I in our “positions”).
Yesterday...we had a nice comfortable day of cruising. We left our anchorage just off the Tennessee River and went about 1 mile to get back on the Ohio. We traveled up the Ohio about 12 miles to join the Cumberland River and then went up the Cumberland 31 miles to the Barkley Lock (the picture will give you an idea of the size of this lock). Barkley Lock is one of the biggest we will be in on the entire trip. We went up 64 feet in less than 10 minutes. It is amazing to think about the amount of water they put in that chamber that fast. After exiting the Barkley lock we only went 1 mile to GTB (Green Turtle Bay Marina) our home for a few days. (Note; If you click on our location it will take you to Google Maps and you can get a good picture of where we are. To the right of the blue marker is Lake Barkley; to the left is Kentucky Lake; just above it is the Cumberland River; and above and to the left is the Tennessee River) Upon arrival we stopped at the fuel dock and got fuel (the first since Alton, IL) and also pumped out our holding tanks. I put 235 gallon of fuel on. 105 gallons in the starboard tank and 130 gallons in the port tank. I put more in the port tank because this is the side the generator pulls from and I calculated that is about how much we have used since we left Michigan. Once in our slip we did not get much done the rest of the day...it was so hot and neither Deb or I had the energy to do much. So Deb went to the pool and I sat in the air conditioned helm and watched the NASCAR race. After a dinner of pork chops on the boat grill we were both in bed by 9 pm.
Today...not really sure. We both agree that we need to clean and organize the boat because we have not done anything as we have been cruising the last several days. But it is Labor Day and we should honor this holiday by taking it easy. The good news is we will be here several days and so there is plenty of time to do any chores necessary. We also plan to do a lot of exploring on the dinghy while we are here...so we’ll see what happens.
I’ll keep you posted.
BK.
This is Barkley lock at it's lower stage. It took less than 10 minutes for them to fill this and lift us 64 feet.
The first time you enter a lock like this it can be kind of intimidating
You can see them closing the lock doors beind us. In these locks you wrap a line around a floating bollard and then back to the boat. As the water rises the bollard rises also and the line holds you against the lock wall.
This is the entrance to Green Turtle
Here is a shot of GTB Marina...HQ is on the far right side of this picture
This is what I call the helm area and what I mean when I say I am looking out the back of the boat. This picture was taken when we anchored just off the Mississippi River...which you can see in the backround. This is where I sit and watch TV; write the logs; and of course this is where we enjoy cocktail hour.
This is a shot looking at Deb from where I am sitting on the shot above. Deb spends most of here time here reading each morning and late afternoon. The TV you see is where we watch most of the TV on the boat.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Log 26; Day 102; August 31, 2008; Cuba Towhead, Paducah, KY
Setting the anchor in the channel at Cuba Towhead
Looking out from our anchorage to the Tennessee River we can see the Delta Queen going by
Log 26Day 102
Sunday, August 31, 2008
2:20 AM CDT
Location: Anchored at Cuba towhead just off the Tennessee River near Paducah, KY.
To see our exact location on Google maps (click here)
Weather: 72* with 60% humidity; no wind...predicted to be 91 and sunny today
I really like to get up early...but this is crazy. I got up a few minutes before 2 this morning to check things out...and stayed up. As the location above says, we are anchored near Paducah, KY in the backside of an island just off the TN River. To be honest, I’m not a big fan of anchoring all night in our boat. I don’t mind it on someone else’s boat, or a boat we have chartered, but let’s just say, with our boat...in an unknown area... I would rather be tied to a dock for the night. Because we are anchored in a strange place is why I got up so early. This back channel we are in is fairly deep and easy to navigate, and I was not certain that this might not be used by local tug boats as they moved around...because they are everywhere. So I wanted to get up (actually I did not want to go to sleep, but Deb and I agreed that with enough wine we would go to sleep) and make sure we were not in anyone’s way. It would not be good to get run over in the middle of a channel (in the middle of the night) by a barge. I’m not sure if one came by now what I would do...but at least I would be awake to try to do something.
That said...it is a beautiful morning (or is it still night at 2:45 am?) I went out on the bow when I got up and the crickets; frogs; and whatever else is in these woods are very much awake, and very loud. I can not imagine having to sleep without a generator and the windows open last night. I just checked the weather radar and it looks like the closest rain to us is in Florida associated with hurricane Gustav...so we are in great shape weather wise as well. Bottom line...no wind...no rain or bad weather...no tugs going through our channel...no issues what so ever. I should be in bed! But the weather channel is on, and the coffee is very good, and I’m boating so I may be up for the day (but I bet I take a nap later).
Yesterday we left Little River Diversion Channel at 6:45. Once we pulled up the stern and bow anchors, it was only a few yards back to the Mississippi. As soon as we pulled out into the river I wondered if I had made a mistake. It was light out and not bad in the channel, but on the river the fog was pretty thick in places. We were not a 1/2 mile down river and I could see a wall of fog ahead of us. I could also see the sun coming up, and very bright, so I was hoping it would burn the fog off...and in a hurry. There was also a barge coming up right behind us, and he only had one barge, so he was moving fast. With my electronics I could see the name of the tow on the screen so I called him and said I was going to slow down and pull over so he could come around us. My plan was to follow him for a while in case this patchy fog continued. It took only 30 minutes or so for the fog to burn off...and we had no issues after that.
By 9:45 we were in Cairo, IL...the end of the Mississippi (for us) and the junction of the Ohio River (actually the Ohio River ends here...918 miles from where it begins...but we will be going upstream) Speaking of going upstream. We were getting anywhere from a 2 to 5 mph push on the Mississippi...now we were fighting a couple mile an hour current. So with the same rpm (1100) we went from 11 to 12 mph to 7 to 8...a big change in speed and fuel consumption.
In order to get to our anchorage at Cuba Towhead we had to go another 48 miles and two locks. The first lock (lock #53) was 18 miles away, and no issue at all. I called them and by the time we got there the lock was open and we went right in. The next lock (lock #52) was another 24 miles and had traffic backed up everywhere. They really had a mess on there hands...I’ll bet there were more than 10 barges on both sides of the locks. We ended up anchoring for a while and it took a little over an hour, but we were lucky enough to get in the lock with another tow and we got out of the lock about 4 pm.
Once out of the lock we only had about 5 miles to our anchorage. I found it with no problem and took a fair amount of time exploring the channel to decide where to anchor. Like I said above I was nervous that this channel would be used by commercial traffic, and I did not want to be in there way. Not barges...but tows running back and forth getting barges. After studying things and trying to get the anchor set (the anchor first drug a little so I let out 150 feet of chain and that did it) we finally shut the engines off at about 6 pm. Not much else to report except that when Deb went to cook dinner the generator shut down. It was a little scary (because I did not want to sleep with no A/C in this heat and humidity)...but after a fair amount of work and investigation I think the problem was we were just running too much stuff and when she turned on the stove (two burners at once) the generator said “enough...I’m shutting down”. So I shut everything down; started over; reduced the load; and it has been running fine since then.
Today...an easy 12 mile run a little further up the Ohio River to the Cumberland River (this is where the Cumberland River ends) and then 31 miles and 1 lock to Green Turtle Bay...at MM 32 on the Cumberland. This is our home for the next 16 days or so. We had plans to go up the Cumberland to Nashville, but a lock along the way is down until September 10th and we have folks coming to see us on the 11 at Green Turtle so we will just stay there and explore the area.
Well it’s now 3:30. I’ll look for a couple of pictures to go with this log...upload it...and then I think I’ll get my pillow and blanket and try to sleep here on the back of the boat. The only sign of barges are the ones going by out in the Tennessee...about 1/2 mile away. So I can rest easy.
I’ll keep you posted.
BK.
Weather: 72* with 60% humidity; no wind...predicted to be 91 and sunny today
I really like to get up early...but this is crazy. I got up a few minutes before 2 this morning to check things out...and stayed up. As the location above says, we are anchored near Paducah, KY in the backside of an island just off the TN River. To be honest, I’m not a big fan of anchoring all night in our boat. I don’t mind it on someone else’s boat, or a boat we have chartered, but let’s just say, with our boat...in an unknown area... I would rather be tied to a dock for the night. Because we are anchored in a strange place is why I got up so early. This back channel we are in is fairly deep and easy to navigate, and I was not certain that this might not be used by local tug boats as they moved around...because they are everywhere. So I wanted to get up (actually I did not want to go to sleep, but Deb and I agreed that with enough wine we would go to sleep) and make sure we were not in anyone’s way. It would not be good to get run over in the middle of a channel (in the middle of the night) by a barge. I’m not sure if one came by now what I would do...but at least I would be awake to try to do something.
That said...it is a beautiful morning (or is it still night at 2:45 am?) I went out on the bow when I got up and the crickets; frogs; and whatever else is in these woods are very much awake, and very loud. I can not imagine having to sleep without a generator and the windows open last night. I just checked the weather radar and it looks like the closest rain to us is in Florida associated with hurricane Gustav...so we are in great shape weather wise as well. Bottom line...no wind...no rain or bad weather...no tugs going through our channel...no issues what so ever. I should be in bed! But the weather channel is on, and the coffee is very good, and I’m boating so I may be up for the day (but I bet I take a nap later).
Yesterday we left Little River Diversion Channel at 6:45. Once we pulled up the stern and bow anchors, it was only a few yards back to the Mississippi. As soon as we pulled out into the river I wondered if I had made a mistake. It was light out and not bad in the channel, but on the river the fog was pretty thick in places. We were not a 1/2 mile down river and I could see a wall of fog ahead of us. I could also see the sun coming up, and very bright, so I was hoping it would burn the fog off...and in a hurry. There was also a barge coming up right behind us, and he only had one barge, so he was moving fast. With my electronics I could see the name of the tow on the screen so I called him and said I was going to slow down and pull over so he could come around us. My plan was to follow him for a while in case this patchy fog continued. It took only 30 minutes or so for the fog to burn off...and we had no issues after that.
By 9:45 we were in Cairo, IL...the end of the Mississippi (for us) and the junction of the Ohio River (actually the Ohio River ends here...918 miles from where it begins...but we will be going upstream) Speaking of going upstream. We were getting anywhere from a 2 to 5 mph push on the Mississippi...now we were fighting a couple mile an hour current. So with the same rpm (1100) we went from 11 to 12 mph to 7 to 8...a big change in speed and fuel consumption.
In order to get to our anchorage at Cuba Towhead we had to go another 48 miles and two locks. The first lock (lock #53) was 18 miles away, and no issue at all. I called them and by the time we got there the lock was open and we went right in. The next lock (lock #52) was another 24 miles and had traffic backed up everywhere. They really had a mess on there hands...I’ll bet there were more than 10 barges on both sides of the locks. We ended up anchoring for a while and it took a little over an hour, but we were lucky enough to get in the lock with another tow and we got out of the lock about 4 pm.
Once out of the lock we only had about 5 miles to our anchorage. I found it with no problem and took a fair amount of time exploring the channel to decide where to anchor. Like I said above I was nervous that this channel would be used by commercial traffic, and I did not want to be in there way. Not barges...but tows running back and forth getting barges. After studying things and trying to get the anchor set (the anchor first drug a little so I let out 150 feet of chain and that did it) we finally shut the engines off at about 6 pm. Not much else to report except that when Deb went to cook dinner the generator shut down. It was a little scary (because I did not want to sleep with no A/C in this heat and humidity)...but after a fair amount of work and investigation I think the problem was we were just running too much stuff and when she turned on the stove (two burners at once) the generator said “enough...I’m shutting down”. So I shut everything down; started over; reduced the load; and it has been running fine since then.
Today...an easy 12 mile run a little further up the Ohio River to the Cumberland River (this is where the Cumberland River ends) and then 31 miles and 1 lock to Green Turtle Bay...at MM 32 on the Cumberland. This is our home for the next 16 days or so. We had plans to go up the Cumberland to Nashville, but a lock along the way is down until September 10th and we have folks coming to see us on the 11 at Green Turtle so we will just stay there and explore the area.
Well it’s now 3:30. I’ll look for a couple of pictures to go with this log...upload it...and then I think I’ll get my pillow and blanket and try to sleep here on the back of the boat. The only sign of barges are the ones going by out in the Tennessee...about 1/2 mile away. So I can rest easy.
I’ll keep you posted.
BK.
Log 25; Day 101; August 30, 2008; Little River Channel
A picture of our anchorage at Little River Diversion the evening we arrived
The same anchorage when we left
A picture of our chart plotter showing what it is like the last few miles before the Mississippi joins the Ohio River
Log 25
Day 101
Saturday, August 30, 2008
6:05 AM CDT
Location: Anchored at Little River Diversion Channel just south of Cape Girardeau, MO.
To see where we are (click here)
Weather: 69* with 80% humidity; no wind...predicted to be 88 and sunny today
Not much time to do a log this morning. After tossing and turning most of the night (I do that when we are at anchor) I went back to sleep about 3 and slept until 5:30. We want to leave just after sunrise (which should be 6:30 to 6:45)...so not much time to sit and write this log.
I’m sitting on the back of the boat and it is just starting to get light out. We are at anchor in a little stream just off the Mississippi south of Cape Girardeau, MO. If I look out the back of the boat the Mississippi is about 100 yards away. (As I write these words a fishing boat, with what looked like a Grandpa and his grandson, just flew by heading out to the Mississippi). It is a beautiful setting...and a beautiful morning.
Yesterday we left Hoppies at 7 am and went the 110 miles to Little River and arrived at 5 pm. The entire day we went between 900 and 1100 rpm at a speed of 10.5 to 13 mph. I would say the river was giving a push between 3 and 5 mph all day. No issues...and not much stuff floating to worry about...the only real challenge was the very crazy water eddies that we crossed from time to time. The water was swirling and bubbling and it looked very scary. These eddies have the power to toss boats around and throw them sideways in their swirling water. I have talked to more than one captain who’s boat has been thrown sideways and nearly out of control. I discovered a couple of thing about these eddies. First is that they seem to be caused by fast water flowing over shallow and then very deep areas. We would be going along in 10 to 15 feet of water and when we went over the eddies the depth would go to 40 to 60 feet and then back to 10 to 15 again in just a matter of a few yards. I have no idea if this is what causes them...but in every case this was happening. Secondly I found out that if I set the auto pilot to it’s most sensitive setting it would do a better job of keeping the boat straight in these eddies than I could be steering it myself. So I went through these eddies with the auto pilot on and we were tossed around much less.
Today we have about 95 miles (and 2 locks) to go to our next anchorage near Paducah, KY. It looks like a beautiful day for cruising...so I better get to it.
I’ll keep you posted.
BK.
A picture of our chart plotter showing what it is like the last few miles before the Mississippi joins the Ohio River
Log 25
Day 101
Saturday, August 30, 2008
6:05 AM CDT
Location: Anchored at Little River Diversion Channel just south of Cape Girardeau, MO.
To see where we are (click here)
Weather: 69* with 80% humidity; no wind...predicted to be 88 and sunny today
Not much time to do a log this morning. After tossing and turning most of the night (I do that when we are at anchor) I went back to sleep about 3 and slept until 5:30. We want to leave just after sunrise (which should be 6:30 to 6:45)...so not much time to sit and write this log.
I’m sitting on the back of the boat and it is just starting to get light out. We are at anchor in a little stream just off the Mississippi south of Cape Girardeau, MO. If I look out the back of the boat the Mississippi is about 100 yards away. (As I write these words a fishing boat, with what looked like a Grandpa and his grandson, just flew by heading out to the Mississippi). It is a beautiful setting...and a beautiful morning.
Yesterday we left Hoppies at 7 am and went the 110 miles to Little River and arrived at 5 pm. The entire day we went between 900 and 1100 rpm at a speed of 10.5 to 13 mph. I would say the river was giving a push between 3 and 5 mph all day. No issues...and not much stuff floating to worry about...the only real challenge was the very crazy water eddies that we crossed from time to time. The water was swirling and bubbling and it looked very scary. These eddies have the power to toss boats around and throw them sideways in their swirling water. I have talked to more than one captain who’s boat has been thrown sideways and nearly out of control. I discovered a couple of thing about these eddies. First is that they seem to be caused by fast water flowing over shallow and then very deep areas. We would be going along in 10 to 15 feet of water and when we went over the eddies the depth would go to 40 to 60 feet and then back to 10 to 15 again in just a matter of a few yards. I have no idea if this is what causes them...but in every case this was happening. Secondly I found out that if I set the auto pilot to it’s most sensitive setting it would do a better job of keeping the boat straight in these eddies than I could be steering it myself. So I went through these eddies with the auto pilot on and we were tossed around much less.
Today we have about 95 miles (and 2 locks) to go to our next anchorage near Paducah, KY. It looks like a beautiful day for cruising...so I better get to it.
I’ll keep you posted.
BK.
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