The next part of our journey involved transiting a section of the Mississippi river that had pretty much no services for pleasure boats. This section of the river was all business, and the traffic was pretty much tugs and tows, with the occasional fishing boat. From Alton, Illinois to Paducah, Kentucky there was no place to get fuel or water for 400 km.
This stretch was going to involve long travel days, and overnights at anchor, along a stretch of river with heavy current and full of huge barges. When we were at Heritage harbour, we got a briefing from the local harbour host, who told us about all of the usable anchorages along the route - there were not very many. Because the water levels on the Mississippi were low at this time of the year, many of the typical anchorages were unusable, and we could only rely on a few locations to stop.
After studying the various options, we broke down the trip into 4, and possibly 5, legs. Each one of these ending in a viable location to stop, with various lengths of travel days (long and short) in between. Our first leg was a 68 km trip from Alton to Hoppies marina, which included two locks. We estimated that this distance would take 4.5 hours, plus the time it took to go through the two locks we would be passing. Since it is nice to arrive early at a destination, just in case there are issues to deal with, we wanted to leave early when we could. Accordingly, we made arrangements with Rich and Melanie of Jewel to get underway around 6:30 the next morning. During the day, Louise posted our planned departure on Facebook, to see if anyone else wanted to leave with us. It turned out a few other loopers were planning to travel, but that they had faster boats and so would leave later in the morning. So, two boats it was.
We were up at 5:20, had breakfast, and got ready to get underway. At 6 am I contacted Rich on VHF to check in, and they were also good to go. Louise called the nearby lock at 6:15 and was told that we should come ahead and they would lock us down as soon as the tow they had in the lock left. While I got the boat ready, Louise went up to drop off the marina key, and along the way met some canoers, who were also planning to leave. She passed on the intel about the lock, and when she returned to the boat, we got underway.
When we got to the lock it turned out the lockmaster had changed his mind and was now bringing up another tow, so we would have to wait. Luckily, Rich and Melanie had visited the lock a couple of days before on their scooters, and knew that there was a place for us to tie up. So we asked the lockmaster for permission and got tied to the wall.
When the tow left the lock, we got on the radio to get permission to enter the lock, and headed in followed by the three canoes. Turned out the canoes were doing the whole Mississippi from Minnesota to New Orleans by canoe, and had left home the same time we did. They each had left separately, but met each other along the way.
This lock was a wicket-style. The upstream gate rises from below, I guess this is a way to save energy moving the doors. The downstream doors were the regular gate type.
We locked down uneventfully, and headed for the second lock, which was about an hour's travel away. The approach to this lock was a long canal that was created to by-pass a dangerous section of the river called the Chain of Rocks. One thing the briefer at Heritage had emphasized was that we not miss the turn into this canal, because if we did, the current would rip us out of control before we could recover. Therefore, we paid close attention to the markers at the canal entrance and made real sure we got it right. If you want to see what happens when you miss that turn, here are a couple of links about a sailboat that missed the turn into the canal.
On AIS we could see a tow ahead of us in the canal. Not sure if we should follow the tow or not, we contacted the lock to ask what to do. They told us to come ahead, that even though the canal was narrow, that it would widen before we passed the tow, and that he would take us through the second chamber. These two locks had two lock chambers, one big one and a small one side-by-side, and they put us in the small one.
Exiting the lock, we got pushed around a bit when we re-entered the current of the main Mississippi river, and saw our speed increase by 5 kmph. Wheeeeeee.
A few km later, we passed St. Louis. This is a pure working waterfront, tug boats, barges and loading facilities. There is zero pleasure boat traffic or facilities. Not the nicest waterfront we have seen, in fact it was kind of bleak. We passed by the arch and the bridge, and on we went.
The St. Louis arch from the water. Note how barren the waterfront looks. It is completely industrial.
Mississippi scenic route.
By mid-afternoon we arrived at the destination at the end of our first leg, Hoppies marina. This place consists of several rusty barges chained together on the side of the river. They gave us instructions about how to get in, and helped us dock. They were experts! These guys really knew what they were doing, and talked us into place and secured us up. REALLY professional, we were very impressed by how good they were, and they needed to be. The current here was moving about 4 kmph, and there was not a lot of room for error.
To bring the boat in I had to crab in with the current, keeping our bow facing the current and slowly slipping sideways by "flying" the current. As a kid, if you have ever put you hand out the window when riding in a car, you might have experienced this. If you turn your hand parallel to the wind, you hand stays in place. If you twist your hand up, the flow of the wind forces your hand up, and if you twist your hand down, the flow pushes your hand down. Crabbing with the strong current was similar. I kept the boat mostly lined up with the current, and used small movements of the bow to twist us slightly to make the current push us one way or the other. This way I kept control of the boat the whole way to the dock. It was very much like docking at RYC in the strong spring currents.
The river bank just off our port side. There is about 30 feet between us and the mud.
Shows how we had to "crab" into our slip. Very important to keep the bow pointed into the current at all times. Small shifts in orientation of the bow with respect to the current allow you to "fly" sideways. This is done with the rudder. Engine is only used to control forward movement, not for turning.
We got tied up and then headed off to the nearby town, which was about a km away. Melanie had heard about a place called the Blue Owl Cafe , that served fresh baked 14 layer apple pie. They close each day at 3, so we had to hustle. Since the place was so isolated, we were expecting a small shop, but it turned out to be a really nice and large restaurant, and so we had lunch/dinner. Melanie got some pie to go, while Louise and I each selected a piece of cake to take with us. We walked around the town, which was packed with people, many of which were at the local winery enjoying some live music.
When we had arrived at the dock, the owner of the marina told us she would hold a looper briefing at 4:00, so we headed back to the barge to attend the briefing. She has a bit of a commanding presence, so we were afraid we would get in trouble if we missed it. She told us how to clear our engines in the morning, about the possible places to stay overnight downriver, and some tips and tricks for passing tows. In the evening we got together with the other loopers there for barge-tails, and chatted with the crews of Halfling and Dream Weaver.
Early morning engine check.
The next morning we were all up before the sun, and got our boats ready to get underway. Once the sun came up we made sure there was clear visibility on the river (no fog) and then we got started. The first order of business was to clear our engines. When we docked, we all docked bow-in to the current to minimize the risk of junk getting caught on our boats. However, it was still possible that there could be something fouling our rudders or props. So, each of us in turn made sure we were tied securely to the dock, and then we ran our engines in reverse for a few seconds, then forward for a few seconds. We each repeated this procedure a couple of times, to make sure that we cleared out any junk on our running gear BEFORE we left the dock. With that done, we untied and got underway.
As it was the day before, we got a 5 kmph push from the river, and in a couple of places even got as much as a 7 kmph boost. There were some pretty severe whirlpools in a couple of curves, and also anyplace there was a fast depth change. You had to constantly watch, as the current would yank the stern of the boat around without warning. Jewel was leading today, and at one point they were twisted sideways by turbulence. Yikes. One of the whirlpools we went through was so strong it created a sucking sound on the hull when we passed. This definitely increased the pucker factor for both Louise and I for a few moments.
This whirlpool was so intense it made a sucking sound on the bottom of our boat as we went through it. Yikes!
Passing tows on the Mississippi was another experience. On the Illinois river, the tows were big, but the ones on the Mississippi were even bigger, we saw a couple with 20 barges tied together. Luckily, all the tows we had to pass this day were going the other way, so each encounter was over fairly quickly. Both of our boats were equipped with AIS, so we could call the tugs by name to make sure we passed them safely. The lead boat would call the tow when it was about 2 km in front of us to inform the tow we were a pair of recreational boats and asking for instructions about how to pass. The tows would reply with "on the one" or "on the two", and we would pass using their instructions. Each of us had two VHF radios at the helm, one tuned to channel 13, which was the tow's working channel, and the other on 68 so we could talk to each other.
As you pass the tow you have to deal with the wake and especially the wash. The barge makes a small standard-type wake. No issue. But the tug has a massive rooster-tail with 8 to 10 foot standing waves in a wash extending for half a kilometre behind it. Danger zone. This wash continues for another half kilometre beyond that as large rolling waves. About 3 km past the tow the wash and wake dissipates. As you pass the tow you have to stay straight in order to remain well clear of the big wash, at least 500 meters, and most of the time at least a kilometre before returning to the centre of the channel.
Rooster tail at the back of a tug boat. Those standing waves in the wash are 8 to 10 feet high!
The tow operators are very experienced, and all talk with heavy drawls and deep voices, each trying to sound more nonchalant and relaxed than the others. Sometimes it can be difficult to decode what they are saying, so each time I interacted with them on the radio, I repeated their instructions back to make sure I got it right, then checked with Rich on VHF 68 to make we were all understanding the same thing. The worst place to meet a tow is in a curve, but each tow operator directs you to the inside of the curve, so you don't have to pass through their wash. The way they handle those huge barges is amazing.
Along the way we passed some wrecked boats.
Along one long stretch there was a railroad track running right beside the river. They were repairing the track as we passed. For about 3 km there was a "parade" of different machines, each doing something to re-adjust the tracks.
Eventually, we got to our destination for the second day, Kaskaskia lock. Just below the lock there is an area that tug boats tie up to, and the lock staff would allow recreational boats as well to tie up for the night. We called the lock and got their approval to tie up, and three boats, Jewel, Dream Weaver, and iFloat all got set in. We invited the crews of the other two boats onto the flybridge of iFloat to visit, since we had a breeze up there and we also had the space for everyone. It was 31 degrees C that day (and all the others of this segment) and even a small breeze was welcome. After we chatted for a bit, each crew retired to their own boat to have supper, then we met again on the lock wall to chat until dark. Just before sundown a small tow came into the lock from the Mississippi. Cool to watch and wave to the crew as they entered the lock.
Mini-tow passing us at the Kaskaskia lock. We are tied to the break-wall, away from the channel.
Louise made apple pie in the air fryer for everyone.
The next morning we were again up before the sun, and as soon as it was light we could see no fog, so we decided it was safe to leave at about 6:30. We needed an early start today, as this was the first long-travel leg, so tried to go as soon as possible. As we were leaving the dock, a small tow came up the channel, so we waited beside the lock wall for it to pass safely before we set out.
As we exited the channel into the Mississippi I could see another tow coming on AIS, so got on the radio with them to make sure it was safe for us to come out into the river. You always want to check in with these guys, as any mistakes when close to them could end up with us squashed like bugs. With clearance established, we set off for the day.
The big event today was overtaking a tow. Luckily, they go slower with the current to save fuel, so do not put out a rooster-tail wash like the ones going upriver. Still, this was easily the most scary moment on the trip. We called him on the radio from far away for instructions, but he told us to wait and contact him when we were closer. Looking at the chart, there was a turn to starboard coming up, so we figured that the area we should pass it would be safest to pass would be"on the one" - our port to his starboard, so we approached from the starboard side of the river. Because of their wash, you do not want to follow directly behind a tow, you have to approach from the side. Also, on a turn, you want to pass so that the wash is pointed away from you. As we got close, about 300 metres behind, we contacted him again, and were told to keep coming and pass on his starboard side (our port - on the one).
Took forever to pass this tow, white knuckle all the way. These things are absolutely massive.
Our speed at this point was 20 kmph, while his was 14, so the pass took a while to complete. The tow as almost 1200 feet long, and it felt like we were crawling beside it. Everything went well, but this was very nerve racking trying to get past. Once we passed him, we were still nervous because now the monster was following US, and any mis-steps on our part could get us run-over. I did not relax until we were a few km in front of him.
We arrived at the anchorage around 2:30 and got set in. This anchorage was a drainage ditch off the side of the main river, which was wide, deep and long enough for several boats. There was one other looper boat there, Little Loopy, which was anchored near the entrance. We passed them and anchored deeper in. After setting the anchor, Jewel came in and rafted to us. They told us they had never rafted before, but we assured them we had done it a lot (life at RYC), and also I assured them we had made sure our anchor was well set. Rich then got his dingy out, and he and I set out our stern anchor to keep us from twisting in the anchorage.
Checking the anchor set.
While we were visiting, a pair of deer happened by and ate grass beside the anchorage. Not easy to see in this image, but there is one in the middle between the two stumps.
A few hours later, Dream Weaver arrived at the anchorage and got set in behind us. We offered them to raft with us, but they were planning to sleep in the next day, so declined as they knew we were going to leave early in the morning.
We visited with Rich and Melanie on their boat, and once the sun started to get low we went back to our boat to get set for the night. The next morning would be our longest ravel day 11.5 hours + one lock so we wanted to get some rest as we were leaving as early as possible.
All day long, there was a slight breeze blowing into the anchorage. About 1000 feet from us we could see a covering of algae floating on the surface of the water. As the sun set, the breeze died down, and so this algae started drifting towards us. Slowly, "fingers" of algae circled our boats. It was a little spooky, like some kind of magic tendrils were wrapping our boats up.
When we are anchored, I get up from time-to-time during the night to check the GPS and landmarks to make sure we have not moved. During one of these inspections, there was a tow passing the entrance to the channel we were anchored in. The barges are completely dark, but the tug was lit all along the lower decks. They were using a searchlight to see the water ahead of them, and this made a beam of light that swung back-and-forth as the tug went by. A bit spooky to see, kind of like the eye of Sauron.
Next morning was clear with no fog, so we cranked engines just as it got light at 6:30. Today would be our longest day of the leg, about 11 hours of travel plus a lock. Louise went to the front of our boat and let out some anchor chain so Rich and I could haul up the stern anchor. With this secured, Rich and Melanie untied from us and went ahead, while we pulled up our anchor. Turned out it was sucked into the mud pretty good so it took us a few minutes to corral it. We then got underway behind Jewel. The first part of the trip was pretty smooth, but once we entered an S-turn section a few miles downstream the water got really turbulent and steering was tricky. After transiting this S-turn section, we turned up into the Ohio river about an hour before noon.
Big change here, the water was a completely different colour. There was no turbulence, but we were now running against the current, which slowed our speed a bit. We went from travelling south to travelling north, which changed the light completely. Although it was only about 11:30, after travelling into the sun all morning, having the sun behind us made the light seem like it was late-afternoon. There was lots of small tugs here marshalling barges, and so the water was fairly choppy from the tug boat wakes. After travelling for an hour or so through this, we got to the Olmstead lock and locked through right away, with no wait. Start the car!
Old fort museum on the banks of the Ohio river. Fort Massac
At the top of the lock, the current diminished and the water became super smooth. It was also filled with dead fish, and the water colour alternated between patches of green and patches of blue. Louise googled the fish, and found out that this was a seasonal thing, the asian carp die in the fall due to the warm water not having enough oxygen. Along the way we passed a continual parade of dead fish. She figured that the local fish species had adapted to these conditions, but since the carp were invasive, they did not have a way to handle the seasonal decrease in oxygen levels.
Wrecked casino barge. It ended up on someone's front lawn on the river.
Just before Paducah, we saw what looked like a smashed up casino barge on the shore. Melanie googled it and discovered that it was a smashed up casino barge. link to video below. About 5 km upstream, we saw the area that the casino came from, there was an old hotel, and some rusty pilings for the casino to tie to.
Old casino moorings.
We arrived in Paducah around 5:30 and got tied up after a long day. Rich told us this was their record for their longest day of travel on their loop. We were all toast. As soon as we got tied up we quickly showered and we all went for dinner in town.
This is the transient dock at Paducah. At the left you can see a 40 foot looper boat tied to the outside of the dock. Note the pilings that the dock rides on. There are big swings in water depth here.
All the restaurants we found were either really expensive or closed, but eventually we found a nice Mexican place to eat at.
Paducah upscale restaurant area.
The town here is protected by a levee, and they have painted a series of murals on them depicting the history of the area. In one location, they had marked where the water has risen to during various flood year. The water here goes through depth changes of as much as 50 feet on a regular basis!
Water has come up as much as 55 feet here.
Back on the boats, everyone crashed.
START THE CAR!
During the night, another boat arrived on the dock. They had a really nice Axopar cruiser, and had been stuck at the Olmstead lock for 4 hours. We chatted with them on the dock the next morning before we got underway.
There was lots of dredging being done on the Ohio river as we passed. It does not take them long to fill up a barge with sand.
The next morning we took our time getting ready as the journey was only 5 hours long. Louise was decadent and made us mushrooms and eggs for breakfast. After casting off, we continued on the Ohio for about an hour, then turned into the Cumberland river. This river was really nice, long stretches of it reminded me of the Rideau. These stretches were interspersed with huge aggregate plants loading gravel onto large barges. Lots of barges were being loaded, and we passed lots of small tugs marshalling the tows into and out of the loading areas, and assembling the barges into big rafts for the bigger tows to push.
We met our first tow of the day on an approach to a curve. The space was tight so the tug operator told us to wait while he turned and came ahead. So we hovered on the side of the river while the barge passed us.
We had to hold in place while this guy went past us.
Arriving at the last lock of our journey, we hailed the operator on VHF and were told that they had some barges coming through and we would have to wait a couple of hours. So, we anchored at the side of the lock just downstream of the spillway. The holding here was really bad, I think the bottom was course gravel, however there was no breeze, so we just needed a little bit of hold to stay in place, and so were held just by the weight of our anchors.
The lock entrance is to the right of this big wall, we were told to wait on the other side near the spillway so we would be protected from the barges and tugs.
We had quite the show while we were waiting. When they drained the lock, the outflow current stimulates the asian carp and they jump out of the water.
After waiting 3.5 hours (did I mention it was 32 degrees C with no wind?), the operator told us to come into the lock and we locked up. Coming out of the lock, we soon came to Green Turtle Bay, and the end of our trip for the day. It was 18:00 and we were all exhausted. The marina was just about to close, so we got tied in our slip and breathed a sigh of relief.
Arriving at Green Turtle Bay marina was like getting to an oasis after crossing a desert. We were driving the boat a long time in the past few days, in high heat and humidity. It had become a bit of a grind, and seeing this kind of facility was like returning to the Shire after escaping Mordor.
Louise and Melanie did not want to cook after that grind of a day, so we went to Patties, a local restaurant, for dinner. They picked us up at the marina, and drove us to the restaurant. This place was huge, and decorated with a mix of Christmas and Halloween lights. The food was amazing! We decided we would go back soon.
Back on the boat, we collapsed into meat-comas for the night.
Our arrival here at Green Turtle Bay represents a milestone of sorts. We are now below the freeze line. It is possible we might get some overnight ice, but there is no hard freeze here, any ice that forms will melt the next day. If something comes up and we are unable to move for a period of time, we don't have to worry about hauling the boat out of the water to protect it from ice. And, if we do end up hauling the boat for maintenance or repair, we won't have freezing issues to worry about.
We are also in an area we can rest for a bit. South of us, there are two locks that are closed for maintenance. Also, we don't want to go too far south yet, as there is still the possibility of hurricanes forming in the Gulf of Mexico and creating weather systems inland. Accordingly, we are staying here for a week, then we will spend some time at anchor in the lake. After the Mississippi, this will be a welcome change of pace.
