Heres a great way to beat the winter chill . . . this is a transcript of my trip south to Florida by way of the Mississippi. Read at your leisure - Jason Going South What follows is a day by day account of the “Foreign Body”, a 1990 50 foot Viking Motoryacht. Our departure was from Afton Marina (Minnesota) scheduled to arrive at Baypoint Marina (Florida) a few weeks later. The crew of this vessel included The owner, his personal friend, and myself. Day 1: October 8th, 1999 I arrive at Afton Marina about 10 AM. Opening the truck of my car, I discover that I have over packed. After lugging everything down to the boat (photo #1), I am given a brief introduction to the other crew members. I am shown my quarters and begin to settle in. We make last minute preparations, start the engines, and pull away from the dock at 12:39 PM. We pull away from the safety of the dock at Afton Marina (mile marker 825.0) and turn downstream, following the current, not knowing what we will face or experience next. The skies were overcast this morning, but eventually burning away leaving us with warm, sunny skies that reached 75 degrees. Wind was out of the northwest, 10 to 15 mph. River water temperature is 56 degrees. Spirits run high among the crew and smiles are upon us all. Up on the bridge, the captain unveils a huge box of “Beechies” chewing gum; we all open a pack and begin to chew earnestly. (Little did we know that fresh breath is the key to efficient river navigation) We allow the engines to warm up for a few more minutes before throttling up a bit more. 15 minutes pass . . . The captain reaches over and leans the throttles as far forward as possible . . . the 8V92 Detroit Diesels surge with power, we watch the rpm’s go up from 800 . . . 1000. . 1200 . . . 1400 . . . 1800 . . .at 2000 the turbos spool up and the tach lurches to 2300 almost instantly. The noise of the engines drones our voices out on the bridge; the boat is now on plane, with quite the wake trailing us. We make our way through Prescott at 1:35 PM, though we had to call ahead for the bridge to lift for us, the boat requires 22 feet of vertical clearance, the Prescott bridge (photo #2) showed 20 feet. After making our way under, I photographed the confluence of the two rivers (photo # 3) one can easily see the clarity difference between the two. We passed the new Treasure Island tour boat at mile marker 804.0 (photo # 4) We call ahead to Lock #3 and discover that there is a 30-minute wait to get through. This is all due to a southbound barge tow. We idle up to conserve fuel and pull into the lock at 3PM; only three other pleasure craft lock through with us. After a brief 15-minute drop (about 5 feet), the lower doors open, and we proceed, we encounter turbulence on our way out. Passing a north bound tow “Roy E. Claverie” (photo #5) with two empty barges. A few minutes later, we pass a southbound tow “River Wildcat”, with 12 full barges (3 by 4 long). In Red Wing, we pass a northbound “Gordon Jones”(photo #6) (3 by 2 long +1 along side tug). A few miles north of Lake City, we look aft and see hundreds of sea gulls following us in the boat, as if they were drafting us (photo # 7). Along the river valley, we notice that the leaves are almost done changing to their fall colors. At 5PM, we pull into Lake City Marina (mm 772.8) and side tie up to the “200” dock. The marina was very quiet in terms of the boaters. After tying up and getting situated, to our amazement, One crew member immediately begins scrubbing the front deck (see photo # 8) Coercing the scrub brush out of his hands was not easy; so a few Corona’s were brought out. The trade off between beer and work went off beautifully. We then headed up to a restaurant, and had mediocre food and sub par service. We think the Junior Varsity squad was working that night. We headed back to the boat, and turned in early (easy day of only 52.2 miles) Passing trains were a constant irritation that first night. Day 2: October 9th, 1999 We get up around 6AM; the breakfast consists of bacon, eggs, English muffins, milk and OJ to wash it all down. The temperature outside registers 48 on the thermometer, with the water temp coming in at a balmy 53 degrees. The skies are clear, but the fog is unbelievably thick . . .. radar is on . . .Very little wind. We leave the marina at 7AM and continue south. Lock #4 comes quickly and as we arrive, the doors swing open; we pull in with no waiting at 8:30 AM. Twelve minutes later, the downstream doors open and the lone boat presses on south. At 10AM, we enter Lock #5 and head out only fifteen minutes later. About 45 minutes later, we arrive at Lock #5A, and complete lockage at 11:16AM. We pass the “J.W. Hershey” southbound (3 by 4 long, full of coal). Motored through the city of Winona, Minnesota at 11:30AM and pass “Memphis” southbound (3 by 4 long, full of coal) at mile marker 721.0 Ham sandwiches for lunch. Before entering #6, a large whirlpool is seen at the intakes of the lock. This turbulence is created by northbound “John M. Rivers” (3 by 5 coal) (photo #9) we delay to let this turbulence subside, but a much smaller boat speeds in front of us to get into the lock . . . “What are you guys waiting for? . . .” utters Captain Sea Ray over the VHF. As the small boat pulls through, it is literally moved 20 feet sideways right towards the concrete walls of the lock. Captain Sea Ray had no idea what was going on until the last moment when he finally revved up his engine, and powered through it. So after waiting about an hour as other pleasure craft jockey into position the doors open at 1:10 and we are through at 1:35. This particular lockage was full of pleasure boats heading south like us. Lock #7 in at 2:45PM, out only 15 minutes later. Lock #8 in at 4:50PM, and out at 5:05 PM (another solo lockage) We overtake the “Penny Eckstein” (photo # 10) northbound at mm 677.2 at 5:16, taking two empty barges to the Genoa Power Plant. Many fishing boats line the shores here in this section of the river. A few miles downstream, we pass the “Jataws” with dredge barge at mm 665 at 6:15PM. We pull into Lansing (mm 663) for our reserved slip, yet the approach is too shallow, we decide to continue south and tie up for the evening at a fuel dock just south of the bridge. The current is very fast here, about 6 kts, and the shore power supply is not functional, so we start up the generator , and feast upon rib eyes, Caesar salads, grilled shrimp, pasta salad, asparagus, and of course . . . . more Corona’s. We are very pleased with today’s progress, 110 miles traveled, and all the locks were simple and fast . . . . with the exception of Captain Sea Ray at #6. Day #3 October 10, 1999 We wake at 6, current temperature is 45 degrees, water temp is 54. Breakfast consists of left over rib eye steak sandwiches, milk and OJ. Engines started at 6:50 and we are underway just after 7. We enter Lock #9 at 8:19 and out by 8:31. More fishing boats just south of #9 in the spillway. We pass “Ananda” at 9:25 at mm 636.4 Just a few minutes later, we pass the “Eastern” (photo #11) northbound (2 by 2 empty) which was near the Marquette and casino boat (photo # 12) at 9:40. We cross paths again with the “Penny Eckstein” at mm 633.5 picking up more empty barges. Further down the river, we can see another tow, “Decatur Lady” (see photo # 14) northbound (3 by 5 empty) at mm 633.1 Lock #10 in at 11:07 and depart from 11:20, we share this lockage with just a fishing boat sporting an ancient 7.5HP Evinrude outboard. Lunch consisted of ham sandwiches, some awesome potato soup, chips, trail mix and Coke. We pass by “Lloyd C. Beesecker” (see photo # 13) northbound (3 by 5 coal). Our fuel gauge is reading just under half, so we start the fuel transfer pump (two onboard tanks for the Viking, though only one tank can directly fuel the engines). Lock #11 was a race, we floored it all the way there, just in time to enter a fully loaded lock at 1:45PM, lockage complete at 2:05. We pull into Dubuque Marina at 2:15 and head straight to the gas dock (we churn the bottom, very shallow). Our fuel tanks take on 454 gallons for it’s first refueling. After finishing up at the gas dock, we head over to the transient slip, and fumble around again with the shorepower (had to run two 30 amp services to a single 50 amp inlet) three more tows pass north during the remaining daylight. Definite houseboat country, many Skipperliners and Gibsons. A public ramp is just to our stern, so the evenings entertainment is never ending. We all came to the conclusion that everyone here “powerloads” onto their trailer, heaven forbid the wheels of their vehicles actually get wet! (the rear wheels in this particular case were 5 feet from the water!!!) A 1988 Bayliner 2855 Ciera pulls in with some assistance next to us. Apparently his shift cable broke just as he was entering Lock #11 and he only had reverse. “Second time this year” “I usually change those cables every 2 to 3 years”. At 6PM, the river is completely flat, no traffic, quite peaceful. The captain spends about 2 hours trying to fix side entry gate with pliers, hammer, center punch, dental floss and epoxy cement. After three grueling tries, he is finally successful. Supper was an excellent spread of black beans with red peppers, pork tenderloins on the grill, salad, white rice with garlic, and again, Coronas to be utilized as the tasty beverage for the evening. Miles traveled only 81 today, but the locks were not as cooperative as yesterday. Day #4 October 11th, 1999 We wake at 6, breakfast of leftovers from the night before, engines started at 7. Outside temperature is 45, water temp is 55 degrees. We pull away at 7:10 and motor south for two hours before we arrive at Lock #12, in at 9:30 and out 15 minutes later. We had to wait 45 minutes for a northbound tow. “Badger” another northbound tow (see photo # 14) (3 by 5 empty) is passed at 10:25. Further down we pass the “Penny Eckstein” again, this time it was southbound (2 by 2) moving very fast. Lunch was bologna sandwiches, pickles, chips, an orange and canned fruit cups. We pass “Rock Island” with 3 barges northbound at 12:45 right after waiting 20 minutes for the Clinton Iowa swing bridge (photo #16). Lock #13 in at 1:30, out at 1:45. “Floyd Goodman” northbound (3 by 5 + 1 empty) just north of Lock #14. We arrived at #14 around 2:20, but had to wait till 3:40 for the “Ed Renshaw” (see photo # 15) northbound (3 by 3 coal). Mid afternoon, the commercial river traffic is becoming more pronounced. One either mile north of #15 there are 3 southbound tows, and one northbound, lock is full, we pull over and acquire provisions. Quad City Marine Company (mm 483.5) is our berth for the evening and pull in around 5PM. At $1 per linear foot per evening is the charge . . . . $50 is a deal! As we tie up to the easily accessible breakwater north of #15, a man helps us work the lines from shore. The current here is VERY strong, trains are also increasingly apparent, only 150 feet from the tracks, we pray for good sleep tonight. Only 98 miles traveled today, thanks to the locks. Day #5 October 12th, 1999 Up at sunrise with a slightly overcast sky and a northbound tow at the #15 Lock. Entered at 7:30, out at 7:45. Passed the “Ed Renshaw” again just as we were leaving the lock. Continuing to motor south, strong winds at Lock #16, we had to wait 70 minutes for a southbound tow. Finally we enter at 10:35, and leave 20 minutes later. Very low clearance at the swing bridge at the Quad Cities (only a foot to spare). Upon leaving #16, we pass another tow “Phillip Pfeffer” northbound (3 by 5 coal) A few more miles downstream, we pass “New Dawn” (3 by 5 +1 empty) where the captain of the tow was visibly sitting in a huge la-z-boy up on the bridge with his feet up on the helm. We turn on the autopilot, due to the increasing wind, much easier to steer this way. Just north of #17, we pass “Rusty Flowers” (photo #17) (3 by 4 empty) At 2:30 we enter #17 and leave at 2:50. We waited for two and a half hours to enter due to the excessive commercial traffic in the area. In Lock #18 at 5:40 with the “Penny Eckstein” and it’s tow (photo # 18). Heavy turbulence in the lock with the Penny and we will NEVER do that again! The lower doors open at 6:05. Moving on, we pass “Cecelia Carol” (see photo # 19) northbound (3 by 5 + 1) empty at 6:10. We turn on the radar at sunset, and it does not turn off until we pull in later that evening. All three of us are on the bridge, one working the helm, one at the radar, and one with binoculars and charts. We arrive at Keokuk (mm 366.9) at about 11PM. The “marina” was little more than a collection of archair wood planks and drums, which supported an unstable walking surface. We then spend another 30 minutes futzing with the shorepower cords again! Luckily we had every conceivable shorepower adapter and with some ingenuity, we get one of the 50 amp inlets working properly. Let it be known that we put on 40 miles in complete darkness, passed at least 5 tows which we met head on, meals consisted of microwave stuff, and it was a long arduous day. The quotes for the evening was, “A good time was had by all”, “We are the only recreational boat out here”. “The shorepower gods continue to spite us” (Jason). Miles traveled: 116.4, though much time and effort was wasted at the locks again. Day #6 October 13th, 1999 We slept in an extra hour due to the previous days extraneous work. Breakfast was a bagel with cream cheese and final left overs of the pork tenderloin. The captain notices that a hand compass on the counter is point directly to a crewmembers bottle of Johnny Walker. “If I had some Johnny Walker, I don’t think even I could find north”. The “Ed Renshaw” is southbound, waiting for the lock #19. We had a fuel truck arrive at 8AM (see photo # 20) and we take on fuel (343 gallons at 99 cents / gallon). We pulled out of the marina in reverse, not enough room to turn around, with a strong north wind bearing down upon us. Entered #19 at 9:45, and out a little past 10. We pass the black building of weirdness (photo #21) at 10:15 at mm 361.7 Waiting 45 minutes to enter #20, we notice that another downbound pleasurecraft from Scandia, Minnesota “Cat’s Meow” has all it’s fenders wrapped in black garbage bags with duct tape. . . . Do they know something we don’t? Lock #20 is entered at 11:55 and out at 12:07. We pass “Cooperative Ambassador” (3 by 6 + 1 empty) northbound of #21. Lock #21 is entered at 1:56 PM, and we lock through with the USCAE boat “Bettendorf” which was performing repairs, out at 2:07. Upon leaving #21, we see northbound “American Beauty” (3 by 5 coal) and further south, “Clyde Butcher” northbound (3 by 6 empty) at mm 318.0 We also see our first Coast Guard Vessel “Scioto” ( photo # 22) which is a buoy tender rig just south of #22. Overtaking “Prosperity” (3 by 5 + 1 empty) northbound which is also south of #22. The “Laura Tamble” northbound (3 by 5 empty) was awaiting lockage. We pull into Two Rivers Marina (photo #23) mm283.2 around 6:30PM. This establishment is clearly the best marina so far that we have stayed at for the night. After some coaxing to the locals, we finagle a ride to a restaurant to check it out. “Beldane’s” had no tonic water (for my gin) or Coca Cola products (The other’s rum). We inquired about a taxi, but it was supposedly out of town for the evening . . . so we had the cook give us a ride back to the marina. We also stopped at a local convenience store to pick up the essentials, milk, OJ, Coke and papertowels . . . In bed by 11PM Miles traveled: 83.7 – again, we are hindered by the locks, timing is everything. Day #7 October 14th, 1999 We wake up and feelin’ kinda lethargic this morning. The temp was cold last night and it’s clear and sunny with wind out of the south 10 to 15 mph. There is an eerie fog in the marina this morning. Water temp is about 60. We leave the marina at 9:35AM and continue south. We pass “Crimson Morning” just south of Louisiana, Missouri swing bridge (9:45) The captain gets a call from the police, evidentally the burglar alarm at his residence has been tripped. For the next hour or so, tensions run high, as the captain struggles to figure out what’s going on. Finally, it was discovered that one of his daughters made a mistake and armed the system, while the other daughter was in the shower. Right before noon, we pass “Washington” northbound. Along the upstream wall of Lock #24 “Eddie Touchette” (2 empty) was making it’s last preparations before embarking further upstream. We enter Lock #24 at noon and are out at 12:15. We pass many tows today, therefore we could not keep track of actual barge counts. Northbound “Titletown USA” Northbound “Kathy Ellen” (3 by 5 empty) Lock #25 was entered at 2:30, and we left at 2:47 Southbound “Hamilton” Northbound “Jamie Leigh” (2 by 2 empty) Northbound “Mary Lynn” (3 by 5 + 1 empty) Northbound “Issaquena” 3:10 PM Northbound “Linda Todd” 4:20 PM Northbound “Mr. Toad” 4:30 (dredge supplies) Northbound “Scioto” 4:40 (previously passed a few days ago) At 4:40 we veer away accidentally off the channel to avoid a huge wake from a 120 foot pleasurecraft “Grampa Woo” (Photo #24) No damage. At 5:10, we pass the barge two repair yard mm 203 We arrive in Alton Marina at 5:20 and proceed directly to their beautiful large gas dock. We take on 402 gallons at $1.54 / gallon. The sun sets and a final gas dock customer pulls up, “Quick Change” a 1998 Sea Ray 48 Flybridge. We find a spot and side tie for the evening. We make ourselves presentable, and grab a cab to downtown Alton. “Tony’s” restaurant is our destination and there we gorge ourselves on the excellent food and service. The captain orders 3 extra lasagna’s 3 caesar salads, two loaves of bread and of course, the desserts. We leave Tony’s with two brown grocery bags full of food. We have yet to loose any crew due to starvation on the trip. Miles traveled: 80, lots of barge traffic, lots of speeding up and slowing down. Day #8 October 15th, 1999 We are again up at 6 to top off the water tanks, and wipe down the glass on the bridge. Make last minute preparations to leave, bring up all charts, binoculars, GPS, etc. and pull away from the dock at 7:05 We enter Lock #26 (photo # 25) at 7:10 and leave at 7:30. Two other boats are in the lock with us. “Veda L” from Stillwater, Minnesota (a Kady Krogen Trawler) and a Grand Banks trawler. After leaving the lock, we pass “Athena” northbound (2 by 2 empty). Numerous barge repair facilities line the shores on the Illinois side. We pass the “Walter Hagested” (3 by 4 + 2) We enter the Chain of Rocks Canal at 8:30, this canal is man made and is straight as an arrow, and about as wide as one! We all comment on how it would be a sticky situation if we met a barge tow coming up stream the same time we were going down stream . . . of course, we do indeed meet up head to head with one. The “Dennis Ross” (2 empty). Let’s just say that there was NO room for mistakes when we passed by it’s side. We enter lock #27 at 9:10 and are out at 9:35. We pass another northbound “Helen B” (3 by 2 empty) at 9:36. Right after that, we pass northbound “Cindy L. Erickson” (3 by 4 + 1) at 9:37. We can see the arch of St. Louis at 9:50. Very strong current (3+ kts) Pass the “Andrea Leigh” with only one empty barge. Motoring past the arch, I snap a photo (see photo #27) at 10. Northbound “Ralph E. Placee” (4 by 2 coal) at 10:15, fifteen minutes later we pass southbound “Karen Michelle”. At 10:35 we pass northbound “Titletown USA” (3 by 5 coal) The “Neil N. Diehl” southbound at 11 “Wendy Ann” was also passed at 11AM (3 by 4 coal) At 11:22, we pass “Jeff Boat” (photo # 26) (3 by 4 coal) at mm 161. Northbound “Bruce Birmingham” (3 by 5 +1 empty) at 11:25. Followed by “Pathfinder” a US Corps of Army Engineers dredge boat at 11:40. Lunch was from “Tony’s” and it was good. We arrange for fuel at Captain Kidd’s fuel dock, pull in at 5:10, and fully fueled at 5:25 (302 gallons) The crew is dumbfounded at the excellent weather we are having. We press on and shoot for the “Little River Diversion Channel” mm 48.8. Upon arriving we are awestruck in that we should have practiced anchoring in heavy current. Five other boats are in this little cut of land, a 50’ Grand Banks, 36’ Grand Banks, 48’ Sea Ray “Quick Change”, and a 26’ Sailboat. Miles traveled: 154 miles Day #9 October 16th, 1999 In the morning we pull up anchors before the sun, the river bottom is exceptionally mucky. Weather is clear, with slight morning fog. The high temperature reached 81 degrees, with the water being 63. We pass under the Thebes Railroad bridge at 7:30 mm43.7 8:32 we pass the “Harriet Ann” northbound at mm 29 (3 by 4 empty). At mm30 there is high turbulence in the river, 65 feet deep. “Robert Greene” (3 by 5 empty) passed at 9:06. “Carrie Mays” (2 empty) northbound at 9:17. “Kathryn Beesecker” (3 by 5 empty) northbound, passed at 9:50. Entered Lock #53 at 11:20, left at 11:38. Lock #52 (photo #28) about an hour later . . . waited, waited, and then had to wait from waiting. A total of 7 hours was wasted at this lock as we waited while 12 southbound and 8 northbound tows were trying to get through a double lock where the larger chamber was out of order. The afternoon was not very prosperous, wasting much time at the lock, we motor on through the night, all 3 crew on bridge, manning the radar, helm, and charts. Too much barge traffic to keep track of. Pulled into Green Turtle Bay Marina at 12:30 AM. Our slip was only a handful which did not have a roof above. Upon maneuvering in, we hear a deafening crack, scrape and shattering sound. We discover that the sound came from one of the 19 foot VHF antennas being snapped off on the neighboring roofing structure. Next day we refueled with 333 gallons at the fuel dock. Day #10: October 25th, 1999 We are up at 5:30 to frost warnings on the weather band radio. Water temp states 59 degrees, VERY heavy fog, therefore we wait. Over breakfast, we decide to shoot for Aqua Marina, which is about 180 miles away (weather and barge permitting). The fog lifts, and we pull out of Green Turtle Bay at 8:45. Luckily, the weather does not let us down, the entire day was clear and sunny. We pass the “Joey C” (photo #29) (3 by 6 + 1) full of coal, going upstream on the Tennessee River. The “Roy Mechling” (3 by 4) was passed also going upstream at mm 50.9 In the afternoon, “Walter Brunson” (3 by 2) was passed at mm 109 at 1:40PM. About an hour later the “Kenny Faugn” (3 coal) was bound upstream as well. At 4:05 the “Robert Loedding” (3 by 5) full of sand upstream bound at mm 149. We go through the Pickwick Lock at 7:45pm, and leave at 8:30. The marina we pulled into was just a few minutes out of the lock. Approaching the expansive and highly organized fuel dock we tie up and begin to take on fuel at 9PM. After taking on 550 gallons, at $1.10 / gallon, we pump the head (finally!!!) Every headpump at every marina we have stayed at has either been broken (not fixed) not installed or just plain, not there. As for the evening entertainment, a large cruiser pulls in, and complains of excessive water in the bilge. It turns out that the boat was sinking! A “no drip” through hull gasket was torn and water was pouring in at an alarming rate. The gasdock headpump was going nonstop in the bilge to keep ahead of the water. Luckily we had a few spare parts which aided the endangered boat. After a few probing questions, the captain stated that he had run hard aground a week ago, but did not check the engine room. “I just churned up some sand” The boat we find out also just ran aground after making the Pickwick Lock (photo #30), and he headed for the marina. The captain offered us some beer (there were only 4 cases on the bridge that we could see) yet we declined and went to bed. Miles traveled: 150 – we are pleased with today’s progress. Day #11 October 26th, 1999 The crew rises early again (5:30), eat breakfast of Wheaties and egg mcmuffins. We leave Pickwick at 7, with the water temp at 62, no fog, very nice indeed. The boat continues downstream and we turn onto the Tennessee Tom Bigbee Waterway at 7:45. An hour later we come up on a tow, numerous times we tried to hail them to ask for directions on passing, and no one answered back. We enter the Jamie Whitten Lock at 10:10, leave at 10:30 (84 foot drop) A few minutes later, we enter the G.V. Montgomery lock at 10:45, and leave at 11. A little past noon, we enter the John Rankin Lock, and leave at 12:38. At 1:20, we enter the Fulton Lock and leave at 1:32. A hour later we enter the Glover Wilkins Lock at 2:20, and exit at 2:35. The last lock of the day was the Amory Lock, which we entered at 3:05, and exited at 3:30. The rest of the day was traveling with minimal pleasurecraft contact, let alone shoreside facilities. We arrive at Aberdeen, Mississippi at 5:10. We tie up, with a small crowd gawking at the boat, hook up the shorepower, and have a Corona or two. The ships store here has more beer in cases than a MGM Liquor Warehouse. Day #12 October 27th, 1999 We wake early again at 5:45 and prepare for the day’s traveling. We pull in the power cords, and leave the marina a little after 7AM. The Aberdeen Lock opens at a quarter after 7 for us, and we were again on our way at 7:45. This particular lock was the only one that was completely full of other recreational boaters. Numerous houseboats, and southbound boats lock through with us. At 10:20, the Stennis Lock cooperates and we exit at 10:50. A few hours later at the Bevill Lock we enter at 12:50, and leave at 1:10. The entire afternoon was uneventful, particularly that the scenery did not change, and just a few small fishing boats were passed along the shoreline. At mm 248 we came across “White Cliffs” which are eerily parched white rock with no apparent reason why. At mm 252 we come across one of the large dredging processes (see the photo # 31) mm 270 on the western side of the river, there is a beautiful protected anchorage (large boats were seen i.e. 80’ Broward, etc.) We continue farther on and finally pull into Demopolis at 8:30 PM, where we put on 506 gallons at $.99 per gallon. Gasdock attendant (Patti) is super cool and takes care of us, she arranges the onsite restaurant to stay open for us to get some food (needless to say, it was VERY good!) After refueling we side tie along “Chimboomba” (photo #32) (port of Kingstown) and meet Ed, the captain and Kenny his deck hand. We hit the beds at 1AM and fall asleep instantly. Miles Traveled: 142 Day #13 October 28th, 1999 Today we are up at 5:15 and look out of the windows at complete fog. We wait an hour and a half and prepare to pull away at 7:05. We enter the Demopolis Lock at 8:10, with a full lock. The lock master was exceptionally detailed about making sure the lock was full before letting the load go south. Chimboomba almost goes over the dam (only 25 feet away!) Apparently Ed does NOT know how to read or operate the radar, let alone charts! At 8:45, we leave the lock and continue with radar on, and all available eyes on the water ahead of us. Fog is still thick. Water temperature is 69.4. Today’s traveling is again uneventful. Coffeeville Lock was entered at 2:30, and left at 2:45. The river channel is very narrow and winding with little room for error if one comes up against a tow. We arrive at Lady’s Landing at 5:30 just as the sun is beginning to set. We put on 318 gallons at $1.15 / gallon. She even asks for a BOAT / U.S. member card for a fuel discount. (See photo # 33) Goats are seen everywhere on shoreline. We experienced no problems or setbacks today with the locks, maximum wait was only 30 minutes, I try pickled watermelon rind today for the first time . . . ..and I like it. Miles traveled: 140 Day #14 October 29th, 1999 We sleep in a bit this morning, and leave Lady’s Landing at 8:10. Water temperature is 65.8 (see photo of sailboat at dock) On the upstream side of the river where it turns past Lady’s Landing, “Chimboomba” and “My Way” were seen anchored. They pull up their anchors and continue to follow us downstream. “My Way” hails “Chimboomba” and asks for permission to use the boats name for a new puppy they just received. “Chimboomba” complies and allows it to be so. The conversation between the two vessels is nothing to write about, though it was basic and borderline moronic. We press on hard for the days travel. We pass through and enter the Gulf of Mexico, winds are out of the east, 5 to 15. Waves are steadily building 2 to 4 feet. We continue following the channel buoys out. Waves and winds still increase, the ships stabilizers are beginning to work hard. We approach the end of the buoy markers, continuing on, we are heading directly into the wind and waves, which are between 10 to 15 feet high, heavy spray is continually hitting our hardtop on the bridge, the healing over is getting treacherous, the stabilizers are now groaning and whining at their work of keeping the boat upright. We rise up, pushing our bow through a wave, going up, up, up, stop momentarily, and then surf down the back side only to do it again and again, crashing at the trough, and dousing us all. We had not prepared the boat for this type of traveling, items down below can be heard rolling and falling about. The three of us are up on the bridge, hanging on to anything that gives us support. We keep on the eastern coarse for 20 minutes, and the captain decides to come about and take the ICW instead. We, the crew, have no problem with this decision. We watch for a break in the waves, we brave ourselves, and quickly power around. We are now surfing with the giant waves. The ride is a little better, but we are still clenching the stainless steel rails up on the bridge with white knuckles. We re-enter the buoyed channel and head back. Turning out of the channel at buoy 22, we change our course and enter the ICW. The ICW is well marked, with pilings every eighth mile or so, affixed on top are reflective triangles or squares respectively. The water is much calmer here, and we can finally relax and watch some dolphins in the distance. We pull into “Bear Point Marina” at 5:45 where we take on 446 gallons of fuel at $.90 / gallon. NO MORE LOCKS FOR US!!! This particular marina was still rebuilding after the recent hurricane damage, and the docks were nice and wide. The onsite restaurant is also well thought out and looks very nice. (photo #34) We hit the beds at 1:30AM Day #15 October 30th, 1999 We wake late, and have a huge breakfast of eggs, bacon, oj, milk, and English muffins. Water temperature is 67.8 Weather is clear and sunny (again) We leave Bear Point at 9:05 and make our way across the ICW. Not 10 minutes into our day, we see dolphins playing with us off the port side (see photo #36) Both crew members and I are leaning over the rail, watching them. When we get out of the channel and one states that we are in 5 . . . .4 . . . .3 . . . .2 . . ..1 . . 0 feet of water!!! No damage is done, just some stirred up silt. We turn around, and get back into the channel. We pass the Pensacola Beach Bridge at 10:39. We continue along and see numerous pontoon boats and notice that almost all of the pleasure boats are on vertical storage docks / lifts which keep them out of the saltwater. We finally make our way to the last stop of this trip which is “Bay Point Marina” Panama City (photo #37). We pump the head, tie up and put on fuel. Our voyage south is now complete.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 18:26:31 +0000
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