We awoke early to another beautiful morning, set a goal to up anchor at 8:00am and dealt with the first order of business; Kodi's morning ritual. The dingy was launched and Kodi and I zipped 2.5 miles up the Little River Diversion Channel at 25mph to our now "favorite" launch ramp.
Our optimum destination for today was Paducah Kentucky, a run of 100 miles. Our likely destination, due to a mechincal breakdown of Lock 52 was to anchor on the upbound side and await lockage in the morning. Lock 52 according to the US government website that lists traffic at the locks had a 24 hour back-up due to a stuck valve in the main lock chamber. This represents a 95 mile run. The fallback position was to anchor at Mile Marker 7.0 just before the Ohio, a 42.4 mile run.
At 8:02 (right on schedule) we departed the Little River Diversion and again entered the mighty Mississippi with 49 miles to go to the Ohio. We were advised by Fern to use VHF channel 13 to announce our departure so that we would not collide with the many tows operating in the Cape Girardeau area. Fern was dead on the money. The barge traffic was heavy. Fortunately, our AIS Vessel Tracking System, installed over the winter, allowed us to see the tows on our Raymarine E120 chartplotter. This helped us time our departure so that we were well clear of the tows.
The final miles on the Mississippi passed quickly and economically. At the I-57 bridge we observed 15.1 MPH at 1060 RPMs while burning 4.4 GPH. We also encountered the beginning of the Mississippi's numerous switchbacks where in the stretch of a few miles the compass swings 360 degrees. With the tight turns came more weirdams and the swirls they generate.
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| Weirdam clearly visible on the fishfinder (lower right corner of the screen) |
If you look closly at the photo above, you can actually see an AIS return and weirdams on the left, chartplotter, side of the screen.
At 12:35 PM we turned left onto the Ohio River and 15 minutes later passed Cairo, Illinois. Cairo is a barge staging area. There is no marinas for pleasurecraft.
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| The unimpressive entrance to the Ohio |
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| Bridge at Cairo, IL - Notice the barges |
When we made the turn onto the Ohio I recorded our efficiency to that point. 2.8 MPG, 14.1 MPH, 50.6 statute miles covered and 16.6 gallons used. Great efficiency with a 4.0 MPH push from the old man. This changed immediately. In order to sustain 10.9 MPH, we had to raise the RPMs to 1440 which raised the fuel consumption to 14 GPH. Groan.
An hour later we passed the new Olmsteak Lock which is under construction. The construction site was very impresive from the river. Unfortunately, photos cannot quite duplicate what the eye can see. Still you can sense the enormity of the undertaking. Since the river is not dammed we passed right by.
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| Olmstead Lock contruction site |
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| We passed just to the right of the crane |
Minutes later we passed "over" Lock and Dam 53 as the wickets (gates for regulating water flow) were down. Below are the two photos I though worth taking on this stretch. There's not much to photograph on this section of the river.
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| Harrah's - Gambling is big business on the river |
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| Fort Massac (1757) in the Metropolis area - Lewis and Clark slept here |
At 3:28 PM, we arrived at the "broken" Lock 52 in Grand Chain, Illinois. Earlier, we had called the Lockmaster by phone to advise her of our ETA. She advised that the lock was severly backed up but held out the possibility that they might be able to accomodate us. Upon arrival, we again talked with the Lockmaster who advised us to anchor and standby on Channel 12.
32 minutes later the Lockmaster advised that she would lock us through as soon as the downbound tow exited the lock. We had again won the "lockery."
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| Tows stacked up at Lock 52 |
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| Guided Discovery headed to the lock as a six bargge tow exits |
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| 32 minutes later the upriver gates open to reveal barges ready to enter as soon as we exit |
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| Manuevering around the barges |
Five miles later at 5:06 pm, we entered the Tennessess River and simultaneously arrived at our destination, Paducah Kentucky. We immediately seached for the town dock that Fern had marked on our chart. It was nowhere to be found. Fortunately, we flagged down a snowmobiler (jet ski) who advised us that the City removed it 4 days ago. No problem, the alternative was to anchor at Cuba Towhead two miles east of the city.
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| Diana, Kodi and I pause to take a photo of Guided Discovery anchored in Cube Towhead |
We zipped back to Paducah in the dingy, which we parked (beached) at the town launch ramp. Yes we got our feet wet. No, we did not bring dry shoes.
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| The dingy beached next to a Coast Guard Bouy Barge |
We spent the next hour exploring downtown Paducah, which we found charming. I'll let the photos tell the story.
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| Historic marker at the launch ramp |
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| Broadway is their "Main Street" |
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| I think this is a Red state |
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| Beautiful murals painted on the levee |
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| A close up of one of the murals |
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| Paducah Art Cener as the light fails |
We departed Paducah and returned to our anchored Guided Discovery in Cuba Towhead. The end of another perfect day.
Written by Les on October 19th. Tomorrow morning I will finally catch up.
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lts15@sbcglobal.net
Les and Diana, I am reading every day--I look forward to it, and love your descriptions, photos and impressions. I hope you will keep it up.
ReplyDeleteOlmstead Lock--they have been working on that thing for more than ten years. It does not look very different in your pictures from the last time we passed it in the spring of 2008. I don't think anyone is holding their breath, and many wonder if it will be finished in our lifetime!
If Kentucky dam is too backed up, you can always head up to the Cumberland to get to Green Turtle. It is a much prettier run, although farther. Frankly, Kentucky is a miserable lock--but with the lock luck you have been having, maybe you will again win the lockery.