2004 CRUISE
TRIP 2 LOGS
Covington, LA to Iuka, MS
May 28 - June 4, 2004

Covington, LA to Biloxi, MS, Saturday, May 29, 2004

     Angela and I flew to New Orleans, LA on Friday, May 27, after being delayed due to business matters in Houston.  We used a shuttle service to transport us to Covington, LA and the boat, including a stop at the grocery store.  We unloaded our luggage and prepared the boat for the next trip in our cruise.

     On Saturday we left the dock of our friends on the Tchefuncte River and headed for Lake Ponchartrain.  The high temperature was about 93 degrees F; it was hot.  We were going NE, and the winds and waves were coming from the SE.  We used the stabilizers, which helped the rolling motions.  We did not have to wait long at any of the bridges from the lake into the ICW and the Mississippi Sound.

        

     When we got to Biloxi we went to the Small Craft Harbor and filled up with fuel at $1.30 per gallon.  Then we got a slip at Point Cadet Marina, which cost $1 per foot per night plus tax, double the price we paid in 1998.  I cleaned some of the outside of the boat.  We took a shuttle over to the Palace Casino Marina to meet some future friends, Cappy and Judy Stahlman.  We looked over their beautiful 55' Fleming (M/V OUTBOUND) and then ate together at the buffet there at the casino.

      

     Cappy and I had been corresponding via email for a few months.  He and Judy lived in Natchez, MS but kept their boat on the Tchefuncte River in Madisonville, LA.  We saw his boat on Trip 1, but they were not aboard at that time.  We hoped to cruise together for part of our next week or more, and that was the first time we had met.   

 Biloxi, MS to Mobile, AL, Sunday, May 30, 2004

     Cappy needed fuel and was a little late in getting it, so we hung around the fuel dock and took some pictures.  The plan was for them to follow us because they had not made this particular trip before.  Also, they had only owned the boat for a few months and were still getting to know their ship.

     We went east and south out of Biloxi to get to the ICW channel in Mississippi Sound.  The waters were fairly rough, and I wanted to plane off to get through the mess as soon as possible.  We did that together for a couple of hours; then we ran about 10mph the rest of the way into Mobile.  It was windy, humid, and hot (high 80s).  By 2:30pm we were tied up at Grand Mariner Marina on Dog River.  Neal and Leona Pleasant, friends of ours from Lakewood Yacht Club and the Clear Lake area, were already there on their 50' Carver, M/V 24 KARAT.

     We had snacks and drinks aboard our boat and ate dinner at the Mariner Restaurant.  It was nice enough to sit outside on the upper deck of the restaurant.  Neal and Leona planned to pick up Leona's granddaughter at the Mobile airport the following day.  We were going to wait and leave with them on Tuesday, but they announced a change in their plans.  Basically they wanted to take about twice as much time going up the Tenn-Tom as we had available, so we decided to leave the next day.

Mobile, AL, Monday, May 31, 2004

     Monday was Memorial Day.  We got up and left the marina at 6:30am.  We had no problems getting to the Mobile Ship Channel and running north into the Port of Mobile.  Most people had a day off work, so it was quiet at the port.  We ran up the river and went through the railroad bridge and on to approximately Mile 20.  Then we had a steering problem.  

     I pulled over to slightly outside the channel and anchored for about an hour.  A check of the steering system indicated no fluid and no pressure.  It looked like we had a leak.  I added some steering fluid and pressurized the system.  Angela watched with a flashlight while I was doing that, and she saw the leaking fluid.  It was at the same two-inch copper tube that had failed when we first left Ft. Lauderdale a year earlier.  The strap that was installed then to provide support for the by-pass valve was not working due to slippage of its connection.  We needed parts.

     We pulled up the anchor and headed back down the river.  By using the two engines at different throttle settings I was about to steer the boat - after a fashion.  In fact, we got up to 12 knots with that system.  When we returned to the Grand Mariner Marina our friends suggested we should have gone on - we made 70 miles for the day, 35 of it without any steering.

     We radioed the bridge tender at the railroad bridge, and he was helpful in getting the bridge open for us so we did not have to stop.  We called the marina; and the Harbormaster, Barbara, picked out an easy spot on the dock for us to tie up for the night.  Cappy and Neal were also there to catch our lines.  Neal went to the hardware store on Cappy's motorbike and brought back the replacement parts I needed; and I replaced the broken parts, filled the system with fresh fluid, and pressurized the canister.  The bleed valve broke when I was bleeding the air out of it, as had happened before; but we got it working enough to get us into Aqua Yacht Harbor, where I planned to have some repairs made.  While I was in the lazarette and hot anyway, I added water to the 9 batteries there.

     We met Teddy Lynn, Leona's eleven-year-old granddaughter.  The seven of us had dinner, inside that time, at the Mariner Restaurant.

Mobile to Bladon Springs, AL, Tuesday, June 1, 2004

        

      

     All three boats left the marina together at 7am on Tuesday.  Neal led the way, Cappy followed, and we brought up the rear.  Our steering seemed to be okay, so we proceeded as if we would get to Iuka, MS with no further steering problems, which was the case.  Once we got into the Ship Channel, we passed the other two boats and did not see them again on that Trip.  We got some good photos of the boats while we were passing them, and they gave us two pictures of our boat.

     We retraced our route through Mobile and up the river, past the point where we had anchored the previous day.  The weather at first was overcast and foggy, with rain and some lightning.  After 2pm it cleared and was cooler.  We watched carefully for debris in the river.  Rainfall had been heavy in various parts of the Midwest and parts of the upstream drainage basin, a pattern that continued into a record-setting wet June.

     At 2:30pm we arrived at the Coffeeville Lock and went up 33 feet.  The river below there had seemed low to me, and a towboat operator we spoke to also said it was low.  The lock operator said the water elevation was about normal

     We reached Bobby's Fish Camp about 3:15pm, and we tied up to the floating dock.  I walked up to the restaurant and paid Bobby for a night at his dock.  There was no water or electricity available, but there was also nothing else in the way of a marina in the vicinity.  I took a nap, and we later ate some salad and salmon/scallops that Angela grilled - delicious!  Then we watched a DVD movie about the Pink Panther - a favorite character of Angela's.

     Mileage for the day was 134.  We had been through only one lock for Trip 2, Coffeeville.  We had no problems with the lockmasters on that trip.

Bladon Springs, AL to Sumter Recreation Area anchorage, Wednesday, June 2, 2004

     We left Bobby's at 6:30am.  Other than an open-bow ski boat, ours was the only boat at the dock that night.  By noon we were through the Demopolis Lock - up 40 feet.  The marina was just a couple of miles further upstream.  We stopped there and filled up with some expensive diesel.  The pump was slow; we stayed there from 12:15 until 3:30 taking on 704 gallons of diesel.  We did also spend a few minutes going into town in their loaner car to mail a time-sensitive envelope at the post office.

     We left the Demopolis Marina at 3:30 and ran upstream to the Sumter Recreation Area anchorage.  We had stopped there before and enjoyed it.  We went up through Heflin Lock, about 30', and anchored at 7pm.  Angela grilled chicken and fixed a salad - my favorite and most common meal.  Mileage for the day was 151 miles.  The weather was fog and rain for the first three hours, including some lightning.  The overcast cleared later, and it was hot.

Sumter Recreation Area to Iuka, MS, Thursday, June 3, 2004

     I pulled up the anchor and left the anchorage at 6:30am, bumping a shallow spot as we went out into the channel.  The weather for the day was cooler, in the 70s, with light rain off and on all day. 

     At 8:40am we went up 27' in the Tom Bevill Lock.  We passed some pretty homes after that.  At 10:30 we went up 27' in the John Stennis Lock after a short delay.  The Columbus Marina was just above that lock.  From 12 - 12:30pm we went through the Aberdeen Lock - up 27'.  At 1pm we arrived at the Amory Lock and waited for 40 minutes.  From 1:40 until 1:50, approximately, we went up 30 feet and out. 

        

     At 2:10 we were in the Wilkins Lock - up 25' and out at 2:20pm.  From 3:15 - 3:30 we went up 25 feet in the Fulton Lock.  From 4 - 4:10pm we went up 30' in the Rankin Lock.  The lockmasters were calling ahead and readying the lock for us, as there was very little traffic.  At 4:40 we were in the Montgomery Lock.  We went up 30' and were out of the lock at 5:10pm - it was a slow ride for some reason.  

     At 5:25 we were in front of the biggest lock doors on the Tenn-Tom, the Whitten Lock.  We received no response on the radio, channels 16 and 13.  I called him on the satellite phone (the cell phone would not connect), and he said he was using channel 18A, call him on that channel??  We did, and he answered.  He said he was trying to get a hovercraft down and out of the lock.  We waited anxiously to see what the grand craft might look like.

     About 5:45 the doors opened and it appeared.  It was much smaller than we had thought it might be, but it was interesting.  We took a few photos of it.  It appeared to be a British vessel that could carry about two people.  I guess we thought it might be a boat carrying a lot of passengers.

     Anyway, we went in at 5:55 and went up 84 feet and were out at 6:10pm, approximately.  We ran across the lake and up the Divide Cut to Aqua Yacht Harbor in Iuka, MS, arriving at 8pm.  I thought of staying at a marina on Bay Springs Lake, but decided to go ahead and try to see the maintenance people on Friday, which we did.

    

     For the day we covered 179 miles and 9 locks in 14 running hours, which was more than I planned or had ever done before.  Our trip was being interrupted for a business reason, and we would have to continue on to Knoxville at a later date.  (In 1998 in this area we ran 141 miles and went through 8 locks in 13.5 running hours.

Return to Houston, TX, Friday, June 4, 2004

     We met Tom Snyder, Service Manager at Aqua Yacht Harbor, on Friday morning.  Actually we had an urgent need for mechanical help.  Our Glendenning Cablemaster had failed to stop turning when the last of the cable had been rolled into the basket, so we could not get the cable out again.  We wanted to move the boat and reconnect to shore power, but we were unable to do so.  Tom came down and got us set up and also made a list of the things we wanted done the following week, like get rid of the loud hum in the P/H VHF radio, change the oil and filter on the generator, etc.  Then we rode to the Memphis airport with a delightful lady who lived there on a houseboat.  She and her husband frequently took or picked up boaters from the Memphis airport.  So we flew back to Houston for a week of business before resuming our cruise.

Statistics for the trip:

Running Hours:  52
Miles:  710
Generator Hours:  79
Fuel Used:  1,716 gallons
Fuel Costs:  $2,627
Running Days:  6
Lay Days:  0
Travel Days:  2
Total Days  8
Average Speed:  13.6 mph
Average Fuel:  2.42 gals per mile, 33 gallons per hour
Average Fuel Cost:  $ 1.53 per gallon
Average Miles Per Running Day:  118
Average Running Hours Per Running Day:  8.7
Locks  12

Statistics for Trips 1 and 2

Running Hours:  90
Miles:  1,180
Generator Hours:  128
Fuel Used:  2,496 gallons
Fuel Costs:  $3,477
Running Days:  11
Lay Days:  6
Travel Days:  3
Total Days  20
Average Speed:  13.1 mph
Average Fuel:  2.11 gals per mile, 28 gallons per hour
Average Fuel Cost:  $ 1.39 per gallon
Average Miles Per Running Day:  107
Average Running Hours Per Running Day:  8.2
Locks  17
Generator Hours per Engine Hour = 1.4