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M/V OUTBOUND MINI-LOOP
CRUISE 2004
Travels
of the Outbound
Summer,
2004
April 21, 2004, 12 Noon. Left
Madisonville, La for Biloxi, Ms. with Rusty Burns and Jim Oglesby aboard. Arrived at the Palace
Casino Marina at 10:00 pm.
Object of trip was Jester Annual Book of the Play. We arranged for a
month’s stay for $600. 10
hrs on engines and genset. On the 23rd and 25th, I took Jim Oglesby,
Tommy Travis and Bill Allen for a local cruise followed by another ride
with Oglesby and Harvey Merrit on a similar cruise. About 4 ½ hours total
time.
About May 3, 2004. Rusty and Cathy Burns came over and
did additional varnish work. Rusty changed oil in main engines at
1016.42 and 1024.44 hrs respectively (P&S) Gensets left alone. Fueled
both forward tanks: 426 Gallons.
May
5, 2004. Mother’s Day. Took Judy to Ship Island for lunch
on the hook. Talked with the captain of the ‘Lady Val’ mega-yacht
about 100’ Captain Gary Engle said boat belonged to owners of the
Palafox Marina. Dockmaster is Glen. They were towing their small 35 or
40’ sportfish back to Pensacola.
May
17th. Al and Suzanne flew us down to Biloxi and we took them for a ride
and had lunch at the Beau Rivage Marina.
May
29th. Jimmy R took Judy, Jacque and me to
Biloxi and he left for home. We met David and Angela Magill and had dinner at the
Palace.
May
30th. We fueled all tanks because diesel was 1.35 in
Biloxi and $1.65 in Mobile. Followed David and Angela aboard their 57’
Grand Harbour “Illusions” to Grand Mariner Marina in Dog River, Alabama
(Mobile ). Light chop all day. Left at 8:15 am and arrived at 2:30 pm. Met the new captain of ‘Le Bon Temps Roule’,
Harold Bosworth. New owners are Hank and Susan Cochran of Nashville
, TN. He is a famous songwriter. 75.4 NM today.
June 1, 2004.
Grand Mariner Marina, Al to the Alabama River
Cutoff at Mile 52.8 on the Tenn/Tom. David and Angela ran off and left us
on ‘Illusions’, but we are traveling with their friends, Neal and
Leona Pleasant on their 50’ Carver named 24 Karat. Lots of rain as we
cruised up Mobile Bay and the Mobile
River . Our first experience with rain and fog.
The radar proved its usefulness. The Coast Guard Cutter ‘Cobia’
passed us heading down the bay. Gorgeous Boat! Left at 7:10 am
and anchored at 1:50 pm. Our first anchorage. Neal
picked us up with his dinghy and we had a fine meal aboard 24 Karat.
June 2, 2004. Alabama River Cutoff to Bobby’s Fish Camp.
We
pulled anchor at 7:10 am
and cruised to our first lock: Coffeeville Lock and Dam. Had to give our
documentation number. Nice day. Bobby’s Fish Camp makes old Jughead’s
look good. Cost $28 to tie up. Judy said to mention the large amount of
debris on the river today. Total nautical miles traveled: 192.
June
3. On to Demopolis
, Alabama. We left Bobby’s Fish Camp at 6:40 am
and arrived at Demopolis Yacht Basin at 4 pm.
Rain, Rain, and more Rain. Finally turned out nice after lunch. Had to
move out of the channel for the towboat Leslie Giesmar at the 190.7 mile
marker. I forgot to count the barges, but it was large for the
Tennessee , maybe tx5. At the Demopolis
Lock, the towboat T.H. Kelly was very accommodating and allowed us to lock
through even tho’ he had priority. Lots of house boats here. On site
restaurant and courtesy car. 88 Miles today, 275 NM total.
June
4. Lay day to enjoy and tour Demopolis. We went to the library and
used the internet for the 1st time on the trip.
June
5th . We left Demopolis at
8:00 am
bound for Sumter Landing State Recreational Area. We passed the towboat
‘Joe Cain’ at mile 222. Around a bend in the waterway came an unusual
site: A twenty to twenty five foot hovercraft came scooting down towards
us. He was flying the British Flag. There was some spray generated by his
fans, but no wake. Cool and fast. We went through our third lock, Heflin
Lock with no problems (we finally figured out our technique!)
24 Karat entered Sumter Landing first and did not tell us he
touched bottom. He only draws 4 ½ feet,
but we draw five feet. We stuck for a few minutes before I rocked it on
in. I was very nervous all night worrying if we would get out. We cruised
the inlet in the dinghy and a long paddle until we found a course that
would work to leave and all was well. Judy & I hosted Neal and Leona
with a steak dinner on our new propane grill. It is very hot and cooked
much quicker than I am used to. I nearly ruined the steaks, but all ended
well. President Ronald Reagan died today.
46 miles today; 321 NM for the trip so far.
June 6, 2004
Sumter Landing to Columbus (Ms) Marina . Leaving Sumter Landing was a non-event due proper prior planning. (And
LUCK) Entered Bevill Lock at 11:30 am
out by noon
. Next was Stennis Lock and then into Columbus Marina by 2:45
. Met Jack Chilcutt and his family. Jack did not tell me he was current
Chairman of ABS. Had supper with Ben and Ann (Jack’s parents and very
old friends). Lights went out in master stateroom; Pat at Burr told me how
to jump the circuit and bypass a voltage reducer. Neat.
June
7 Lay day to visit with Ben and look around
Columbus . We also fueled the boat for the first time since Biloxi.
June
8 Columbus to Midway
Marina . Departed at 8:10 a.m. We had a passenger today, Teddi Owen from
Canton, Texas. She is the 11 year old granddaughter of Leona and Neal Pleasant of the
24 Karat. The first tow of the day was met at Amory, Ms: ‘The Jim
Pierce’ at Mile 369.5. We had to wait a little over an hour at the Amory
Lock for the ‘Seminole’ to clear. We were locked through at 1:25 p.m.
The next lock, Glover Wilkins,
was only five miles away, but yet another wait for the tow Mary Claire.
Got into the lock at 2:50 p.m.
Saw several beautiful homes. Actually saw an eagle’s nest with a bald
eagle in it. We finished the day by passing through the Fulton lock and stayed at Midway Marina. Arriving at
5:15 pm
. We met our old friend, Isaac Riley, who has been very ill with kidney
failure and is awaiting a transplant. I hope he makes it. He does not look
very well. Trip
miles: 51 nm today, 428 total.
June 9, 2004 Fulton, Ms to Aqua Yacht Harbor, Iuka, Ms. We left Midway Marina at
7:38 a.m. and arrived about 2:00 p.m.
Lots of locks today. 1) Rankin Lock with another Texas boat ‘Mimi’ and ‘24 Karat’ at
8:00 a.m. 2) Montgomery Lock at 9:05 a.m.
and finally the Jamie Whitten Lock with and 84’ lift in at 9:50
and out at 10:05 a.m.
Very fast. Once we passed the Whitten Lock, the water cleared up
beautifully. Aqua Yacht Harbor gave us a nice covered slip G59. We will be here several weeks as I have
to go home for a little work and Judy is going to SJ’s house.
24 Karat got an outside transit slip as they will be here only 2
days. 50
NM today; 477 NM total.
During
our stay at Aqua Yacht, we met several people we have followed or
conversed with via the internet. One boat in particular was Calypso Poet
(Gary and Coleen Barger). I had read their logs and they have covered much
of the same routes we intend to cover. Another was a local boat ‘Silver
Obsessions’, owned by Terry Sheppard who made us feel at home. Jimmie
Crane of Fulton, Ms owned ‘Joyeus’ and loaned me his security key to
allow SJ and family into the secure part of the marina.
June 12, 2004 We took Chris, SJ and Isaac up to Pickwick Dam and back.
Neal and Leona rented a pontoon boat and I split the bill and we
cruised all around the Yellow Creek and lower Pickwick area with all above
plus Teddi.
June 21, 2004 Aqua Yacht Harbor to Joe Wheeler State Park Marina, Rogersville,
Al. Outbound spent nine days
at Aqua Yacht while Cappy went to Natchez for a little work. Judy went to
Oxford where she met Susan Jane and they went to Black Mountain
, NC to pick up Alexander and Claire from summer camp. Father’s Day was spent
on the boat with SJ, Alexander and Claire. We left on Monday, our first
day of solo cruising. We miss the ’24 Karat’ which is now two weeks
north of us in the Fort Loudon, TN area with the Magills on Illusions. We
got on the actual Tennessee River
at the 251 Mile Marker and turned right and started UP the Tennessee. We noticed that a regular Aqua Yacht slip holder, ‘Joyeus’, an older
58’ Hatteras was in front of us and we made radio contact. We roughly
followed them to Joe Wheeler Park . We went through Wilson lock at Mile 259.4 and were lifted 137 feet! Impressive. Went in at 12:50
p.m. Interesting note about this lock is that the upper end lowers below
the surface instead of opening doors. Wilson Lake is only about 15 miles
long so we covered the distance to Wheeler Dam and Lock and went in at
1:50 and were out at 2:10 p.m. Arrived at Joe Wheeler State Park Lodge and
Marina at 3:00 p.m. Very nice facility. Dockage was about .75 cents a
foot.
June 22, 2004 Daughter Debbie’s birthday! We left early at
7:15 a.m. and found no mile markers until 286.2 (9 miles). Judy is glad we have good
computer charts with GPS. We had lunch in Decatur with hot air balloon friends Mike and Cathy Wahl. We docked at Riverwalk
Marina and owner Steve was very courteous and gave us a free pump out but
I gave him $5.00 for the tip pool. We decided we would stop here on our
way back down river. We motored on up the river to Ditto Landing in Huntsville,
AL. It is a very nice facility operated by the City of Huntsville in cooperation with
Madison County . We arrived about 4:00 p.m. and at 5:40 there was the toughest storm we
have encountered so far; when I realized that we had a wind meter on
board, I went up a looked a the meter was holding steady at 40 knots with
a few gusts higher. I was beginning to worry if the cleats on the dock
were going to hold. We had the grill out and just let the meat burn (the
wind blew out the flame and the meal was fine.) I was having a bout with
my blood pressure so we watched a movie and went to bed early. No pleasure
boats or barges the entire day. We did meet Linda Ray and Bill Center from
Gulf Shores , Al. (Where we really consider our home waters because we love the area
so much.)
June 23, 2004 9:30 a.m.
We left Ditto Landing in Huntsville bound for Goose Pond Colony Marina at Tennessee Mile Marker 378. We topped
off the forward tanks with 334.8 gallons of fuel at $1.55/gal for $521.89.
We
passed ‘Trunsea’ headed downstream. It was a very nice looking
Jefferson Yacht based in Green Turtle Bay . We arrived at Guntersville Lock at
11:00
and went in at 11:52
and out at 12:05
. The lockmaster was kind to us and worked us in between barges. The main
lock was down for maintenance and the tows were forced to break down their
barges into small groups. He stuck us in while there was a break in the
routine. Our first lockage as the only boat in the lock. Barges on both
sides meant careful maneuvering. We
saw an airboat for the first time running near the edge of the lake. We
saw another eagle nest at Mile 372. There were also a lot of duck blinds
scattered throughout Lake Guntersville . The lake has a considerable amount of Hydrilla and Milfoil growing
everywhere. The fishermen love it, but it can be tough on raw water
intakes.
Arrived
Goose Pond. Cappy absolutely loved Goose Pond Colony Marina. It is owned
and operated by the city of Scottsboro , Al., but it is a resort by itself. 360 acres of golf course, pro shop
snack bar, fine restaurant overlooking the lake. It is very popular with
fishermen and has a store stocking more lures and rods than any sporting
goods store anywhere. Total
NM today 40; 638 NM for the trip.
June 24, 2004 7:17 a.m.
We left Goose Pond and headed for Chattanooga, TN. Had some trouble getting full RPMs out of the engines early, but later it
was better. The port engine wants to indicate about 190 degrees at wide
open throttle while the starboard engine is fine at 180. A fair amount of
black smoke at 10 knots and lots of white smoke (steam?) at full RPM . The
free city docks at Chattanooga were gone so we locked up Chickamauga Dam and into
Chickamauga (Erwin) Marina. We stayed there and at their sister marina, Gold Point. We enjoyed both
marinas very much. Gold Point is mostly for permanent slip holders and is
like a park. Very quiet. We met two nice couples: David McDonald and his
wife aboard ‘Fruitcakes’ a brand new 60+- go fast Sea Ray and Frank
and Glenda Pylant who keep their boat at Gold Point but live in Goose
Pond. Gold Point offers no services except security and pump out. It’s
just a short ride across the lake to the main marina for fuel or other
service. We stayed there for a week. Jane and Bubba came up and went for a
short ride. We rented a car and drove down to Atlanta for a few days.
Total
Miles 718 NM; 80 today.
July 1, 2004 Gold Point / Chickamauga Marinas to Nickajack Resort and
Marina. First we fueled the forward tanks 206.2 gallons at $1.59. We had to wait
nearly three hours lock down Chickamauga Dam because of barge traffic. We
endured a light rain most of the way of the short ride to Nickajac Marina.
Nice scenery, but definitely a ‘B’ class marina. .75 a foot was a
serious overcharge. The people were nice enough, but the office was filthy
and the staff was outside drinking beer and visiting with local friends.
They were nice enough to let me use their only telephone line for a
limited Internet connection. I would class them as good old boys, but
someone else said ‘trailer trash’ would be a better definition.
July 2, 2004 Nickajack Marina, Al to Riverwalk Marina in
Decatur, Al. We departed at 6:15 a.m. We locked down Nickajack Lock with ‘Time Change. In lock at
6:50 a.m. and out at 7:10. Noticed a small water leak in bilge. Found out later that it was a very
small leak around a fitting on the port genset. I tightened every hose on
it and behold: no leaks.
We
arrived at River Walk Marina at 5:30 p.m. We expected to be there several days, but found the transit dock needing
repairs. No water (pipe broken) and dangerous electricity (the 50 amp
receptacle was loose in the case requiring one to handle the hookup with
extreme care.) Only 50 cents a foot and free pump out. I am sure they will
have the defects corrected very soon, but we left after one night. As
mentioned on the way up river, we met the owner and found him very
courteous. Total
Trip 890 NM; 108.3 today.
July 3, 2004 We departed Riverwalk at
7:15 a.m., got the railroad bridge to open for us right away. Judy found out that
even though the compass was pointing North, as long as you are cruising
DOWNstream, you are considered to be Southbound! We headed to Bay Hill
Marina at Athens, Al (River Mile 287). This was a nice marina with very helpful people.
They let me use a high speed network to get plane reservations home from Florence, Al. Our dear friends, David and Marian Smith joined us for the 4th.
We decided to cruise down to Joe Wheeler State Park and anchor out thereby wasting the night’s rent paid at Bay Hill. When
we got to Joe Wheeler, we found a vacancy at the regular transit dock at
the hotel. Wonderful. We
enjoyed a nice seafood buffet at the lodge. Total NM for trip 915.
July 4, 2004 On the 4th, David and Cappy took the dinghy down to
Wheeler dam and the nice lady lockmaster locked us down and back up so
David could have the experience of doing a lock through. It was quite an
experience for both of us. Turned out the lady had been with the Corps of
Engineers for years and had worked on the Red River
at Alexandria and other places near Natchez.
We
also watched the kids of the local yacht club build a bunch of cardboard
boats and compete trying to paddle them around a buoy and back. Very
entertaining. Some of the kids did a great job.
Jim
and Jay Shepherd loaned us their car to take David and Marian back to Bay
Hill Marina. These were local boaters who did not know us from Adam. What
a nice couple.
July 5, 2004 Short ride from Joe Wheeler Park to Florence, Al Harbor Marina.
Passed through Wheeler Lock and ---------------Lock.
We will leave Outbound for a week so we can get some work done in Natchez. Very nice marina. Judy and I met the
Roy part of the yacht Roy El’. It was a nice 44’ Gulfstar motor yacht
moored just aft of ‘Outbound’. Roy Short and his wife Elvie live on
the Roy El’ full time. He kept a close watch for us while we were gone.
Ran
into the gentleman from Aqua Yacht with the nice aluminum houseboat built
by Pluckebaum. He had had a little trouble and not very pleased with
himself as he had run aground and torn up both props. Also there was a
seaplane, which had tied up for fuel and lunch. We watched him taxi out.
Florence had a really wild courtesy car: a 1986 Ford Conversion Van whose rear
bumper was missing and the license plate was held on with one bolt. The
A/C only heated and the driver’s window was the only one that would go
down. It was 95 outside and MUCH higher inside. Judy and I laughed at the
irony of stepping off the magnificent ‘Outbound’ and driving to a nice
restaurant in that heap. We were almost too hot to eat.
We
had met Jeff and Angie Wilcoxson at Bay Hill Marina on their boat
‘Foolish Pleasures’. They own a small marina at nearby Muscle Shoals,
Al and offered to take us to the airport so we took them up on it. Their
son was our chauffeur so we tipped him well. We would have stayed at
Jeff’s J&J Marine, but he said he could not accommodate our size and
recommended Florence Marina.
We
had a nice flight to Memphis on NorthWest Airlink
(Mesaba) and a better one down to Alexandria where Jimmy Robertson met us and drove us home.
July 14, 2004 We are back on Outbound and met our neighbors, Wayne and Lynn
Flatt who were traveling up river aboard ‘Skinwalker’ a large DeFever
look-a-like that I believe was a Marine Trader. Nearly 50’.
July 15, 2004 We headed for Aqua Yacht Harbor arriving about 1:30 p.m.
This time we were berthed at the transient dock, which gets a lot of rock
and roll from the passing boats that ignore the no wake sign.
July 16, 2004 We had the oil and filters changed on all 4 engines. Port Main
Engine 1150.66 hrs; Starboard Main Engine 1157.84 hrs; Port Genset 1114
hrs. and Starboard Genset 516 hrs. 4
Gallons of 10/40 oil in each of the Cummins. We used the same 10/40 in the
Gensets, but used 1 ½ Gallons of straight 30 wt. in each of the
transmissions. Cappy stayed below with the mechanics and probably ran up
the labor cost, but did learn how to do it all himself when necessary.
July
17th was a lay day. We drove the courtesy van to Savannah for groceries and we toured Shiloh Battlefield with Neal and Leona
Pleasant who had arrived on the 16th.
July 18th , 2004 Leona Pleasant fixed a great breakfast aboard ’24 Karat’. Later
we met Fred Meyers, author of most of the river guide books we are using
and he autographed them for us. (Nitty Gritty on the Tenn/Tom, Tennessee River
Guide, and Cumberland River Guide).
We left Aqua Yacht Harbor with ’24 Karat’ at 12:30 p.m.
and locked down the Pickwick Dam shortly thereafter. We passed the towboat
'Elly Lane’ (Canal Barge Lines) with a 3x5 load of barges, by far the largest we
have seen on the Tennessee River.
We spent the night at the Clifton Marina, Clifton, TN. This marina has been recently rebuilt and is extra nice. We borrowed their
courtesy car and toured the area with the Pleasants and took some photos
of the marina. Neal and Leona advised us that they were going to return to
Aqua Yacht at Pickwick and then return to Houston via the Tenn/Tom.
Miles
today 41.2 NM; 1020NM Total
July 19th, 2004 Clifton
Marina to Pebble Isle Marina at New Johnsonville, Tn. 8:40 a.m.
We hated to see ’24 Karat’ head back up river, but they were nice to
cruise with us down here. (They had been all the way to Knoxville, TN and were quite ready to get out of the river system and back to the Gulf!)
We are officially on Kentucky Lake, which is over 200 miles long and has over 2000 miles of shoreline! We
arrived at Pebble Isle at 2:05 p.m.
The drain line for the salon air conditioner stopped up and overflowed
into the sink cabinet and the floor. Fortunately we found it quickly and
turned off the A/C. I borrowed at tank of compressed air and blew the line
clean after consulting with Pat Flaherty of Burr Yacht about where to
locate the far end. I can’t say enough about the knowledge of these
boats that Burr Yacht and their people have.
We got a call from home telling us that our friend and RiverView RV
Park partner, Larry Chauvin had broken his leg quite badly (compound
fracture) when he hit one of our gates while mowing. Miles
today 55.2 NM
July
20th, 2004 Pebble Isle Marina (New Johnsonville) to Paris Landing State Park
(Buchanan, TN) After a morning of touring the area by courtesy car, we
left at 11:25 a.m. and motored the short distance to Paris Landing. We
launched the scooter and toured the park. Very nice and secure. We had
dinner at the restaurant on the grounds. 27.6
NM today; 1103 NM Total
July 21st, 2004
This was a lay day. We met Gary Blum on the beautifully restored ‘Fairfield’, a 1930s era Elco. (Elco stood for the Electric Launch Company, now
known as the Electric Boat Company, makers of nuclear submarines!) Gary is from
Key West, but originally from New Orleans and was an ATO at LSU. Odd fellow but interesting. He said he was retired,
but apparently he owns major positions in several banks in South Florida. He had cruised the ‘Fairfield’ single-handedly to the headwaters of the
Mississippi and was headed back toward the keys. I was very impressed at the detail of
his restoration; it looked like a new boat complete with hand woven hemp
fenders and a clear varnished wooden canoe on the roof for a tender. He
offered me a ride saying he was going out for a look around. I had to
decline because Susan Jane was arriving with Alexander and I could not be
gone. He left by himself and never returned. I took some pictures of his
boat. We took SJ’s car and went to Seaton’s, a new area restaurant
that will do well.
July 22nd, 2004 SJ went home and Alexander is going
to cruise with us for a week or so. We left Paris Landing Marina at 9:00 a.m.
and cruised down the Kentucky Lake. We passed 5 sailboats sailing up the river-lake at mile 44.5. We had
lunch at anchor in Duncan Bay and saw several deer and two eagles. We anchored for the evening in
Pisgah Bay in the ‘Land between the Lakes’. Launched the dinghy and went ashore.
Alexander loved the go fast dinghy. There were lots of geese nearby while
we cooked hamburgers on the grill. 41
NM today; 1143 NM total.
July 23rd-27th, 2004
Friday. We raised anchor at 7:45
and cruised the 8.3 NM to Green Turtle Bay, passing the beautiful 72’ ‘Sea Lion’ on the way. It was headed to
the Tenn/Tom I think. GTB is a nice marina and is usually considered a
‘must stop’ on the loop. The only thing is that the management is all
business and all money. Dockage was only 75 cents a foot, but $9.00 extra
per day for electricity and $30 a day for the use of a street legal golf
cart to visit town. Patti’s is everything you hear it is; full of
tourists, but excellent food and lots to do. We played miniature golf on
Saturday with Alex and were rained out so we went back Sunday.
The
‘Queenie’ owned and operated by Karan ? (The Queen!) and her friend
Colleen Pearl arrived during the storm (which must have been very severe
on the lake) and had their dinghy blow off and destroy itself. Colleen
knew Albert Metcalfe (Her husband had been a Cadillac dealer in Illinois.)
We
were able to use a courtesy car late on Saturday to go to the Gold Pond
Observatory (Unfortunately we were given wrong directions and we wound up
driving completely around the ‘Land Between the Lakes’ (This is a very
large amount of land that sits between Lake Barkley on the Cumberland
River and Kentucky Lake on the Tennessee River.)
On Sunday the 25th, Alexander and Cappy took the dinghy
and went out into Lake Barkley and through the canal into Kentucky Lake. On the way back, we noticed Suzy Cochran reading on the aft deck of
‘Le Bon Temps Roule’ and stopped for a visit. We found that Captain
Harold had had a heart problem and needed a stint. He is doing well.
On Monday, we had Enterprise Rental bring us a car and we went into
Paducah. We should have done this first thing, as we liked the town. We went to
their museum and Alexander really enjoyed it. They have a floodwall around
the riverfront with very nice murals painted on them depicting life on the
river. Very nice. The town is not much larger than Natchez, but far more prosperous. We had lunch at C C Cohen’s; an old
department store building that had been converted into a neat restaurant.
Locally famous.
After
a tour of downtown Paducah, we decided to drive across the Ohio River
to Metropolis, Illinois, home of Superman. Finally we went back to the boat and packed the car
for home.
Tuesday,
July 27, we drove to Oxford and spent the night with SJ and her family. It was good to see the other
grandchildren. We really enjoyed the week with Alexander. We got up early
on Wednesday and finished the drive back to Natchez.
Final
Leg Home
Wednesday,
August 11, 2004 Cappy and friend Richard Durkin picked up cousin Alan Stahlman at
the Natchez Airport at 3:00 p.m. (Alan had flown to Nathez from New
Braunfels, TX in his own Cessna Caravan) Naturally Alan had not bothered
to eat lunch so we allowed him time for a hamburger and finally got
underway shortly after 3:30 p.m. for Green Turtle Bay, almost exactly 500
miles up the road. About eight p.m.
we realized that we could reach the boat about midnight
and we might as well tough it out rather than stop.
Thursday,
August 12 That turned out to be a wise idea because we all slept in until
about 7:30 a.m.
and we were bright eyed and bushy tailed, ready to go. Unfortunately,
‘Outbound’ wasn’t. We spent the morning washing the boat and driving
into Paducah for provisions and turning in the rental car. Diesel was 15 cents a gallon
cheaper at Kentucky Dam State Park, so we motored over there to top off the whole boat bringing our total
fuel to 1,000 gallons. (We added 352.3 gallons, which cost $623.22) It was
kind of crazy to start so late, but the Kentucky Dam told us they could
take us right away if we hurried so off we went at 3:00 p.m.
As we cruised down the final part of the Tennessee toward the Ohio, I heard the pleasure yacht. ‘M/V
Rebecca Ann’ call Green Turtle Bay. That
would be Ron and Becky Tsolis, a couple that I have been following on
their Great Loop trip via the Internet. We had swapped email and expected
to meet at Green
Turtle
Bay
about Noon
today, but they were running late
due to an engine problem. We made radio contact and switched to the cell
phones. I asked where we could anchor near Paducah
and Ron suggested that as late as we would arrive, just tie up to the
single public barge at Paducah
and beg forgiveness if someone objected to our overstaying the
published 30 minute limit. We did just that and had a fine dinner at
Whaler’s Catch a short walk up the street. No one bothered us until:
29.1NM
today; 1184.4 Total
4:30 a.m. Friday Morning (Yes it was Friday the 13th !) We were awakened
with a loud knocking on the hull. It did not go away so I got up (along
with Alan and Durk) to see what was going on. A civilian told us we had to
move because they were about to launch 184 bass boats for a tournament and
they needed the barge for logistics. We made a quick deal; I said we would
not enter the Ohio River
in the dark, but we would move the boat to the very end of the small barge
and give them all the room we could. Now that we were all awake, we could
not have moved again if we wanted to because of the swarm of bass
fishermen. Most were jealous because we had hot coffee. We took some
pictures here and realized the giant paddlewheeler ‘Mississippi Queen’
was docked about 150 yards astern behind the buzz of bees.
At first light, the little boats were gone and so were we.
Departing at 6:50 a.m.
we cruised down to Lock 52 where we were held up about 30 minutes as we
and several bass boats gathered around the old lock. Did not tie to
anything, just sat there and the lock went down about 3 or 4 feet and out.
We talked to Pat Flaherty about the inverter trouble and an error in the
outside water temperature reading.
We went by Harrah’s Casino at Metropolis,
Illinois and passed over the lowered wickets of Dam 53.
There is a lot of river related work from Paducah all the way down to
Cairo, Illinois. Lots of towboats and large areas of barge fleeting. Kind of like a
floating switchyard for boats instead of trains.
About 10:50 a.m.
we passed a North bound hovercraft. It was not the same one we saw on the
Tenn/Tom, but it was flying a British flag.
At precisely
11:00 a.m.
we reached the confluence of the Ohio and the Mississippi. Finally we are into the Mighty Mississippi!
We passed several very large tows all afternoon, but the river is
so wide they are never a problem. About 4:00 p.m., we passed and talked to the Coast Guard Cutter ‘Chena’ formerly
berthed in Natchez. Nice to see the boat again. It is actually one of the buoy tenders that
the Coasties use to keep the channel marked.
We arrived at Caruthersville,
Mo and anchored in the river behind the Aztar Casino ‘City of
Caruthersville’at 6:50 p.m., exactly 12 hours running time.. It was a nice an pleasant evening and we
all went to bed early. 136.6
NM today; 1321 NM total
Saturday,
August 15th Caruthersville,
Mo to Tunica, MS We pulled the anchor
at 7:00 a.m. and worked our way slowly south until about 8:00 a.m. when the fog lifted. Normal cruise was 10 knots on the paddlewheel and the
GPS showed 13.2 knots for a 3.2 knot kick from the current. Not bad at
all.
At Osceola, Arkansas, the whole Mississippi River
was closed down for the day by a big dredge, the ‘Twila Mars’. We were
small enough to sneak by and we thanked them for their courtesy. We
noticed the traffic had lightened up but did not pay attention to it.
As we approached
Memphis, we noticed the water supply was low. Some nameless crew left the faucet
on in the guest head and 200 gallons of water had gone over the side. We
went into the Memphis Yacht Club at Mud Island to pick up water. A dredge was working inside blocking the channel, but
they had a small push boat move the discharge line out of the way both
times. We met a nice black gentleman named Jim Neeley (sp) who owned
Interstate BBQ in Memphis. Apparently very profitable. He had a 40’ cruiser and wants to go down
the river but is worried about range. Turns out he has a Newell Motor
Coach so I invited him down to the RiverView RV Park. This boat is getting
me more business for the park than I thought.
We cruised on down to Tunica where we planned to dock for the
night, but were rebuffed because we did not have ‘Coast Guard’
clearance. I showed the guy on the dock the Inland Rivers magazine
praising their new ‘marina’ to no avail. The assistant manager was
nice enough and took me up to his office and called his boss for me. She
was a by the book bureaucrat who told me that it was unfortunate but we
would have to leave. The tour boat based there told us of a place behind
one of the many dikes in the river to anchor. It was no problem, but I was
furious. Since Vidalia, La wants to build a marina on the river; I had
been looking forward to spending time at Tunica and taking lots of
pictures. We took some, but Vidalia will be more properly managed.
By the way, we passed 23 tows today
137.9
NM today; 1458 Total.
Sunday,
August 15th South
of Tunica, Ms to Greenville, Ms Yacht Club
The anchor was raised at 6:50 a.m.
and we were on the way again. Very nice day today. Alan and Durk did most
of the driving while I navigated. We have all been amazed at our luck with
the weather. It is unusually cool (only in the low 80s) and the river is
slightly falling meaning there is NO trash in it. It is like being on a
large moving lake. We passed another 20 or so tows today. We are feeling
pretty good about ourselves. We arrive at the Greenville Yacht Club on
Lake Ferguson at 6:30 p.m. Club member ‘Little David’ loaned us his
gate key so we could come and go through the security gate. The club is
located between two gambling boats so we looked over both and had dinner
in the one to the North.
We switched the boats fuel supply from the aft tanks to the forward
tanks. We have come all the way from Kentucky Dam Marina to Greenville, Ms on about 340 gallons of diesel. Excellent. (After checking the fuel
pumped into those tanks at Natchez later, the fuel burn was about 8 gallons per hour for the main engines
only. Most of the time we were turning slightly under 1500 rpms and
indicating 10 knots.) 146.6
NM today; 1603 Total
Monday,
August 16th Greenville,
MS to Vicksburg, MS
We departed the dock at 7:30 a.m.and cruised down Lake Ferguson
and were back in the Mississippi at 8:10. Last night was our first night since Green Turtle Bay to have shore
power. It was nice to give the genset a little rest. College fraternity
brother, Curt Ayers, called my cell and asked when I was going to come to Vicksburg
to see him. I told him that it was coincidental, but that we would be
there today and would like to have supper with him.
At about 11:00 a.m.
near Mile Marker 499, I was working outside and my hat blew off. Since it
was one of my favorites (From the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas ), I insisted that we go back and get it. I was teased about spending all
that diesel getting it back until the teaser was reminded about the lost
water incident north of Memphis.
We arrived Vicksburg about 3:00 p.m.
and found the Vicksburg Dock disappointing at best. We anchored in the Yazoo
River at the Recreational Dock and swung the stern to it for access.
Vicksburg has a nice, 150 or 200 yard long, paved area that slopes into the river
and it would take minimal effort to have a decent floating barge to tie
to. There is only light current in the Yazoo.
Curt was waiting for us and after a tour of the boat, he took
us on a quick tour of the famous Vicksburg Battlefield in his 4-seater
Mercedes convertible. The back seat was pretty short on leg room but we
were in style. We had a nice meal at Walnut Hill, a local favorite.
96.4
NM today; 1699 NM total.
Tuesday,
August 17th Vicksburg
to Natchez (Vidalia, La. actually)
We departed Vicksburg at 6:30 a.m. and had a nice uneventful ride down to Natchez/Vidalia. We passed the
giant LeTourneau complex south of Vicksburg where they build most of the huge offshore oil drilling platforms. A
little further down, we passed the Entergy Corp’s Grand Gulf Nuclear
Plant. We only saw about a dozen tows today, but we arrived at Natchez at Noon. Judy and Debbie met us. We were all tired and ready to get off the boat
and get lunch. The fuel truck was scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
so we had plenty of time to take a break. We returned to the boat about 2:30 p.m.
to be ready for the fuel truck. When it had not shown up by
4:00 p.m.
we called and were told it would be at least another hour, I boiled over
and cancelled the order. We then called Kaiser Fuel in Natchez who said he could be there at
8:00 a.m.
sharp on Wednesday and he was 4 cents cheaper to boot. Done! 98.6
NM today; 1798 NM total.
Wednesday,
August 18th Natchez to
Baton Rouge, La.
We had a crew change for this last part of the trip. Alan left the
boat and flew back to Texas while our friend Will Feltus replaced him. Durkin’s daughter Sally
wanted to ride to Baton Rouge. Kaiser Petroleum was on time and we filled the boat with 500 gallons at
$1.39 or $695.00 (by far the best price since way back in Biloxi in May. The aft tanks held 171 and 170 each for a total of 341 gallons
from Kentucky Dam to Greenville. We figured the engine time at 77.6 hours combined for a fuel burn rate
of 4.4 gallons per engine or about 9 gallons per running hour plus
generator time (pulling from the forward tanks). I did not think this bad
at all when we were indicating between 10 and 10.5 knots. Remember we also
got between 2 and 4 knots extra with the current which is why I was
calculating hourly burn rates instead of mpg. Old friends Phil Vasser and
Gene Dauphin came by during the refueling for a look and quick visit. I
was glad they came, but was almost too busy to be very hospitable.
We left at 9:20 a.m.
and briefly talked to the American Queen which was arriving at the Natchez
Landing. We passed nine tows enroute to Baton Rouge. There are no apparent public docks at
Baton Rouge. We were trying to find a place for Sally Durkin to go ashore. We were
turned down flat at one commercial fuel operation. Finally Economy Stone
Fuel several miles south of the I-10 Bridge reluctantly accommodated us.
You could almost hear the fear of legal lawsuits if something were to
happen when we docked. Economy Stone kept reminding us that fiberglass and
steel don’t mix and we could only stop long enough to debark our
passenger. It is a shame what the legal system has done to common
courtesy. Of course there was no place to tie up so we found a nice
location between the rock weirs and were further protected by being near a
large dredge. After anchoring, we grilled some very fine filets that Will
had brought with him along with a nice bottle of wine. 121.2
NM today; 1919.2 total
Thursday,
August 19th Today
would have been my brother, J.D.’s 60th birthday. We left our
anchorage at 7:45 a.m.
in light fog and haze compounded by sun in the eyes. After the fog lifted,
I could smell the barn so I boosted our speed to about 15knots (read 40+
gallons per hour). I justified this in my mind because we were losing
current at the river widened, deepened, and neared the gulf. We passed
several more tows and ocean going ships but not as many as I expected. At 12:30 p.m.
and Mile 150, we passed three canoes, I believe with 5 girls and a guy. We
had been told the Coast Guard was looking for them so we stopped and
talked briefly and checked with the Coast Guard and there was no problem.
Someone was trying to pass a telephone number to them. The COE workboat
‘Breton’ was arriving with it as we left. They had been paddling from Minnesota.
At 1:25 p.m.
we passed the Ocean Vessel Mark Flynn unloading salt into barges for
shipment up river. A few minutes later we passed the tow ‘Senator
Stennis’ (several days ago, we passed the ‘Wilbur Mills’)
With all our speed turned on, we arrived at the New Orleans Inner
Harbor Canal Lock and Bridge at 3:50 p.m. instead of the previously
planned 6:00 p.m. only to find the low highway bridge closed according to
its published times of 3:45-5:45 p.m. for afternoon vehicle traffic. A
little more speed and we would have made it, but all the fuel was spent
for naught. We had to tie off to a caisson and just grin and bear it. At
precisely 5:45
we locked into Inner Harbor Canal and exactly one hour later entered Lake Ponchartrain. We knew it would be well after dark by the time we got to
Madisonville but decided to go for it. It was my first venture at navigating at night
and it turned out well. I had cruised the lake and Tchefuncte River quite a bit in the early spring so I felt truly at home. Because the
computers were so bright, I went up to the fly bridge for the short trip
up the river. I was pleased to find Bridge Tender Becky on duty who
recognized us immediately when I called for an opening. Very polite and
professional. Another ten minutes and we were in Rusty Burns’ Boathouse.
Mini-Loop Closed. Rusty loaned us his truck and we went to Moreton’s
where Durk and Will treated me to dinner. 146.8
NM today; 2066 NM total for MiniLoop (2417.22 Statute Miles)
Friday,
August 20th
We spent the morning cleaning the boat (I worked on the exterior
while Durk and Will did the interior.) Jimmy Robertson arrived about
eleven to take the crew home and Judy arrived shortly thereafter. She was
very pleased to find everything almost in the same condition as when she
left the boat in Green Turtle Bay.
We
stayed on the boat until Monday, August 23rd . Sunday the 22nd
was our 40th wedding anniversary and we wanted to celebrate it
there along with a very nice luncheon at another club we belong to.
‘Outbound’
is now in the care of Rusty and Cathy Burns who will soon have it ‘back
on top’ and ready for her next adventure.
Until
next time,
Cappy
Stahlman
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