Progress report

September 8 to September 14


     Monday morning, under the watchful eyes of Jerry and Jan, we loaded the boat onto the trailer at their ramp to test the hulls for leakage. Our port hull was good after our silicon repair about a week ago, but our starboard hull had taken on a couple of gallons. I applied silicon to the usual spots, and we will check that out later. Ted and I did some cleaning of the hulls, but it is probably fruitless. The scum came off, but there is a stubborn green stain that will probably continue to grow.
     I must note that the bathrooms here are labeled INBOARD and OUTBOARD. The bathrooms at Blennerhasset Yacht Club were labeled CAPTAIN and FIRST MATE.
    We launched at 9:22 for our 23rd day on the rivers. We pedalled a relatively easy 22 miles to reach the City of Ravenswood Park and Museum at 3:30. We landed a 1/10 of a mile up Sandy Creek, which should have been named Muddy Creek since I was covered in mud to the knees by the time I made the grass above the water. Arlene suggested the docks next to the ramp a half mile downstream, so Ted and I pedalled over there and moored to the docks on the downstream side next to an unlucky catfish fisherman. Many people had read about us in their local newspapers, and came over to talk to us. Arlene fed us Subway sandwiches and headed back to the motel.


     Fog set in around midnight, and of course our tent and rainfly were wet when we packed them up at 7:00 this Tuesday morning. We launched at 8:00 and travelled 13 1/2 miles to Jacob's Landing, with no current and neutral winds, arriving at noon. Debbie, staff and customers were all interested in our quest. Debbie gave us all JACOB'S LANDING T-shirts. They won't be clean for long. Arlene was surprised to find she had local access to the internet, so I came back to her motel to make a bunch of updates. SEE ITINERARY We will go through Racine Lock and Dam tomorrow early and make 35 miles to Gallipolis to the Gallipolis Boat Club with a noon time stop halfway at the Pizza Hut dock in Pomeroy, OH. Hope the weather is favorable!

Jacob's Landing...Letart, WV. (2 photos)


    Wednesday we started early, and by 7:30 we were back out of the creek past the highway bridge and had the mast raised and the sail up. (Had to take the mast down to get into Jacob's yesterday) We pushed hard following the shore through our typical morning fog, and were at the Racine Lock quickly. I radioed ahead, and the lock gates opened just as we reached them. We only lost 13 minutes at the locks mooring pin as they lowered us 25 feet. We thanked them for their excellent service. We talked on the radio to several tows we met near the locks. The Daniel Webster was waiting for lockage, but we got through the small lock well ahead of them. An hour or so later they caught up with us, and as they passed, I radioed them and said that we were slowing down so our wake wouldn't bother them. That gave the tow's crew a big laugh. We pushed hard and arrived at the Pizza Hut dock at 11:30. (16 miles) There we met Arlene who was ready for us with McDonalds burgers, fries and shakes. (The McDonalds was next to the Pizza Hut.) At noon we continued with aching muscles and stiff knees for another 19 miles to reach Gallipolis Boat Club at 5:15. Ed, the owner showed us to a dock and gave me a cold beer. As usual our docakage was at no charge since we were on a charitable mission. All the folks we met were friendly, and we even collected $40 in contributions. Carrie, a reporter from the Gallipolis Tribune arrived and interviewed Ted, Arlene and me. After getting Ted supper we left him with the boat, and went back to Arlene's room to make these updates. With only a 1/2 mph current, I don't expect to do 35 miles in one day on the Ohio River again.

Gallipolis Boat Club


    All was quiet as we packed our gear at Gallipolis Boat Club Thursday morning. We met some folks who lost their daughter to ALS this spring, and they brought with them an article about us from the Huntington paper. At 8:30 we eased our way down the 1/4 mile creek and back to the Ohio River. At 10:30 I radioed the Robert Byrd Lock, and they said that I would have to wait for a vessel coming upstream to lock through our small lock. Most locks I have seen have a long length lock and a short length lock. We floated around near the small lock entrance for 1/2 hour till a tow, with no barges, exited the chamber. We had no sure info about our next stop. The arranged meeting spot with Arlene was at 1:30 at K Butler boat ramp. If she wasn't there at 1:30 we were to meet a mile downstream at the WV Natural Resources boat ramp. Neither existed but we spotted Arlene in her pink blouse in the woods between the non-existent ramps. She replenished our food supply, and we continued downstream looking for a nice place to camp. Swan Creek, on the Ohio side was only a foot wide. A half mile downstream on the WV bank, the Little Guyandot River looked navigable, but our mast would not clear the overhanging tree branches, and also the banks were steep. A mile further down at 4:30, we chose a sandy beach on the WV side of the river, and tied off the boat with two lines to keep the boat perpendicular to the beach. Our 200 yard long beach was surrounded by thick thorny woods, so we felt safe leaving our gear on shore. At 6:00 I could hear a lawn mower in the distance, and someone was shooting a rifle elsewhere. The dozen or so shots left me a little nervous, but I knew the access to our beach was very difficult by land. We went to bed at 7:30 expecting a cold night. Tow wakes rocked us gently through the night.
    Friday we were up at 6:30 and left our warm tent to pack up in the chilly air. We were sluggish and didn't launch until 8:00. We fought off and on headwinds till at 12:15, a half mile from our destination, the wind shifted to a tail wind. We sacrificed the boost and turned into Showboat Marina for docking. A total of 34 miles for two days. After a meal at the marina we left Ted with the boat, so I could get back to the motel to do internet updates, and plan our next stops.
    Saturday morning at Showboat Marina in Huntington, WV the fog was thick so we delayed our departure, but I got impatient and we left at 9:20 in thick fog.

Showboat Marina

We hugged the shoreline with visibility at only 100 yards. It was a dreamy experience. Everything was quiet and calm. Just before we reached the Guyandotte River we veered around the Lighthouse Marina and were greeted by a handful of mariners who were surprised by our ghostly image emerging near their docks. We stopped at their dock to talk to them, and they gave us coffee and fig newtons. (exactly what we needed) They warned us of heavy traffic near Catlettsburg (our next stop). We couldn't dally to long, so we shoved off in the dense fog. As we approached the Guyandotte River, I turned on the GPS to make sure we didn't accidently follow the Guyandotte, but we could barely make out the shore line across the Guyandotte, and we crossed it's mouth to continue up the WV shore line of the Ohio. We guessed the tows didn't travel in the fog since the water was calm and quiet. I really enjoyed this morning. After a couple of hours the fog cleared and tow traffic picked up. By the time we were near Catlettsburg tows and workboats were buzzing all around us, and we had to concentrate on staying clear of them. At 12:30 Troy, the dockmaster at Catlettsburg Boat Club, helped us tie up on an inner dock which was well protected by two sets of docks from the wakes of the tows working on the river. He let us dock for free, and we unloaded our gear onto the docks.

Catlettsburg Boat Club


    We took Ted to the motel for a shower, and plan to get a meal before we take him to the 5:30 mass at a church in Ashland, KY. (Goodbye West Virginia. Hello Kentucky. We are just across the border.)
    After returning to the docks at Catlettsburg, Theresa Moore, a reporter for the Ironton Tribune came by for an interview. We left Ted with Troy, the man in charge of the docks, so they could tell their tales, and I returned to the motel with Arlene to do internet updates.
    Sunday morning the sky was clear. We arranged to meet Arlene at Castle Marina (15 miles down) to restock our supplies with enough food to allow us to make it through the night. Our destination was to be as far as we could make it, but not beyound Greenup Lock and dam. Castle Marina was not operational anymore, but we spotted Arlene on the shore amidst the weedy, rocky bank, and she shouted out from the shore that we could land a couple miles down near the mouth of the Little Sandy River.

Getting supplied at the Little Sandy River


    There she gave us Subway sandwiches for lunch and supper plus more food for the next day. After a 22 mile day we pulled into Ginat's Run, a little bay on the Ohio shore which is home to the Holiday Point Marina. We were warmly greeted by many mariners and directed to the dockmaster, Phil Hand. Several people offered to pay our dock fee, but Phil said it was on the house. This was a beautiful marina on the edge of the Franklin Furnace, Ohio. Jim and Muriel, Don and Janet, and several others made donations to the ALS Association. We were docked next to Randy and Rose who made us feel at home. They loaned Ted their cell phone to make long distance calls to his relatives. They also invited us aboard their houseboat (Tons of Fun) for refreshments and conversation in their air conditioned living room. Lucky, the dock cat, even nuzzled up to me for pets and rubs. She knew I missed our housecats.
    Signs in the marina said that Greenup lock was under repair and that pleasure boats could lock through only at 8 am and 5 pm. Rose said she would have coffee for us in the morning, and even offered breakfast. She was a great person who recently lost her only son to a heart attack. Muriel has a nephew who has ALS and mows lawns for senior citizens even in his condition. We turned in by 9 pm in anticipation of an early start to make the Geenup Lock schedule.



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