Progress report

October 13 to October 19


    Monday, the temperature dropped to 42, and we put on our neopreme booties before launching into shifting fog. From the weather reports we were expecting 10 mph headwinds, but they never materialized. Light breezes barely affected our progress. I know. Another boring day, but you wait. Nothing is predictable. The chills had influenced the trees and shrubbery to show their autumn colors. Crimson, rust, purple, oranges and yellows flashed in the sunlight as we passed the dense foliage lining the river banks. Our rhythmic slash, splash, sploosh, sploosh of the paddlewheels was only interupted occaisionally as we stopped to talk to curious passing boaters. Some had heard of our journey, and others said we needed an engine on that little thing. I thought we only had 21 miles to our next port, but at 19 miles I checked the charts and found it was actually to be a 26 mile trek. Oh well things were going well. It wouldn't be too much longer.
    Of course, I was wrong. Six miles from our destination, Birdsville ,KY, our starboard paddlewheel started clacking, as one of the blades started hitting the frame. We tried adjusting the location of the crankshaft mounts, and I shaved the edge of the offending paddlewheel blade. Nothing helped, and it just got worse when two blades started clacking against the frame. The crank to hub connection was wobbly. I thought the inner spline was cracked, and Ted thought the inside of the crankshaft tube had expanded allowing the slop. Anyway, we had to pull the starboard paddlewheel out of the water and let it ride as a passenger on the forward beam. Frendly fishermen noticed us working on the boat as we drifted down the river in the 1 mph current. They offered all kinds of assistance, but we said we were OK. We weren't desperate and did not want a tow.
    With only the port paddlewheel we took turns pedalling onward. The wind became slightly favorable, so we raised the sail and got a little assistance for a few miles. When the sail wouldn't help I paddled with our spare canoe paddle while Ted pedalled. We limped into Birdsville recreation area where Arlene was waiting. We had a terrible time trying to find a good mooring at the difficult landing. Ted and I agreed that we would switch to the steel crankshafts for the remainder of the trip. Although they don't mount as conveniently, and are heavier, they are strong, and we have lots of spare parts for them. I removed the mounts for the aluminum system while Ted set up the tent. Tomorrow we will bring the trailer with parts down to the landing and mount the steel and redwood system.
     5:00 am Tuesday...The rain was coming down heavy, and the winds were blowing hard. The rain diminished a little later. We hooked up the trailer, in a light drizzle, and headed off to Birsdsville to repair the boat. After passing through several squalls we arrived at the boat where we lucked into a break in the weather, and picked up Ted from the tent, and got him into the car before another squall hit. Our tent, which was strapped to the deck, was contorting with the wind, and one of the rainfly straps had come loose. Even after securing the rainfly, the 35 mph gusts were stressing the tent frame. The river water was warm compared to the windy chill blowing down the river. Ted was disappointed that we couldn't go out and surf the waves created by the squalls. He said we could make it to Cairo (70 miles) today. I agreed that we would make fast time, but we would probably end up ramming the gates of the Smithland Lock (three miles downriver). The whitecapping 3 foot waves were not very appealing to either of us, and we agreed to take the day off.
    After a breakfast at a diner in Smithland we drove to Paducah, Ky and spent several hours getting Ted set up with a new vision prescription and two pairs of eyeglasses. The eyeglasses took longer than expected, and we didn't get back to the boat until 4 pm. The winds had finally calmed, and our replacement of the crankshafts and paddlewheels was done just before dark. The tent had held up to the fierce winds, but we shifted the gear to the windward side of the tent. After Ted was secure in the tent, Arlene and I drove the trailer back to Paducah.

Birdsville, KY


    Wednesday the temperature was chilly, but the winds were calm at 5:00 am, so we headed out early to meet Ted. The water had risen a foot and some of our gear on shore was getting splashed by gentle swells from a passing tow. The chilly air made us hurry our stowing of the gear, so we could launch and dry our feet. Arlene gave us a towel, and she held our line from the dock, as we dried our feet. About 1 1/2 hours later we went through Smithland Lock. The lockmaster asked us to use channel 6 instead of the usual channel 13. I stayed on channel 6 as we exited the lock and heard an upbound tow and the lockmaster communicating. After they discussed who we were, the tow captain said that we would probably get run over by a forty-barge package on the lower Mississippi. I believe, that if we could have talked for a while, he would have thought differently. After punching through five mph headwinds all day, we passed the mouth of the Tennessee River and made it to the City of Paducah Landing at 2:15. Arlene had called the local newspapers, and a reporter from the Paducah Sun was soon there. After the interview, Arlene took Ted to the motel for a shower, and then got him supper.

Paducah, KY


    Thursday we launched at 8:15, and on our way to lock 52 a mussel collector in his homemade boat pulled up along side of us. Cascading down from rails on both sides of his boat were lines decorated with hook like appendages down the line's length. They were dull hooks, and the fisherman told me the mussels grabed on to them. I am sorry I didn't spend more time investigating the procedure. His boat and our boat were similar in that they were both bought at Home Depot. Light breezes didn't hamper our three mile trip to Lock 52 where the gates were open when we arrived. This lock (the last we will descend) was the oldest lock we had seen on the Ohio River. The lock was an 8 foot drop, and we were soon on our way to meet Arlene at Joppa, IL. The wind picked up as we passed Metropolis, IL. Our westerly progress was hindered by the southwesterly winds that shifted about. After an hour the winds shifted enough to allow us to raise the sail and generally maintain a tight reach. We fought the 15 to 20 mph winds, crashing through 2 foot surf for 3 hours, and reached the Joppa Ramp at 12:45 where Arlene was waiting with a carry-out hot meal. We agreed that the troubled seas and high wind that was shifting to a headwind, were good reasons to stop after only 16 miles. A good beach (with solid sand and nearby trees for mooring) was near the ramp. At that time several tows with strings of barges were parked just offshore, and they blocked the heavy seas from getting to our beach. I had plenty of time after camp was set up to get back to Paducah to get on the internet.

Ramp at Joppa, IL


    Friday...Light rains had fallen during the night, and mist with dreary dark skies was our main course for the day. But, soon after we launched at 8:00 a.m. an eight mph wind from the north was added to our plate. Fortunately our course was west by northwest for four miles and then southwest for 18 more to reach Mound City boat ramp. The wind didn't hinder our progress in the first four miles, and the current was running about 2-3 mph. We reached Lock 53 in good time and noticed that the dam was not in sight. We radioed the lock for instructions, and they agreed that we should sail out to where the dam should be and follow the red channel buoys. We had delayed raising the sail until we were clear of the lock, and now it was time, especially since the river was turning to the west. (Soon it would be going southwest.) The north winds held and were variable from 8 to 12 mph. Our speed picked up and the pedalling effort diminished and stopped at times when the wind liked us. The GPS had our speed at 5 to 7.2 mph. The mist and chilly air continued to hound us, but we added more clothing and continued our paddle sailing.
    We made good time and were a half mile from Mound City when our little craft ground to a halt on a gravel bar that extended 400 yards offshore. We were only 100 yards out of the channel and were surprised at the grounding. (The charts did not indicate a dike there.) We had to walk the boat 25 yards closer to the channel to get off the rocks. As I was pulling the boat from the front it pulled free, a gust of wind came up, and the current caused the boat to run over me. I hung on and only got wet from the waist down. We landed next to the ramp at 11:50. (22 miles in 3 hours and 50 minutes) That was quick. We beat Arlene to the ramp. An ample supply of large rocks made it easy to create mooring tie offs in the absense of trees. We unloaded the boat in the misty, windy conditions, and to break the chill, we decided to walk up to Mound City.
    Up Ohio St. and on to its intersection with Main St. we walked. I posted Ted at the corner to watch for Arlene, while I roamed main street looking for coffee or hot chocolate. I found a bar open, and they told me that the electrical supply store that I had passed might have coffee. I went back there and the lady at the desk didn't have coffee, but she gave us hot chocolate and a donation to the ALS Association. As I was bringing the hot chocolate to Ted he entered the store and said Arlene was here. We went back to the bar and had lunch. Then we drove back to the boat and sat in the car with the heater blowing full blast to warm us up while the tent dried on the roof of the car. When we went back to the boat to set up the tent we found the water had risen 4 inches. After pitching the tent we moved our mooring rocks and our boat higher up on the shore. The temperature is supposed to get down to 38 degrees tonight, so we left Ted with the zero degree, down filled, mummy bag.


Our last stop on the Ohio River...Mound City ramp

    Tomorrow we expect to pass Cairo in the morning and land at Wickliffe, KY on the Mississippi River before noon so we can get Ted to the church on time. It'll be goodbye to Illinois and the Ohio River and hello to Missouri and the Mississippi River.
    Saturday, the water had risen another nine inches, but our moorings were holding fine. With only 11 miles to travel, we left late at 9:45. The sun was out and the morning warmth was a pleasant change. A three mph current whisked us along to Cairo past islands of barges and tows working around them.


Passing Cairo...On to the Mississippi


    Soon after entering the Mississippi River at 11:15 two tows with large loads passed us going upstream, and they raised three foot swells that made our sailing a rollercoaster ride. In no time we reached Wickliffe boat ramp. It was surrounded by a rocky shore, but a hundred yards down we found a muddy beach, between the rocks, to land on. We piled rocks to make our mooring tie-offs. A local walked the 100 yards from the ramp down the rocky and packed mud shore to greet us. We chatted a little a while about our journey, but as we continued to set up camp, he wandered off. After setting up, as we approached the car, ready to depart, the local fellow came driving back to the ramp and stopped his truck near me. He opened his window and urgently wanted to know if we were taking the new river or the old river. I didn't know, so I brought out my charts and asked him to show me. He pointed out where there was a large whirlpool that ate logs. It was near dikes and well out of our sailing line. I thanked him for the information.


Wickliffe


    After setting up the tent and stowing our gear it was back to Cairo (prounounced Kay-row around here) to get showers, eat a meal and drive Ted to the Catholic church in Cairo. After church we drove Ted and his zero degree bag back to our mooring, at dusk. By flashlight we returned to the boat, checked the moorings, and got Ted packed into the tent.
    Sunday, was our first full day on the Mississippi. Our attention was heightened as we added dikes and whirlpools to our plate and were finished with the locks. The only whirlpools we encountered were weak. They had a mirror face surrounded by turbulent water. Even the 5 mph headwinds didn't spoil their finish. When they were frequent we constantly adjusted the tillers, and we resolved to fix our sticky steering box. Even with the mild headwinds we were able to make good time, and made 30 miles to Hickman harbor at 1:30. The ramp was 3/4 mile up the harbor. After passing strings of tows moored in the harbor, we met Arlene at the ramp where she was waiting with chicken dinners. We didn't have a good mooring near the ramp, so we crossed the harbor to a dry beach with a convenient tree to tie off to. By the time we had the tent set up, the mosquitos came out of the woods in swarms. We hurried to the safety of our tent and watched the fish jumping out of the water for their evening feeding.


Temporary landing at Hickman Harbor... We moved across the bay to the trees for the night.



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