Progress report
Nov 10 to Nov 16
Monday...A half hour after we launched at 6:30 the sun crept from the horizon, shyly peeking
through the haze over the Mississippi shore. Last night we had learned the secret of finding solid sandy beaches with the
right slope for mooring. There wasn't a square foot of sand on our last beach that didn't have deer tracks. The animals know
where the good beaches are. The sights are enchanting when we stop pedalling and drift along the shoreline while our aching
legs take a break. This afternoon, after pedalling 35 miles into light headwinds, we found a small bay with lots of deer
tracks and set up camp early,at 2:30. We casually unpacked for the night and enjoyed the serne sounds and sights of the
River. With no tows around you could hear slight gurgles and a sound like sheets whipping in the wind. The winds had calmed,
and the river had a glimmering sheen that reflected the setting sun like a glistening bridge across the river. The evening is
clear and a planet has made its appearance in the western sky at only 5:45. A coyote just gave a lonely appeal to the forest,
and now a band of companions a mile away have started a jamboree. Ted was snoring, but now he's up to brush his teeth
before we go to sleep.
Tuesday morning at 5:00 I was sorry Ted couldn't hear the hooting of owl that pierced the hazy
moonlit morning. A barking, coming from a hundred yards, away was neither dog nor coyote. It stopped when I unzipped the tent
door to take a look. Since we only had 13 miles to get to Natchez we dallied in our packing, and didn't launch till 7:00.
Headwinds at 3 to 8 mph and slow currents made our trip take 3 hours. As we neared the Natchez boat ramp it was obvious that
there was no landing nearby. The revetment along the shore, for miles on both sides of the ramp, was made of large boulders.
There was no refuge from the large wakes created by the passing barges. I could see Arlene on shore, and I hoped she had
brought the trailer. She did bring breakfast, which Ted and I ate while holding the boat in the water off the ramp. Arlene
returned to the motel and brought the trailer back to us. We pitched the tent on the boat on the trailer in the parking lot.
Ted and I got showers, we ate buffet at Ryan's, and Ted called the local press. We left Ted with clean bedding and clothes
at the boat, and Arlene and I returned to the motel. Arlene told me tonight that friends of Vernon had seen alligators in
this area. Last night I interpreted a wavy groove, amidst a muddle of tracks leading down the beach to the water, as
some hapless creature being dragged by coyotes. Maybe I was wrong.
Natchez, MS...No mooring available...had to use the trailer
Wednesday morning we arrived early at the ramp with plenty of provisions and breakfast. The
Mississippi Queen, a cruise ship, was moored near the ramp and looked as if it might be blocking the ramp. Its unloading
ramp lead down to the boat ramp partially blocking access, but what was worse was its mooring lines ran across the ramp blocking
our access. She had come in around midnight and wasn't scheduled to leave until 5:00 this evening. We had an unexpected day
off. The winds were coming from the south anyway. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to change and winds from the north are
predicted to be 13 mph with a 20 degree temperature drop. We won't miss the headwinds and will be happy to have tailwinds.
While I was waiting for Ted and Arlene to relieve me from my morning shift of watching the boat, the Mississippi Queen captain
came by and talked to me about our craft and journey. He also told me the next cruise ship was expected in about a day and a
half. I hope we are launched before then. Maybe we will make some 40 mile days.
Natchez, MS...Launch ramp blocked by Mississippi Queen mooring lines.
We watched the Mississippi Queen launch at sunset. Her steam caliopes were playing old southern
tunes as she meandered upstream a bit to be able to make a clear turn about and head downstream from Natchez. Dusk rapidly
retreated as the sound of the caliopes faded down the river.
Thursday...Today's high of 61 was reached shortly after midnight according to the weatherman
on the morning news. We had the boat packed and off the trailer into the water by 7:00. A ten mph north wind sped us
away from Natchez. Soon the winds picked up to 15 mph gusting to 25 mph. We were plowing through two-foot surf with
water spraying over the hulls. Even though it was 60 degrees, our wet feet felt cold in the wind. As the forward part
of the hulls began to submerge, due to the fury of the wind in our little sail. I lept to the rear of the windward hull.
While Ted steered us through the surf, I clung to the boat as far to the rear as I could for hour after hour. The seas
were spraying over me as I yelled navigation instructions to Ted. The wind became so strong, it was necessary to start moving
Ted to windward with me whenever the sail jibed. (changed to the other side of the boat) That was awkward since Ted
can't move real fast. On one jibe the cushion on Ted's seat went overbord, and when I noticed it was gone, I looked
around and spotted it 200 yards upriver. We did a few scary manuevers in the high wind and managed to recover it in
minutes. At 12:30 the winds calmed for an hour with light puffs coming from different directions every few minutes. At
1:30 the winds were generally favorable but not real strong. At one point during the stronger winds I noted a mile
marker on the river and checked the charts for it. We had been travelling so fast I hadn't turned to the next chart
before I was there. When I flipped the page I saw in my bold lettering LOOK OUT FOR DIKES at Jackson Point. I looked ahead
on the river, and there they were. With the strong winds it was easy to cross to the other side of the river to avoid
them. We landed at 3:30 just beyond the three outfalls of the Mississippi River. The outfalls are used to carry excess
water out of the Mississippi and send it to the Atchafalya. We had done 52 miles in 8 1/2 hours. We wished we had more
daylight, as we did early on in this mission. The temperatures tonight are expected to be in the thirties. We have
everything we can wear on and are ready for bed. We probably won't want to get out of our sleeping bags in the morning.
Friday...Launch 6:50 Land 3:15
After setting up camp this afternoon, I did my usual exploration of the area. The beach
on our sandbar was long, but the forest began ony a couple hundred feet away from the water. The long thin sandbar yielded
many fresh tracks, considering the windy weather we had yesterday which was blowing wisps of sand into a hazy mist during
yesterday's wild ride. (Today was medium to mild headwinds). The tracks I saw were made last night or today. The
usual purposeful coyote tracks crossed a racoon's trail from the woods to the water's edge. The coon followed the edge
of the river and then meandered back to the forest. You could see where a heron made a clumsy landing and then walked
off leaving giant three fingered impressions in a line down the beach. Soon I came across 6-inch wide wavy impressions
leaving the water climbing the slope of the beach up to hardpacked ground above. The uphill track was wavier than the
downhill sled run. In half a dozen places I saw more of these that varied in width from 4 to 8 inches and paw prints
showed regularly on either side of drag marks. When I returned to our camp, Ted was cleaning the sand off his feet
with his shirt tail. He said, "You gotta improvise." We listened to the weather channel and heard we
would have 10 mph headwinds for the next three days. We did 30 miles today and ate a lot of food. Today a tow captain
told us that the working channel would switch from 13 to 67 at mile number 242. Early in the afternoon the Feliciana
Parish Sheriffs pulled alongside of us in their boat and asked if we were having problems. Ted responded with "Would
you please arrest these headwinds." Someone had called them to report our boat was adrift. I could understand their
take on us. The sheriff had travelled 25 miles from St. Franscisville to investigate the report.
Saturday...At 4:30 this morning I rolled over to my back hoping to catch a little more sleep
before 5:00. I thought Ted would wake me then. The cold damp air had us deep in our sleeping bags. I was startled when
I awoke and saw the sky was beginning to light. It was 5:57 and we both had been sleeping soundly. We scrambled
to pack and get moving. We had a late launch at 7:15. We struggled against 10 mph headwinds for three hours and
barely made 8 miles of progress. Just before noon we finished 15 miles and near the St Francisville Ferry.
Arlene was waiting for us. We met several people including a fellow named Chuck who agreed to come back at 5:15 to
give Ted a lift to church. (Arlene had a one hour trip to make back to her motel in Port Allen). Arlene replenished
our stores and took us to town to eat lunch. Later we met a felow named Clayton who had connected to our story, via the
catsailor forum at catsailor.com. He and his wife Ellen made a donation to the cause, and he said he would make
a post on the forum to say he had seen us here. The beach we are moored at is frenquented by many fisherman. A
fellow drove his radio control dune buggy around, and another fellow brought his dog down to do some bird retrieval
training. The dog was enthusiastic at first, but after a few shots were fired at the practice bird the dog ran
away and hid in the woods. It is growing dark and Ted has left to catch his ride to the church. By the way,
yesterday was the last day we were flanked by Mississippi. From now on it's all Louisinana.
St. Francisville, LA...moored near the ferry landing
Sunday we were up at 5:00 and did our packing quickly. We were ready before it was light enough
to launch. We enjoyed a fiery sunrise and set off at 6:30 under skies that grew steadily cloudier. The morning was warm and
muggy, with light winds from the south. For a moment I thought I smelled salt water, but it was probably my anxious
imagination. The seagulls are becomng more profuse lately. For the first three hours we made 4 mph, and it looked as if we
might make the 32 miles to Baton Rouge today. As we entered the outskirts of Baton Rouge, the shores were lined with barges,
and not much of the shoreline was visible. We found a sandy shore next to a quarry, and after mooring I walked a half mile
through the quarry operations to get to a road and call Arlene. Arlene's warning of pending thunderstorms convinced me to take the
mast down for the night. Being that we were on private property this made a safe landing. We had to get Arlene's car out of
the area before they locked the gate.
Baton Rouge, LA ...private landing next to quarry
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