ORE 12 final

Here's the final from the Ohio River Excursion with some river photos.

ORE 11

Monday evening

Back home. We stayed in coyote cove last night, but didn't hear the coyotes. Dawg said the Rich's snoring scared them all away.

We had a wonderful trip. The Ohio is a beautiful river. It is largely undeveloped along the portion we traveled, so other than the locks, it looks pretty much the same as it did 200 years ago.

Here's a few more photos of the participants......................

ORE 10

Saturday

We had another great day on the river. Saw 5 more eagles.

I called the Smithland lock from about 2 miles upstream, and the lockmaster said bring it on in. No wait. So we were out at the entry to the Cumberland at 3 pm. Too soon to stop. So we decided to boogie up the Cumberland, and try to get into Barkley Lake. As we exited the lock, we could see John's J-34 motoring into Green Turtle Bay. I called him on the VHF, but no response. About ten minutes later, he returned my call. Someone else heard me on the VHF, and called John on his cell phone to tell him to call me back on the VHF.

He agreed to come over to Cow Bay and raft up again. So we traveled 99 miles yesterday.

By dark-thirty, we were tied up next to four sailboats, listening to John and his guitar.

Sunday

Saw wild turkeys walking along the shore this morning. Lots of wildlife this trip. Eagles and ospreys, deer along the banks. Beaver swimming by us at anchorages. Coyotes howling at night, jumping carp, and of course, snakes and frogs.

We're staying one more night, and then heading home Monday. It will probably take me a month to clean up the boat after Dawg and Rich.

Dawg (who has single handedly kept the Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer company in business the last 40 years) has beer hidden all over the boat. Every little nook and crannies has a PBR stashed in it. He did that on all the sailboats we used to race. I would try to limit the number of beers he could bring along, and of course he saw that as a challenge. So he hid them everywhere. We started calling them "joeys", because every time you opened a pouch, there was a PBR. Last month, at the Eagle Creek sailing club, Dawg was running low on beer. He walked down the dock to an S-2 7.9 that we had raced and I had sold 5 years ago searching for a "joey."

John took us out sailing today on his J Boat. Tonight we're headed back to coyote bay. We figure with Rich sleeping outside, the smell should draw more coyotes.

ORE 9

Friday

Sorry, no photos to post today. At least none that would not be considered inappropriate. (Dawg pulled his bathing suit up tight to look like a sumo wrestler. The mental image of that should be enough. You're spared the actual photo.)

Left Evansville about 8:45 and started back southbound. It was 170 miles from Kentucky Dam Marina to the Inland Marina. We took on fuel and water here. Downstream, we make about 1.2 mph more going the same rpm's.

We listened to the barge traffic on channel 13 and figured out that there were 6 towboats within 10 miles of us. We got to the John T. Myers lock at 3:00 pm. I called the lockmaster, and requested that we be locked through. She replied that she had one north bound in the chamber and two more waiting. we knew there were 3 not far behind us. I asked her if she would let us ride down when she emptied the chamber for the next north bound. She called the north bound tow, the "Sandy Drake" and asked if he could leave room for us to get by at the lower gate. He radioed us and asked us what size we were. I told him 25' by 8'. He agreed to stop short. The lockmaster told us to get in behind the exit wall and be ready to come in when the north bound came out. I've never been so close to the gates when a barge was coming out. After he was out, we were in and tied up as the gates closed. At the other end, we just cleared the Sandy Drake, and we through by 3:45 instead waiting a very, very, very long time.

We've seen several eagles, including three today. One was sitting on a sandbar. And speaking of sandbars, we saw a woman sunbathing topless on a sandbar. She was laying face down on a blanket, but Dawg swore she was topless. I guess it's not a code after all.

This entire stretch of the Ohio only has one highway bridge over it--at Shawnee town.

When I came down the Illinois River a few years ago, I learned about Asian Carp. It's a species not native to the U.S. They came here in ballast tanks like zebra mussels. The carp grow quite large, and jump several feet out of the water. It appears they've made it to the Ohio. Today, we saw the latest sport. We saw five guys on a big johnboat with about a 50 hp outboard. They had the motor tilted up a little and making a large wake. Evidently, the Asian Carp like the wake, and were jumping behind the boat like dolphin. There must have been 20 carp following along with the johnboat, jumping several feet in the air. So, the sport of it was this.................the the guys were standing up and shooting the carp in midair with a bow and arrow. And yes, we saw them get one. Captain Ahab Dawg stood on the transom with his harpoon the rest of the day, but we didn't see any jumping carp.

We're anchored tonight behind Cincinnati Island. I imagine that two guys swimming naked might seem suspicious. But three guys swimming naked................that's normal.

It rained tonight during the card game, but it had stopped by the time Rich put up the tarps in the steerage section.

Dawg brought the plague on board at the start of the excursion. Rich caught it, and now it's my turn.

T, D, & R

ORE 8

Thursday Evening

We left My Vernon about 8 am, and cruised on towards Evansville. There are not many bridges over the Ohio in this area. As we neared the railroad bridge near Henderson, KY, a train was crossing.

We made to Evansville about 2 pm. Lots of industry and barge traffic just before town, but the downtown riverfront is nice. Complete with a typical casino boat.

The casino is built to look like a paddle wheeler, but it's just a barge moored to the shore.

We're staying at Inland Marina in Evansville. When we arrived, we plugged into shore power, turned on the AC, and took a nap. (Ninety degrees today.) They had us stay tied to the fuel dock--next to the gas pumps and the fuel storage tank. We decided it might not be in our best interest to grill steaks off the back of the boat, so we walked up the hill to The Tin Fish for dinner. They said it was "seafood". Seems to me it should be called "river food".

After we took showers, we discovered Dawg and I matched--almost.

This is the turn around point. We start southbound tomorrow. I have red and green clips above the helm to remind the boys which side the buoys and marks should be on. I switched them tonight.

T, D, & R

ORE 7

Wednesday

We passed by the confluence of the Wabash and Ohio today.

We had been concerned about getting through the John T Myers lock. There's construction on the auxiliary chamber, so everything must go through the main chamber. We heard towboats on the VHF talking about waiting there. Our timing was perfect, and we were able to lock through with no delay.

Listening to the tow boat captains talking is a hoot. They have a whole different language. There's only north bound and south bound. There's only right or left descending banks. When they meet, it's one whistle or two. "See you on the one" means we'll pass port side to port side. When one tow is coming up behind another, it's '"don't get 'er in my tater box. We've heard them say "naked girl on the sandbar" but we don't know what that's code for. I'm now sure it is a code for something other than the literal translation since we searched every sandbar within ten miles.

As we cruise along, Dawg sometimes rides on the roof. I can keep track of him by his shadow.

My Quimby's guide said there was a "courtesy dock" in Mt Vernon, IN. I called the phone number listed and asked the mayor if we could stay the night there. "No problem" I also asked if there were any restaurants in walking distance. "Several"

When we got there, the "Courtesy dock" was a small finger next to the launching ramp. We decided to stay anyway, and tied up. Not much later, a towboat ran his barges up on the shore just down the way from us. Not sure if he meant to do that, or if we were lucky and he just missed us. I'm hoping they had a crew change, or restocking their supplies.

Then the trouble started. Some obnoxious guy in a Baja came roaring into the "Courtesy" dock, and started shouting at us that this was no where to "park" our boat. If we wanted to park, we should go to a sandbar. (he inserted another word that starts with an "F" in between every other word throughout his ranting.) He continued shouting as us as he walked up to get his truck and trailer. Then as he tried to get his boat on the trailer, he hit a rock, which didn't help his surly mood. He got off the rock, and said he was going to ram our boat, because we caused him to hit the rock. (The whole time, we're sitting on a park bench up the hill.) He took off out in the river, and came charging back towards our boat. He turned at the last minute, and caused a large wake , but no damage. He finally got on the trailer and drove away, still shouting obscenities and pointing a finger at us. (I'm not really sure it was his pointer finger.) "Courtesy" dock indeed.

I've been down the Illinois, the Mississippi, the Tennessee, the Cumberland, the Gulf coast, parts of the East coast, and lots of other waterfront places, and have met a lot of friendly people--never anyone like this guy.

after we were sure our new Baja friend was gone, we walked into town and had dinner at Koodie Hoo's bar and grill. Back to the boat for a not so restful night--wondering what might happen next. It was good to get back out on the peaceful river Thursday morning.

T, D, R

ORE 6

Still Tuesday

This afternoon, we came to Cave-In-Rock. It's a state park in Illinois. The story is that river pirates ambushed river boats from there.

We got a little closer to shore, and I thought "We've already hit a rock today--why not go on in." So we did.

Dawg jumped off and tied us up.

The cave is larger inside than it appears.

As we were leaving, I was wading along the shore to untie us when I heard an animal making a squealing noise. I looked in the rocks next to me and saw a giant snake with a frog in it's mouth. Upon seeing the snake, and wanting to do all I could to save the frog, I screamed, and jumped up and ran into the water in an effort to scare the snake and make it drop the frog. I'm not sure if my efforts were successful or not. (I could no longer seer the snake from inside the boat.)

We're anchored behind an island just across the river from Cave-In-Rock

T, D, & R

ORE 5

Tuesday

After the grounding and delay through the Smithland lock, we had a great day. The river and surrounding country side is beautiful.

We met several barges, all of which were 3 wide by 5 long. We stayed clear. At one point, we were overtaking one barge while meeting another.

I took a chance and let Rich and Dawg drive for a while--after all, we had already hit a rock.

Last night, we set Rich up in the "steerage" quarters. The tarps kept the morning dew off...........................mostly. His snoring still rattled the boat. Really roughing it--laptop, PDA, cell phone, GPS, etc,etc,etc

When we arrived at our anchorage, we all jumped in for a swim. I suppose three guys swimming naked might look suspicious.

Afterwards, we were sitting on deck when Dawg noticed a large fish swimming close to the boat. Then we looked around, and saw that we could have walked across the water on all the fish. Large gar and carp. Dawg decided we should have fish for dinner, so he secured a knife to the end of the boat hook, and became Captain Ahab.

We did have fish for dinner. Salmon

T D & R

ORE 4

Monday

Last night, about 3 am, we were awakened by the sound of a coyote howling on the shore about 20 yards away from us.

Dawg and I both bathed in the lake this morning.

Might be the last of the clear water.

Rich arrived about 11:15, and we were waiting for him at KDM.

I called the lockmaster at Kentucky Lake Lock, and was told there were three tow boats and barges waiting. It would be several hours before we go lock through. We decided to go through the canal and out the Cumberland River. Got through immediately, and were on the Cumberland at 1:30.

There's 30 miles of nothing on the Cumberland between Barkley and the Ohio.

Got to the Smithland lock on the Ohio about 5 pm and the lockmaster told us it would be about 2.5 hours. We decided to anchor and spend the night behind a nearby island.

Tuesday morning as we motored out from behind the island, we were in 20 feet of water, when the depth alarm went off. Before I could stop, we hit a rock. Twenty feet to less than two feet in the blink of an eye. the current was strong, and holding us against the rock. Dawg and Rich used the boat hooks to try to push us off. Finally after using one motor, we were able to get free. We checked the props, and didn't see much damage, and so far, we're not sinking. Lucky for the crew, I was driving at the time, so there were no floggings.

Got to the Smithland lock about 9 am and had to wait on three barges to go through before us.

Through the lock at 11:30

Beautiful area of the country along the Ohio.

Tom, Dawg, Rich

ORE 3

Sunday 8-23-09

We left the raft-up about 10 am, and motored down the western shore of Kentucky Lake. I've been coming here in sailboats for maybe 30 years, but haven't spent much time on the western side because it's so shallow. As we motored along the shore, I saw a house that looked vaguely familiar. I'm pretty sure it's the one my family rented back in the 70's. I had taken a photo of my grandparents back then that's hanging on the wall at home. Rascal the cat walked along the railing.

Dawg and I are still waiting for Rich to arrive, so we anchored in a small cove to spend the night. We played backgammon for a while, and I was the runner up to the world championship. We watched a pair of eagles at the end of the cove for quite a while. I'm sure you'll find them in this photo.

At the end of the day, a solitary sailboat flying only a spinnaker ghosted by.

T

ORE 2

Saturday, we anchored in Cow Creek. Some of our sailing pals came in and invited us to sail with them, so we went out on Bennett's Islander 28. Great wind and a great time.

Later, we rafted up with Bennett, Rick, Anne & John, and Beanie.

We all grilled dinner, and as the night progressed, this photo of Rick pretty much sums up the activities.

That's for everyone but me of course, since I quit drinking.

I brought my ukulele on this trip, and I thought I might play a few tunes before John started playing his guitar. Sort of an opening act. However, my ukulele doesn't sound nearly as good to me as it did before I quit drinking. Neither does my singing. I even bought a device to help me tune the ukulele, but that didn't help much either. There must be something that works on your ears the way beer goggles work on your eyes. "Beer Ears" -- things sound better when you're drinking.

The good news is that John's guitar playing just gets better every year. He is truly amazing. No beer ears needed. He sits on the stern rail, in the dark, drinking Schlitz beer, and never misses a lick. He put on another great performance for us. Listening to him play is worth the drive to get here.

Rich is due to arrive Monday morning, and we will begin the river excursion then. As we drove over the dam on Kentucky Lake, we saw that there was some construction going on. They were in the process of floating a new railroad bridge in place over the Tennessee River. I got out my Quimby's and found the phone number for the lock master and gave them a call to see if they would be in operation Monday. They said yes.

T

Ohio River Excursion (ORE)

8-21-09

Starting an excursion on the Ohio River. The plan (after a ton of revisions) is to start in Kentucky Lake, go down the Tennessee River to the Ohio. Up the Ohio as far as half our time allows--probably Evansville. Turn around and come back to the Cumberland River, up it to Barkley, and then through the canal back to Kentucky Lake. Participating with me are Dawg and Rich. Both long time sailing pals. Rich will be joining us Monday.

And speaking of sailing pals, after launching at the dam marina on Kentucky Lake, we motored over to Barkley and found some of our sailing pals from our days of racing down here. We asked the dock master if we could get a slip close to them. Our power boat was lonely on this dock.

While there are quite a few people we know on this dock, not many of them will let us take their photo. Some are in witness protection programs, and others are still on the "most wanted" list. Here's Dawg with Anne, who has so far been able to elude notoriety.

The rest of the group scatters when a camera comes out. (One guy was sitting on the dock with his foot in the water................"They can't find me if I keep this home detention ankle bracelet underwater.")

We were disappointed to learn that "Brown O" bOb no longer keeps his boat here. A lot of people have nick names, but Brown O is unique. A few years back we were discussing tattoos. bOb says he has two--both are the letter "b". He said the place he got the tattoos charged by the letter, and he could only afford two. So he got one "b" tattooed on each butt cheek. He says now when he moons someone, you can read his name. Hence the nick name "Brown O." I've never seen the b's and doubt if they actually exist. But at a regatta a few years ago (when I was still drinking) I mooned bOb with a couple of b's made from electrical tape on my cheeks. The sentiment brought bOb to tears. I can't say the same for the other folks at the awards banquet. It was a topic of conversation around the club for a while wondering how those b's" got on my cheeks. No way I could have done it myself.

We plan to go back over to Kentucky Lake, anchor our boat in a cove, and go sailing with someone.

Tom and Dawg