Markland again

We were playing cards on the boat last night listening on the VHF radio to the dozens of tow boats waiting at Markland lock.  The lockmaster would call each of them and give them the bad news of how long it would be for them to get through, and in what order he would take them.  I had read on the internet that the new gates were to be completed by September 18.  The new gates were made in Oregon and shipped through the Panama Canal.  On the way back down here, we heard that the new gates didn't fit.

While we were listening to the VHF radio last night, we heard a tow boat captain say "Markland, number seven ain't gonna make it.  He's on the sand bar."  Then he said "Markland, number seven is in the water."  Shortly after that, we saw several emergency vehicles out on the highway.  We thought the toe boat captain was talking about the seventh barge in line to go through the lock, and the sirens were simply a coincidence......................until this morning. 

We ate breakfast in a restaurant across the road from the marina.  We overheard a conversation at the table next to us, and we put the whole story together from that.

When the wooden boat club arrived last night, there were six boats.  Number seven didn't make it.  While waiting to go through the lock, number seven started taking on water.  They ran it up on the shore next to the lock.  I think the lockmaster must have called 911.

(Warning: The following photos may be too graphic for boat lovers.)

We got out to Markland lock a little before 9 am, and called them on our VHF radio.  I told them who we were, that we were southbound, just above his lock, and wanted to lock through.  He answered back on his VHF radio "Southbound pleasure craft TONIC, do you have a VHF radio?"  (We were talking to each other on the VHF radio.)  We looked at each other inside our boat and Dawg said to tell him we have an XM radio, what channel would he like to listen to.  We're on Classic Vinyl right now.  Since the lockmaster has total control of our fate, and the dozens of tow boats waiting can hear all the conversations on the VHF, I decided not to reply.  He called back shortly and told us it would be about a 2 hour wait.  A little after 11, he called us and told us to go in the lock.  One of the coal haulers had locked up in sections, and was against the wall getting back together.  Here's the view we had when we came around the end of the lock.

After we got on around, we saw that they had left us room to get in.

We were out of the lock by 11:30. 

The crew continues to whine about the cold weather.  Actually, their conversations now sound a bit mutinous.  They are talking about taking control of the boat, going on down the Ohio River to the Cumberland River.  Jump over to the Tennessee River, down the Tenn-Tom to the Gulf of Mexico and on south to warmer weather.  They plan to disable my laptop computer so I can't send out any more blogs, then throw the cell phones overboard.  (I'm going to continue letting them think this was their idea.)

cold and windy

I'd had my limit of iced tea last night, so I left Rich and Dawg at the bar in Cincinnati and went to bed.  Fortunately, the V-berth has a door, so I closed myself up and left the task of putting up the steerage tarps to two drunks.  Here's what I found when I opened the V-berth door this morning.  That's Rich in his black sleeping bag on the floor. 

It was very windy today--and cold.  But no fog. (It did rain, so the streak is unbroken.) We left Cincinnati at 8:30, and thought we might make it to Madison.  We only made it to the Markland lock.  When I called the lockmaster to see if we could lock through, he told me it would be between 3 to 4 hours before we got through.  There is a marina about a mile upstream of the lock, so we stopped here for the night.  Again, we're not the biggest boat here.  That's us on the end.
 

While we were hanging out here, a wooden boat club came in for the night.  They're traveling on the river, and there's a motel across the street.  My favorite is Old Sweetheart.

Tsunami

We tied up last night along the free wall at Augusta, KY.  Rich got the steerage section all set up, and we had a quiet night until about 2:30 am.  Something went down the river and created a tsunami wake that almost put us up on top the wall.    I rolled from side in the V-berth and everything fell off the counter in the galley--including a full gallon of water. We all got up to see what had happened, but couldn't see anything.  Figured it was the mothman.

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As we travel the river, we depend on the Corps of Engineers charts and Quimby's cruising guide.  The charts show us the location of marinas, and Quimby's tells us if there's gas available, transient slips, etc.   Quimby's listed the Steamboat Marina as having gas and slips available as well as a restaurant and groceries.  Here's the entire place.

Finally saw another river cruiser today.

The river has a lot more debris and snags that we saw going up stream.  It also seems muddier.  Must have had a lot of rain somewhere.

We're staying tonight in a marina that's much too nice for guys like us.  The Four Seasons Marina near Cincinnati.  We got lost twice trying to find our slip in here,  I had called on the phone, got our slip number, and asked directions.  We stopped at the gas dock and again asked directions.  Finally, I pulled into an empty slip and sent Rich up to the office to ask where our slip was.  He came back out with the harbormaster who said he's seen us circling around, and told us to just stay where we were. He'd change the slip number.

I told Rich he had to wait until after dark to set up the steerage section.

A lot of the people in the marina are taking their boats out tonight.  The Riverbend concert venue is just upriver from here.  We saw Toby Kieth's tour bus there when we came by.  He's performing tonight.  People take their boats out near Riverbend and anchor to listen to the concerts.   They say it's bank to bank boats when Jimmy Buffett is here.

The weather is about to get worse.  Today may have been the first day without rain.  (The forecast calls for rain at 9 pm.)  Tomorrow is to be much cooler and windy (with rain of course.)  Rich is already starting to whine about sleeping outside in steerage when the temperature drops into the mid 30's.  He told me today that he votes for going on fast back to Louisville, and going home a day or two early.  Like he thinks this boat is a democracy and his vote counts for anything.

Shawnee again

We waited out the fog again until about 10 am.  We were at Shawnee State Park overnight.  It was a nice day today until the rain came around 3 pm.

Going down river is much better than up river.  At the same engine rpm's we go 4 mph faster.  (Assume we go 8 mph in still water.  Against the current, we loose 2 mph, so we go 6 mph.  With the current, we gain 2 mph, so our 8 becomes 10.)  I thought that was doing good until a tow boat overtook us.  He was pushing only one barge.

My daughter gave me a cool little tripod for my camera.  I thought I'd take a photo of the three of us playing cards.  It only took about 20 attempts to get us all in the photo.

Richman is our techie guru.  He has an app on his iPhone that shows our position on the river in a satellite view. 

I don't want to think technology is passing me by, but I have heard it honk the horn and motion me over out of the way.  My TV at home is deeper from front to back than it is wide.  Still got that cathode ray tube.




We passed a coal fired power plant today, and I counted over a hundert full barges of coal waiting to be unloaded.

I don't know how clean these coal fired plants are, but the lime producer across the river has turned the trees white.

(Put your margaritas away--it's not that kind of lime.)

There's not a lot of satisfactory places to stop along the river.  I try to call ahead and check to see who's still open.  Most little marinas and boat clubs are already closed for the season.  We stopped tonight back in Augusta, KY.  This is the place we stopped last Wednesday.  Right--almost everything in town is closed on Wednesdays.  I don't think it's going to matter to these two.  As long as the cooler on the boat is open.

more fog

We got into Huntington last night in the rain--of course.  We walked downtown for dinner at Max & Erma's.  Got soaked.  Everything on the boat is either wet or damp.  When we returned to the boat, we began our usual golf card game.  By the time we get to Louisville, we will have determined the Interglacial champion. 

It was still raining when it was time to turn in.  Our boat has a V-berth big enough for Pam and me.  We can also drop the table, and make a bed there.  But, there are three guys on this trip.  As every guy knows, we don't want another guy close enough that we might accidentally touch each other during the night.  Naturally, I have the first class accommodations in the V-berth.  Dawg sleeps in the second class accommodations where we drop the table.  Rich snores.  We hang tarps around the cockpit to keep out most of the rain, and give Rich an air matress in the "steerage" section.  We can hardly hear him snoring with the door closed.

We left Huntington about 9:30 am.  The fog lifted about 10:30am.  We went through Ashville, KY with four towboats and us all meeting at the same narrow spot of the river.  We went between two of them that were so close together, I thought we should put out the fenders.

Saw the Belle of Cincinnati refueling.  I thought they should be taking on wood or coal, but it looked like diesel.

Going through locks is easy with Rich and Dawg for crew.  I don't even need to leave the helm.  (Very convenient in the rain.)

It finally cleared up for a little while this afternoon.  Not to worry, more rain tomorrow.

Turned around

Nice little free dock in Gallipolis

Pam wanted to see if Ohio truly was the buckeye state.  She thought if she could find one, maybe it would be good luck.  Feeling Lucky?

Later in the day, we saw a couple of wild animals on the shore.

Upon closer inspection, it turns out that it these two are more like old Dawgs than wild animals.

 

So, I made a two for one trade, and sent Pam home in the car, while Rich and Dawg are returning down the river with me.  Time will tell how that trade turns out.

After 334 miles upriver, we're now going back down stream--picking up a little over two mph with the current.

(OK, I admit I was fearful of going under the Silver Bridge and confronting the Mothman.)

Gallipolis, OH

I think I've found a new winner in the worst shower ever competition.  Prior to this morning, I had always considered the hose hanging in a corner of a barn near Hoppie's Marina on the Mississippi River to be the worst place I had taken a shower.  (I rated Hoppie's worse than the fountain in a park along the Illinois River near Joliet.)  I realize that the Huntington Yacht Club was closed, however, the shower in that place was a pit.


I planned to tie up tonight at a free dock in Gallipolis, OH.  Most of the places we've stopped have been closed.  Some folks at the Huntington Yacht Club told us that they pull the Gallipolis docks out for the winter about this time of year.  So, the way our luck has been running, I expected to find the place deserted.  We rounded the bend before Gallipolis, and were surprised to see the place jam packed.

We found a spot, and soon after the weigh in for the bASS tournament was over, dumpster divers went looking for treasures.

The next bridge up river is the infamous "Silver Bridge" at Point Pleasant, WV.  If you're familiar with the Mothman Prophecies,  this is the bridge that collapsed in 1967, killing forty some people.  The legend was that a winged creature (aka Mothman) foretold of the disaster.  Some folks said he caused the disaster.  Myself, I'm thinking about that flying saucer we saw a few miles back.

Huntington, WV

Some places might be called a "barn yard."  I called this one a "barge yard."  They pulled a barge up to shore in front of their house, filled it with dirt and planted grass.

As we were motoring up the river, I tried to call the marina where we planned to stop in Huntington.  No answer, but I left my name and number on their answering machine.  No one called back.  It has a large restaurant attached to it, so I called it.  No answer.
When we arrived, we did a fly by to see what it looked like.  There was an open spot on the river side, so we tied up.  Some people were sitting on a houseboat nearby so we asked them where we could find the dockmaster.  "Not here--tie up anywhere."  So we thought we'd stay where we were, and while looking for a place to plug in shorepower, a guy came by and started to help us look.  He suggested we move around on the inside, close to where he keeps his boat.  He said this place was closed for the season.  My Quimby's showed another marina a couple of miles upriver.  He said it sank this Spring.  So we moved our boat around by his.  He helped find an outlet that was working, and we were set for the night.  He also told us where we could find restaurants etc in town.  Most people we meet on the river are friendly.

 

 

 

 

Franklin Furnace

We left Shawnee State Park this morning in the rain.          Again.


We've seen many, many coal carrying barges along the river.  Each tow has 3 wide and 5 long barges full of coal.  There are coal fired power plants all along the river with hunderts of barges of coal staged for unloading and waiting to make electricity.  What I don't understand is why we see full barges of coal going in both directions.  It seems that the coal would come from one direction, and the empty barges would be going back that direction to fill up.  But we see full loads of coal going upstream and downstream.  Where's the efficiency in that?

Pam found some more wildlife on the shore today.

We've gone under several suspension bridges.  Today we went under a suspension pipeline.

It's been a while since I've seen any flying saucers.  Coincidentally, the sightings stopped just about the same time I quit drinking.  However......................................

Tonight, we're staying at Holiday Point Marina near Franklin Furnace, OH.  You never know what to expect when you pick a spot out of Quimby's.  (Quimby's is a guide that lists every marina on every inland waterway.)   This place has a lot of "character."  It's got a lot of older boats--I'm sure their owners see them as "classics."

 

 If you've ever wondered what to do with that old catamaran sailboat--here's one option

This may be the only marina with a swing bridge to connect the docks.  You push a button, and this bridge swings across to the far side.  It needs to stay open most of the time to allow boat traffic in and out of the marina.

In addition to the "character" boats, it seems there may be some interesting characters who keep their boats here.

And as we get closer to Point Pleasant, WV and the Silver Bridge, things like this start to show up

Shawnee State Park

At least it wasn't raining this morning.  Well, I don't think it was--we couldn't see 10' in the thick fog.  We wanted to leave no later than 9 AM, but the fog was too thick.  We could hear barges going by, but couldn't see them. We waited until 9:45, and thought it was clearing.  And it was clearing where we were--but not everywhere.  This is a photo of the clear spot.

The fog finally burned off, and indeed, we had a day with no rain.  Got to see the river without looking through the small area that our windshield wipers clear.

Went under a bridge that reminds me of the one over the Mississippi at Alton, Illinois.

Found the remains of the last folks who tried to make this trip we're on.

Pam spotted some wildlife along the shore.

We're staying the night in Shawnee State Park Marina.  It's near Portsmouth, OH.  Not much around here, but beautiful countryside.