Hurray, We are on Our Way Again, Surona lives!

All of the work was finalized on Friday (yesterday) They finally ended up bringing in a 70 Ton crane to lift the boat. By about 4:00 pm the boat was fixed. New shaft, the rudder back on, the propeller back on and the motor re-alligned. She runs like a dream. The spare prop is a little smaller than the old damaged one so we can't go quite so fast. We will need a new one when we get to Pickwick.

We started to put everything back together only to find that the one board that is the access to the engine compartment through the cockpit and the screen for the companionway were missing. They were sitting on the dock while the work was being done and they must have blown off . Peter looked and looked and had almost given up. After breakfast this morning we thought we would take a look along some of the other docks and there they both were together, floating just off the shore. We sure were happy to see them. It just seemed like one more challenge before we could get underway.

We are now at Cuba Landing Marina. Only about 20 miles from Pebble Isle. Would have liked to gone further but the next marina was 4 hours away and it was too close for comfort for the remaining daylight hours. Everything has to be planned for sufficient daylight hours. There are so few. You have to wait for the fog to burn off and quite often that is 9:00 o'clock. That only leaves about 9 hours of running time and at 5 to 6 knots that only gives you 30 to 50 miles of travel each day. The marinas are not always conveniently located at those intervals. We are getting spoiled by marinas that supply our little heater with power. The thought of waking up to freezing temperatures makes us look for electricity at every stop now. No longer do we wish to brave anchorages as winter approaches. Cheryl is getting too old for this.

We have about eighty five miles to go till we get to Pickwick Lake where we have to see about getting a new prop and having the bottom painted with special paint that comes off when barnacles attach themselves to it. we will also try to store the boat here for a couple of months till we return in January. We would have liked to have gone farther south but our insurance won't cover us until after tornado season so we would have to wait till the 15th and commitments at home are making us return so now is as good a time as any. We hope to see our friends from "Yesterdays Dream" here before we return.

It is nice to get back on the road again. Two weeks is a long time to watch the seasons get ahead of us.

That is it for today.

Pete and Cheryl reporting from the sailing vessel "Surona".

Pebble Isle Marina, The Saga Continues

Here we sit. Waiting.

The new shaft is expected to arrive mid week - Wednesday.

Randy the marina manager has suggested that he get his friend with a crane to come and lift the boat so that it is easier to work on. That is scheduled to happen on Friday. Looks like we have another 4 days or more.

This morning Steve and Linda called to say that Chattanooga is everything that everyone has said about a wonderful destination. They want to share it with us and have suggested that we get a rental car and join them for part of their trip back. Apparently the 60 miles or so close to Chattanooga is outstanding.

The partially formulated plan is that we will rent a car and drive to Scottsboro Alabama. They will rent a car and join us there. We can leave our car at Scottsboro. Return with them to their boat in Chattanooga. Enjoy the trip for a couple of days with them back to Scottsboro. We can then return to our boat.

Wow, what Great friends.

We'll see if we can put this together and make it happen.

We're BAAAACK, Pebble Isle Marina

We took a week and went home for Lorna's 87th birthday and Peter's 60th and it was our 40th Wedding Anniversary. We had the family in for dinner and had a great time together. Everyone brought something so it was a huge organized pot luck dinner.

Visited with friends, Brian and Carolyn Handy and Harry and Donna Schepers on the Saturday night before the family dinner. It was great to see everyone again, even if the time was too short.

We got back to the boat on Wednesday. Had a terrific drive with all of the fall colors so vibrant. We took a short side trip down the Land between the Lakes (Lake Barkley and Kentucky Lake) We wished we had more time to take in some of the attractions.

When we returned to the marina - they said they were unable to get the boat out of the water. They tried for 3 hours, but they needed another 6 inches of water. They waited for our return to make some decisions of how to proceed.

Peter asked them to check the starter. It seemed to take a long time to turn over. It is OK.

As they couldn't pull the boat out, we then needed a diver to come and do the work. It is a process of elimination. We have a spare Gori prop so we wanted to change the prop to see if the problem was the prop or a bent shaft. (We did hit a deadhead on the Mississippi) (You just can't miss all of the debris, all of the time) It took 4 guys for this process. The diver and his assistant, and the mechanic and his assistant. 4 guys for one full day. This took a full day to replace the prop. When we tested it, we found that the shaft definitely was bent. So now the propeller has to come off and they determined that the rudder must come off so the shaft can come out. Peter worked for another hour or so after all of the workers left to get the rudder unhooked so it could come off the next morning.

One of the local boaters had arranged for some fresh Maine lobsters to be shipped in for a feast. I think they are all feeling so bad for us that they invited us to join them. Whatever the motivation, we did not turn down a lobster dinner. What a bonus. Fresh lobster dinner. The first of the trip.

It is now the next day. The same 4 guys show up again. The shaft came out fairly easily. We took it to a machine shop that said we needed a new one. Being as this is Friday we probably won't get another one till Monday at the earliest.

Everyone is so good here. They treat us really good and are so helpful. They are really sorry that it is taking so long to get this done. It would have been quicker if we could have had the boat pulled out, but that can't happen. So you do what you have to do to get the job done. The bill for this must be adding up quite quickly. Kaching, Kaching. Randy, the marina manager, has just told Peter that we should probably make a claim with our insurance as he expects that this will be around $2,000.

The good thing is we are eliminating a number of things, and hopefully the shaft will fit when it comes.

We are only about 2 days travel from the 35th parallel where we have to stay for insurance purposes as we are not covered below this area. Whether we spend some time here or at the Pickwick Dam/Grand Harbour area makes no difference to us. Peter was suggesting that perhaps we take some time and go to Nashville or we could just take it easy on the boat and get caught up on our reading. Decisions, Decisions. Perhaps we should go to Memphis and tour Elvis' home.

Another hardship is that each morning they make fresh cinnamon buns and coffee for the boaters. I have great resolve in the middle of the night not to have a sticky bun, BUT come the morning when Peter asks if we should go for our sticky buns......all my resolve disappears and I find myself walking up to the marina building for my morning treat.

Green Turtle Bay Marina

We finally made it to Green Turtle Bay Marina.

We have been off line for awhile and have finally got hooked back up with our Verizon. I don't think they can make it any more difficult. Then finally you get to talk to someone in the US and it is done instantly. Not that I think Ma Bell would have been any better.

We left Hoppie's Marina ...... and might I say that is using the term marina very generously. It is 3 barges hooked together and tied off to the shore. Hoppies wife Fern sits all the boaters down in the evening and tells them the challenges as we proceed down the Mississippi. Beware "diving" red buoys. The currents can be so strong that the red buoys are pulled down and then they will suddenly rise to the surface. Bends with weir dams that increase the turbulence as you proceed around the corner and warnings of specific areas to be sure not to meet any tow traffic as there isn't enough room. She also tells of the best anchorages along the way.... as there are no marina's. 5 days with no shower and water so dirty you wouldn't consider swimming in it. There is a reason the Mississippi is called "the big muddy"

When you are not calling tows/barges to avoid them, watching out for the turbulence, diving red buoys, you need to be watching for debris in the water. Some debris is small, and others are entire tree trunks floating along. We were trying to call to the other boats to warn them at one time and Peter finally said to much debris to warn them about. Numerous deadheads all around. Every captain for himself or herself.

When there is a lot of rain the Mississippi rises and brings a lot of crap down with it. Now the good side to this is that the current was 5 to 6 knots so we were travelling at about 10knots + on average with spurts of 11 and then one day we hit 12.2. Surona has not gone that fast ever. And this isn't some sailors story either..... we have pictures.

Now we have to catch you up on where we have been. We continued down the Mississippi to Kaskaskia Lock. Free docking here. Tied up for the night on the lock wall. It was very quiet and peaceful. I think only one barge went thru during our entire stay.

The next day was about a 60 mile day and we stayed at Little Diversion Channel. The current is so strong that it is a real challenge to get into the channel. And to make it a little more challenging there is a fishing boat almost mid channel that we have to try to avoid hitting. We pulled right off the river into this picturesque and very quiet and still channel. It was nice to be anchored out of the current and away from the barge/tow traffic. We have been seeing barges with 30, 35, and the largest one had 42 barges in its fleet. These boys push a lot of water.... and you do not want to be close to their wake. We counted 14 rollers in the wake of one of the barge boats. What a sight, and a true experience. Barge captains are really courteous for the most part. One day when I was calling a barge for directions on how h e wanted us to meet him..... he very curtly informed me "he was not a barge, he was a tow". Well EXCUSE ME. They all look the same to me.

Then they anchor these fleets of barges out in the channel also, so it is very difficult to know if they are moving or anchored. One afternoon I was calling for directions; only to hear this growly voice tell me he thought I was talking to some anchored barges as he had looked up and down the river and couldn't see anything coming. It was good of him to let me know, but how embarrassing. Oh Well.

Fern from Hoppies had suggested we anchor at mile 7.7 on the Mississippi at Boston Bar under the I-57 bridge. This would have left us still subject to all of the wake from the barge traffic all night and the current. We decided to push on through and get into the Ohio River. When we were entering the Ohio the first thing you notice is the difference in the color of the water. It is very noticeably much cleaner and in fact it is like there is a line in the water.... it goes from really muddy (the Mississippi) to not so bad (the Ohio) The next thing you notice is your speed has dropped significantly. Now you average about 5 +knots. Now we are going upstream into a modest 1 knot current (thankfully). 17 miles up the Ohio the last lockmaster told us we could tie to some cells at the new Olmsted Dam. The dam is still currently under construction and will not be completed to 2013. Another very peaceful night.

We continued up the Ohio and anchored at the Cumberland Island Towhead which is where the Ohio and Cumberland River join. This was a very long day. When we got to Dam 53 we were told by the lockmaster that he had 44 barges on his schedule and he would try to work us in. We had to wait over 4 hours for our turn. By the time we got thru it was touch 'n go whether we had time to make the anchorage. We made it just in time. By the time we were anchored and grabbed a bottle of wine and got settled on the bridge of Yesterday's Dream .....it was dark. 6:30 to 7:00 pm it is dark. The sun has set completely.

The Cumberland River is more what I thought the trip was going to be like. A bright sunny day, temperature about 85 degrees, a lazy meandering river, and best of all no BARGES!!!! We are totally enjoying the Cumberland. Only one lock today. Yeah! And we only had to wait about 40 minutes. Not bad at all. Barkley Lock and Dam. We were locked up 57 feet. This is the highest lift we have had so far. There is a higher one coming up on the Tennessee River.

And now we are at Green Turtle Bay Marina. A true marina. 420 slips. And there is an order or priority as you enter after anchoring out for so long.... pump out, fuel, and fresh water... "and where did you say the showers are???"

It is more like a resort. Restaurants, Spa, SHOWERS, and laundry facilities, condos. We will probably stay here for 3 nights. They have a courtesy van and we have been to town, which is Paduca, two times already. The marina is close to a small town..... Grand Rivers, but the next large shopping area is Paduca.

We have fresh groceries, and the laundry is almost done. Three loads today. The last load can wait till tomorrow.

We went to the local theatre tonight to hear "storytellers" Two different storytellers; and their style was very different from each other. Very entertaining. Steve and Linda invited us back to their boat for Apple Crisp and Ice Cream. A great way to end the day.

It's 12:30 am and I really need to get some sleep as tomorrow will come very quickly.

"St Louis" french word for tidal waves behind barges

Steve and Linda have to hook up with his niece for a while so we head for Hoppe's Marina twenty miles south of St. Louis. We were made to wait while the lockmaster lowered an empty lock to pick up a tourist paddle wheeler, bring it up and when he let us in what does he put in behind us? Only The "Mary Ann". A cutsy name for a couple of million tons of barge that never really seems to stop inching forward even after they tie it off with a huge line. The line makes stretching noises while I tell Cheryl "If that line doesn't hold this thing off jump into the recess that holds the floating bollard. I don't want to be aboard while they crush my boat". If the line had snapped we were directly in it's path. Maybe they do this all the time but it was a little unnerving. We got out of that lock and headed down a Canal called Line of Stones that bypassed a long area of rapids. I'll bet we could have made it in a trawler! At the end of this canal another lock before we get back in the Mississippi. This time I tried it on the wrong entrance and was told to keep the huge wall to my starboard so I turned around and hurried to the correct entrance. Maybe this was the one where they put the barge in behind us. It doesn't matter. It was spooky.

We got out of that lock and started into the mainstream of the St Louis section of the Mississippi. Here I was running point meeting a barge that seemed to be barreling upstream quickly. I didn't know that the other two boats behind me had spread out a bit instead of following in line. Sometimes we have to dodge the odd log or branch so they get spread out. Cheryl called the barge captain to ask instructions on how we were going to meet him. He got a little pissy and told her he was a tow captain, not a barge captain and that if these three boats would follow in line it would be easier to pass. We were taking up a good chunk of the river. I started to head to my starboard to pass him on the opposite side when he said I didn't have to do that but I was already on my way cutting across in front of him. From behind it looked like I might be a little late with this decision. Timing is everything. I got across ok but he was really pouring the coal to this raft going upstream in five knots of current. I encountered my first mega wake. I was fairly close to him. So far this trip I hadn't found one like this. Maybe he was in a rush, maybe he was teaching me a lesson. He was putting out about a four foot wake of not gentle bow ripples but thrashing turbulence similar to Niagra Falls (seems like). There were not the usual four or five waves to cross but what seemed like a quarter mile of short hammering hydraulics like you get at the bottom of a chute when you are whitewater rafting. There was no danger but it got a little hectic and I gained a lot of respect for these big guys. The next one I met seemed bigger. I think he had around forty barges and a huge tow pushing them. I gave him a lot more room and I didn't try to cut across his wake. I just avoided him. This worked better but still wild. I wondered why people were in such a rush to get off this stretch of the trip. Now it is crystal clear.

Cheryl was calling ahead to a barge asking for directions on which side to pass. Only to be told by another barge captain on the shore that he thought she was talking to anchored barges. He couldn't see anything coming around us. Slightly embarrassing. Better safe and embarrassed than sorry and in trouble.

We spent a day tied up to some old barges that act as a marina south of St. Louis. They have quite a history dating back to 1932. The lady here gives little lessons on where it is safe to anchor to avoid the big barges. How to stay to the inside of the curves because the barges take up so much room as they come up and down the river day and night. The river here is maybe a quarter of a mile wide and is flowing at five knots. Just a huge amount of water. With 150 miles of Mississippi ahead of us before we turn up the Ohio we feel we too would like to get out of the way of these big monsters as soon as possible.

We had a sinfull breakfast (sticky buns with pecans and syrup as well as egg casserole) and went looking for boat parts for Surona. I'd like to get a spare water pump impeller. They had nothing in stock but we got a new hand held vhf so I can talk directly to the Tow captains. Jim bought two big white bumpers which he and Linda had to carry around all day as we did the tourist thing in St. Louis. We went up the Great Arch and ate at the old train station which was the largest in the US when it was moved. I am back on Surona playing with my new VHS radio about to turn in.

Grafton...Indian word for "River goes faster than my truck"

Just got things working with Verison again! Here we are in Grafton. No problems. Great weather. As we were leaving our anchorage in Havana I noticed a railway that looked more like a roller coaster. It ran downhill for a couple of hundred yards and suddenly turned up towards the sky and stopped. Wow, must have been early attempts at space exploration. Just as we were passing it a rail car came shooting out of a building accelerating towards the ramp. It raced up the ramp and slowed to a stop. It then began a reverse direction, rolled back, I presume having switched to a parallel track and stopped back up beside the building it had emerged from. Great way to quickly get rid of empty cars while the next one is setting up for unloading.

Thirty five miles later Selah and Surona anchored out behind Bar Island. We jumped into the dinghies and headed for Beardstown for an early dinner. Linda, from Selah couldn't resist the opportunity to get a little fishing in. One of those ugly Ninja carp jumped right into her dinghy! Like any good wife she blamed Jim and told him to get rid of it. We took pictures and after bleeding in the dingy for a while the fish went back into the thin mud they call the Illinois River. Meanwhile Steve in Yesterdays dream was trying his hand at anchoring from an upstream approach. Having tried this earlier in Ottawa I can attest to the loss of self esteem you endure while you try to attach lines and the river pulls you around, making you look like a circus clown. As Jim waited for a bridge to open he backed up on his tow line for the dingy and sliced it. Cheryl got ahold of it with a pike pole and we towed it to the anchorage. We enjoyed pie and Ice cream on Yesterday's Dream before heading back to our boats. We told Linda "No More Fishing!

The next day we travelled about sixty four miles. A long day but the "Illinois Riverdock" was worth it. Good people, great food, aligator, Walleye, Brisket, Pork Steak, and Chicken and dumplings. I forgot to mention the Homemade Bumbleberry pie.

Next, twenty miles to Grafton where we meet up with the Mississippi River which seems to be twice the size of the Illonois and flowing at twice the speed we had become accustomed to. You could smell the fish sweating! Or that may be me, It's been a couple of days since my last shower.

Looks like rain. Maybe I'll get that shower I need.