Grounding

We are back home in Murfreesboro and we left our floating home in Nashville at the dock.  Tomorrow we will pull Lifestyle II out of the water and take a look at the bottom.  It is important to look at the bottom, the running gear (prop and shaft) and the zincs.  Zincs are the pieces of metal that take the corrosion instead of the other stuff that is underwater.  It has not been all that long since we had the bottom painted but we have put almost 4,000 miles on that bottom paint.  Another reason to pull her is to see if I did any damage when I ran aground on Sept. 10.   It had been a long day on the upper Mississippi.  The night before we were able to tie up to a lock wall on Kaskaskia River. Safe tie ups and anchorages are few on the upper Mississippi River.  It is all commercial and very little services are offered for pleasures boats.  It is easy to understand. The river is muddy, unsanitary and the current runs 4 to 6 miles per hour. The day was ending and we were having trouble finding an anchor spot.  Finally out of desperation I told Denniese that I think I can get in behind one of the wing dams.  Wing dams are piles of rock from the banks of the river to the channel.  They keep the flow of the river directed to the middle and that helps keep the river channel deep and clean.  All went well until I got sideways to the current and the river pushed me up on and underwater wing dam that was not visible from the channel.  The boat healed over and we went from 20' of water to 3' of water.  Remember we need 4' of water.  The boat was out of my control as the water and the ground came together to control our movements.  The boat settled after a while and we were level but still hard aground.  I made the decision to call the U.S. Coast Guard to make a situation report, not a mayday, just to let others know of our position. The Coast Guard took a lot of time getting information and taking up our time while we were trying to get the boat free. Boat US was called to see if a tow boat was available. We even had friends aboard the Jolly Tolly call us to see if they could help.  No one could help, no one was available to help.  Finally we were directed to the County Emergency Management Agency of Alexander County, IL.  They asked all the usual questions and since no one was hurt they said it would be the next day before we could expect help.  By sundown we had done all the things we needed to do to try to help ourselves.  We had deployed kedge anchors and moved the boat several feet.  I introduced Denniese to the term "Ditch Bag" and had it ready.  We all had our PFD's on, even Maggie.  The dingy was standing by if things got worse.  We had supper and tried to get some sleep. Daylight finally came and we knew help would be on the way.  Around 8:30 I saw a boat heading our way, it had to be a fishing boat.  It was a 16' John boat with a 90hp outboard and two men.  I didn't see a towing harness or even any long heavy ropes. We found out it was volunteers from the local volunteer fire department.  They circled the boat taking soundings and developing a plan. Next they brought in my anchors , even the 45# CQR.  We discussed the options.  We all worked together but the boat got off under her own effort.  I guess all those prayers helped.  The current that caused the problem had dug a trench behind us and we were able to back out.  We got the guys names and said our thanks as they motored off.  We motored to a safe anchor spot where we spent the day inspecting the boat and resting. We will forever be grateful to the Cairo Volunteer Fire Department and Gene Chrestmen and James McWilliams.

Since we are safely back home maybe we will have Internet service that will enable us to send out some of the pic's we tried to send while on the way. Lifestyle II