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

Music City

Here we are at Rock Harbor Marina on the West side of Nashville. We pulled in here about 3:30 this afternoon.  It was a great trip from Green Turtle Bay in Grand Rivers, KY.  About a 150 mile trip. We pulled away from the Green Turtle dock at 8:30AM on Thursday.  It was so cold we had on a hoodie and a windbreaker.  Later we added a blanket when we were in the wind. We traveled about 50 miles and anchored off the river in a feeder stream in about 15 feet of water. Friday we did another 50 miles and tied up the the courtesy dock at Clarksville.  Now if you want to see what a city can do with a river front, Clarksville is a great example. A couple of miles of waterfront has been turned into a park.  A new marina is scheduled to open soon. Saturday was a beautiful day.  Rolling down the river was perfict.  We only passed a couple of tows and the pleasure craft were few.  Rock Harbor is not what it once was.  The flood and a change in ownership has taken its toll.  The Bluemoon resturant is no longer here and a lot of the boats have also gone elsewhere.  But it was a welcome site and we are glad to be back home for a while.  We will spend about a month here making repairs and attending to home things.  BJ's wedding is two weeks from today so that is first on our piority list.  After that we will get the boat ready for the next phase of our trip.  We will then travel back the three days to Grand Rivers and join the Tennessee River and start our trip South.  It is still our intentions to spend the winter in South Florida.

We still have a lot of events and stories that did not get reported along the way, so I will continue to do the blog when we are home.  With good connections we will be able to send you pictures to compliment our stories.  When leaving  Lake Michigan and boating through Chicago you must travel on what is known as the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.  It is such a polluted river that years ago it was reversed in order to not pollute Lake Michigan.  Now it sends all the stuff south. 

Mississippi mud

We traveled down the Upper Mississippi in record time.  The distance from the Illinois to the Ohio River, on the Upper Mississippi is 217 miles.  We were traveling at about 12 miles per hour on the UM with the current and then turned up the Ohio River against the current and it felt like we were crawling at 5-6 mph. We anchored one night in the river outside Harrah's Casino in Metropolis, Il.  We had heard the buffets were very good and cheap at the casinos, and they were.  We did not gamble.  We figured our adventure was enough of a gamble!  Finally, we finished the Ohio and turn up the Cumberland.  It was more narrow than the Ohio, but just as slow.  We pulled into Green Turtle Bay Marina on Barkley Lake yesterday at 5:45, just fifteen minuets before they closed.  We had done 57 miles at 5-6 miles per hour and it was hot!  We were so tired.  We spent a few minutes with the other Loopers (they wanted all the details about our running aground at mile marker 17). I took the dog for her walk, had a bite of supper and crashed.  The story about running aground is for another blog!  

This morning we decided to spend an extra day here to get rested up and try to clean some of the mud from the  boat.  Mark Twain's quote concerning the Mississippi water is, "It's too thin to plow and too thick to drink!"  We have found this to be true. 

We did the laundry this morning and the marina has a courtesy car, so we used it to find a grocery store and get a few items to get us by until we reach Nashville which we should do in about 4 days, just in time for Mike's birthday.  We are excited about getting close to home.  It feels good.   

The picture is of Barkley Lock & Dam.

The river system

The river system is just another phase of this adventure that has it's good and bad features.  No longer do we have to wake up to the electronic voice of NOAA in order to decide whether we can move along the journey.  We still listen for weather forecasts, but we can travel in the rain on the rivers without the worry of 5-7 ft waves!  Instead, now we have to watch for floating debris, submerged wing dams, and large towboats. 

We have traversed the Illinois River down to where it meets the Mississippi.  These rivers flow through the heartland of this country.  One day, as we were meandering down the Illinois, we wondered what was beyond the levee walls, since we couldn't see over them.  We found out one morning as Maggie went for her daily duty;  corn fields!  What a surprise!

The marinas and anchorages are few and far between and cell phone service is sketchy. We anchored Tuesday night just beyond a railroad bridge on the banks of the Illinois.  We had to deploy 2 anchors just incase a tow should happen to come by during the night.  We had been through 2 locks during the day and we had covered a record 60 statute miles.  We were tired and we got Maggie on the dinghy and started towards a boat ramp.  Mike asked me if he should go all the way to the boat ramp or just up to the edge of the river bank and I told him it didn't matter to me.  So, he opted for the closest bank.  Mistake!!!  When I stepped into the water at the edge, the mud was soft and my foot came out without my swimshoe.  I recovered it and took the other off and took off down the bank with Maggie barefooted.  She did a #1  so I handed her over to Mike and they took off into a little park for #2.  I waited on the bank and when they got finished, we started back to the dinghy on the bank.  I stepped into a quagmire of river mud all the way up to my knees.  I couldn't move.  Mike had to pull me out while holding on to the dog.  It was not a good time.  I found my breaking point.  I started crying and thinking about where the nearest airport might be.  Mike was so sweet and hugged me and said everything was okay and please don't call a taxi!!!!

This journey is not for the faint of heart.  There is no way one person can do this alone.  I got my act together and decided to try to hang on for a little bit longer.  We will both be happy to see home again, for a few days anyway.

Windy City

The name is well deserved.  We have been watching the weather to make our crossing of lower Lake Michigan only to have bad weather hit us at the dock.  We tied up to the dock at Columbia Yacht Club yesterday around 1:00 pm. By 4 pm the wind had picked up and with no protection from a South wind the harbor became very choppy.  We put on a few extra lines and went to bed.  At 10:30 the dinghy banged into the back of Lifestyle II and woke me up.  As I was retreiving the dinghy,  my neighbor in a  new 40' Mainship Trawler yelled for me to come help.  The wind and waves were causing the boat to gyrate to the point it was causing damage to the boat.  The man and wife owners were trying to hold it off the dock and deploy additional dock lines and fenders.  After just a few minutes of trying to aid, I told them to start the engines and get away from the dock.  By the time they moved to a more sheltered part of the dock other people had come out to help.  We tied the Mainship down at a different dock but not before the wave and wind action had torn off the port side rail. The owners were sick but it can be replaced and no one was hurt, so all is well.  Back on board our boat I was thankful for the design of our Marine Trader.  She took the weather without a second thought.  The hull design and the weight contributed to a well balanced boat that can take such weather.  Today, just for safety's sake, we moved to a different spot.  The wind is still coming from the South and it may increase tonight, so we are trying to prevent another boat from getting damaged, ours!!.  Today we enjoyed pizza from a great Chicago pizza restaurant, Gino's East.  We rode bikes in the big city and watched as the Wednesday racers prepared their boats for the Wednesday night Beer Can race.  Some serious racers are here at Columbia Yacht Club.  We hope to start the river system tomorrow just as the heat blows in.  Temps tomorrow may reach 100 degrees. 

Pull Over!!

Monday was such a great day on Lake Michigan that it makes you forget just how ugly the big lake can be.  We traveled about 40 miles and settled into the marina at New Buffalo.  A quick run into town and we had our supplies in order and ready for another few days on the water.  We docked at the municipal marina and found three other loopers already there.  We quickly caught up on our travels and answered questions about what may lie ahead. Tuesday morning we se out for our crossing of the big lake to the windy city and the last couple of nights on the lake before we start on the river system that will take us to Nashville and then on to the Gulf.  A front was approaching and the wind and waves were more than our liking.  We got bounced around from a beam wind and waves. Just when you think things are settling down a big roller will hit you.  One knocked us over and everything went from one side of the boat to the other. Such is life on Lake Michigan.  We could see the skyline of Chicage from 30 miles out.  We were happy and excited that we had accomplished so much.  We were real proud of ourselves. If only I had a rear view mirror!!  I looked over my shoulder and saw a U.S. Customs boat with his BLUE lights on.  They don't say pull over, you kinda know when a military type inflatable with three large outboard engines, people on deck with guns and blue light flashing and the guy is almost touching your stern that you need to stop, pull over, power down,,, anything just don't shoot me!!.  Well, they bordered us and ask us a bunch of questions and ask for documentation, ID's and other stuff.  They ask us if we spent the night in Canada.  Well, yea, wespent almost a month there - we had to spend the night.  After about 30 minutes they decided that we were not a threat to National Security and let us go.  Welcome to Chicago.  I think Obama knows how I vote and sent them after me to keep me out of his hometown. We will spend a couple of days here and then start down the river.  Talk to you then!

South Haven Municipal Marina

South Haven, on lower Lake Michigan, is a nice community that seems to have a life after tourist season is over with well established neighborhoods and well kept homes.  The downtown is more trendy than most and seems to cater to the tourists and the boat people.  Several marinas line the river as it snakes through town.  This is our second day here and we took advantage of the time in the marina to go shopping and find a Baptist church to attend this morning.  It was only mile or so from the marina but we managed to get lost.  We were enjoying the bike ride and viewing the older section of town when I saw a local policeman cruising the area.  I stopped him for directions.  After giving me directions, clearly and succinctly, he said with a grin, "Where ya'll from"?  He was making fun of the way we talk. I said "NASH--VILLE" only because I can put more syllables in Nashville than I can Murfreesboro.  We all laughed and then Denniese and I rode the right direction to the church.  No wonder the South gets such a bad rap. We were two mature people, dressed in Sunday clothes,  riding bikes just off a boat and were lost.  I'm sure we were the talk of the department. The church was Calvary Missionary Baptist Church and it was nice.  It is the first one of any denomination that we have visited during this trip that had a full house. Good people, good service and the preacher ask the congregation to pray for our safe travel.  It was worth an extra something in the plate.  I think the weather will be agreeable for our travel to New Buffalo tomorrow.