Heading South

Day four of the Great Down South Loop (a.k.a. Quarantine on a Boat), we are heading south. Paducah, KY is our most northern stop on this Loop and we are looking forward to heading south. That means warmer temperatures, right.....

Our first challenge for the day would be the Olmsted Lock on the Ohio River. The last time I passed through this area was on the sailboat doing the Great Loop. I was going up stream and the current was not quite as strong as it is now, but it was a difficult passage (Read: Hoppies to KY Lake - Hurricane Harvey Slowing Us Down). I called the Olmsted Lock the night before and he told me just to call them on the radio when we were about three miles out to let them know that we were coming.

We shoved off from the Paducah Dock about 7:30 AM. The river traffic was light and we were making good progress. As instructed, Charlie radioed the Olmsted Lock when we were about three miles out. He said: "OK, the lock is closed, just stay in the river channel and go over the top of the dam and enjoy your trip". This was the same as the last time, but in the other direction. They lower the wickets on the dam during high water and let the water flow over the dam. Here is a video on the wickets https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OA7aueKsFdA

We made it over the dam and never saw less than 50' of depth. On we go toward the mighty Mississippi.

The Mississippi River is divided into two parts, the Upper and Lower Mississippi River. The Upper Mississippi runs from Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota 1,250 miles to the confluence of the Ohio River at Cairo, IL. The Lower Mississippi runs 1,000 miles from Cairo, IL to the Gulf of Mexico.

We have both done the Great Loop, which includes 218 miles of the Upper Mississippi, Grafton, IL to Cairo, IL. But, the lower Mississippi is is virgin territory for both of us. At approximately 11:00 we made that transition from the Ohio River to the Mississippi ready to see what the Mighty Mississippi has in store for us.

We were making good progress down the Ohio River. The current helping us achieve 15 to 18 MPH, while still maintaining the 4.5 MPG that we need to know we can maintain. There is a leg on this journey that is 426 miles with no fuel stops available. We carry a maximum of 105 gallons on board, just enough to make it from Greenville, LA to New Orleans, LA. More on that later.

As we made our way on south, the sun was shining and it was warming up. We decided to open the Bimini (the cover over the top of the boat) and let the sun shine in on us. Once we did this we were able to shed the winter gear and enjoy the sun shine. Big mistake. What happens when you get five hours of sun on unprotected skin? We didn't realize until that evening we both got quite a bit of sun on our face. But life was good for a while. Next time, sunscreen.

Along about 2:30 we were on a run traveling about 19 MPH and we felt no wind. The water was flat. We were enjoying life until we rounded the horseshoe bend in the river. If you are traveling 19 MPH and you feel no wind in an open boat, that has to mean the wind is at your back at about 19 MPH. When we rounded that bend things changed. We had the wind on our nose and since it was blowing against the current of the rive, it was whipping up some 4' waves. Water started splashing over the bow of the boat and we were getting soaked. We grabbed the winter gear (which is also water proof) as fast as we could. We slowed to a crawl and kept making way. After about 45 minutes of this we decided it was time to find a spot to stay for the night. We found a place just south of New Madrid, MO. It was a sandbar peninsula that offered us protection from the waves and the passing tow boats. Charlie ran the boat up on the sand and I, not so gracefully, jumped on to the land and tied the anchor line to a tree. Not so gracefully, the little piece of the bank that I jumped to gave way and I fell back (at least that is the way I remember it). The good news is the clothes came clean and no other damage was done.

We set up the table and chairs on the sand and cooked supper. How is that for quarantining.

Mother Nature rewarded us with a beautiful sunset (which I did not get a picture of).
And Sunrise the next morning promised a better day.