Previous pictures from August 17th through 19th on the Mississippi

Barge Captain told us to go right down the middle of them

XO helping our the CO

Barge at Genoa tie up



Tied up to Lock 8, Genoa, WI



Dredging on the Mississippi

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Wednesday 9-22-2010

Leaving Anchorage at Mile Marker 268.0 Wednesday AM

Took our time this morning because we had a short day; only 20 miles. We had one lock to go through today; the Joe Wheeler Lock, 48' lift. I was a little nervous but it went OK. We had a new plan for the floating bollards and it worked much better. What a relief.  We went through the lock with the Nina and the Pinta which was pretty cool.

We got to Bay Hill Marina, Athens, AL, gas dock by 12:00 and to our slip by 13:00. There are several couples who slip here that have previously completed the Loop. We had cocktail hour with some of them tonight and got a lot of tips on anchorages and also places to go to and where not to go. They are all very nice people and it was a good night.

Pinta

Nina



Neat to see the American flag on the back of an old ship

CO's comments:  We are in another dry county.  We have been told that there is only 2 or 3 places between here and Mobile, AL, that we can buy beer and/or liquor.  This is going to take some real planning on my part to stay stocked up.  Here at Bay Hill Marina every afternoon from 17:00 to 19:00 we all meet to have drinks at someones boat.  If you don't show up, someone comes looking for you.  What a hoot!

Lat.  N34 46.622      Long.  W87 13.174

Pictures previously on blog

 

 In the next few day I will be attaching pictures that were previously along the sides and bottom of our blog that were lost when replaced with new ones.  These were from June and July.

Tif we miss you. and CO and XO at work.

                                  

Tuesday 9-21-2010

Another hot day;  I've been told that every day will be hot for another week or so and then it is supposed to cool down to the 80's which they say is cool here. Today was the roughest water on the Tennessee River we have had so far but it still is nothing compared to Lake Pepin.

We originally planned on anchoring out at Mile Marker 249.5, Little Bear Creek, but when we got there it was too shallow so we continued on looking for a good place to anchor. First we had to go through the Wilson Lock at Florence, AL, which is the largest lock so far on our trip; 292'x60'x93'.  This was a terrible lock; it was so windy Keith had to come down and help me hold on and half way through we ended up tying up to the lock.  I had to use every once of my strength to hold on; I was exhausted when we finally made it to the top.  My luck hasn't been very good lately in locks.  It was getting late and we finally found an anchorage at Mile Marker 268.0, Carter Branch.  It was a very good anchorage but we were too close to peoples homes and I felt like I was intruding.

This is the 93' lift Wilson Lock

CO's comments: This is the first time we got fuel since we installed the new carburetor on the generator and what a difference it has made. Before we used 2 gallons per hour and now we only use 1/2 gallon per hour.

Lat.  N34 48.282      Long.  W87 29.807

Monday, 9-20-2010

This was a rest day. It is very hot down here; 100 degrees today. It was a good day to stay inside with the air conditioning. The highlight of my day was to go to Walmart. The CO came with but was not very excited about doing so.

CO's comments: The Carver owners down here have gulf carts to drive up and down the dock from their cars for supplies or just because they don't want to walk. To my good friend Dave; you need to find a marina that has docks wide enough for your golf cart next year.

Sunday, 9-19-2010

Another hot day. We started out with our usual Sunday morning; slept in, big breakfast, and leisurely coffee; I love Sundays.

Last night was a good anchorage but it would have been nicer if it wasn't Saturday night; lots of pleasure boaters enjoying the 95 degree weather. It is starting to get dark earlier now, about 19:00 or so. We were serenade by thousands of little birds after supper last night. It kept up for about 15 minutes and just as fast as it started it stopped and there was total silence. We had never heard or seen anything like that before but it was pretty cool and enjoyable. So far we have both enjoyed anchoring out and will continue to do so as much as possible.

We went through Pickwick Lock this afternoon. It started out good as the floating bollard was easy to reach. We waited for a good half hour for another boat to get to the lock before the started filling the lock up. As it started to fill my floating bollard wasn't floating. I kept waiting for it to work but finally had to let loose of the rope and our boat ended up floating in the lock. Keith called the lock master twice and told him what the problem was and finally when he saw us floating he told us to pull up to the boat in front of us and tie up to him. We did so and got to meet John Haluska (pictured) of the Emery El. John and another couple were just finishing their loop when they got to Aqua Yacht Harbor, Iuka, MS, which is where we are staying tonight. We got to watch them "cross their wake" about 16:00 this afternoon.

CO's comments: John's card had a great quote that both Bobbie and I agree with. We thought you all would enjoy it. "Life's journey is not to arrive safely at the grave in a well preserved body but rather to slide in sideways, totally worn out shouting HOLY COW...What a ride!" Unknown author. (Thanks John)

Lat.  N34 59.4482      Long.  W88 14.8548

Saturday 9/18/2010

We had a short day today; only 27 miles. It was a very foggy morning. We had dew all over the bridge and porch; we had all the isinglass down and everything was wet. We got going and it was another gorgeous day; Keith and I are still in awe of the Tennessee River. It is so beautiful.

We heard from Craig, Connie, Dave, and Nancy today and they said it was only 57 degrees in Red Wing and that Craig was planning on going ice fishing that afternoon-we had 94.2 degrees. The days have been real hot but by 17:00 it cools off nice to some where in the 60's.

We anchored out at Mile 170-Shallow Bluff Island in about 17' of water. One of the best things I ever did in getting ready for the Loop is to mark every 10' with paint on our anchor rode. Before I couldn't tell how much chain I had out and now it is so easy. Another good thing we do is to bring a small pail with a rope on it so we can get water from the river to wash the mud off our chain and anchor. I can't remember where I read these tips because I read so many books on the Loop but these two things really work.

One can only guess what happen in the above picture. We are thinking they pulled in close to the shore for the night and the water went down much more than they expected. Guess they will have to wait until next spring.

CO's comments:  For my friend Craig. As of the last time we got fuel, 9/13, we used 809 gallons of fuel and went 950 miles coming out to 1.17 mpg. Not bad for a yacht that weights about 28,000 pounds fully loaded.

Lat.   N35 23.334      Long.   W88 09.510