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One September had new props Fed Ex’d in from
Virginia Beach. They arrived on Friday morning, were installed, and water
tested. They work just fine. Then the mechanic tackled the air conditioning
problem. Water test showed it was not yet fixed so they took another run at it.
Repair held!
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Jim hurt his back hauling his batteries out so
the mechanic could get at a waste tank that needed to be replaced. The part
came in on Friday and was installed and works. Jim’s back still hurts.
·
We had a specialist come look at our generator
and explain again how it works. We ran it on and off both days fully loaded and
it seems to work. YEAH!! We are not sure what we are doing wrong when we try to
use it without adult supervision. We will slog on anyway. Then a different
mechanic checked out our air conditioning because Kermti thinks it doesn’t cool
well enough. The mechanic found it was overcharging which is a sign that there
is too much Freon and the condenser is working too hard. Kermit cleaned the
screens and took out a ton of hair. It was quiet as a mouse last night.
The others in the group joked that we need to buy drinks
next time because our bill for repairs was so much lower - $178.00 for peace of
mind. No problem – it is worth it.
We met the harbor hosts Mike and Joanne last night. They
dock in the St. Charles Harbor. They completed the western end of the Loop
three times and have lots of great advice for the next three days as we move
down the Mississippi, up the Ohio and into Kentucky and Tennessee. They took us
on a tour of their boat, a 4788 Bayliner Motor Yacht. What a lovely boat with a
great setup for daily living. We loved it. Three cabins, two heads, and a
modern, updated, comfortable salon/galley. Plus it has a real lower station
just like a trawler spread out over the entire 15’ beam.
We joined them for dinner at the Duck Club next door. These
are covered “docominiums” that people buy. It looks just like the St. Charles
Harbor to me. Very nice covered docks.
We had a very unusual experience on Friday night. At dusk,
the sun set in the west but it was really in the East. Go chew on that for a
while!! Everyone knows that Illinois is East of Missouri, separated by the
Mississippi. But the Mississippi curves in such a way that for a very short
distance the Mississippi curves around back on itself and Illinois is west of
Missouri. Our entire sense of direction was completely off. We could see the
river where we came in and where we would leave and we knew that we came in
from the North but the sun was setting in what should be the East. So cool!!
The Vessel Why Knot with Darryl and Lisa was docked for the
next month in the slip next to us and they came to the boat on Friday evening!
It was great to see them again. They are visiting family and their home in St.
Louis and taking care of business.
On Friday we divided and conquered to take advantage of
having the marina loaner car. Jim and Mike stayed with their boats to complete
more repairs. Kermit and Joy dropped Judy and I off at the hairdresser to get
needed repairs of a personal nature. New color and cut for me and color for
Judy. It is always scary to turn yourself over to a hairdresser you don’t know
but sometimes the need overrides the fear. I last visited my hairdresser in
June so I was starting to look like a skunk and the cut rode out of town a long
time ago. It was time. This was an Aveda salon so we could be pretty confident
they had the skill to handle our needs. Sure enough, after some wrangling and
debate, they figured out the right combination of color to touchup my hair and
the cut is great. These little things really make a difference.
Afterwards Judy and I wandered around historic St. Charles
enjoying the little shops. We ate lunch at a cool little old restaurant called
Mother-in-Law’s, named because the current owner liked his mother-in-law’s
cooking! Isn’t that sweet? We ate outside with a great view of the Missouri River.
This is one of the oldest towns in Missouri. And to think if we stayed at
Grafton Marina we would have missed it. That, my friends, is today’s silver
lining.
Kermit and Joy, meanwhile, took Rusty on a tour of St. Louis
area. Rusty got a manicure at Petsmart and a walk through Bass Pro Shops, and
West Marine. I bet he got cookies everywhere he went!! Even with the use of a
gps they got lost. Hard to believe. Finally we met them in St. Charles, left
Joy with Judy and Kermit and I went to Alton IL to pick up our mail at the post
office. This was 40 minutes each way; a nice little drive.
Alton is another old river town, apparently more affluent than
some of the other towns we have been to since it appears to have more than two
or three streets and enough cars to warrant a few parking lots. They have a
casino right next to the marina right by the pretty bridge between Missouri and
Illinois. We had to go to Alton ourselves to pick up our mail. Here is the back
story. Dick and Deanna on Sareanna had to go to the Alton Marina for repairs on
their electronics. As long as they were there we asked to them pick up our
package at the post office. Unfortunately this is the only post office in the
USA that actually requires the identification that the sign says is required.
Kermit had to show picture ID when he went in!!
A final stop at the liquor store (Walgreens) to restock the
coffers before heading to dry country in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama
before heading home. We have so much beer and wine now that we can’t store it
all below decks. I guess we have to drink it!!
Saturday, September
29, 2012 Leaving St. Charles MO on the way to Hoppies Marine Services in
Kimmswick MO.
We were a little uncoordinated this morning. Everything
started off the way it normally does with Kermit’s coffee and rest breaks for
Kermit and Rusty. One September and Jim’s Joy left, coordinating to meet
Sareanna at Alton. We were to follow. This was a really tight dock, remember
the discussion of Kermit giving folks the docking lesson. We were really focused
on departing the dock. Kermit put the engines in gear and moved forward. I was on
the bow of the boat pulling lines. Suddenly the boat pulled strongly to the
port and the entire railing system and bike laid flat!! A big mess. We stopped
immediately and pulled back to survey the damage.
Tom Houser: Damage
alert
What to do… Kermit and Mike brought a big roll of white of
shrink wrap twine. We pushed to railing up into a semi-upright position then
tied the railing to the forward cleat. Our bow looks like a spider web. We
joked that we need to buy or make a really big spider so we can pretend we
decorated for Halloween!! Another silver lining!!
With the railing tied into place we proceed to catch up with
the other three boats. Kermit arranged to have the railing repaired at Green
Turtle Bay in Grand River KY. We should be there in about 3 or 4 days.
Report on Mississippi River currents: We think we are
picking up about 3 miles per hour from the down river current. This means we
are probably using about 6 gallons per hour instead of our normal 10 gallons
per hour on the Illinois River going about 9 mph.
Hoppies Marina is a really big deal. Hoppie is the uncle of
the guy who owns the St. Charles Harbor, that fine marina with great service we
just left. Fern and Hoppie are really important politically too. Fern
represents Loopers and other pleasure boaters locked in a battle with the Corp
of Engineers about wingdams and shoaling on the Mississippi that are putting
Hoppies Marina in danger and therefore putting Loopers in danger of having no
access to fuel on this stretch. Without fuel at Hoppies Marina the Great Loop
is in danger for is not possible without diesel tanks much larger than most gas
or diesel boats have.
We arrived at Hoppies Marina about 2:30pm, using 92 gallons
of fuel for this journey from St. Charles MO to Kisswick MO. The banks of the
Mississippi are at least 50 to 100 feet down the banks. Hoppie and Fern live on
the banks with some family members. The “marina”
is a series of 4 barges tied end to end. They provide gas and water on the barges
when you tie up. We used 92 gallons and put 97 gallons in the tanks then filled
the six 5 gallon tanks on the back deck for just in case. So now we are
carrying 330 gallons for the 275 trip. Our fellow loopers filled their dinghy
tanks just in case we need it.
Back to Hoppies for the daily 4:30pm briefing with Fern
about river conditions and anchorages downriver. The Mississippi changes
constantly. I guess we know that from our geography books but in this case it
is critical to have up to date information since we won’t have access to a
marina for 3 or 4 days. Everyone brings their charts and paper to take notes.
All day today we referred to our notes, especially when finding our hidy-hole
anchorage for this evening.
Dinner was docktails on the barge. Such a friendly group. We
are very lucky.
Sunday September 30,
2012 Down the RiverWe left at the civilized hour – 8am instead of our usual 7am. I woke up startled because it was light inside the boat. Oh, no! They left without us!! But no, we were up on time and ready. Rusty appreciated the freedom o walk on the barge and decided he could poop anywhere now, so he proceeded to poop on the barge!!! Great!! Thank you, Rusty!
We started at Mile 158 with the goal of achieving anchorage
at Mile 102.4. The trip was quite uneventful, although we were tense the entire
time. Rather, Kermit was tense. I read, made lunch, opened mail, enjoyed the
new Rolling Stone magazine that came with the mail package. Thank you Danny!
This is a picture of a truck dumping a little boat in the Mississippi while tied to another truck whose job is to pull the other truck out of the Mississippi when he rolls it!! I tell you these river people come up with the most creative ways to spend time!!
Kermit’s impressions: This was more industrial than he
expected. He expected more rural. More tows. Lots of tows. Some with as many as
4 across and 4 down (16 altogether). Lots of current. We picked up 3.5 miles
per hour. Critter alert: There is a bald eagle at the tipy top of this dead tree.
We were the last boat, as usual, dragging about half a mile behind the rest of the group. Not sure why. It just worked out that way. The first boats got to Mile 102.4 and couldn’t believe this was the right spot. We all checked our notes and decided it must be. The entrance was downriver of a wingdam. Wingdams are controversials because they direct water downriver and silt up in the space upriver of the dam. Hoppies is upriver from a new wingdam, putting the marina in peril of silting up – hence the controversy. At Mile 102.4 we are taking advantage of deep water that can be found downriver and sort of protected cover by the wingdam.
Not sure if you can see this but this is a picture of our gps showing 0.0 mph while we are moving forward because the current is so strong while we are moving upriver!
Rusty need to get out so everyone got on the backs of their boats and took a zillion pictures of us laying the anchor then taking Rusty over to the land to run a bit. Boy was he happy! He rolled in sand to a point where sand just oozes out him!!
- Sunday: to Mile 102.4
- Monday: to Mile 1.5, Angelos Towhead by the entrance to the Ohio River
- Tuesday: Cumberland Towhead by the entrance to the Cumberland River
- Wednesday: to Green Turtle Bay Resort and Marina in Grand Rivers, KY. We will have the railings prepared and relax for a few days.
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