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| Our intrepid Crew can handle any lock |
Hello to all,
Greetings from Kentucky! When I left off on the last update we had anchored about 8 miles above the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers in a somewhat tenuous anchorage. It turned out to be fine although I certainly didn't sleep too soundly.
The next day we were off as soon as it was light enough to see. (I really can do 0630 two mornings in a row!). We were immediately confronted with several tows which we passed fine but it was like the Mississippi wanted to make sure we had plenty of experience with tows before we left it. Not to worry, when we turned into the Ohio we were greeted with dozens of barges, some moving on tows and some anchored. We followed the sailing line on the charts and eventually sorted out the various barges but it made for an exciting morning. Also, we were doing about 11 knots going down the Mississippi and when we turned into the Ohio we immediately dropped to about 6 knots, requiring a bit more throttle to get back to 8 knots. The good news was that the current in the Ohio was only about 2 knots which was far less than I had anticipated. Since we had about 60 miles to go up the Ohio, the current was an important factor in how far we would get that day.
The other factor was the two locks. As it turned out these were not much of a factor as we were able to sail right into them with no wait. On the second lock, we did have a short delay to leave the lock because they were welding on one of the doors and we had to wait for them to finish and move the work barge out of the way. Both lockmasters could not have been more accommodating.
From there, the rest of the Ohio was a pleasant trip interrupted only by a few more tows. We reached our objective, the anchorage at Cumberland Towhead (the junction of the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers) by mid afternoon. It was a very nice anchorage, well protected with very little current and I slept much better.
The next day (Saturday) we got off about 0800 and started up the Cumberland River. The first few miles were industrial but after that the river became quite attractive with high banks and lots of forest land. We did pass a couple more tows but the river is narrower and they were smaller. We had only a short wait to go into the Barkley lock which was much taller than those on the Illinois and the Mississippi but it is a very modern lock and it filled fast. Then we were out onto Barkley Lake (the Cumberland River) and quickly went into the marina at Green Turtle Bay.
We had planned to spend only two days at Green Turtle but the air conditioner in the salon had quit a couple of days earlier so we wanted to see if we could get it fixed. Of course it was Saturday so we couldn't contact anyone until Monday and they couldn't come until Tuesday so we wound up spending the week. During that time, we did a lot.
We relaxed and enjoyed the pool. We went to dinner several times. One of those dinners was at Patti's 1880's Settlement which is a local landmark. People come from all over to try the two inch thick pork chops and stroll the 45 acres of park, gift shops, miniature golf and kids zoo which are part of the "settlement". We worked on the boat and gave it and the fenders a thorough cleaning which was really essential after the grime of the rivers and the locks. We also played tourist in Paducah, KY, which has an interesting downtown and a lot of history. On Friday night we went to the Riverfest there with the crews from Christine and Salty Dawg. There was music and lots of good barbeque and we ate ribs until we couldn't do any more. We also socialized with lots of other loopers and of course shopped. In all it was a good stay except that we couldn't get the air conditioner fixed and plan to replace it as soon as we can get one shipped to us.
Yesterday (Saturday), we left Green Turtle and traveled about 18 miles to Sugar Bay which is off of the Tennessee River. It was the nicest anchorage we've been to since the North Channel and we had a nice walk and a good dinner on Christine. Today we traveled all of 10 miles to another anchorage in a recreation area called Pacer's Point.
This week we marked our one year anniversary aboard Sun Cat. During that time we have traveled over 4400 nautical miles, traveling through 18 or 19 states in three countries. We’ve run the engines about 600 hours during that time. More importantly we’ve met dozens of great people and made many new friends.
I’ve attached a few pictures to this update as well. One shows our outstanding deck crew tending the lines as we lock up in the Ohio River. The second is a scene from the Cumberland River and the third was taken inside the Barkley Lock. The boat in the picture, Bali Motu is 26 feet high and 64 feet long which will give one some perspective on how big that lock is.
Still having a great trip!
Steve and; Jean
Aboard M/V Sun Cat
Greetings from Kentucky! When I left off on the last update we had anchored about 8 miles above the junction of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers in a somewhat tenuous anchorage. It turned out to be fine although I certainly didn't sleep too soundly.
The next day we were off as soon as it was light enough to see. (I really can do 0630 two mornings in a row!). We were immediately confronted with several tows which we passed fine but it was like the Mississippi wanted to make sure we had plenty of experience with tows before we left it. Not to worry, when we turned into the Ohio we were greeted with dozens of barges, some moving on tows and some anchored. We followed the sailing line on the charts and eventually sorted out the various barges but it made for an exciting morning. Also, we were doing about 11 knots going down the Mississippi and when we turned into the Ohio we immediately dropped to about 6 knots, requiring a bit more throttle to get back to 8 knots. The good news was that the current in the Ohio was only about 2 knots which was far less than I had anticipated. Since we had about 60 miles to go up the Ohio, the current was an important factor in how far we would get that day.
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| Bali Motu in the Barkley lock |
From there, the rest of the Ohio was a pleasant trip interrupted only by a few more tows. We reached our objective, the anchorage at Cumberland Towhead (the junction of the Ohio and Cumberland Rivers) by mid afternoon. It was a very nice anchorage, well protected with very little current and I slept much better.
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| On the Cumberland |
We had planned to spend only two days at Green Turtle but the air conditioner in the salon had quit a couple of days earlier so we wanted to see if we could get it fixed. Of course it was Saturday so we couldn't contact anyone until Monday and they couldn't come until Tuesday so we wound up spending the week. During that time, we did a lot.
We relaxed and enjoyed the pool. We went to dinner several times. One of those dinners was at Patti's 1880's Settlement which is a local landmark. People come from all over to try the two inch thick pork chops and stroll the 45 acres of park, gift shops, miniature golf and kids zoo which are part of the "settlement". We worked on the boat and gave it and the fenders a thorough cleaning which was really essential after the grime of the rivers and the locks. We also played tourist in Paducah, KY, which has an interesting downtown and a lot of history. On Friday night we went to the Riverfest there with the crews from Christine and Salty Dawg. There was music and lots of good barbeque and we ate ribs until we couldn't do any more. We also socialized with lots of other loopers and of course shopped. In all it was a good stay except that we couldn't get the air conditioner fixed and plan to replace it as soon as we can get one shipped to us.
Yesterday (Saturday), we left Green Turtle and traveled about 18 miles to Sugar Bay which is off of the Tennessee River. It was the nicest anchorage we've been to since the North Channel and we had a nice walk and a good dinner on Christine. Today we traveled all of 10 miles to another anchorage in a recreation area called Pacer's Point.
This week we marked our one year anniversary aboard Sun Cat. During that time we have traveled over 4400 nautical miles, traveling through 18 or 19 states in three countries. We’ve run the engines about 600 hours during that time. More importantly we’ve met dozens of great people and made many new friends.
I’ve attached a few pictures to this update as well. One shows our outstanding deck crew tending the lines as we lock up in the Ohio River. The second is a scene from the Cumberland River and the third was taken inside the Barkley Lock. The boat in the picture, Bali Motu is 26 feet high and 64 feet long which will give one some perspective on how big that lock is.
Still having a great trip!
Steve and; Jean
Aboard M/V Sun Cat
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