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UPATING MY JOURNEY as of October 5, 2008
Day 1 and 2
I left Hudson Marina at 3:10 PM on Thursday, September 18th 2008, with my 1 GM Yanmar Diesel doing its thing, after several days of failures with regard to getting it running.
Troy, a mechanic/technician at the marina got it going in about 45 minutes which actually made me feel pretty good, as it shows there was a problem.
I didn't run it wide open, and actual kept it at about 1/2 speed for most of the afternoon. I made the trip to Prescott and dropped the anchor in 11 to 15 feet of water, just short of the little lake by the first bridge. I did this because it was getting dark and I was not sure how close to the anchorage I was and did not wish to attempt a first anchorage in the dark.
As it turned out this was a good idea as it took a full 15 minutes to get the anchor set. I had made another attempt earlier but could not get a good hold in the 45 feet near the bank.
I managed to get everything stowed away and made MinJamBe ship shape by 10:30, when the dogs, PJ , Shilo, and I went to bed for a pretty good nights sleep.
The next morning which will be hereafter known as day 2 of my sixth long distance voyage, having sailed the Great Lakes to the Coast and down on the first trip, and then sailing up to Destin Florida on the other side of Florida, only to sink off .the pass and winding up in 2 feet of water with a broken keel and rudder. Trip two was from Port Aransas Texas to Gulf Port Mississippi, where my mast was dashed through the roof. Trip three was down the Mississippi in 2001, leaving on November 12th because of the terrorist activity that never occurred. Trip four was from Tampa around up to South Carolina where I learned that my VA Disability came through so I sailed back to Ft. Meyer, where I later began voyage five from Ft. Meyer to Lake St. Charles Louisiana, and left MinJamBe III with her new owner.
So this is voyage number six and day 1 went without any serious events, except for the fact that girls were unable to figure out the puppy pads and held it all in from the time I left Hudson until my arrival at the casino at about 10:30 am on day 2.
I want to tell you that the girls were begging from early in the morning until they finished there walk down the dock to the first grass, where they each peed for about 2 minutes. After this they both did some major other work, which took four pickup bags to handle.
I have not been more impressed with scenery than on the St. Croix and the Mississippi to this point at Lake City, and I have seen most of America's and a lot of the worlds pretty places. I would like to come down in October to see the leaves turn as I believe it would be a nice as a drive up the North Short of Superior.
I did have one problem today and that was the failure of one bilge pump, when it was really needed. The dripping from my shaft increased and caused water to pile up and when a large boat provided me with a lot of wake to cross, it moved from the back of the boat out onto the cabin floor. The main pump failed to turn on, so I quickly fed the pipe of my larger pump over the side and turned it on. The water was gone in about 5 minutes, and has not returned.
I installed a new pump at Lake City and incorporated an override switch so this should not happen again. I am not unaccustomed to such happenings and this being one of the lesser threats did not even get me nervous. It did however dig well into my pocket book, which will make it necessary for the dogs to become used to using the potty pads, or I will have to overcome my fear of putting them in my dinghy, which is slightly more stable and the skinniest of canoes.
I bought some bug spray and will be camping out for the next 12 days while I wait for pay day.
As for progress, I have again stumbled on a time for floods. The river is closed to small boats from near St. Louis to south of the Ohio, and the Ohio is also closed. This is due to mostly to major flooding on the Illinois River out of Chicago.
This seems to have affect barge traffic as well. I saw only one tow during my entire trip down to Lake City. I heard on channel 22 that only very powerful tow boats are operating and even a lot of them are holding up from making the up river trips. I would then assum3e that the same is true of long haul boats that would be leavig between the Twin Cities and the other cities along the river.
Well, it is time for bed and I am beat, I only have one more comment and that is that Lake City charges 30 dollars deposit for the bathroom key, making me feel like leaving a deposit on the entrance steps. They also charge 5 dollars to use those facilities after already charging 30 bucks to park for the night. I wonder when the hell they will realize, that only the guys in gas guzzlers are rich.
Day 3 Fountain Wisconsin
Well, after having to leave an hour and a half late due to the failure of Lake City Marina to open at 7 am, both as stated the night before, and according to the sign on the door.
I will never again dark4en the harbors at Lake City for several reasons but the biggest being a $30 deposit for the card to open the bathroom and a charge of $5.00 to use the thing in the first place and this is in addition to the $1.00 per foot just for the pleasure of getting a dock about a half mile from the office.
The morning stared off well otherwise unless you coun the fact that neither my GPS or Depth guage had any power. I did not get to solve this problem until after clearing lock and dam 5. I did i by going ino a small cove off of the main channel withou knowing the depths I would be facing.
It turned out that I settled in at 7 feet and after 20 minutes was able to get both working.
Oh yes, I did not repeat my failutre of 2001 and made it through lock 5 without cutting off another thumb. Well, it is necessary to mention that there was no wiind this time,.
I noticed in my Quimby Guide that there are too docks located in Fountain, each having a length of 50 feet and supposedly in depths of 4 feet but this turned out to be false as I had the dogs cross their toes for deeper water so they could go ashore and do their evening chores. It turned out to be over 15 feet at the northern most dock, which is located behind the Wing Dam Bar and just a short walk to a Quick Stop, where I bought more ice, 2 dogs for the dogs, some milk, and a can of beer, Those who know me best are aware that it was the largest can available.
The town is nice, the dogs both swam in the river, except Shilo wouldn't go past her knees and PJ actually went in water over her head, though she made like lightening getting back to shallower water.
The day was warm and sunny so I put up a tarp to keep the sun off us. The thing I bought does not do a very good job and I have to rethink its location, which I will do some other day.
The river is still closed below St. Louis so the fact that I have only made it this far in 3 days is not too disappointing.
I hope the boats stop speeding by after dark and I hope that very few trains come along the track. The people that were around have all faded away, and the smell from my potatoes and onions is getting pretty temping. I will grab a can of some kind of meat to eat as well.
Day 4 Lock 8 September 21st
I managed a long day, after a long night. Some jerks in a power boat pulled in during the night and talked at the top of their lungs for about an hour, after which time I feel asleep, only to be awakened at 1:30 in the morning with loud music, to which I responded very loudly and the noise subsided.
When I got going, a large tow boat operation was heading toward me, as I had stopped facing North the night before and because I knew that getting behind him would leave me waiting at the upcoming Lock I cast off without breakfast and gave chase. I made two passing attempts before getting ahead of him and soon separated the distance between us.
I made it to the lock and went through and then the fog came up. It began with a half mile of distance and closed to less than a quarter mile before another mile had been traveled. As I approached Winona the fog closed in to about 100 feet in front of the boat.
In Winona I passed a stern wheeler that was being loaded with people for a trip down the river. Somewhere between there and the next dam she caught up and passed me. We then shared the lock. I headed for lock 8 at a speed of 5.3 miles per hour average and made it by 6"15 and was given permission to tie up to the guide wall for the night.
I took PJ and Shilo for a walk and when we reached the grass by the railroad tracks they began jumping for joy and rolled and rolled until Shilo remember she had to take a leak, PJ soon followed and took a long number 2 job before chasing a rabbit into the tall grass,.
On our way back to the lock, Shilo tried to get a drink and tumbled into the drink, after which PJ jumped in to join her. They both stink and at this time are tied outside to dry. I will brush them but there is no clean water to bathe them with so stink they might.
Making AuGratin potatoes, with tuna, mushroom, and onions.
Dinner is ready so I will sign off now, except to mention that I have taken the traveler off of the boat, and oh yea, next time we walk, I will keep the life jackets on the dogs.
The fuel tank is down to 1/4 tank so I put in the 5 gallons and will search for a fuel station tomorrow.
Day 5 and 6 September 23rd
The past 2 days have brought me down to just before Dam 11, which is still a few miles away as I anchor for the second night after fighting 20 mile per hour winds with gusts to over 30.
I tried to stop in two places where they supposedly had docks. The first one in Cassville had 3 finger docks but were only 15 feet in length as opposed to Quimbies Guides claim of 3 50 footers. The depth was about 1 foot at the docks. The second allegedly at mile marker 597.3 never materialized so I can't claim the docks were wrong.
I have seen very few tows and only one going south since I left the St. Croix 6 days ago. There are also very few boaters and those that I have seen were mostly small fishing boats trolling the shallows.
The other day when my fuel gauge was 1/2 full, not 1/4 like I thought earlier, I added the 5 gallon tank and the next morning I looked at the gauge and it said that the tank was full. I was not sure what to think so I stopped at mile 615 to take on diesel and to my surprise the tank only took about 2.5 gallons, which means that had I not added the fuel, I would still have had 2 to 3 gallons left. I do plan on adding fuel when it shows half full for safety, and leave the extra for emergencies. All in all, I am getting pretty good mileage, using only about 9 gallons from my fill on day 2.
I have anchored for the night someplace short of Dubuque and again have no computer reception, or de cent television. I do have one station but will not watch because the only thing I care about is the first show of the season for NCIS.
I will be doing a few small chores before getting down to a dinner of Chicken and Dumplings.
07 Day 7 September 24th
Well, today started off with a bang, as I suddenly woke to the noise of a tow coming down the river. I raced to get the engine started and rushed off, only to find that he was actually a train on the hill. Well since I was awake I continued on my journey, jumping below to grab a couple bags of chips and a soda.
Things went well when I actually reached the lock several hours later until, I put the boat in forward but to my surprise she just sat there and made noise. It turns out that the dinghy line had come loose and was wrapped around the prop shaft.
I cut both ends of the line and did manage to get moving but at a greatly reduced speed. To make matter worse, none of the places to go to was close enough to get to so I kept throwing the motor into reverse and then forward until I got the boat to the east bank, where I put it aground.
I discovered that the depth gauge said 3.5 feet in this condition and will begin looking for the manual to learn how to change the offset. I have no idea why someone would make it this way but that guy was full of surprises.
I put on my wet suit and mask and climbed into the 73 degree water. It took a few minutes to gtet used to the temperature but I never got used to the fact that the Mississippi is the worlds shit pot.
Being shallow, I was able to stand on the bottom and still keep my snorkel out of the water, which made getting the line off of the prop quick work. Actually the whole process took an hour.
Before going into the water I was passed by a guy in a Sea Eagle Kayak who was going from St. Paul to St. Louis. It took me almost an hour after getting back into service to pass him again, only to hear, "I never get ropes caught in the paddle". I waved and continued on my way to Lock 12.
I was hoping to stop at the curtousy dock just beyond it but it was not there. No one would come out to the gas dock to catch a line and since the current was keeping me away, I went on to my third nights anchorage.
A great thing happened here. PJ took a dump on the carpet on the fore deck.. I hope Shilo does this soon because I want them to know it is okay and the only place they will have on long voyages between docks.
Well, it is a nice anchorage, the ducks are landing near by and the sun is going down. Time to turn on the old anchor light and pray for a good nights rest.
NOTE: The forecast stroms never came, and the winds went to almost zero, so it was a rather hot and steamy day.
08 Day 8 September 25th
Well today went okay if you don't count the fact that I had all I could do to outrun a towbaot that came across the channel and ran right down the buoys. I had to get up speed but this did not happen as it appears the clutch is slipping in forward gear.
Later on I ducked in between buoys to avoid other tows and made it to Lock 13 where I almost did not get through some crap in front of the gates but managed to get out and down the river to anchor in front of a place with 2 churrch steeples with crosses, one of which is bent to the side.
It appears safe here but am not sure how close tows will come because they should stay to the other side but after this morning I am not sure. Most twos favor the outside of a turn but the one this mo4rning took the inside route.
I got the 2 horse running and with luck it will help power me until I get paid and hopefully make it to Lake Barkley where they have a mechanic. I can also raise the mast there.
A tow is coming now and appears way iover on my side which dows not make sense but I now see his red light which means he is going away from me.
Well, I don't desire to use more electric and I still have no connection to web.
Day 14 October 1st
Well, I have been off for a few days but have still progressed, sort of, down in front of Lock 19. I have been here for 2 days, after spending extra time on route due to the failure of my Honda 2 horse outboard motor.
It began bogging down, so I tried things like cleaning the spark plugs, changing to a different fuel can, and beating the crap out of the cover but it soon failed completely, leaving me engine less, unless you consider the fact that I still had reverse on the inboard.
Yes, I back over 23 miles to Keokuk Iowa, where I attempted to get service on one of the motors but no one could offer any.
In the end, I purchased a new Yamaha 4 horse and hung it on the back and am leaving early tomorrow, after I do a few cleanups and attempt to get on the wireless network by moving to the front of the docks nearer to the bar that serves as an all purpose establishment, again unless you consider they have no food and open at 3 p.m.
The yacht club is 2 miles to town and it is all uphill. This fact and the fact that my feet still have pain, left me praying for transportation. One guy gave me a sort of promise but never came so I was very happy when Matt, the bartender offered me the use of his car.
I left the dogs in the boat and went to WalMart where I bought enough food and water for a couple of weeks. I also picked up some other necessities, including a small electric heater for when I am docked and plugged in. On the water, I use my 1,000 BTU propane heater.
I spent last night on the outside dock and was kept up all night by the pounding of waves which slammed the boat into the dock. The dogs were nervous all night and none of us got much sleep. After putting on the new motor, I worked my way into the shallow dock spaces behind the breakwall and except a much better sleep tonight.
In the morning I will fill my main water tank so I have 35 gallons for cooking, cleaning, and watering the dogs. The other 8 gallons I bought will serve as my drinking water and will be used when I cook things like rice or augratin potatoes.
The people here were very nice and I recommend stopping here before proceeding up or down the river.
I already forgot most names but I do give special thanks to Julie and Matt for making my stay a winner.
I also give thanks to the Captain and his wife from the trawler, "Queen Ann's Revenge". This thanks is for their buying 20 lbs of dog food for the girls. They did this after hearing me giving the girls water and an unseen piece of chocolate. He did this because he heard me saying "This will be the last until payday". What I was telling them is I had no more money for treats. Oh well, it was pretty nice of them to make sure the dogs had food.
The river below St. Louis is now open to pleasure craft, which should not have affected me as I was not always having fun. I long for the day when I reach Lake Barkley and raise the mast.
Up to Today October 5th
The trip to now has been uneventful but I did stop and bought a used 6.6 gallon tank and hose for the 4 horse so I don't have to add fuel every hour any longer. I am getting over 20 miles to the gallon so I should be in good shape.
I have reached Alton Illinois, just before Lock 26 which I will pass through on the morrow. After that is 27 which is the last lock on the Mississippi. After 27 the current gets much faster and is around 8 miles per hour, which makes for a faster journey.
I hope to stop at Hoppies, a fuel station at mile 158 and the last one until I get to Lake Barkely on the Cumberland river. The last safe place to anchor is at the K something river where there is a lock that has a very nice lake behind it for a good safe anchorage. I then have to shoot 117 miles to the mouth of the Ohio before stopping. There on a wide spot before the Ohio, I was able to anchor on the last voyage and hope to do so again.
I hope I get cell connections between here and there to update the voyage.
OLD STUFF
After almost five years of living in Florida, first in a Trailer in Key Largo, then in a nice Modular Home in Dunnellon, to my last venture, attempting to build a small house in Live Oak Fl. This last one made up my mind for me. That is that I will never again, try to live for more than a few weeks at most, in any, one place.
I bought a Travel Trailer and am about to set off on an adventure that will take me up the East Coast to a long sought after destination, that being Maine.
Things change everyday when you are living on the edge, so I shouldn't have been surprised when I found that the frig was not going to last on the trailer.
This, and the fact that I really don't want to spend a fortune on fuel has brought me to the realization that I will be using my truck and topper as my residence until I find a sailboat capable of sailing around the world and at a price I can afford.
My journey to Maine and Minnesota will become the starting place for my around the world voyage, that will begin sometime early in 2009. I must first find a boat and then get it ready to cross the open oceans of the world.
SOMETHING NEW:
I have opened a forum that is dedicated to people interested in my trip, with opinons and information to share. We are not looking for people to take over and talk about anything they want. If the discussions do not relate to the overall topic of World Travel, the information will be deleted.
Profanity will result in the perpetrators being removed from the system.
My New Boat is named MinJamBe, she is a 27' Hunter with a Diesel Engine and I am getting Ready to Take her down the Mississippi to the Guld of Mexico and on to the Florida Keys or perhaps the US Virgin Islands. Read about her and follow my voyage, which will begin in October 2008. I close on the boat September 2nd and will be getting her ready until it is time to take off.
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