From the mouth of the Missouri River, the boat headed up river four miles on the Mississippi River to the Alton Marina for a respite.  There are many, many barges tied up along the shoreline.  Are there so many because that was normal, because it was Saturday, or because of the Hurricane Katrina?  We wondered.

 

There are also Dry docks and transportation businesses along the river.

 

            We arrived at the Alton Lock at 11:35, and we prepared to go through our first lock.  We don our life jackets, prepare the lines, and enter the lock.  After the gates closed, and the lock began to be filled, we were pushed against the sides.  The bumpers appeared to be squashed. The crew pushed mightily against the walls of the lock.

 

            The Alton Marina was situated immediately below the Alton Bridge, which is a beautiful bridge built in the 90s.

    We were examining the entrance to the Marina and talking with them on phone. Suddenly we were grounded.  After some attempts with small engine boats,  a ski boat with a 350 HP V8 pulled the schooner backward off the bottom.   An unmarked sandbar near the entrance channel was the culprit.    After a wave and a “thanks”  we motored to the Marina fuel dock and took on another 86 gallons of diesel fuel at $2.74.   The John Deere engine performance manual has a chart depicting fuel burned versus RPM. 

   And while no analysis was made at the time because of varying RPMS  during the Missouri run,  JC seemed a bit pleased with the results.  

           

 

 

The Alton Marina facilities are very, very nice.  They include restrooms, showers with complimentary soaps, laundry,

swimming pool, Jacuzzi, and garbage pick-up.  The crew spent the afternoon taking showers and doing laundry. The captain washed down the deck to make it sparkling clean.  Crew-member Melvin Gosnell had to depart on family business.  The crew hated to see him go because he is the most knowledgeable person (besides the captain) about boat operations.  He had served in the United States Navy, and he also had been on many cruises with J.C.

 

            In the evening, the crew walked to the town of Alton, Illinois.  Next to the marina and along the waterfront was a carnival with rides, food stalls, and mud volleyball. Next was the Argosy Casino.  We had to cross the railroad tracks and find Third Street which ran parallel to the river.  It is the main street of downtown Alton where the restaurant district flourishes.

 

            We picked The Big Muddy restaurant, which had a paddlewheel steamboat as its symbol. We enjoyed very delicious sandwiches.  It was a Saturday night, and a combo was getting ready to entertain at 9:00 p.m.; but it was getting to be our bedtime!

 

            The second day at the Alton Marina was spent in the morning getting food for the larder/pantry. Joy, Linda, and Ken took a cab to the Alton grocery store, Shop N Save.  The cab ride was about $5, and the grocery bill was about $140. On return to the boat, the food was stowed.  The crew ate sandwiches for lunch.  Joy and Linda walked back to Alton hoping that shops would be open; but it was Sunday, and the only shops open were a gift shop and a camera shop.

 

            In the late afternoon, the captain called for Lesson One.  For those who did not know, the crew  needed to learn about Bow lines, Stern lines, Bow spring lines, and Stern spring lines. 

 

            With proper use of spring lines the big boat is much easier to handle during “docking maneuvers”. 

 

    Also in the afternoon, the crew caught up with Jeff Scott and family, who came in the Marina today.  Jeff Scott has been a friend and customer of J. C. Waters for several years.  Jeff had first bought Ken Brink’s Seafarer sailboat very late in the last century. J. C. helped him restore it.

            Jeff and family took his newly restored 26’ sloop Seafarer down the same route from Kansas City that we are now following. That was a few years ago.

 

            Then he sold that boat to get his present sailboat, a 32’ Cheoy Lee ketch.  A ketch has two masts, the one aft is shorter than the one forward.  A sloop these days has only one mast. On a schooner, the aft mast is the taller of the two.

 

            So Jeff and his wife Theresa and children Oscar, Sal, and Waylon were again navigating the rivers in their newest boat, Agadir.   It had been planned to meet up with them at Alton, Illinois.  Their goal is to head to Florida and then explore the coast of Mexico.

 

            The men met in the evening to return to Alton in order to eat and watch the Kansas City Chiefs play against the Seattle Mariners.  The female crew remained behind to pop popcorn in the microwave and do more laundry.

 

            On Monday, September 19, the crew had another practical lesson two.  The goal was to learn how to approach the dock and tie up.  There might be two different approaches: heading in and backing in so different approaches are necessary.  If the approach is heading in, the crew would use the bow spring line first; but if backing in, the crew would use the stern spring line first. The spring lines can essentially control the boat’s “speed slowing” process as it comes to a stop at the proper place on the dock.

 

            The captain took the schooner out into the river near the Alton Marina so that the crew members could practice turning the boat with the help of the dinghy.  Joy and Ken were responsible for operating the dinghy, while Linda was the signaler between the captain and the crew.

 

    From inside his Pilothouse, J.C. can not communicate with the dinghy very easily.   In the future and with microphone enhanced headsets, a  two-man crew will be able to operate “hands free”, meaning that each boat driver can concentrate on maneuvering his (or her) boat instead of having to hold a microphone in one hand and try driving and controlling speed with the other.  By pushing on the side of the bow or stern, the dinghy can help the big schooner perform turns in a more restricted area of water—such as a 180 degree turn. While new big power boats have bow thrusters to aid in tight situations, traditionally sailboats do not.

 

                        After we returned to the marina and  practiced a 180 degree turn around with dinghy assist,  and a docking and tie up session, the boat was ready to depart from the Alton Marina.  The Spirit connected with the Agadir , and the two boat would travel in tandem. There were two locks coming up, and the crew was beginning to understand and handle the procedure.  The lock passing was shared with two kayakers.  They had started in Minneapolis, Minnesota and were traversing the Mississippi River to New Orleans.  We were to pass them on the river in the following two days. They obviously paddled late into the night, and then started very early each day.

 

            Great White Pelicans appeared to be flocking on the sandbars near the confluence of the two rivers.  They could be seen in great groups circling and coming in for a water landing.

 

            Just north of St. Louis, a Chain of Rocks canal had been built to bypass the Mississippi River where it is too rocky for safe barge and boat travel.  We pass many, many barges—moored or under tow. Rock Doves (pigeons) rode the barges—for travel or for rest?

 

            Closer to St. Louis and after the second lock, the locking canal  and the Mississippi converge, and we passed under the many bridges there and admired the Arch from the riverside.

 

            Mooring this day would be at Hoppie’s Landing near Kimmswick, Missouri. Hoppie and Fern Hopkins have owned this marina since 1973 when he took over from his father.  There are  very few landings along either the Missouri or the Mississippi Rivers for fuel and supplies, so Hoppie’s is a crucial overnight stay for pleasure boaters.

 

            A huge 110 foot dinner-cruise boat, the Grandpa Woo docked just upriver of the Spirit with such ease.  The use of side thrusters allowed the boat to move in sideways to the dock.  They were up and gone early in the morning to make it to Cape Girardeau to offer river dinner cruises.  The Grandpa Woo is based in Minnesota, but works in Mobile, Alabama in the winter.  Because of Hurricane Katrina, they were also waiting for a new dock facility at Mobile to be prepared.

 

            Hoppie’s Marina is about ¼ mile from the town of Kimmswick.  The crew took shore leave.  The Robert E. Lee paddlewheel boat that used to be at St. Louis has now become a restaurant and bar at Kimmswick shoreline, which is a few miles north of Hoppie’s.

 

            Kimmswick was founded in 1859 by Theodore Kimm, who was a German-born drygoods merchant from St. Louis.  The village is located only 20 miles south of St. Louis and had access to both the river as well as the railroad.

 

            The people of the village have restored old homes—some log and chink houses dating from  around 1840s and other frame homes in the 1860s. Most of these old homes have become gift or antique shops, restaurants, bed and breakfast inns, or historic sites. The living town has been revitalized by its restoration efforts. Several festivals are held here  throughout the year: Strawberry, Civil War Reenactment, Christmas Open House, and Dickens of A Christmas.

 

At the edge of town was the Equine Assisted Therapy enterprise. It was established on a 20 acre property once owned by Fred and Mabel Ruth Anheuser. Disabled persons are given horse-riding experiences.

 

One of the purposes of commissioning a new boat is to find any problems and deal with them.  A problem has developed in the water drainage system, which was believed to be too small for its use. A larger pump and housing under the main aisle floor is expected to solve this problem.

 

The night was very, very hot. Sleeping was difficult. The boat was closed around sunset each night to keep out the mosquitoes. Although each sleeping area has port holes, there is not always a cooling breeze. Thanks for fans and Tylenol P.M.

 

The next morning, there was another visit to Kimmswick, as last minute birthday gifts and souvenirs were required. So the crew cast off about 1:00 to head to the Kaskaskia River in Illinois.  Agadir again led the way. 

 

The lock at Kaskaskia provided a docking site, but it was a tight squeeze.  The boat barely scraped a  cement pillar. And the six inflated bumpers hanging over the port side seemed to scream  as  48 tons of boat tested their collective will.  It seemed worse at the time than it turned out to be.  A minute’s worth of sandpaper and varnish effort hid the evidence.   Don’t tell anyone.  Plans are in place to acquire bigger bumpers.

 

The next morning there was another delay due to fog.  Around mid-morning, the crew cast off and again followed the Agadir. 

 

Jeff Scott took an interest in boating when he and Theresa were visiting in Ireland, and he saw people traveling by boat.  He was hooked.  On their return, Jeff learned how to sail.  He eventually bought the Seafarer from Ken Brink, and he, Theresa, and their first child, Oscar headed down the river to Florida. 

 

Jeff upgraded to a larger boat.  After some major restoration with the help of J.C. and Joy Waters, he and Theresa, now with three children are off on their second river expedition. Their children are boat schooled, and they will have first-hand experience of boat travel, river life, and the environment.

 

Tonight’s anchoring would be opposite the river city of Cape Girardeau. The boat was anchored, and the crew had anchor-watch.  Watching an anchor can be tiresome so crew members kept busy by doing  a number of chores.  Joy would write in the log book, clean the galley, or work on her scrapbook.  Linda read, and Ken stared at the glistening and speedy river, deeply mesmerized.

 

            Today was the first day of autumn.  The weather still felt like summer, however.  The boat left Cape Girardeau at 7:50 a.m., and we headed to Cairo, Illinois. We watched Monarch butterflies and a variety of others along the river. They have a long trip to Mexico ahead of them.

 

Around 5 P.M., we scouted in the Dinghy for “good water” near the edge of the mighty Mississippi just west of Cairo area. “Good water” had become the operational term for “deep enough” for the schooner’s seven foot deep keep.  We anchored facing back upriver.

 

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset and a low airborne “fly by” from an open cockpit single engine airplane.  It could have been a 1920s Barnstormer.  Maybe it was the great Waldo Pepper.  He certainly had to be surprised to see a “traditional schooner” anchored below—a nostalgic view for him of an even earlier time-- the 1800s—before airplanes and engines.

 

We waved, and he let his big white scarf billow out the side of his little cockpit as a return salute.

 

We set up our deck chairs, had a good dinner, and then enjoyed some relaxing moments before darkness intervened with her small army of mosquitoes.

 

            On the next morning Friday September 23^rd, we rounded the most-southern tip of Illinois and entered the Ohio River.  We had  to motor upstream until we reached the Kentucky Lakes.  There are two locks  we must pass through on the Ohio.  The first one was without incident.  We then passed the new Lock being built at Olmsted, Illinois.  The lock appears finished, but its completion will not be until 2011.

 

            After passing the new but unfinished lock, we arrived at old Lock #52. The recreational lock, however, was inoperative. We were instructed to wait, but the wait extended to nightfall. More tugs and barges appeared. And they have priority. So the bigger, commercial side of the lock was busy. As dusk came, the Captain decided to anchor for the night.  Again there was an anchor watch.

 

            Finally, in the morning three other recreational vessels motored upriver to the same lock. The schooner led into the lock and all four boats moved forward again. 

 

We passed the town of Paducah, Kentucky.  The town was having a river festival over the weekend. Two huge paddle wheelers and a tugboat were giving tours to the gathering crowd.

 

            Just past Paducah, the Tennessee River joins the Ohio.  Our new river, the Tennessee, is wide and deep; and we did not meet many other boats or barges. Since it is generally very busy with barge traffic, we were pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t. This meant minimum waiting  at the next lock.

 

            Turkey Vultures have been observed frequently along the way.  Today the soaring vultures were joined by a Red-tailed hawk.  A Tern was resting on a sandbar along with a bevy of ring-billed gulls.

 

            Our destination—the Kentucky Lakes, can only be entered from a lock that lifts us up over fifty feet.  When we came out of the locks, we saw a very large lake with a number of recreational boats buzzing around.

 

            We headed to Green Turtle Bay Marina for mooring, for fuel and for more rest. After diesel fuel was loaded, the boat was turned around with the help of Ken in the dinghy. By pushing alternately on the bow and the stern, the boat was turned around so that it could be tied up to its assigned space just across from the marina facilities.

 

            This marina offers many facilities for boaters: laundry, restaurant, a separate snack shop, gift shop, a good boat parts store,  swimming pool, cabins.  This is a no-drinking county so no alcohol was served in the restaurant without a membership.  Non members are welcome to dine, and we had a nice meal.  A “vigorous” combo supplied dancing music.

 

            We meet up with Jeff and Theresa at the Marina.  They had gone ahead of the Spirit  so we heard about their adventures.

 

   A day before we started up the Ohio river, They had tied up at the Olmsted Locks waiting to be allowed to enter.  He contacted the Lock Master on the boat VHF radio and explained he was waiting.  The agent said that she saw no one waiting at her lock.  When he realized he was in the still-unfinished Olmsted Lock, he thought he better exit. He then motored right through the new lock since the Ohio River was already running through it, and the control gates had not yet been installed to control the water level. The operational Lock #52 was just a few miles further upriver, so VHF radio communications was fine, which added to both sides confusion.  When Jeff finally arrived at the real lock, he had a good laugh with the Lock Master about his self-inflicted faux pas.

 

            After they successfully passed through Lock #52, Jeff and crew tied up at the Paducah, Kentucky ramp area; but because of the River Festival, they were told they would have to moor some place else. It was already after sunset, so they entered the Tennessee River and anchored.  In the morning when Jeff awoke, he sensed that the boat was not rocking as is usual.  He learned that the boat was grounded because the river had dropped three feet over night. After getting free, the family continued to Green Turtle Bay Marina arriving a day prior to the schooner.

 

On Sunday, September 25^th, both boat crews spent the day doing laundry and “re-supply” duties.  It was cloudy, and it drizzled most of the day. There were many cruisers wanting to get their laundry washed. Many boats here are from Canada.  Many are also those that have made the Grand Loop.  Some are heading to Alabama for a Grand Loop convention.

 

            The name “Great Loop” describes a human ritual of migration. Only the humans use their boats.  They leave the Great Lakes in the fall and head for the Gulf of Mexico and beyond for the winter. In the spring, they head up the East Coast to the Hudson river, then to the Erie Canal and back to the Great Lakes. Of course, the loop can be and is joined at any point. And many do not do the whole loop, many just reverse course northward in the spring from the Gulf to the northern areas.

 

The schooner crew spent the afternoon getting the boat ready  to “button up” for a break in the action.  We were heading back to Kansas city area Monday morning for rest, business, appointments, and general “catching up” with other parts of our lives.     

 

But first, defrosting the refrigerator,  stowing the dinghy up high in her davits,  arranging for a one way rental car,  general cleaning and checking (especially the under water seacocks).   Joy’s bicycle was squeezed into a corner inside the boat.   Decisions made about what to leave or take.   Notes and plans regarding  parts by JC for when he dons his “Mr. Fix it” hat on his return.  He has many hats.

Double check all the lines keeping the boat secure.  WAIT!  Who has an alarm clock?  We will meet the marina van driver very early next morning for our ride to the Paducah airport.   One way car rentals almost always involve an airport at each end of the trip.   Ken found out about that as he tried in vain with six rental companies to go from Paducah to Independence.   Finally, Jeff heard our plight and straightened us out.  It was another of those “after the fact” head smacking situations.  It was so obvious.  The cars need to be in high traffic areas, especially in small town airports  (that’s our conclusion and we’re sticking to it).  

We didn’t need any alarm clock.   We were up and ready to go.  

  Get car!  Find McDonalds!  Find highway!   Untie bow lines and hit the gas!

 

    Joy offered to let us all listen to Tom Sawyer on tape.  After  we declined, she put on her headset and joined the kid from Hannibal.   Linda grabbed the crossword puzzle from the USA TODAY.   JC  was busy thinking.   A quiet ride.

 

    Even Saint Louis traffic was less bothersome than driver Ken had been anticipating.   We saw the Arch and the river from a different angle.   Sprinkled in with three “necessary” stops was a surprise lunch and view near Rocheport Missouri.   We now were sitting atop the cliff that we had seen from the river many days past.   A great place for a restaurant and winery………the Le  Bourjjwaaa  something.

 

      Nine hours on the road and we were home around 5 PM.  

 

       We’ll be seeing you in the next chapter