What a day on the river

We were up at first light.  We had to go 90 miles and get through the Pickwick Lock which can take a while.

We fired motors at 5:56 and pulled out of the marina at 6:01.  Beautiful morning.  A sailboat had pulled out just ahead of us.  We caught up to the sailboat, SeaDora, half way to the lock.

SeaDora

There was a tow ahead of us but Pickwick has two chambers so I thought no big deal.  I was about to learn they only use one chamber at a time so we would have to wait for the tow to lock through.  On top of that, the tow had so many barges he had to make two trips up and down with his load.

AND, the lockmaster informs us they only have one working bullard so if the sailboat wants to go through with us we have to raft up.  That's no problem.  I motor over to the sailboat and the skipper is very friendly and we agree to raft up for the decent.

The lockmaster was doing us a favor because there was another tow waiting downstream to lock up and she could have made us wait for that tow also.  But it must have been my Minnesota Nice accent and she agreed to let us through but we had to be quick.

Being quick was no problem as we had arrived at the lock at 7AM and got out of the lock at 11AM.  I'm sure glad my daughter Rachael was not with us.....though it was beautiful out so she would have gotten a lot of sun while we drifted around waiting.

Now here is the best part.........we raft up while waiting, motor in rafted up, tie off and we are all set to descend.  The skipper of the sailboat is so grateful he tells us the two guys with him are musicians and asks if we want a mini concert.  SURE!  So we were treated to "The Professor and the Bull" on the way down.  What a hoot!  The Professor plays guitar and sings and the Bull plays the washboard.  They were really good and I have a video to prove it (I may have to wait until I get back to town to upload it with Josh's help).

Rod Harris, skipper of SeaDora

So the lock opens and off we go.  We are already trying to figure out where we are going to stop because of the 4 hour delay.  We head down stream and we are flying!  We have a 3 knot current at our stern and we are making time.  In the end we made it the full 90 miles to Cuba Landing Marina just at sunset.

We saw some interesting things along the  way.

Memorial Day Flight

The river is very high!

Flags flying high!

Paddle board dude came out to visit while we were waiting for the lock.

River Po Po

Beer Party

Kids always have the most fun!

Lots of current!!!

Hmmmmmm, maybe I don't want to go for a swim just now!!!

This is one of those days we will remember forever and again it's a bummer that Melissa and Kerm are not here on board.  At least we can share the pictures with y'all!

And look what I spotted less then one mile from Cuba Landing.  These guys were having a great time riding in the river.  What do you think, Melissa?  Maybe I can motor and you can ride the shore like these guys??

We will be at it first thing tomorrow as we have 100 miles to go but no locks so we don't have to push if we get an early start.

Another Beautiful Day on the River

Leaving Smithville Marina

We feel bad for all of you back in Minnesota as we are experiencing fantastic weather.  Warm, sunny, light breeze.

The day started out with a pristine motor north of Smithville.  This town was hit hard by a tornado two years ago and they are rebuilding.

Melissa.  Melissa!  Where are you Melissa!!!!!!

We got to the first lock at 9AM and whistled right through.  Then three more in sequence of an hour each.

Whitten Lock

Only had one boat lock through with us

S/V Dragon Slayer

Whitten Lock is the last one for today and the highest lift.  When you pull out of Whitten you enter Bay Springs Lake.  The serenity of the day disappeared with Americana holiday celebration on the waterway.

After Bay Springs you enter a man made cut that is normally boring but there were lots of recreational activities all along the cut.

Then when you Yellow Creek another onslaught of recreational boating slammed us.  Crazy I tell you, Crazy!

We fueled up at Grand Harbor Marina and my new fuel treatment, XP3 has increased my mileage by 10%....very excited about that!

Saw lots of birds today.

Also saw an interesting house

After we fueled and tied up at Grand Harbor Marina,  I treated Chris to dinner at Broken Spoke Restaurant as Missy and I had discovered it on our previous trips.  Chris deserves a big reward for not only crewing on this journey but for all the work she has done cleaning up the stainless railing on the boat so dinner was the least I could do.

We stopped for a few provisions on the way back and then returned to live music in the marina.  Yuk!

We have a long day planned tomorrow, 100 miles to Cuba Landing so we are leaving at first light.

Happy Memorial Day everyone.....stay safe!

4 Locks northbound

Up at 6AM.  A big 56 foot cruiser came in at dusk last night and they left at first light.

Pulling out of Pirate's Cove

We did not have to hurry as the first lock we were headed to offered services on the even hour and no way would we get there by 8AM (the big boat must cruise pretty fast) so we headed out at 7AM.

The AIS is still not working.....bummer.  The genset still won't run though I spent about an hour priming it last night.  Maybe if Trick sees the blog he can do magically diagnosis the issue remotely for me like he has before.  Still seems like I am drawing all the fuel from one tank.  But we sure having super nice weather!

Chris is a superb crew.  She has gone beyond the call of duty and been cleaning the bright work for the last two days.  It's also fun to talk about Joe, Kerm, and mutual friends as we cruise.  We both wish our spouses were aboard as that would make it the perfect trip.

You can sure tell it is a holiday weekend.  There were a zillion people out in every kind of boat pulling people of all ages on tubes.

Then we ran into two barges blocking the river, one on each bank, facing downstream. There was very little if any room to split between them.  I called them on the VHF but with no response.  Then the tow "Archie Wilson" pushing two tanker barges pulled away from the bank and headed downstream dang near straight at us.  I was a little offended.  I backed out of the way but did not want to get too close to the bank.  "Archie" passed and then "Tom Huckabee" started to move pushing coal.  Finally "Huckabee" got on the radio and sorta apologized after I told him I was trying to raise them on the radio (they were on another channel talking to each other).

So then the river was filled, and I do mean filled, with logs and debris.  It was a minefield.  Chris and I were on full alert all the way to the next lock.

We pulled right into the Amory lock but then waited for a good twenty minutes for the water to go up.  The lock master later apologized for "not pushing the right button".  At least they do apologize down here.

"Bama Gator"

Zipped right through the Wilkins lock and into Smithville Marina for the night.  "Scott" is still running the place and could not be nicer.

Chris made dinner while I moved the AIS receiver to a higher location to see if that will help.  Also looked at the fuel tank issue again and I cannot figure out why I am only drawing from one tank.  Maybe the gauge is messed up and I am actually burning a lot of fuel.  Tweeked the new taller VHF antenna so I can lower it for the railroad bridge a few miles up stream from Cuba Landing Marina.

You see weird stuff on the river!

Four more locks tomorrow and will be at Grand Harbor Marina for the evening.

This Pelican seemed to be asking "Where is Melissa????"

   

1st Day on the River!

Bob and Barbie having breakfast on their sundeck as we leave Demopolis Yacht Basin

We had a little of organizing yet to do in the morning so we started the motors around 6:45 and left the dock at 7AM.  I discovered right away the upper helm was still not functioning properly!  I called Matt on the cell phone and he advised we go over the fuel dock since we were already on the river.  Way too much junk in the water by the fuel dock so we went back into the marina.  Matt came over right away and showed me how to bleed the steering system.  All fixed and out back into the river at 8AM.

Beautiful day.  Sunny without a cloud in the sky, light breeze.  Discovered the auto pilot was not working.  Came across our first tow at 8:30 then another at 9:30.  After the first tow went by I discovered the AIS is not working.

Bluffs

Also discovered the genset will not start.

Cows

Then discovered the fuel is all coming from the port tank.  That makes me think the guys at Demopolis Yacht Basin messed up the fuel shut off on the genset along with something causing all the fuel to come from one tank.

We got up to Heflin Lock at 1:30 and buzzed right through leaving at 1:50.

We passed a few more tows along the way.  With the AIS not working I was calling out my location approaching sharp bends and that worked out well with the cooperation of the boat captains.

Approached Tom Bevill Lock about 6:15 and had to wait a half hour for a two to clear going upstream.

Pulled out of Tom Bevill at 7:05 and arrived at Pirate's Cove Marina at 7:15 for the night.

google U S Snagboat Montgomery

Went below and sure enough the fuel was shut off to the genset.  I still can't start the things since I bled it dry trying to start it previously.  I will have to try to find a way to prime it????  I think I also solved the fuel from one tank issue but won't know for sure until tomorrow.  I will read my Garmin owners manual tonight to try to figure out the AIS issue.

Looks like we are headed for Smithville Marina tomorrow night.

Back in the water

Aye Sea No Snow has been on the hard since Thanksgiving.  We tried several times to head south for the winter.  Missy and I were all packed up, ready to go on December 26th and I told her I wanted to take a short nap before we left.  Just as I was getting up and about to open the garage door, Matt from Demopolis Yacht Basin called me on my cell phone and told me the river was flooded.

It never really let up all winter.  Rain, rain, rain!  It's a real bummer to own such a nice boat and not be able to get some time on her.

The good news is Matt from the Yacht Basin did some work to her.  I now have a Garmin Chart Plotter on the lower helm to make cruising in bad weather much more comfortable.

With Memorial Day Weekend coming up I just could not pass on the opportunity to try to move north. Missy could not come with as she has re-entered the amateur theater world with a short production that will be at White Bear Theater.

I asked Kerm and Chris Wold if they could move my boat for me and Kerm was all over that idea except he got a job at a marina in Afton that he can't pass up.  However, he volunteered Chris and so the two of us left our spouses home to attend to their passions while we take on the adventure of old man river.

We started the drive down mid-day Wed and arrived at 1:30 this afternoon just as the crew from the Yacht Basin splashed her into the water.

 I had to coax her a little bit to get both motors fired up but she finally came to life.  Then I had a problem with steerage but Matt came over and made an adjustment so we should be ready to go in the morning.

After a while Bob and Barbie aboard Bar-B pulled into the marina.  We had shared dock space with them a couple of times last year.  It makes it feel like home to have "friends on the river".  We are really looking forward to the adventure ahead of us.

Bob and Barbie are from Milwaukee