July 23 - 24, 2018, Anchorage at MM 819.5 to Rocky Point Marina (Cannelton, IN, MM 719)

July 23 - 24, 2018, Anchorage at MM 819.5 to Rocky Point Marina (Cannelton, IN, MM 719)

Sister Susan dubbed me ‘a trooper.’ I love my sister! She has insight into me AND my situation; and, she’s traveled with us which lends credibility!  I made comment recently to Clay that I feel greasy, grimy, grungy, sweaty, smelly, sticky—you get the gist—by day’s end. It’s been that kind of summer for us all! But as deckhand, I’m coated in sunscreen, involved in sweaty activities, and often splashed with river water—all in a day’s work. I really look forward to that evening shower!

Life aboard the SaSea Sally—or any cruising boat of comparable size—can reshape and redefine one’s values! Happiness is a walk along the levee; internet access to download emails which haven’t been retrieved in over a week; health which enables one to hoist, throw, bend, twist and meet daily challenges with ease; functioning with a minimalistic approach—less is certainly more on a boat! A place for everything and everything in its place—when items are stowed, there’s plenty of room; disarray, not so much!

Now, back to recapping life aboard…

Sally’s Salon opened for business early this Monday morn (aren’t most hair salons closed on Monday?). With clippers, barber shears and comb in hand, I briefly reviewed the hair-cutting directions, then went to work, amazed as always that Clay trusts me with his haircut. Vice versa ISN’T gonna happen! Thanks again to Brandy for his patience in giving me pointers! My talent surprises me, infrequently practiced as it is. Haircut, check. Breakfast, check. Now time to hit the waterway!

We’ve got this anchor pull down pat! Easy pull at 10:14 a.m., using Jacksonville Ralph’s technique of backing the boat to swing the temperamental anchor roll bar into position. And, we’re off, bound for Evansville, IN. En route, I called the two marina choices to verify water depth which is our primary concern—and to validate services listed in our Quimby’s 2013 Cruising Guide (outdated as it is, there are things that don’t change much). One marina rep became a bit testy with me when repeatedly answering ‘no’ to my routine questions (at least routine for any Looper); she even suggested the alternate marina—not good business in my books! It’s becoming more obvious that this isn’t the Loop! But, just as with the upper Mississippi River we cruised last summer, we’re relishing those little pops of joy!

And Ron at Inland Marina in Evansville was a pop of joy! Inbound with strong winds at our stern, we welcomed Inland Marina’s dockmaster Ron catching our lines and processing us through fueling, pumping out, and pivoting the boat with bow pulpit as pivot point to position at the fuel dock (doubling as the Tiki Bar and boathouse) for the overnight. What a delightful and competent fella he was! We shared boat stories over the two hours’ processing time which passed quickly. A certified boat captain with obviously hours and hours of experience, Ron hailed from Astor, FL on the Johns River (we’ve been there so Clay and he could talk shop); summer months he spends in Evansville, assisting his marina manager daughter with dockmaster duties. You meet the nicest people along the waterway!

Port Captain Norm submitted the following on Inland Marina’s Facebook page: Great marina at MM 791 on the Ohio River. The Marina is NOT CLOSED. Gas and Diesel fuel is available 24X7X365. Slips are "Off River" and free of river current and debris. Tiki Time Tike Bar and CK's Marina Point restaurant operates during the summer season and offers great views of the city of Evansville. Convenient to downtown Evansville with all is attractions. Don't miss a tour on the LST325!  Note the “NOT CLOSED” emphasis; the Ohio River suffered serious flooding this spring and early summer, and only recently returned to normal summer pool stage. Further, note “Convenient to downtown Evansville…” ‘Convenient’ does not apply to hoofing it! I did commence a 60-minute loop which took me to the Visitors Center on the downtown periphery and back, a pretty but somewhat dangerous walk (asphalt road with NO shoulder) a lengthy part of the route.

On return, I ramped up dinner with homemade cornbread and roasted Brussel sprouts to enhance the leftover balsamic chicken (which is really almost better as leftovers!) Lest you think homemade cornbread and roasted Brussel sprouts are easy fixes in Sally’s Galley, please do come take a tour sometime! Susan chimed in without prompt, “Are you crazy?” Yes, sometimes I think I am! We noted that Monday’s crowd at the Tiki Bar was small and subdued so noise wouldn’t be an issue overnight, but the bright lights promised a thick coating of bugs littering our deck come morning.

I took advantage of power and water hook-ups Tuesday morning to cycle two belly loads of laundry before our morning walk. The location of the marina was adjacent to the USS LST Ship Memorial (USS LST 325). Called the ship that won the war by Churchill, the LSTs (Landing Ship Tank) were essential in sea-to-land invasions and many were built in Evansville, Indiana. The LST 325 is 328 ft. Clay failed to tour the memorial, but I have no doubt it’s on his radar screen on our return trip (we gotta come back this way)!

Together Clay and I hosed the deck and filled our water tank in anticipation of three nights anchoring before reaching our next port of call Louisville, KY. Soon, with the help of above-quoted port captain Norm (aboard Quiet Company), we disconnected lines and cords and pushed onward toward Newburgh Lock.

Locking on the OH River is almost a pleasure. The lock chambers are clean, and floating bollards pretty much negate emergency line cutting. Please note that I said ‘almost’ a pleasure. The positioning of our boat along the lock wall set up a seesaw motion as water filled the chamber—not fun for the first mate trying to hold the position. But quite doable!

Now upriver of the lock, we cruised toward Thursday night’s destination Louisville, KY, with Clay exploring marina options and relishing the calm waters. On many of our previous days, Clay had noted the brisk winds, choppy waters, and the silver glitz of the undersides of leaves along the shoreline. One hundred eighty-eight river miles stood between Evansville and Louisville, so we anticipated at least two-to-three days cruising time. What we didn’t anticipate was a long wait in Tuesday’s waning hours at Cannelton Lock; we had little choice but to lock through to the other side as river depths of 65’ in most places affords NO opportunity to anchor downriver of the lock for the overnight. We had sights set on Rocky Point Marina on yonder shore, but shallow depths were of concern. Where’s the law of averages here? Goldilocks wants her water depth just right.

With no shore assistance (and even Mother Nature had snuffed out the sun for the night), Captain Clay and crew thrusted, lassoed, and secured SaSea Sally to the Rocky Point Marina. SaSea’s props were newly repitched ($$), and the good captain wanted no part of prop damage, thus thrusting. Note: SaSea Sally has both bow and stern thrusters (cushy!), which are imbedded propellers that move the boat sideways (parallel parking our boat should be a breeze!) Using thrusters in shallow water does not endanger those propellers.

Once docked, I was assigned the task of old-fashioned depth finding. We take all of the electronics on the boat for granted, living in the tech world as we do. But, believe it or not, the first Loopers used the good ole boat hook for depth measurement. With boat hook in hand, I sunk the tip into river muck to measure the water depth. Captain was calmed by measurements at the swim platform; not so much along the shoreside hull!

Too late for shore exploration, it didn’t even enter our minds as we connected to shore power but were unable to find a water hook-up. I was thankful I’d started a crock pot chuck roast dinner entrée, so was quick to serve up supper, clean up and bed down for the night. It had been a long ten-hour cruising day covering 72 river miles!

July 22 , 2018, Golconda, IL to MM 819.5

July 22 , 2018, Golconda, IL to MM 819.5

Sleep was fitful Saturday night at anchor across from Golconda, IL. The cabin temps were hot, even with Clay’s gallant attempts to siphon air through the boat’s interior. Windows and doors were open wide with screens attached; front hatch was riding high; and our stateroom breeze catcher was configured to maximize air flow through our aft stateroom. Waves slapped lazily—and noisily—against the hull, rhythmic but aggravating! I do have pretty purple ear plugs aboard, but couldn’t muster the wherewithal to retrieve them.

A weather front moved in early morning, ushering in overcast skies, lower temperatures and occasional spitting rain. We cruised a long day after puling anchor knowing the next marina was far too distant  for Sunday’s ‘lodging.’ One lock and 100 miles traveling upriver stood between us and Evansville, IN, where we had choice of two possible marinas. So we took the miles as they came, tolerating increasing winds and checking radar for potential storms. The Branson, MO Duck accident was fresh in our minds, but caution is always a priority!

Nine hours and 83 miles later, we sought an anchorage in obviously unfamiliar territory. Serious lightning strikes in nearby storm clouds had us on high alert, but we had little choice in seeking refuge. (We had recently passed Mt. Vernon, IN courtesy dock  which was appropriate for a 16’ runabout, but unsuitable for us.) Clay usually chooses the anchorage, but he requested a confab at the flybridge helm wheel where we both watched the shoreline and referenced the chart plotter to select a site at MM 819.5 RDB. The depth here was good, but the marked channel was closer than we’d have liked. We set the anchor in about 11’ of water, releasing chain to about 7X the depth (recommended), or about 80’ of chain, then set the snubber to minimize our overnight movement. It was a good choice!

The trip is becoming rather routine, as you can tell from reading my recent recaps. This Ohio River is certainly not the Great Loop! The scenery is repetitively beautiful; the stops, few and far between. Depth is of concern with the river at summer normal. Even with troubleshooting and routine office, cooking and cleaning duties, I’ve read four paperbacks. Clay does the driving (I’m only an occasional substitute); I do the crewing. But he’s far ‘busier’ at his task than I. An upcoming lock or anchorage is welcomed as it gives me something productive to do. I still look forward to my coffee in the morning and my wine at night!

On that note, I will close my email to you and move on with the evening’s activities.

July 20 - 21, 2018, Paducah, KY to Golconda, IL

July 20 - 21, 2018, Paducah, KY to Golconda, IL

Our Thursday night was calm compared to that of our friends and family in the path of Thursday’s storms at home! We awakened Friday morning to news of widespread tree damage and saw evidence of such on Facebook. Thanks, Becky Chitwood, for checking on 417 for us! Love my friends!

Anxious to explore downtown Paducah, we pulled anchor at 8:04 a.m. and moved toward Lock 52 through which we’d have to pass to reach Paducah. As I secured the anchor chain after an easy pull, the lockmaster radio Clay suggesting we pull anchor and move into position. What an efficient, organized lockmaster—necessary because he had a huge back-up due to a recent shutdown in navigation. I was thrilled he had squeezed us into the rotation! My thrill was short-lived as we idled the engines and maintained position for the next two hours in wait mode; both lock chambers had repair issues, damage caused by the barges exiting toward us. Two+ hours later we locked through and traveled the short distance to the new Paducah Municipal Dock where I lassoed our lines, and we snugged in for an overnight.

A sturdy and clean span dotted with electric and water pedestals welcomed boaters to tie up for lunch in town or an afternoon of shopping with fuel and pump out services at the ready. But the amenities were few for the price we paid! I guess we were spoiled by the many marinas along the Great Loop with wi-fi, bath houses, laundry facilities, even some with dining on site and gift shops—and security. A long ramp was our path to downtown, over a wide parking lot and through a lovely park area; I set off to explore, leaving Clay to hose the deck.

I returned to the boat armed with visitor brochures and was hailed by Clay informing me he’d been interviewed by a local news reporter—even had his picture taken swabbing the deck. I’m guessing boats of our size don’t dock here often. The Great Loop route encompasses only a small portion of the Ohio River—and we’ve just completed most of that segment. For you geography buffs, the Tennessee River branches off of the Ohio River at Paducah (toward Kentucky Lake) and the Cumberland River does so at Smithland, KY, just twelve miles upriver (toward Green Turtle Bay and Nashville).

Post lunch aboard, we trekked up the access ramp incline, huffing and puffing as we reached the top of the incline and turned toward downtown. Clay had perused the restaurant menus online over the lunch hour (a favorite pastime of his), so we wanted a peek of the ambiance a few had to offer. It was again beastly hot with threatening clouds overhead, not the most pleasant of days to go exploring. We chose Max’s Brick Oven Pizza, endured only a very short wait, and once again had the pleasure of a very personable and competent young waitress. We find ourselves tipping more and buying less, pleased with and rewarding excellent service.

The aft stateroom flat screen television seems to turn itself on unexplainably intermittently as it did twice in the overnight this Friday night—what a fright. The only explanation I have is we must have a ghost aboard! These awakenings accompanied by those of periodic restroom breaks by hubby made for a pretty restless night!

Tied to shore this Saturday morning we had opportunity to wander through the Paducah Farmers Market, choosing a variety of fresh produce. One vendor offered a selection of greens, among them Malabar spinach—which I bought---two tubs worth, priced at 1/$3 or 2/$5. I love a bargain! The vendor made note of the intense flavor and texture—he should have offered samples. I can’t imagine anyone intentionally growing Malabar spinach, certainly not to sell! Sure hope it’s nutritious because it’s what we got, so what we eat. Tastes like weeds! It’s pretty, though!

Our priority in Paducah was to get our generator fixed. Andy, a diesel mechanic, appeared late morning—a huge blessing because Clay’s repeated attempts to dial Andy prior to his arrival produced failure after failure. Quickly diagnosing the problem, Andy went to work and soon had the generator running like a top! For you with engine interest, in the process of installing new fuel filters, air (in our case, a LOT of air) often enters the fuel line; and that line needs to be bled (removing the air) for the engine (in this case, a generator) to run. Andy simply bled the line—a quick fix for someone who knows what he’s doing. Andy then went his way, and we went ours—upriver toward Golconda, IL. Clay made comment we saved three days with Andy’s fix, well worth the price he charged—another reminder that many boaters  quote B-O-A-T as an acronym for “Break Out Another Thousand.” Or, “a hole in the water into which one pours money.”

We had concerns that the Golconda Marina’s depth could not accommodate our draft of 4.5’, so we chose rather to drop the hook (another term for setting the anchor) across the river from Golconda at MM 902.6 LDB. Remember that MM means ‘mile marker,’ and LDB means ‘left descending bank’ (we’re on the left shore as we move/face downriver). We had locked through at Smithland Lock fifteen miles prior, a huge, clean lock chamber with a lift of 22’ and floating bollards—and easy ride up!

On that note, I’ll close to make final preparation on our crock pot dinner of Balsamic Chicken, a Captain favorite.