August 24 - 27, 2018
What a fabulous night for anchoring out! Under extenuating
(dark!) circumstances, Clay chose a supreme anchorage last night (he could not
have done better in broad daylight—which it wasn’t!) We slept like logs (it was
a long and stressful day, this Thursday past) and awakened to fog, but well out
of the channel where approaching barges could have done major damage. Thankful
that John isn’t an orphan this morn; last night could have played out much
worse!
I’m all about anchoring now, especially with the GFI issues
at the West Virginia marinas we have and will encounter. But as we pull anchor
and set sail this Friday morn, we have no idea where SaSea Sally will alight
tonight. We have defined parameters in that we need to drop two 100’
ropes/lines at Martins Ferry Yacht Club (thank you, Commodore Brad!). I also
know that Clay, given the choice, would never visit the same place twice. So,
off we go…into the wild blue yonder. And, it is a wild blue yonder; bright blue
and sunny skies, with whipping winds that mean business, that will be the
challenge of dropping Brad’s lines today (along with docking, should the winds
persist).
Arriving at Martins Ferry Yacht Club, Clay pointed the bow
to shore perpendicular to the current on approach as I mounted the bow pulpit
and aimed for a direct hit with each of the two 100’ ropes I had to deliver to
shore. Bullseye one and bullseye two! Yay! Now with the borrowed lines
delivered, we continued downriver to dock at Prima Marina which we understood
to have a good restaurant and live music this Friday night before my birthday;
might as well celebrate early; heck, might as well celebrate twice!
I earned a good night’s rest and a calorie-laden dinner if I
so chose after repositioning the boat’s many lines multiple times to suit
Captain Clay. My but he was picky this August 24th afternoon.
The main draw of this marina was the restaurant and bar—making it a gathering
place especially on weekend nights. In order to maximize the face dock space
for boats joining the merriment tonight, Clay wanted to ‘drop back five feet.’
Well, with him at the helm but no engines running, I pitted my weight, leverage
and technique against a 20 ton boat. To increase the difficulty of the task,
this dock had not cleats but rings; and lines don’t slip well through rings but
rather bind up and kink. And, we were positioned so very close to the dock that
the three ball fenders functioned as very effective brakes. I was AMAZED that
NO ONE offered to assist. There were folks gathering on the deck who obviously
weren’t boaters (the excuse I’m giving). My rescuers arrived about five minutes
post closure on the task. Extra pat on the back, Sal!
We entertained many looky-loos with brief episodes from our
boating experience, then showered and dressed for dinner on the marina’s patio
where the guitarist was setting up. Not sure dinner was quite the quality we
were led to believe, but the joy of being in a crowd took up the slack. We viewed
an awesome sunset, shivering with the chill that descended upon us. It was a
terrific night to open the boat up to the night air!
They say it’s my birthday; happy birthday to me😊
It’s Saturday, August 25th and it began as a normal day with our
normal routine. And, it progressed rather normally as well. I was appreciative
of the many Facebook wishes for a happy birthday—and appreciative of the cell
reception which allowed me to view them😊 Our morning walk
revealed Moundsville, WV, to be quite an historic area. We discovered the West
Virginia State Penitentiary, a gothic-style prison now withdrawn and retired
from prison use, which operated from 1876 to 1995. We also discovered the Grave
Creek (archaeology) Mound, one of the largest conical-type burial mounds in the
United States, standing 62 feet high and 240 feet in diameter; it is the
largest burial mound in the United States and holds prehistoric human remains. What cheerful findings on this day!
We departed Prima Marina under waffling weather conditions.
Mother Nature couldn’t decide if it was to be hot or cold, rainy or sunny; so
we had a little of each as we cruised seventy miles through two locks to dock
some seven hours later at Marietta Harbor, Marietta, OH at the mouth of the
Muskingum River. The marina was a birthday gift itself; we had a working water
and power pedestal, an ice cream & souvenir shop which doubled as the
marina office, a bathhouse and internet connection! The icing on the cake was
dinner at the Marietta Brewing Company which was located on historic Front
Street. The brewery is full of a rich history which is reflected in its
striking ambience—what a delightful spot to celebrate adding another year to my
earthly existence. I’m remembering a particularly noisy locking earlier in the
day at the Willow Island Lock and Dam where the floating bollards tuned up like
a barnyard of animals invaded by a wolf or coyote. My, but it was noisy! I like
to think it was a unique rendition of “Happy Birthday.”😊
Sunday morning we walked a beautiful trail upriver along the
Muskingum River to the Marietta Boat Club (another choice for docking which we
nixed, apprehensive as we were of the three bridges’ heights to get here—in
hindsight, we could have made it). There seemed to be quite an active network
of boat/yacht club commodores on the upper Ohio River who exchange information
among one another; word had spread of our cruising presence on the river which
was heartwarming, making introductions brief and acquaintances instant (as was
the case with Commodore Gene at this MBC). With no MBC’ers to give us an
“hallelujah, glad to see you” brief tour, we made haste to SaSea Sally’s
mooring spot, realizing we had a long day ahead (77 miles and 2 locks to
Pomeroy, OH).
It WAS a long day! Eight and one-half hours of windy
cruising time and building heat found us docking at the Pomeroy riverfront boat
dock, a long cement wall which was crowded with other boats awaiting take-out
at the nearby launch ramp. We found a few whole cleats among the broken ones
and secured lines for the evening, then added a few more lines as weather moved
in. The clouds were dramatic and impressive, and it took no clairvoyant to
realize storms were abrewin’. I tucked in for the night with book in hand,
alternately whistling a happy tune, reading and shuddering with the grandiose
thunder claps and lightning bolts. Clay and I were both pleased to put this
storm in the history books about midnight and open up to the night air.
As dramatic as Sunday night’s clouds was Monday morning’s
fog sitting prettily in the Ohio River valley. Made for an awesome photo op! So
as we tuck away camera, lines and fenders and shove off downriver, I bid you a
good week ahead. Can’t believe August is coming to an end!
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