OHIO RIVER TO THE CUMBERLAND RIVER TO BARKLEY LAKE AND GREEN TURTLE BAY

My last post described our run down the Mississippi River.  At the end of the middle Mississippi, there is yet another confluence; that being with the Ohio River.  The Ohio River is another one of America's premier western waterways known for its commercial importance and its recreational opportunities.  The Ohio River goes all the way from its mouth in Illinois to Pittsburgh, PA!  While it sure would be interesting to do that run, it will have to wait.

We left our very protected anchorage at Mile Marker 7 on the middle Mississippi, and headed out early.  Our goal was to make it all the way to Cumberland Towhead to anchor for the night.  We did.  The trip was long.  We travelled the final 7 miles on the Mississippi in an interesting low lying fog.  The sunrise was quite beautiful and it was quite cool out.  The colors were wonderful.  Things cleared up nicely, however, as we approached the confluence of the two rivers. 

The confluence of the Mississippi and the Ohio.  The Ohio goes to the upper left.

As we got closer, we knew a lot was going on nearby, or rather all around us.  The AIS screen was quite busy.  The barge companies like to use the mouth of the Ohio River as a "fleeting area".  This is where they line up and connect barge loads.  So, you have the middle of the river all congested with loads being stacked.  You have all these smaller pushers moving barges in all directions to be stacked.  Then you have the big towboats getting ready to connect to these huge loads.  Then sometimes, the big tows are turning their loads around.  This takes up a lot of river.  There are simply too many moving boats all around to try to keep track of them all.  I can only imagine how an overloaded Air Traffic Controller must feel with way too many planes moving around to possibly get them all on the ground safely.  So what you have to do is pick the ones that can or will affect you in the immediate future, and keep moving, dodging and weaving, and try to stay out of everybody's way.  Clearly, little fibreglass tugs like ours wouldn't survive any kind of a scuffle with a barge loaded with 1500 tons of river gravel.

Lookouts?

After the first couple miles on the Ohio, you get past the fleeting area and things really mellow out.  Unfortunately, we were travelling UP stream now, so the going was pretty slow.  I generally don't concern myself with speed.  Rather, I focus on fuel consumption which is a function of RPM's of the main engine.  If it gets ridiculous, I will make adjustments, but generally, I know what setting is most efficient, and I stick with it regardless of the speed.  On the Ohio River, however, there were sections where we were making barely 4 knots, so I goosed it up a little and settled for 5.5;  still pretty slow, but at least it feels like you are making some headway.

The Ohlmstead lock and Dam Construction Site

There were a couple other instances where we actually had to communicate with other traffic, but generally, it was a quiet run.  There are locks on the lower section of the Ohio.  The Ohlmstead Lock and Dam complex is under construction.  It's a massive project.  There's a lot more steel and concrete than you can certainly shake a stick at, that's for sure.  I think the engineers who design such projects are impressive.  But, I think the guys who make it happen are even more so.  Ok.  So, where do we start?  Well, boys, we've basically got to stop the flow of the Ohio River, or at least change its natural course, so we can get these here wickets in place.  Then, we have to pour about a billion yards of concrete to hold all this junk together.  Then, once that's done, we have to install a lock.  All of this before coffee, right?  Wrong.  It takes years to build these things.  I'm pretty sure the Ohlmstead project has been going on since the early part of 2007.  It looks like it's getting pretty close to done.  It is supposed to replace locks and dams 52 and 53.  We expected to lock up twice on the Ohio at 52 and 53, but alas, the water level was high enough in the river that the ACOE could lower the wickets and we could simply stay on the sailing/buoy line and go right on by. 

The confluence of the Tennessee and the Ohio.

By the end of the day, we were nearing the confluence of the Ohio and the Tennessee Rivers.  At this point, Kentucky was on the right and Illinois was on the left.  There was a huge amount of traffic in this area as, once again, barges are fleeting here depending on where they are going.  They may be coming off the Tennessee River and heading up or down the Ohio, or they may be downsizing for a planned run to Nashville on the Cumberland River, the mouth of which is only a couple miles up the Ohio from here.  So, once again, the stressed out Air Traffic Controller record was playing and the AIS screen was flashing like a traffic barricade, and we just kept on a rollin', trying hard not to get ourselves in a place we shouldn't be. 

Fleeting.

ahold of someone on the dredge.  I asked him what side he wanted me to slide by on.  He told me to just go around the anchor buoys.  Ok.  There are 4 of those.  Finally I clarified it for him by making reference to either the Kentucky side or the Illinois side.  Kentucky side it is. 

Once we passed the dredge it was clear sailing until we got close to the Cumberland Towhead.  There was this really big barge coming down the Ohio and heading right in our direction.  I got this guy on the radio and asked what side he wanted me to pass him on.  He says, "where are you?"  I said I was right off his starboard bow, about 3/4 of a mile out.  He said, he couldn't see anything because he had the sun in his eyes, but thought passing on the one whistle would be fine (pronounced "fan").  Ok, so here we go.  I get myself sliding over to the red side (reds on the right when going up river), and, for the love of god, this guy was not moving over.  So, I was really hugging the red side, before he finally flanked over a touch, and we passed with plenty of distance between us.  It wasn't until he had just about passed us when he finally came on the radio and said, "Ok, now I can see you."  Great!

Jumping Asian Carp.

Shortly thereafter, we made the Cumberland Towhead.  This is an easy anchorage that is plenty wide and plenty deep if you don't go too far to the left, or too deep into it.  It's basically a space between an island and the river bank.  You also have to watch out for trees that stick up from just under the surface.  Now that's not something you see every day back home.  Hey, just get it, OK?  Deadheads and stumps are simply a way of life if you drive a boat on a river.  What was really cool however was what happened as soon as we started letting out anchor chain.  All of a sudden, hundreds of fish (Asian Carp) started jumping all around the boat. I mean thousands of them.  It was like the water was boiling with all these big silver fish jumping and thrashing on the surface.  Then, as soon as the chain was deployed, they all disappeared.  It would appear they are susceptible to certain frequencies.  I'm pretty sure it was not the deep throaty thumping sound of the diesel engine, but rather the rattle of the chain as it made its way out and over the roller.  In any event, we had a very quiet night.  It was good, too, because it had been a very long day.



The next morning we woke up and leisurely made our way into the mouth of the Cumberland River.  We only had 32 miles to go, and only one lock.  Once you turn onto the Cumberland, you now have Kentucky on both sides of the boat and the environs change quite a bit.  You may recall me making mention of the fact that every time we cross a state line, things change so much.  Here is another example.  All of a sudden, the banks of the river, which is much more narrow than the Ohio River, were covered with the changing colors of fall.  It is strikingly beautiful.  It was an overcast morning, but every now and then, the sun would peak through and hit the trees on the bank and you would see an explosion of colors.  Then, there are the Kentucky "Dirt Farms" as we called them.  There is a lot of rock quarry work going on, at least on these banks of the Cumberland.  It's lime stone their digging here.  This lime stone is used in all things concrete construction.  We called them "dirt farms", because they look just like grain operations, but its rock and gravel coming down the conveyors and being dumped onto waiting barges.  We call those "produce barges."  We got stuck behind one of these almost all the way to the Barkley Lock.  He was making 6 knots and I was making 6.4.  There are no straights long enough to allow me to pass him given our speed differentials, so we just decided to "live there."  Unfortunately, it cost us an hour delay waiting at the lock as the lock master took him first.  I can understand that.  Waiting sucks where there is no place to tie up and they won't let you anchor in front of the dam.

 We finally made it through the lock, and by mid afternoon, we were making our turn into the channel that leads to the Green Turtle Bay Resort and Marina (GTB).  The best part of it, however, was the reception awaiting us at the dock.  For the first time in months, we got to see our friends Barry and Jodie again.  They were here, as well as the crew on two other boats we had met in the prior couple days.  They all were waiting for us at our assigned slip.  I cannot tell you how wonderful it feels to pull into a port and have a bunch of smiling, waving, and happy friends waiting for you.  It's the best feeling in the world.  It so feels like coming home after being gone for a long time.





We didn't need long to settle in.  We did, however, need the courtesy car to get to Paducah so we could replenish our booze supply.  We were bone dry......just like the county in which GTB sits.  While you have these great restaurants here in Grand Rivers, you have to BYOB.  So, we got into town and stocked up on our own B's.

Here's Barry and I driving the barge simulator at the River Heritage Museum.

Later that afternoon, a bunch of cruisers met at the gazebo and had a 4:30 happy hour complete with munchies and cocktails.  We met some fine folks from Minnesota, we reunited with the crew of Paradise that we met at Hoppies.  We met a very nice retired police lieutenant from Minnesota who plays the bag pipes and runs about all over the place on a little key lime colored scooter, and we met a couple from Canada heading south for the winter on their Hunter sailboat.  Their mast was awaiting them in Gulf Shores, Alabama.......they hope.



So, the next day, we had a chance to get the courtesy car again, and headed for Paducah.  What a cool place.  Really, we only hung out in the downtown historic area where there are fun restaurants, antique stores, museums, and a really great bakery.  The folks here are very friendly and accommodating in every way they can be. Then for dinner, we went to Patty's for their famous 2 Inch Pork Chops.  Let me tell you, that was the finest pork chop I have ever had.  The food was very good.  The next night, however, was even more special.

There are mural walls all over Paducha.  They are not publicly funded.  If you have an idea, you can have it approved and you can put your mural on the walls.  They are all very beautiful and tell the story of Paducha and it's central life on the River.

We went with Barry and Jodie to a place called Sugar and Spice.  There is a lady there named Marylin who cooks for only 10-12 people per night.  You have to call and make a reservation.  We were able to get in, and, as it turned out, we were all by ourselves.  As it is October, Marylin was preparing Oktoberfest specialties and the menu included the following:  Wienerschnitzel, Yaegerschnitzel, Rouladen, and Saurbratten.  Each dish came with these really good potatoes, sour kraut, and spitzel.  The food was amazing.  Between courses, Marylin would come to the table and regale us with stories about the history of this place called Grand Rivers, and the people who lived and did business here.  She told us stories about the early days of the marina and resort as well as the Commonwealth Yacht Club here on the premises.  Again, we BYOB'd and they provided the glasses.  This was an outstanding experience.

That's me and Marylin.  She puts on cooking classes for passing cruisers and teaches the kids how to make cookies.

 Over the last couple days, we have also been accomplishing some boat projects.  Brenda had had a lingering cold and is now feeling a little better, but I was able to get that nasty moustache off the hull that we had been accumulating in the tanic waters of the ICW and dirty harbors over the last almost 7000 miles.  I walked up to the chandlery and asked for some advice.  The guy there turned me on to this stuff called "On and Off".  This stuff is caustic!  Well, it should be since it is basically pure acid.  This stuff smokes when it hits water!  Anyways, it's as easy as spray on and hose off, and the moustache disappears.  Finally, Abreojos looks almost human again.

I never imagined that quilting involved such amazing works of art.

Last night, we went to the Halloween Party at the Commonwealth YC.  We were able to put together some costumes at the last minute with a little help from the WalMart in Paducah.  It was a nice crowd.  The food was pretty good and the music was excellent.  We dined and danced and BYOB'd again.  It was a nice evening.
 
 






Today, we will be leaving here and starting what will be a 5 day journey to Nashville, Tennessee.  My mom is flying out and we will have her aboard for a few days in Nashville.  We are going to take our time getting there as we have only 160 miles and 5 days to get there.  So, who knows what we will discover.

 
In the mean time, bye for now.