Day on the Cruise: 154
From: Anchored on The Ohio River
To: Anchored on The Ohio River at Cumberland Towhead
Statute Miles: 44.4 SM
Time: 9.0 Hrs
Cumulative Miles: 3,950.1 SM
On Board: Susan, Chuck, Maggie, Trooper, Peanut
Tonight we are are anchored in the Ohio River near Mile 923.5 at the Cumberland Towhead, a popular Anchorage for Loopers. We are right where the Cumberland River flows into the Ohio. We are about 60 miles above Cairo, IL where the Cumberland joins the Mississippi.
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| We are anchored near the point where the Cumberland River Enters the Ohio River at Smithland, KY |
We could not get Maggie ashore this morning because of the current and the soft mud at the beach. Wake up call was at 5:30. We were sitting a mile below Lock 53, the first Lock we had to transit today. I called the Lock at 6:40, and they were doing their shift change. At 7:10, they called me back and said to come to the Lock, only to stop us about 5 minutes later because a work barge had gone into the Lock. They were using the small chamber to lock us upstream.
We finally got into the chamber at 8:30. We were locked up and out at 8:50.
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| Waiting at Lock 53 on the Ohio River. Pretty Place, isn't it? |
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| Waiting at Lock 53 on the Ohio River. There is a Corps of Engineers Work Boat in the Lock. |
Maggie was crying and was uncomfortable after going more than 24 hours without a bathroom break. At 11:25 we had passed Metropolis, IL, home of "Superman", and we located the City boat Ramp per our cruising guide. We ducked into a very small floating dock, got the dog off and back on, and were under way under the I-24 highway bridge at 11:35.
We called the dreaded Lock 52 which was about a mile and a half upstream and requested a locking upbound. We told them we had four recreation vessels all together. This Lock had its small chamber closed for repairs until Monday night at midnight when it reopened. There are over 30 tows waiting to lock through 52 today, both upbound and downbound. We saw the huge tows waiting along the banks at Metropolis. We could see the tows waiting above the Lock on our AIS.
When we called the Lock at 11:35, the Lockmaster said to come up to the Lock and circle until he called us. We did. We could see a smaller downbound tow go into the smaller Lock, and we watched as they lowered him down the 12' at 52. When the tow exited the Lock, the four of us were called into the Lock. We exited the Lock at 2:00, extremely happy that we did not have to wait 6 hours or three days that some of the tows are waiting to lock through 52. We were lucky that there was no small tow waiting to lock upstream when the small tow was locking down in the small chamber. If there had been one, we would have waited longer, as commercial vessels have the priority over pleasure craft in the locks.
I had a hard time in the Lock. My thrusters started working intermittently, and I had a difficult time getting against the wall. We had to tie two lines together at the bow and stern to reach the mooring bits on the top of the wall. Susan did a good job of this. The turbulence in the Lock was strong. These Locks are not set up for pleasure craft! 52 is the worst Lock that we have transited, by far. It is little wonder that the tows back up here!
Two O'clock and we headed upriver to Paducah, KY, about 5 miles above the Lock. We had planned to stay the night at the City dock. No dice. Some type of dragon boat regatta had taken over the floating dock. No room to dock until 8:00 tonight. And we would do what until 8:00?
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| Big tow at Paducah, Ky today. There are many big tows staged at Paducah waiting to lock through the Bottlenecked Lock 52 |
So, we regrouped and cruised another 11 miles up the Ohio to the confluence of the Cumberland River and the Ohio. We anchored behind the Cumberland Towhead in 10' of water. Nice and calm! No current or wind tonight!
Dennis from "Reunion" came by in his dinghy and took Susan and Maggie ashore. Maggie chased sticks and came back totally wet. She had apparently learned to swim at the ripe age of 4 years! Hard to believe. Will test this back at the Lake!
Tonight we went over to "Almost Five O'Clock" for "Rivertails". Everyone from the "flotilla" was there. We had a great time, because for the past three days, we have been together, but only on the radio. We couldn't talk enough about our experiences.
Tomorrow, we hope we make it to our destination, Green Turtle Bay Marina, KY! We have a 30 mile ride in the morning to Barkley Lock, which is another "bottleneck lock". There are two ways into Kentucky Lake on the Tennessee River. Kentucky Lock and Barkley Lock. Kentucky Lock is closed for repairs until September 24. So, all traffic has to use Barkley. Not good!
The good news is that Green Turtle Bay is less than a mile from Barkley, once we get through it. We will leave at 7:00 again in the morning. My expectation is that we can get to GTB before dark! Such is the life on a River Boat!
Thanks for Reading!
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