A Long Hot Day

We woke up at our Flint Island Anchorage to yet another beautiful sunrise.

Before we got started, Alan was doing routine maintenance and spotted water in the starboard fuel separator. Likely cause was missing O ring in the fill cap which allowed water to seep in while washing the boat. The separator is there for that reason and the water was drained out easily.

And off we go

 

It was a bit foggy but our visibility on the water was quite good.

 

But look what comes creeping out of the fog towards us

 



It is an LST 325 Navy ship. It was originally launched in 1943 as a back up force for troops going ashore at Omaha Beach in Normandy on June 6, 1944. It later made trips between England and France ferrying troops, equipment, ammunition and supplies during 1944-1945. In later years, the ship continued to serve throughout the Cold War and was active in both the Korean and Vietnam wars, before retiring to home port in Evansville, Indiana.

The ship is on its way to Aurora, Indiana where it will be open for tours Sept 13-16. No charge for Korean and WWII vets.

We traveled for 102 miles and went through 2 locks (Cannelton and Newburgh). No wait at either one. When we came out of Newburgh, a fully loaded tow with 15 barges full of coal was entering the larger lock. It takes some skillful navigation to get that monster in and it is easy to understand how accidents can happen like the one at Whitten Lock.

After locking through, we were moving with a ~2.3 mph following current which put us at a speed over ground of about 9.7 mph at 1100 rpm. So we had a long day of 11 hours.

Alan exercising

 

My navigation center. The electronics are great but I am old school and like to have paper for reference. For the Ohio River, I have used the Army Corp of Engineers Chart, the Ohio River Guidebook by Jerry Hay, Quimby's 2019 Cruising Guide and a handwritten loose itinerary.

 

 

The app Nebo has been really nice too. It is a boat logging app. Below is a what we see on our ipad while traveling. In this shot we just went through a lock.

 

It's probably a good time to talk about channel markers. Channel markers float in the water to define the path that you should follow.

 

Getting outside of the channel markers could easily put you aground. The markers in the inland rivers are either red nuns or green cans When you are traveling downstream, you will keep the green cans on your right and the red nuns on your left. When traveling upstream (as in returning from a larger body of water), you keep the red nuns on your right and green cans on your left - often remembered by "red, right, returning". So on the Ohio River, we are traveling downstream so we keep the green cans on the right (starboard) side and the red nuns on the left (port) side. When we get to the Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers, we will be traveling upstream so it will be the opposite (red, right returning). And we will be against the current so miles per gallon will decrease.

 

Below is a pic where we met a large tow head on in a narrow channel. He blew his whistle twice, telling Captain Alan to pass him starboard to starboard. If you can see the red nun, you will see how narrow a space we had.

 

Once at Nu Plaza fuel dock, we purchased 160 gallons fuel at $3.90/gallon. This was really high compared to Turtle Creek at $2.99/gallon. Fuel should be a bit more competitive on the Tennessee so hopefully we won't see $3.90 again. We hooked up electric and water and got the AC going. Ahhh, after all the heat that day (heat index 100 degrees), we were ready for a cool shower and a warm dinner! Then facetime with the family and off to sleep. Another long day planned for tomorrow.

P.S. Some of you have mentioned it is difficult to leave a comment. Still trying to figure that one out. Please feel free to text us or leave comments on Facebook. Always good to know if folks are reading (or have any suggestions for) the blog. And if you are reading, thanks for coming along with us!!

Locked Out

We got off to an early start with a beautiful sunrise. We had to wait an hour to get through the McAlpine Lock just past the city of Louisville.

Leaving McAlpine Lock

 

The Ohio river between the McAlpine and Cannelton Dams (Cannelton Pool) is quite beautiful. The river is wide and in the 87 miles we traveled today we only saw one pleasure boat. So other than the occasional barge, we had the river to ourselves.

 

 

 



 

Loading gravel onto barges

 

We did get some bad news today:



This lock is 200 miles short of our final destination. So.... on to Plan B! Still finalizing the plan but it looks like we may leave the boat at a marina around 235 miles from our destination, come home and then head back once the lock is up an running. One of the best things about retirement is flexibility!!!

 

After a long hot day (8 hours underway) we found a great anchorage at Flint Island (recommended by our friend Jeff). The water was very clean and incredibly clear for the Ohio River so we had a swim.

 

 

Alan prepared a great steak dinner. Ahhh, this was a relaxing night.

 P.S. Ethan, are you reading our blog?

 

 

 

Off to a Foggy Start

So with every intention of getting an early start, the day began with us fogged in.

Once the fog lifted, we were able to get through Markland Dam quickly.

We traveled 73 miles to Louisville and passed a number of barges. The tow below is, I believe, the max size for the Ohio River: 3 across and 5 deep for a total of 15 barges. The tows are extremely efficient. I am amazed at the amount they can carry.

Below is the bridge near Madison, Indiana

Who says you can't work out while boating?

Workout Room

We arrived in Louisville around 4:30 and docked behind Tow Island.



We broke out the folding bikes and went for ride. We rode past Jerry's Junk. https://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/20850. Jerry passed away in July and his daughter is beginning the task of selling off all the items. They are planning a large auction at the end of September.

The good news about doing the loop is that you get to see the Statue of Liberty twice. Check out the face on this one.

After dinner at Butchertown Grocery, we returned to the boat for another beautiful sunset.











And we are off!

A little past 3 pm on Saturday, September 8 we left Lighthouse Point Marina after keeping our boat there for over 15 years. Some dear friends on A dock gave us an official send off and sent pics of our departure.

 

The annual Ohio Valley River Cats catfish tournament was underway with 147
pre-registered. Top price $10,000. There were fishing boats everywhere. When we arrived in Rising Sun, the tournament was ending so all the boats were congregated. Update 9/10/19 - see below for the biggest fish winner.

 

 

 

From our marina, we traveled 30 miles (~3 hours) to Turtle Creek Marina at mile marker 529 off the Ohio River in Florence, Indiana. We filled the fuel tanks ($2.99/gal) and tied up in a slip. The view of the Ohio River from the marina is stunning and Alan finally had a chance to relax after many days of hard work to get us ready for the trip.

 

 

 

 You can also follow our travels on an app called Nebo Boat Log. Once downloaded, search for Alchemist.

We are Baaaack!!!

We haven't published on our blog for the past 8 years. Primarily because we had nothing exciting to report. Hehe. Just kidding. But the blog is about Huber boating and work and family commitments have limited our boating adventures.

For those of you who have not followed us in the past, we purchased our Carver in 2011 in Chicago and brought it to our home port in Aurora, Indiana via the Illinois, Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. Please view past posts for this leg of our journey.

We are now planning our next leg from Aurora to Demopolis, Alabama. What changed? RETIREMENT!!! Yes, finally some extra time to do the things we love. Like boating and visiting our grandsons in Houston! Demopolis is halfway to Houston so a great place to keep the boat this winter as a stopover on the way to visit son, daughter-in-law and the 2 little guys. Keep posted for our trip down south starting on September 8.