Off of the Mississippi and on the Ohio

In the last post we were tied up to a lock wall on the Mississippi and I was pretty frustrated with the river but the last couple of days have been much better because I am more comfortable with the river and the traffic. The night on the lock wall was very comfortable with no wind or waves. We left around 9:00 headed for Little Diversion Channel which was about 70 miles. We didn't have any locks so we arrived to our anchorage late in the afternoon and had plenty of time to get anchored. The three boats rafted together with two of the boats using their front anchor and one of the boats had both a front and stern anchor. It took a little while because the current was going one way and the wind was going the opposite direction so we weren't sure which way to set the anchors, but we got it. After we were set, another three boats came in and they rafted together also. Gene on "Free To B" took his dog Skipper in the dinghy so he could go the the bathroom on shore. Unfortunately the river bank was all mud and Gene was up to his knees in mud.

We started out today at 8:30 and we were only going to travel 40 miles to an anchorage that was supposed to be easy. When we got the anchorage at about noon I went in first and I had a really hard time. The water was shallow and the wind was strong so we all decided to keep going. Jennifer on "Nova" did a great job of calling the locks ahead of us and getting recommendations on places to anchor on the Ohio. We were originally not going to travel on the Ohio until tomorrow, but we decided to go up the Ohio to right before the first lock and anchor. The government is building a new lock and dam about a mile South of the existing dock and one of the tow operators working on the new lock said we should anchor right across from lock on the Kentucky side behind a cell. I knew what a cell was but I had to ask which side was the Kentucky side. A cell is a large round structure built in the river to protect the dam and lock from damage. This cell was right on the edge of the river so we went in behind the cell and close to the shore.

Since we got on the Ohio River we are going upstream into the current. Normally you would expect to turn the boat into the current and drop the anchor which would push the boat against the anchor. We did that but the wind was really strong and was the opposite direction of the current so we kind of just moved around in a circle until the wind died down and now we are being pushed back by the current. It took Ginny and I a while to get into a routine about everything such as driving, cooking, bloging, ect., but we have not practiced anchoring so we are still learning. Ginny compared the process of anchoring to wall-papering with your spouse. We dropped the anchor today and it just wouldn't hold so we picked it up and had to drop it again - now we are set. I have two anchor alarms set, but tonight will be a one eye open kind of night if you know what I mean. Maybe I will sleep on the bridge. We are hoping to get to Green Turtle Bay tomorrow and a real marina. Did I mention that we haven't pumped out in a long time and we are running out of fresh water.

The lock wall on the Kaskaskai River.

The Dam at Kaskaskai

This is view from the lock on the Kaskaskai River looking towards the Mississippi with a tow going North.

These structures are everywhere and are designed to keep the river flowing towards the middle.

They are marked on the charts but you still need to keep a sharp eye out.

A prison in Chester, IL -

The home of Popeye.

I would have said we were in Missouri, but I guess the signs don't lie.

We saw this LST in Peoria a few days ago.

Two of the three other boats that were in Diversion Channel with us.

On the left is an overview of the Mississippi and you can see that it is not straight.

At times we were going NorthEast and still had a current behind us.

When we got to the Ohio this is the first thing we saw.

The first bridge on the Ohio.

The Olmstead Lock and Dam across the river from where we are anchored.

The other two boats with us at anchor.

You can see that they are not exactly lined up with the current.

You can also see the cell I was talking about in the narrative.

This is how close we are to shore and we are still in about 10' of water.