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Continued Travels with Capt Schultz (Tug Restless)
After a very miserable night spent on the Mississippi River at Cape Girardeau Mo., the following morning dawns clear and bright. As a result of the past 24 hours having been near continuous rain, the river is running fast with an exceptional amount of flotsam and jetsam. Buoys act as snares for branches, logs and even whole trees. The initial entanglement, acting as a Tar Baby for additional debris to become ensnared upon,
resulting in a massive collection that eventually hides the presence of the entire navigational aid.
Nearing Cairo, where the Ohio River joins the Mississippi, the river makes a great snake like bend, which swings a full 180 degrees to the north, before resuming its natural course to the gulf. Here again, the town’s riverfront resembles a walled city from a medieval era. The enemy here however, is a powerful river, rather than an attacking army.
When Webster was initially compiling his dictionary, I believe that he visited the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, for the purpose of obtaining a definition to the words; Flotsam and Jetsam. Upon the lakes, and the ocean, we tend to view their meaning by usage of a different standard. While having spent a lifetime on the water, nothing prepared me, for the floating junkyard, which greeted me on the Ohio River upstream of Cairo the morning of the 28th of October.
Steering soon grows tiresome, as progress up bound is reduced to a series of constant sharp zig-zags in order to avoid the debris that litters the river. That which is observed as a small branch, requires a wide berth like that of an iceberg, do to what remains attached, and obscured beneath the surface. Whole trees become a common sight, and in time, are given little attention, since they readily present themselves for what they are.
As a result of the recent heavy rains to the area, and the river running high, locks # 52 & 53 are closed, allowing them to be bypassed. Abeam their positions however, are areas of virtual rapids and whirlpools. Within minutes of entering this area of torrent water abeam Lock #53, a loud Clunk is heard below, and looking astern, I observe a log leap from the water like a nuclear submarine making an emergency blow. In spite of my vigilance, the proverbial deadhead has found its target.
Do to lack of a marina, or any mooring facilities along this section of the Ohio River, the night is spent swinging on the hook, at Metropolis in the lee of a floating Casino Barge. With sunrise the following morning, the attack of the river resumes at 0635. Although a beautiful day, the glare upon the water, as a result of the low angle of the sun, makes avoidance of floating hazards all that more difficult. More than once, I am lucky to have missed that which I did not see until it would have been too late to avoid.
After the confines of the rivers, locking thru Kentucky Lake Dam is a welcome relief. Marinas are plentiful, with more than adequate facilities available, and the water again resembles a clear, fluid like substance that is capable of supporting life. Boats that are in transit, doing the “Loop,” are readily recognized by the wash down that takes place shortly after their arrival, to rid themselves of the dirt that has collected from pushing thru the Illinois, Mississippi and Ohio Rivers.
Kentucky Lake provides interesting and excellent cruising. A result of the dam which bears its name, and the actions of Army Corp of Engineers, and the TVA, in the 1950s, it is not unusual yet today, to view buildings and structures that poke thru its surface like minute islands.
Entering the Tombigbee Waterway, Nov.3rd, is very much like transiting a canal thru a private preserve. The initial 25 miles are located in an uninhabited shallow valley, which is semi forested, and having a shoreline that is lined with broken stone. Later this will change to high slate shores, sand bluffs, low shoreline, and lastly bayou. Like many stretches of the in land rivers, facilities and marinas can become few and far between. Marinas as you might know them to be called on the lakes, tend to have a different meaning here. Various guides that are published for transiting this section of the Loop tend to exaggerate what is actually available. While a Go Fast, can travel sufficient distance in daylight to ensure spending the night tied to a dock, a trawler or sailboat should plan on spending several nights swinging on the hook for lack of anything within range.
The night of Nov 7th, is spent back in the bayou of the river, at mile marker 145, out of the channel as much as possible, with fore and aft anchors down. The need of 2 anchors, more for reducing swing, than worry of current. By this point of the voyage, having your boat illuminated at all hours of the night by 100,000 candle power twin searchlights is no longer unusual or alarming, as tug and barge traffic here too, runs on a 24 hour schedule.
With the approach of sunset on Nov. 8th, I anchor at the fork of the Tombigbee and Alabama Rivers, between the up river shore and the junction marker at Mile #145. It is my reasoning, that this location provides deep water, safe clearance from barge traffic and some protection from the current of both rivers that are located off either beam.
In general, I have very poor sleep patterns, and tend to be a very light sleeper. When swinging on the hook in a river having a significant current however, that sleep pattern tends to erode even further. In the wee hours of the morning, my dozing is interrupted by of the sound a loud thud against the hull, followed by intermittent scraping which proceeds aft, down the starboard side of the hull. In a flash, I am out of my bunk, searching for a club to rebel boarders. Creeping out into the wheelhouse, with flashlight in hand, I illuminate the forward deck area and the swamp like shoreline beyond, as well as the weather deck aft. All appears as it should, and with an absence of bloodthirsty pirates. Finally gaining the nerve to unlock the companionway way door, and venture outside, I finally illuminate a tree floating astern in the current, which had made my boat its target.
(To Be Continued)
Capt Bob |22:42 EST |Comments (0)
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