[Part 4] The Ohio River

October 21-October 24, 2017

Leaving our peaceful anchorage in the Little Diversion Channel, we begin our final stretch on the Mississippi before heading up the Ohio River.

Look at the left hand side of the bottom of the dinghy, that’s the bar I pulled up!

We decided we would anchor just outside the channel in front of the “new” Olmsted Lock and Dam, with permission from the lockmaster.  We will stop here for the night and head out early the next morning to head through a series of three locks and dams (Olmsted, 52, and 53).  The lockmaster directed us to anchor on the Illinois side of the channel, so we analyze the wind, current, and depths and pick a place to drop anchor.  We wait and watch to make sure the anchor is set, and quickly realize it is not.  We traveled today with two other boats, and we notice one seems to be set, but the other is struggling like we are.  We pull the anchor up, and I quickly realize why the anchor didn’t set.  I pulled up a six foot piece of steel with the anchor!  I yell for Chad to come up to the anchor, because I have no idea how I am going to get that off!  I managed to hook the end of the anchor perfectly in a small ring on the top of the bar.  Chad doesn’t believe me at first, and said it’s just a stick.  I insist he comes up front, and when he does, he can’t believe how I did that either!  The lucky part for us also was the long end of the bar was out away from the boat, and did not drag up the boat as I pulled the anchor in!  Chad decides to get in the dinghy to try to pull the bar off the anchor.  I take the helm, and thankfully Chad is able to remove the bar without too much work.

We decide to attempt to reset the anchor, so I drop the anchor again, hoping this time the anchor will hold.  Again we wait and watch, and realize the anchor is still not holding.  We are getting frustrated and notice one of the other boats has moved to the other side of the channel.  We radio the lockmaster and get permission to do the same.  We get ready to pull up the anchor again and gosh darn if I didn’t pull something else up this time!  This time it looked like we were hooked on some thin underwater cable.  Again, Chad believes it to be a stick, and we both can’t believe the luck we are having!  Now, time to get unhooked from the mysterious cable.  I lower the anchor as Chad backs up, and we bring the anchor up again hoping we are free…nope!  Okay, on to Plan B, Chad backs up and the mysterious cable breaks free of the anchor.

We notice the other boats are now on the other side of the channel, and seem to be holding, so we make our way over there and successfully set the anchor this time.  While we are anchoring, I hear the bilge go off.  It keeps going off.  I know this is not good.  Our bilge never goes off, especially since we had a dripless shaft seal installed this summer.  I let Chad know, and he quickly figures out our dripless shaft seal is not only dripping, it is gushing water in.  Not good.  Luckily, a tool kit my dad loaned Chad came to the rescue and stopped the gushing water.  Good enough for now until we can get to the next marina to have a better look and get some wifi to do some investigation.  The anchor is set for the night, and we are very thankful.

The next morning, we wake early so we can make it through the triple set of locks and dams.  The first, the Olmsted Lock and Dam, is not yet completed.  This new lock and dam will replace aging Lock and Dam Number 52 and Lock and Dam Number 53.  According to Wikipedia, the original budget for the new lock and dam was $775 million, but the final cost of the project is already approaching $3 billion, and although the original completion date was set for 1998, more recent projections are 2018!  The delay at Alton we wrote about in Blog 3 was experienced because one of the wickets (a gate in the dam) at Lock and Dam Number 52 was down, literally, and water was gushing through at 15mph.  The Army Corp of Engineers was working hard to have rocks dumped to stop the water flow.  Lock and Dam Number 52 was also closed for eight days in September when the wickets (gates in the dam) were down.  This completely shut down the Ohio River for all commerce, and is a major concern and a good example of America’s aging water infrastructure.

Lock and Dam Number 52

While the Olmstead Lock and Dam is not yet functional, we have to wait for direction from the lockmaster, as we have to take turns to pass through the narrow lock structure while other tow boats come and go as well.  We pass through without much delay and are on to Number 53.  The water is so high due to recent rainfall that the wickets are down, and we literally pass right over the dam structure with guidance from the lockmaster.  What a strange experience to know you are going right over a dam!  The water is so high, the lock is also almost fully underwater.  We finally arrive to the somewhat dreaded Number 52, and without too much delay, we are locked through and on to the new city dock in Paducah, KY for the night.

Loopers at the Paducah, KY dock. We are second from the left. Captain Chad squeezed us in there!

Paducah, KY is one of our favorite small towns we have visited so far.  Our first night, we had dinner at Doe’s with the large group of Loopers.  Chad found a haunted history tour for us to do on a horse drawn carriage, in the rain, at night, just before Halloween.  It was both creepy and cool, and the tour guide was awesome!  We decided to hang around another day to explore the town in daylight.  We spent the day checking out shops, museums, and reading up on the history of the town.  Of course, we even found the Dry Ground Brewing Company for dinner.  The brewery is the site of the former Coca-Cola bottling plant.  From the brewery’s website, “In 1937 the Ohio River flooded Paducah and Luther Carson’s Coca-Cola bottling plant on South 6th street was submerged. Mr. Carson used an empty syrup keg to float out of the second floor window to reach a rescue boat. On the return trip up Broadway, Mr. Carson said, “If I ever reach DRY GROUND, it is there that I will build my new bottling plant.” Plans for construction began immediately following the flood, and in June of 1939 Mr. Carson celebrated the grand opening of his new state-of-the-art facility located 31 blocks from the river upon the DRY GROUND across the street from the Red Cross evacuation site where he had been off-loaded following his rescue.”  We enjoyed the brewery and headed back to the boat.

Tomorrow is a new day, and we will begin our journey on the Cumberland River!