Chris and Bud's Excellent Adventure

Vessel Name: sidebandit
Vessel Make/Model: OP 75
Hailing Port: Rochester, NY
Crew: Bud, Chris, Bob, and Mike, and JC
About: Two Sailors, an Uncle, and a Pilot, and a guy from th U.
Extra: Somewhere near Peoria we pick up JC. He's a licensed captian from Miami (who went to Miami University, the U).
24 October 2011 | Ft Lauderdale
23 October 2011 | Marco Island
22 October 2011 | Clearwater
21 October 2011 | The Gulf of Mexico
20 October 2011 | Pensacola
19 October 2011 | Blanton, MS
18 October 2011 | Columbus, MS
17 October 2011 | Grand Harbor Tennessee
16 October 2011 | Green Turtel Bay
15 October 2011 | Hobbie's Marina
14 October 2011 | Grafton
14 October 2011 | Peroria, IL
12 October 2011 | Seneca, IL
12 October 2011 | Hammond, IN
10 October 2011
10 October 2011 | Chicago
08 October 2011 | Betsie Bay, Frankfort, MI
07 October 2011 | Mackinaw City
Recent Blog Posts
24 October 2011 | Ft Lauderdale

Day Twenty (d)one

Day 21 Monday October, 24 We push away from the dock on what is supposed to be our last day of the trip at 9:00. It has rained overnight, but appears it will be yet another delightful day for us. (I'm not really fan of the word delightful, but I've grown tired of writing beautiful and perfect and [...]

23 October 2011 | Marco Island

Day 20 Final Stop

Day 20 Sunday October 23 Up early, because it's what we do now, but instead of leaving in the dark, we have a delicious and relaxing breakfast aboard the boat while we await the tide. After cleaning up, we're underway at 9:45.

22 October 2011 | Clearwater

Day 18 Part Two

Day 18 (continued) Saturday, October 22 .....Only serves to make us stronger. The second sunrise of our Day 18 looks a lot like the sunset did. As the sun is rising we get word from the Coast Guard that Tow Boat US has dispatched two boats and that they should get to us around 8:00. At 8:30 they arrive. After [...]

21 October 2011 | The Gulf of Mexico

Crossing the Gulf?

Day 18 Friday, October 21 We're up before the sun again and we follow a barge out the channel to the Gulf. By the time we actually enter the Gulf, the sun is rising. We get to the open water and pick up the pace.

20 October 2011 | Pensacola

Day 17 Leaving the River System

Day 17 Thursday October 20 We're up and ready to leave by 5:00, but again commercial traffic at our first lock keeps us at the dock. It's cold, 36 degrees, and foggy. So foggy you can't see the opposite shore. You can barely see the bow from the stern. But if you look up, there are stars everywhere. [...]

19 October 2011 | Blanton, MS

Bobby's Fish Camp

Day 16 Wednesday, October 19 Up at 5:00 and talking with the Lockmaster at Columbus Lock. He's got an upbound tug in the lock, so our 5:30 gets pushed out a little. After a relaxing cup of coffee we push away from the dock at 5:45 and head for our first dark lock in.

So Long Huck

16 October 2011 | Green Turtel Bay
Chris/ And Still More Off The Same
Day 13 Sunday October 16 We're up at 3:45 and of the barges at Hobbies by 4:30. The Moon is still fairly high in the sky, but the stars are still bright and easy to see, not much ambient light. We have two spot lights working, one from the deck in front of the fly bridge and one hand held on the fly bridge, to pick up the buoys, and stay in the deep water. It's a challenge, but not the worrisome part of the deal.

Tugs work the river system all night long, and barges are left everywhere along the river. Avoiding 'tugs in tow' in the dark and finding the anchored barges are the real issues. We are lucky and don't catch any downbound traffic. We do however have to negotiate our way by a couple coming up river at us. It's a little thrilling in the dark.

After a couple hours we are treated to yet another great sunrise on the Mississippi. It appears we are going to have another perfect day weather-wise. Its early morning now, jackets are off and we're looking forward to shorts and tee shirts.

By 11:30 we're no longer downbound. 'You can't get there from here.' We have to head up river (and north) on the Ohio River. As we make that turn and leave the Mississippi behind, Bob and I are on the fly bridge enjoying the weather and the view. There is every bit as much, if not more, traffic here as on the Mississippi. Apparently the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers is a big staging area for tugs and barges. We wind our way through the maze and we're into fairly open water.

We eventually get to a new lock being built. It's incredibly impressive to see, both from an engineering standpoint and a financial one. We still have 'it' in this country. Man the stuff we can do. This new lock will apparently replace two others further upstream.

As we approach the first of the working dams and locks, the wickets are down. We don't need to loss time going through this one. I have a bit of a hard time wrapping my head around a lock being there, but not having to use it.

The second lock, which is theoretically one of the busiest inland locks in the world, has a couple tugs in tow 'locked down' as we approach. We have a bit of a wait. It's wild to watch a 3x5 (3 barges wide by 5 barges long) come out of the lock. And it takes a while. But finally we get in and locked down ourselves.

The traffic on the river above Lock 52 is a little lighter and we make great time, in perfect weather, to the Kentucky Lake Lock and Dam. We're already on our way out of the Ohio. We pass an old fort along the way. And, as at Grafton, it looks like a jamboree of some kind is going on there.

We get up the lock and into the Tennessee. Just as we enter we turn left into Barkley Pass and then into Cumberland Waterway (often referred to as Kentucky Lake) and into Green Turtle Bay. What a great looking spot and marina. And again, like Grafton, almost everything is afloat. There are some fairly big boats in here, and lots of amenities.

We fuel up and take on another 660 gallons. After we fill the water tanks and pump out we'll move to a slip. While fueling, Mike and I have time to borrow a van and go grab some groceries. After we slide, stern first, into the slip and get settled, we're back in the van and off to the world famous Pattie's, for their signature 2" pork chop. We'll be hitting the road again early tomorrow for the trip to Pickwick.
Comments
sidebandit's Photos - Main
Ft Lauderdale and the River Boat Show
53 Photos
Created 26 October 2011
Marco to Lauderdale
22 Photos
Created 26 October 2011
Clearwater, Anna Maria Island, and Marco Island
47 Photos
Created 24 October 2011
Day 18 and 19 going to Clearwater.
62 Photos
Created 23 October 2011
The Bay, the Gulf, and Florida
38 Photos
Created 23 October 2011
The riverfront of Mobile, AL
88 Photos
Created 23 October 2011
Clear sailing, so to speak, to Mobile
33 Photos
Created 23 October 2011
Leaving Bobbie's Fish Camp and Heading For Mobile.
23 Photos
Created 23 October 2011
From Demopolis to Bobbie's
34 Photos
Created 23 October 2011
Lunch and a tug tour
19 Photos
Created 20 October 2011
The early part of a day that started slowly.
73 Photos
Created 20 October 2011
A day that could have been much longer.
117 Photos
Created 18 October 2011
The Tennessee River is in lake mode again.
41 Photos
Created 18 October 2011
The Tennessee becomes a lake again.
32 Photos
Created 18 October 2011
Now it's a River.
53 Photos
Created 18 October 2011
The first half is lake like.
29 Photos
Created 18 October 2011
Off the Ohio and into the Tennessee
20 Photos
Created 18 October 2011
78 Photos
Created 18 October 2011
Leaving Hobbies Early And Heading For The Ohio
18 Photos
Created 17 October 2011
Beyond St. Louis to Hobbie's
16 Photos
Created 17 October 2011
40 Photos
Created 17 October 2011
75 Photos
Created 17 October 2011
73 Photos
Created 17 October 2011
Our one cloudy day so far.
87 Photos
Created 17 October 2011
The second part of the day, after leaving the Calumet
85 Photos
Created 17 October 2011
Our first day off the Great Lakes
54 Photos
Created 16 October 2011
Leaving Chitown and heading for the Calumet
28 Photos
Created 12 October 2011
Leaving Frankfort, Arriving Chicago, Burnham Marina, and Chicago
115 Photos
Created 9 October 2011
Leaving Mackinaw City to Frankfort
102 Photos
Created 9 October 2011
22 Photos
Created 9 October 2011
69 Photos
Created 9 October 2011
Mid River and Detroit
20 Photos
Created 9 October 2011
20 Photos
Created 9 October 2011
23 Photos
Created 9 October 2011
Pictures of The Wellend,
53 Photos
Created 9 October 2011

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26 October 2011
53 Photos
26 October 2011
22 Photos