Golconda Marina, Golconda, IL - 9/9/12

Sunrise on the Mississippi

 We pulled our anchors (bow and stern) at 6:15 and followed Bobbi Two out of the towhead on the Mississippi and turned the corner onto the Ohio River for our 80 mile trip today up the river.

New Lock on the Ohio

 The very noticeable change in current hit us on the nose.  Now we are going 2,000 rpms and getting only 9 mph.  This area is very busy with tows and we had to thread our way through.  We are to meet up with Blue Heron around 8 a.m. at the new Olmsted Lock that is being built where they anchored last night.

 

Blue Heron

Bobbi Two

Lock 52 Raft Up

 Lock 52 is just a mile or so from the new site and we were through inside half an hour.  This was a very old and rustic lock with less than 100 feet of flat wall so we had to raft all 3 boats together.

Inside Lock 52

Raft

 Craig had already called lock 53 which is known to be slow to see when we could lock through and was told that if we could make the 20 plus miles by noon and it was now 10 a.m. we would go through.  So we all took off but our boat being full displacement was much slower than the other two plus we were starting to show signs of needing to change fuel filters.

Leaving 52

A tow had pulled up to the doors so we had a very small hole to get through.

 The other two boats made it to the lock by noon and we got there about 12:15 but the tow coming out was still inside the lock and we didn’t get through until 1:30.  At least 20 tows were waiting to lock through on each side of the river.  A little known fact about federal locks … if pleasure craft are at a lock they will be locked through after 3 commercial lockages.

The other two boats left me and headed for Green Turtle Bay on the Cumberland and we proceeded north on the Ohio toward our destination.  

Cumberland River Exit

 When we got to the Cumberland River intersection, we officially crossed our wake and had to perform the ceremony of releasing our two passengers into the water plus change our worn looper flag to the gold one which signifies that we have completed the circumnavigation of the east coast.

 

Goodbye Don

Goodbye Darrin

Hang the Gold

Still with Elliott

Ricki and Elliott

We still had one lock and about 30 miles to go to Golconda Marina and arrived after they closed at 6:05 and assumed our assigned spot on A Dock.  We will pay them and get fuel tomorrow morning when they open at 6 a.m.

Tomorrow our destination is about 112 miles upriver but we do have a plan B if we get held up at the one lock we need to go through.

N 37  22.190  W 088  28.920