Day 15 - Home - Four Seasons Marina

Stats – Today- 109 miles, 1 lock, 6 hours – Total 946 miles 26 locks.

Sat up on the hill last night and had drinks with a few of the locals.  Had a brief rain shower, and a nice rainbow afterwards.  Nope - did not get a picture, so you just need to believe me.  We cast off lines around 9:00.  It was a sunny day, but windy.  Made good time getting to the Manchester Islands.  Glad we decided not to stay here since the beach was under water and the current was still very strong.

Can't remember if I posted a picture of the old Showboat Majestic or not, but here it is anyway.

Ran into some very heavy debris a few miles before Maysville.  Had to slow down to just above idle to avoid hitting some of the bigger stuff while cruising. 

We ended up going slow for about 10 miles or so.  We had to make a decision to stop in Ripley or continue on home.  We called a fried (thanks Adam), who gave us an update on the river conditions.  It actually sounded better than what we were dealing with above the lock.  We decided to go.  Called the last lock of the trip, hoping for a quick lock through, but it was not meant to be.  Ended up waiting about an hour for a barge to come out, then locked through with Lock's tug boat.  The river here was better than earlier, so we were able to get up an run again.  It was nice to be back in very familiar waters.  Made short work of the last 25 miles and pulled into the marina around 2:30.  Heck I was even happy to see the Nauti Dog boat again.  (Just kidding Laura).

 Nope, still have not shaved, but think I will very soon.

The cat does seem to be more comfortable with the boat.

I think she is actually upset that she has to go home.  She does look a little pissed in the picture to me.

Thanks Dave and Leanne Brill for driving down to pick us up and take us home to grab our car.  Drove back down to pack up the boat and headed over to Tony's apartment to pick up Port.  Had to get some wings at O'bryons while over there.  Good to be back home.
All in all, we had a great trip.  946 miles and 26 locks.  River could have been better, locks could have been easier, weather could have been nicer.  It can't always be sunny and 85.   Taking about a 2 month break to get a host of things done on the boat before we head out for Florida.  Stay tuned!

Thanks for reading and all the texts, comments and calls.

Day 14 – Shawnee Boat Club, Portsmouth OH

Stats – Today- 50 miles, 1 lock, 3.5 hours – Total 837 miles 25 locks.

It was raining when we woke up this morning, so decided to cook up breakfast and wait it out.  Knowing it was going to be a short day and only 1 lock, we were not very concerned about the time.  It had stopped raining before we were done eating, so we cast off around 9:30 this morning.  Plan was to stop at Holiday Point and fill up with diesel fuel again, and then head to Shawnee Boat Club.  Really kind of an un-eventful day, which is good given the conditions.  Got to Holiday Point and took on 300 gallons.  That works out to .79 mpg.  Not bad for cruising at 26 mph.  Marcia did catch that they charged us $10,000 instead of $1,000.  Wow that would have been a kick in the crotch.  Got through Greenup Lock without issue, so no lock pictures today.  YEAH!  Snapped a couple of photos of some nice houses just before Holiday Point. 

We are tied up at Shawnee Boat Club now.  Not a fancy dock, but it does have power.  It is close to downtown Portsmouth, so we are planning to go to Ribbers for dinner.  One of the guys at the marina said he would drive us up, so saves us the Uber.  They have a 10-week-old puppy here, guess it is a basset hound, but I am not a vet.  It was still cute, but they all are at 10 weeks.  For the 1^st time on this trip, we seem to be having an issue getting internet.  Not sure if the cell signal here is just that weak, or if something else is going on.  Can’t load any pictures or get this to post right now, so it may be a day late.

Lucy did manage to find a sun ray in the boat while we were cruising.

We are still trying to determine if we want to come all the way home tomorrow or stop for a night in Ripley.  Issue is not the distance as we have done the trip before, but more the river conditions in Cincinnati.  We have been fighting high water since we left, so not sure if Cincinnati should be any different.  Really just about the debris and if we get more rain.

Stay tuned…

PS - I obvious got this to post. 

Dayt 13 - Made it back to Huntington WV

Stats - Today 133 miles, 3 locks,  8 hours - Total - 787 miles 24 locks.

So an early 7:00 am departure today, given that we had a long way to go.  Was 52 degrees when we left, and over 80 when we docked.  That is Fahrenheit, not Celsius, for my Canadian Crystal Claire buddies.  River started out pretty bad, filled with a lot of debris.  Kent Stephens, think of our Portsmouth trip, and Dave Brill, think of our Augusta trip.  We made it to the 1st lock in about an hour, but had to wait an hour for a barge to lock through.  Only one chamber working.  For those reading who are not familiar with locks, you usually find a floating bollard and tie off to it.  For those who have been through, normally you drop about 15 to 20 feet.  With the river so high, we are only dropping about 5 feet.  Water is high everywhere.

When we arrived at the 2nd lock of the day, we did not have to wait, but were told there was some debris.  I said "how bad can it be", given what we have already gone through.  I was wrong!  I am not saying that anymore.  You can think, but don't you dare say it!

We did make it through but it was rough.  Felt like an ice breaker pushing all the crap out of the way.  Was able to cruise nicely at 26 mph with the current, and did not have to slow down as nobody was out.  Not as much debris after the first lock.  Still had to keep a sharp look out, but was able to run at speed.  Good news, bad news.  Good news is high temperature alarm on the port engine works.  Bad news is the high temperature alarm on the port engine went off.  Shut down in the river and went to investigate.  Turns out the locks were still seeking revenge as the strainer was completely clogged with debris.  I cleaned it out and the starboard one as well and we were back in business.

Some random pictures as we cruised today.

Remember the big cracker plant from a few posts ago.  Barges carrying piping structure up from New Orleans.

 I guess this is where the old B&B riverboats go to die.

This was the dock that we stayed at in Pomeroy on the way up.  Glad we did not plan on stopping here again as it is under water.

 For those of you wondering how they work on the tugs.

 Point Pleasant Marine company is not looking so good.

Every wonder why it takes so long by river?

I did see this barge today, and it made me smile.

We did make it to Huntington and got tied up.  We knew the trick to getting power so we are good for the night.  We decided to eat dinner on the boat and then Uber into town for Cold Stone ice cream.  Yes Maggie, I ate a Chocolate Devotion ice cream.  We walked around for while, but not much open on a Sunday night.  They evidently decorate tug boats around town, similar to what Cincinnati does with the flying pigs.  Just a couple of them, but they were all pretty cool.

Back at the boat now for what we hope is a peaceful night.  Planning on a short day tomorrow with a fuel stop and then onto Portsmouth.  Looking forward to a steak at Scioto Ribbers.  More rain predicted tomorrow, so hope they are wrong.  Keeping an eye on the Cincinnati river level hoping it continues to go down.  If not, hoping there is not a lot of debris.

Lucy continues to become more accustomed as the trip progress.  She is not hiding anymore when we are cruising.  Marcia even brought her up on the bridge to hang out.

Day 12 - Back at Marietta

Stats - Today 70 miles, 2 locks,  4.25 hours - Total - 654 miles 21 locks.

So not a lot of new stuff today.  More debris than yesterday with the same fast current.  Went into the 1st lock with a lot of junk again.  Think I need to get some of those saws installed like Speed Racer used to have on the Mach 5, or if not that then the GO GO Gadget wood chipper.

The 2nd lock we got too was much better.  A barge had just left the big chamber so he locked us down in that chamber.  I looked at the other chamber and was quite happy he did this.  Cruised well at 25+ mph, but had to keep a very sharp eye out as there was a lot more junk in the river today than yesterday.  Not exciting pictures, but this was our view for most of the day.  If you take a closer look, you can see this was an island.  We passed about 7 or 8 of them today.

Normal scenery.   

You can get an idea of how high the water is here.

Every now and again you find a little fixer-upper for sale.

This is not going to be a happy camper.  Guess they did not get the memo on the rain the last 8 days.

Marcia pointed out that Flaming hot Cheetos is probably not the best boat snack.  Good thing is I still have about 1/2 gallon of beef jerky left.  Sarah Stephens and Mark Evans - I would not hold your breath on that lasting until I get back.

We docked up to Marietta Harbor again.  Water is high enough here that the ramp to get to dry land is under water.  Not horrible, but calf high on me.  For $2.00 a foot, the most expensive marina on the trip, it was kind of crappy.  Complained when I checked in, and told him that we could not get off the boat, and we got the slip for $25.00 tonight.  We did walk up into to town and grabbed dinner at The Galley.  Was OK, not particularly memorable or picture worthy.  Back at the boat and going to take it easy tonight.  Planning a early start as we are going to try and make it all the way to Huntington tomorrow.  (133 miles and 3 locks).  With the river up as high as it is, not sure if there are really any options to stop in-between.

Again, every day Lucy seems to find a new spot.  Can't seem to open a cabinet or closet without her wanting to jump in.

Day 11 - Prima Marina

Stats - Today 59 miles, 2 locks,  4.25 hours (not a typo) - Total - 584 miles 19 locks.

So this was our view this morning.  I was very confused at first as well, not understanding what I was looking at.  I then remembered it was the sun.  I think it has been almost 8 days since we have had a sunny day.  The river is still running high and fast, but at least it is not raining.  It is amazing how good a sunny day feels after all the rain.  It made the trip today enjoyable.

We called the 1st lock as their small chamber is not working.  They said they had a barge getting ready to lock through and it would be about a hour.  We cast off lines at 8:45 and started the 12 miles run to the lock.  We were barely above idle, and moving about 12 mph.  We arrived at the lock just as the barge was pulling out.

I promise that this will be the only lock picture of this post.  If anyone wants to see more lock pictures, then go back and review yesterday's post.  Good news is, as you can see, the debris is much, much less today.  

With the river having less debris, we were able to make great time today.  Cruising at the same rpms (2200), as we did on the way up, we are a good 6 mph faster.  Think I may try to go WFO (Wide F*#king Open), just to see if the boat will hit 40 mph.  Just kidding, probably not worth it.  Well maybe.

Not a lot to see as we cruised, but added a few pictures anyway.  Thought the cleared hillside was kind of cool.  Not sure how long it took them to do it, but guess the road was important.

With the river conditions the way the are, we decided to not stay at the Wheeling Yacht Club on the way back.  Would have been very difficult to get into the slip with this current.

The river is up here also.  You can partly see the Wheeling public wall where the band was playing last week when we stopped.

We decided to go another 12 miles below Wheeling to Prima Marina.  Nice parallel dock, but no power or water.  Restaurant is right here and they have a live band tonight.  Had to look at my phone to realize that today was Friday.

We are also going to get another delivery of fuel from Will.  With the current, I don't think we will need much, only 100-125 gallons, but going to top off just in case since we can.  No more fuel for 200+ miles.  Actually the dock that we need to move and tie up to is just about 200 yards from where we are.  Hoping he has a long enough hose that I can bow into the dock and not have to back up against this current.
Typing some of this up now to save me time later, after pre-game, happy hour, and after dinner drinks.
OK - so this will seem pretty fast you reading this, but it is actually 4 hours later.  We untied and Marcia walked up to catch the lines at the dock where we were getting fuel. Will showed up and we took on 115 gallons.  Not bad for 110 miles.  Higher mathematics, but that is almost a mile to the gallon.  Unheard of in this boat.  Guess 4 mph current does have some advantages.  We ate dinner and had drinks up at the Prima restaurant and bar.  They are not charging us for the overnight dock.   Picture is from the bar just as the sun was going down.  It is the longest day of the year, in case you forgot.  It is cooling off tonight so will not run the generator.  Nice night sitting on the bridge listening to the band, who is pretty good.

We don't know how, but Lucy continues to find new spots to hang out in on the boat.  Here she is actually sitting in the bar sink.  For those of you that know our boat, the sink is not that big.  Probably why she could only get half in.

Plan tomorrow is make it back to Marietta.  Still a lot of debris floating by, so hoping tomorrow is at least as nice as today was.