Turning off the Illinois River, we enter the Upper Mississippi River. The mighty, murky, barge filled, few places to stop Mississippi but it has a strong current going our way, The Mississippi Push! We traveled 188 Nautical Miles over 4 days to move down the Mississippi to the Ohio River.
No marinas in these parts, so we have to anchor or tie up at some very interesting places, including lock walls with no shore access and old rusty barges. We enjoyed our time with other loopers and was blessed with no wind, beautiful, sunny skies and mid 80 temperatures. Turning off the Mississippi and onto the Ohio our port engine water pump decided to pop a screw and pump water into the engine room instead of cooling the engine. UGH!
Alton, IL to Hoppies, MS
Tuesday, October 1, 2024
37 Nautical Miles/ 5 hours 5 minutes
2 locks
In all looper information this legendary stop is just called “Hoppies.” It is a stop almost everyone makes because it’s the last place to get fuel between here and Paducah, KY — a distance of more than 200 miles. One of the factors that determines whether your boat can do the Loop is whether it can travel 204 miles on the fuel you have on board. Three Sons carries 600 gallons of diesel split into two tanks. The other amazing factor regarding Hoppies is the diesel is cheap! So, we pulled in to get the Hoppies experience, top off the tanks, visit the town and get pie!
This facility is interesting. It consists of a few barges strung together and anchored just far enough off shore that pulling up alongside it gives boats the depth they need to tie up. Cables attach it to land and there’s a steep ramp from one barge to the shore. One of the barges is for fueling and has gas and diesel pumps, as well as a shack you have to walk through to get from one barge to the next. There’s a lot of dirt and a lot of rust. There are holes in the top of the barges with metal plates thrown over them so you don’t fall through. And, miraculously, there are power pedestals to plug into. However, it works providing a safe place to tie, super nice folks who help with planning routes and and a very cute town to explore!
Along with Three Sons, Cool Beans, Blue Tortuga, 80’s Lady, Sweet Equity and Ship Faced gathered in the shack for a route briefing. Hoppies daughter, Fern, provided us with some valuable information and insights to navigate the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. Due to lack of rain, both rivers are very shallow making normal anchoring spots not usable and leaving few choices along the way. One stop down the river has a limited number of spots and Ship Faced, Sweet Equity and us were all waitlisted. It turned out the other three boats all had spots and were willing to have us raft! It was a nice evening chatting with this group of loopers that we will be traveling with for a few days.
Hoppies to Kaskaskia Lock Wall
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
37 Nautical Miles/ 3 hours 15 minutes
0 locks
Once again, we woke to a beautiful morning. The evenings are getting a little cool, which makes for great sleeping, and the day warms up to a high 80’s degree. We expected a foggy morning and a delay in leaving, but the river looked clear and glistening. We all started our engines, pulled away from the dock and headed down the Mississippi.
During the cruise, the Cool Beans decided to arrange a Kaskaskia Wall Looper Pot – Luck. After each boat investigated what ingrediencies from their galley could produce a recipe, the menu included 2 different chilis, fabulous spaghetti and meat sauce, pasta and Italian meatballs, sausage with local mustards, chick pea salad and a Cesar salad. The dinner was topped off with dark chocolate with sea salt and red wine.
We pulled up to the lock wall and had great deck hands ready to grab our lines, thanks Stephen, Theresa and Andy! The Kaskaskia Lock Wall is a strange tie up but works perfectly for a night and it is free! You can not access shore from the land, but you walk along the wall and set chairs and table out to enjoy the nice weather. It was a great day for sure!
Kaskaskia Lock Wall to Little Diversion Anchorage
Thursday, October 3, 2024
60 Nautical Miles/ 6 hours 40 minutes
0 locks
We all woke up at early o’clock, started the engines and continued down the Mississippi. It was quite a foggy morning but 6 boats continued cruising and reaching out to each other via VHS radio. The fog quickly lifted and the sun provided another gorgeous day. We are truly blessed with the high 80 temperatures, bright skies and a current pushing us. All 6 boats dropped anchor a channel of the Mississsippi and enjoyed a quite evening on board.
Little Diversion Anchorage to Omstead Lock Anchorage
Friday, October 4, 2024
52 Nautical Miles/ 6 hours 32 minutes
1 locks and a broken water pump
Cruising down the rivers, the VHS radio provides a great deal of entertainment. First, the tow captains have a language to their own and do not use any nautical terms we are used to. Even tough the tugs are ‘pushing’ the barges they are tows and get insulted if you call them pushers or tugs. The tows can be pushing from 1- 30 plus barges. They are referred to as 4×5’s or 3×6’s meaning 3 wide by 6 deep. When you call the tub to ask how to pass they respond simply “See you on the 1” or “2 whistle,” never using the words port or starboard. However, when we repeat what they want us to do, we always clarify “Ok, 2 whistles see you on the port” Also, directions, north or south, are never used. Three Sons is either moving upbound or downbound and that correlates the direction of the current. So, knowing what river we are on and the direction of current is very important! Added to the confusion, the rivers are nothing but curves and turns we are sometimes going upbound to go downbound! Mix in a strong southern draw and Tracy’s strong New England accent, sometimes we just look at each other with confusion and then laugh. There is also lots of chatter on the VHS is with other loopers passing on information about eagle sightings, logs, flying carp, debris or a joke. Lots of planning and banter happens on the radio providing even more laughs along the way.
Once again, we started the engines early, pulled up the anchors and set off. And, once again, we were blessed with a beautiful day.
As Three Sons and our flotilla was preparing to pass the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi River, Bob noticed that one of the engine gauges was a bit high.
Much needed Docktails on Three Sons to end the day!