Day 19: Sunday, September 23, 2012
Underway: 7:05 am Motor Off: 2:00 pm Miles Traveled: 44 Stayed At: Marina
First Things First: Saw first zebra mussels on a lock wall, first time hitting 9.4 mph on Aurora.
Mile 203 to Mile 159: After leaving Alton at sunrise – just a little behind the powerboat Jet Stream – we cruised through the final two locks on the Mississippi without any delay and celebrated being done with the Mississippi River locks. There are lots more tows on this part of the river and the river is much narrower than we have experienced. We met 16 tows going upstream, 6 passed us going downstream and countless large tows were parked along the river north and south of St. Louis for as far as the eye could see. It takes two of us to watch traffic, the chart and the milestones so we stay out of trouble. The worst part was the Chain of Rocks Canal (that is a pretty accurate description) just after the Missouri River joins the Mississippi. Its narrow (a tow sitting sideways “wallowing” on a corner nearly blocked the entire channel), the tows have gotten bigger (saw one pushing 3×7 or 21 barges) and the tugs are on steroids. All traffic has to follow this narrow path because the main channel is blocked by a short dam where St. Louis has their main fresh water intake on the river – there is a 4’ drop off the end of it if you choose the wrong channel. Luckily, the tug Captains have been extremely patient and helpful. As long as we talk to them on the radio, they will tell us exactly where to go to safely pass or be passed without incident. One Captain even gave us a heads up to call Lock 27 to tell them we were coming to hold the lock for us – we didn’t realize we were so close – and that saved us a lot of time.
The current on this park of the river also changes drastically too. Instead of a gentle, hardly noticeable 1 mph current, the river speeds up to 2.5 to 3 mph and narrows significantly causing whirlpools and eddy’s which we have not noticed at all before this. The buoys are dancing a lot more in the current too. We were regularly hitting 9.0 mph after leaving the Chain of Rocks Canal which feels fast when you are used to 6 mph or less. All this makes steering more of a challenge but the speed increase is a welcome gift.
Passing the St. Louis Arch at 11 am on a beautiful, early fall day was a highlight of the trip so far. We timed it perfectly with the morning sun glinting off the stainless steel as we passed by simultaneously looking out for traffic and taking in the amazing view. Pictures can only tell part of the story.
After passing by St. Louis, things gradually quieted down and we relaxed a little and enjoyed the changing scenery as we headed towards Hoppies. If you are traveling this part of the river – especially for the first time – you have to stop a Hoppies – a set of 3 old barges floating parallel to the river where boaters can find safety, fuel and critical information to navigate the next 260 miles of the river before the next marina. They are an institution. For decades, they have helped travelers moving north and south safely navigate the river. Fern, the matriarch, is a wealth of knowledge on anchorages, navigation, river etiquette and history. I have 4 pages of notes from her daily info session that will help us figure out where to stay and what to do between here and the Tenn-Tom Canal System.
Hoppies is only about 1/4 mile from Kimmswick, Missouri – a quaint little town with a number of gift shops, antique stores and restaurants and lots of tourists walking up and down the middle of main street wandering from store to store. We ate a late lunch at the Dough Depot whose specialty was sandwiches on pretzel bread. We shared an awesome strawberry shake, a cinnamon sugar pretzel and a chicken marinara sandwich on pretzel bread – a real treat.
Sleep has been optional for several days now with all the impromptu marina parties/gatherings/ gab sessions and tonight was no exception. Scott and KC on Jet Stream (the boat we inadvertently made to wait at Lock 26 an 27) invited us (and other boaters) over for a tour in the evening so, after quickly reheating and eating some chili saved from Alton Marina, we joined them and Bert and Hillary (almost newlyweds) from Took the Plunge for some wine, pumpkin cake cookies and great conversation on Jet Stream. What a great way to spend an evening. Sleep can wait a week or two.
Wild Things: The St. Louis Arch as viewed from a 22’ sailboat after traveling 600+ miles down the Mississippi River.
