The Captain’s Post #4 - Logs, Trees, Stumps, Tires and Runaway Barges...AKA The Rivers

Post by Larry McCullough

I must say, cruising down the rivers, leaving Chicago and ending in Mobile Bay was an experience. An experience that I would not particularly like to do again. The gamut of emotions ran from relaxation to a bit of fear, mad to jubilation. But in the end there was satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. It was not easy!

I prepared the boat and my psyche well for the journey and I think Jamie and I handled it very well, we were prepared. I was very relieved that when we left Chicago I felt very competent in my handling skills of the boat and very confident in the boat itself. Independence weighs in at close to 90,000 lbs. and 59 feet in length, one of the largest boats on the Loop. Turning the boat on its axis was easy, been there done that on other boats I had, now I could do that with current and wind. In addition, I now had mastered moving the boat sideways, quite handy when approaching a dock. Leaving Chicago all my skills were to be tested.

The Torrence Bridge on the Calumet River is a 21 foot clearance NOT the 28 reported by the Bridge Tender

Being ‘prepared’ was tested immediately leaving Chicago. The Calumet river was busy with commercial traffic, tugs maneuvering barges and towing them… I was prepared for that. As we approached a bridge we asked for it to be raised even though we had already lowered the radar arch to get under a bridge farther down river…we were prepared. What you can not prepare for is a bridge operator telling you the clearance of a bridge is five feet higher than it actually is, but we were prepared and had remeasured our clearance the day before and knew that even with his incorrect clearance figure we would be okay (I informed the operator of his mistake and he ignored us).

Later in the day we approached the bridge on the Illinois River with a 19 foot clearance, the bridge that we had to have the radar arch lowered for, we cleared it with one foot to spare and no stress…we were prepared. A bit trickier further down river with heavy barge traffic on the narrow river, an electric field barrier to keep out the Asian Carp, a bit more stress but okay. Finally, it was time to tie up for the evening on the wall in Joliet, crack open a beer or two for a little stress relief, to celebrate our accomplishment.

The Santa Fe Rail Road Swing Bridge on the Des Plaines River, IL...with 12 inches to spare!

The next few days have been well documented by Jamie on previous blog post therefore I will not repeat many of the details. What we did encounter were many things that we expected, delays at locks due to construction, etc.. What we did not expect were the delays being much longer than expected resulting in one night of having to travel to 10 PM. Looking back I am glad we had that night run, an adventure that we handled very well, something to be proud of.

Jamie takes watch on the bollard tie while we wait for our lock opening at the Marseilles Lock, Illinois River

There were some great towns to visit on the rivers, fun to walk around and get a cold one with the hot days we were experiencing. As we approached the Mississippi River I was looking forward to having a rest in Alton, a very enjoyable town.

The Mississippi was an experience, 220 miles to the Ohio River with no decent anchorages and no marinas, this was going to be tough. Did I mention currents, whirlpools, massive tugs pushing 15 barges, and the 100 plus degree heat? We did it, another accomplishment, feather in the hat, another beer pulled out of the fridge (only after the boat is secure for the evening).

Another nice break in Paducah KY, then more rivers. The Cumberland, Tennessee Rivers and The Land Between The Lakes, then the Tenn-Tom, 234 miles of a man-made waterway, sometimes boring except when a tug is pushing three wide barges, quite nerve wracking. But we mad it, glad we did it, glad it was over.

Just another morning on the fly-bridge. Commute hour on the Illinois River

Don’t mind us, we’ll just squeak on by on the Tenn-Tom Waterway, MS

Windmill propeller blades being shipped by barge on the Mississippi River

One tug pushes and another pulls this load on the Ohio River

Another barge on the Warrior River, right before reaching Demopolis, AL

Arriving in Demopolis was a relief, ready for the home stretch, barely (in relative terms) any miles left of the rivers…NOT! As Jamie previously documented the boat was in great shape. Although we had some pretty good thuds on the journey the props were in great shape, no scrapes and both stabilizers were still there! Time for some pampering, wash & wax, haul out and bottom paint. Time to go home for a quick trip since it had been six months. Time to wait until November 1st when our insurance company said we could go lower than latitude 32.

Back in Demopolis, itching to leave on November 1st. No hurricanes but plenty of rain to the point of the rivers being at flood stage. Well, we weren’t prepared for that. We borrowed the marina car and drove to see what the river looked further down river. We arrived at the Demopolis Lock and Dam and observed trees, branches and an assortment of garbage floating by but I felt that it was safe to continue our voyage the next morning. While observing the river we noticed activity with a tug and small tender boat, what are they up to I thought. Turned out a barge broke away from it’s mooring upriver, floated down the river and went over the dam! Okay, now we also have to worry about untended barges floating down the river, how do you prepare for that?!? So much for some of the anchorages…how do you sleep with the thought of runaway barges?

The tug’s small tender runs a line across the raging Tombigbee River to try and attach it to the run-away barges (on the other side of the bank). Amazing how the barges stayed upright after going over the spill-way (in background of photo).

That night there was a meeting at the marina to determine how many boats would be leaving in the morning and to get a fresh report on river conditions and find out how the boats that left earlier in the day managed. I brought a pen and paper to write down the names of the boats, being prepared meant I was now the ‘point man’ for the morning’s activities. That meant contacting the lock master (at 5:30 am) for a good time to leave and to let all 12 boats know via VHF radio so we could go through the lock together. Knowing a big day was ahead I wanted to go to bed early and get a good night’s sleep. At about 9 PM in comes an 80 foot boat run by a captain with no owner aboard. He informed me of his plans to leave early and go to Bobby’s Fish Camp, where the other 12 boats planned to tie up for the next night. The captain said he would leave about an hour after the 12 boats left.

The next morning I am up before 5:00AM sucking down some coffee thinking about the day ahead. I call the lock master and find out some barges are coming upriver and we better get moving earlier than planned, before first light. I get on the radio and make the planned broadcast letting the boats know we have an earlier than thought lock opening. The 12 of us take off and as we are approaching the lock here comes the 80 footer (Jamie has already posted some great pictures from the lock and journey that day).

Cruising single-file to avoid debris and tugs lurking in the fog

We all proceed down the river in single file for many miles and then the 80 footer takes off. We later learn that he hit debris and bent the props of the boat. All the other boats were taking their time but when it is not ‘your’ boat I guess it does not matter. From then on he was restricted to around 9 knots, not the 15 he had been doing.

We make it down the 83 nautical miles to Bobby’s Fish Camp and there is the 80 footer taking up most of the dock. I inform him that there are 12 more boats that need to tie up for the night and he needs to make room by pulling forward on the 150 foot dock and prepare for boats to raft up to him. He informs me that he had a reservation (Bobby’s does not take reservations) and he did not want me to raft up to his boat. How does one prepare for this? Well, being Irish is one way and I gave him my opinion.

The next three hours were spent rafting the other boats and using the extra 400 feet of line on the boat to tie off to trees on shore and taking some of the strain off the dock, all while trees and branches were floating by with some hitting Independence. At about midnight a tug and barge go by and produced a wake that tossed all the boats.

That extra 400 feet of line came in use after all. Three hours later the 12 boats (AND the 80 footer) are all tied-up safely

The next morning we had planned a long run to try to make it all the way to Mobile, but no, the lock master would not let us enter until noon, so much for a long day. We took off any way with 2 other boats and made it to a nice anchorage for the night (luckily no runaway barges).

Fog and tugs & tows…another morning on the river

We had an incredible sunset after anchoring and opening the fridge again. The next morning the fog had rolled in making the visibility about ¼ mile. AIS was now crucial, radar was limited to the bends in the river but the AIS would let us know who and what was coming upriver. In one of those instances I spotted two tugs and barges coming our way. I contacted the lead tug and asked would he like us to be on the “One or Two Whistle” (taking them on our port or starboard sides). He informed us to take him “on the one whistle”. There were many bends in the river and I thought I would wait for him on one of the straights. The current was over 4 knots with tress and branches floating by on all sides. The current pushed us downstream fast and he was going upstream slow, we met at a bend in the river. I stayed on his one, up against the green markers that I could see. The tug captain was up against the greens also, forcing me to leave the channel and get close to the bank of the river. As I approached the rear of the tug to try to get back in the channel the tug captain hails me on the radio and points out a green marker that has been dragged under the water by the current and we are headed right at it! Quick turn to starboard and we pass the danger. I get back on the radio and tell the tug captain I would like to buy him many cocktails that evening, he laughs, and we are on way down river.

The river markers are hard to see when they are pulled under by high water and and huge currents

As we get closer to Mobile the tide action of the Gulf starts to affect the rivers and we are encountering less debris, a relief. Mobile is a welcome sight, Jamie and I at this time are very relieved to be done with the rivers, we did it, an accomplishment, been there done that, don’t need to do it again. Another hour to our marina for the night and tie up the boat, open up the fridge and…that’s another story!

The Captain deserves a cold one! last stop before Mobile Bay on the Tombigbee River, AL