First day of Week 4, September 28th, 2014

Sunday, September 28^th, 2014
Last week we traveled only 96 miles, and went through 2 dams, no swing bridges, and 16.9 hours of travel. We had to wait for our turn at Hoppie's Marine Services.

Alton to St. Louis to Hoppie’s
We prepared to head to the next marina, Hoppie's Marine Services, about 40 miles downriver and 2 lock and dams away.  As we made ready to leave the marina at first light, 7 AM, we headed under the US Highway 67 bridge The following picture shows why we get nervous under bridges.



US Highway 67 bridge outside of Alton

Looks, close, doesn’t it?  We passed under it with at least 15 feet to spare. We (i.e. Kathy) are kind of getting used to the fact that we are not going to hit. Probably, maybe, most likely…

Next challenge was the Melvin Price Lock and Damn #26, and auxiliary dam.  It was a deep one with a 24’ lift, and rather than tie to bollards on the lock walls, the lock guy just suggested that we float in the middle of the lock. A long way down!

Lock and Dam #26

Wierdams started to appear on the sides of the river.  At current water levels, they are visible above the surface of the water.  They are mountains of rock and, like wing dams, direct the water to keep the channel from silting.

Fishing boat at a wierdam

About 5 miles downriver, we encountered the Chain of Rocks Canal.  Here boaters are directed by a huge sign to proceed left into a canal dredged by the Army Corps of Engineers. The canal bypasses a rock damn and rapids across the old main channel.



Sign at Chain of Rocks Canal

We took the warning seriously!  The Chain of Rocks Canal is long, straight calm, and tedious.  It is about 10 miles long, with nothing but a rock-lined shore and water to see.



Ten miles of rock-lined shore

At the end of the canal, is the Chain of Rocks Lock and Dam 27. It is the last lock of the day and, more significantly, the last lock on the Mississippi River.  From here on down to New Orleans, the river flow is unencumbered by these structural constraints.

And we headed to St. Louis.

While underway, we monitor our marine radio at all times.  It is good to know if Sea Fever will need to pass barges either going up or down river.  As we head to St. Louis, the barges are bigger and faster. The protocol is to hail the tow pushing the barges, and ask the captain on which side he wants us to pass. 

Because of the size of the barges (some upward of 1000 feet long), the tow captain has limited view, especially of smaller boats. In addition, when the river bends, we may see the front of an oncoming barge long before we see the tow.   It is best to keep as far away from the barges as possible, since they cause a lot of turbulence, huge wakes, and kick up a lot of debris from the river.

At any rate, we try to ask how the tow wants us to pass them.  Sometimes they respond with a one or two, which in the olden days corresponded to the number of whistles they would blow.  Way to arcane to describe here!!!

St. Louis

There are 7 bridges over the Mississippi in St. Louis. We managed to squeak under every one of them (most had a 90’ clearance)!

The industry that is on the west river bank is astonishing.  On the east river bank, there is almost nothing, except for a lot of parked barges.  Lots and lots of barges but fortunately not many were moving. Perhaps they get Sundays off.

The current and turbulence kicked up quite a bit through this stretch, as did the debris.  There were 6’ long logs, snags of sticks and logs bunched together and lots of branches floating about.  So we not only had to watch for other watercraft, but we needed to steer around the debris.  Tim did an excellent job of both!

Kathy was on photo detail, and she couldn’t resist taking a few pix of the St. Louis Arch as we sped past at over 10 knots with the help of the current (doesn’t sound so fast but we usually only do 6).

St Louis Arch

Leaving St. Louis in our wake, we motored on toward Hoppie’s Marine Service, some 20 miles further down river

Hoppie’s

Hoppie’s is famous among Loopers and considered a mandatory stop.

From a practical standpoint, Hoppie’s is the last place to get fuel, fresh water and supplies until Kentucky Lake some 228 miles away.

Equally and perhaps more important, Hoppie’s is only place where the ‘nightly briefing’ is held. At the ‘nightly briefing’ knowledge about what lies ahead on the river, the dangers, the places to anchor or avoid, and what conditions currently exist on the ever-changing waterway is revealed.

Hoppie’s is run by 82-year-old Charles Hopkins (Hoppie himself) and his wife Fern who presides over the ‘nightly briefing’.  Their daughter works the fuel dock, ties up incoming boats and takes the fuel and docking fees. A few other folks work and/or help-out (it wasn’t real clear) to keep the operation moving along.

Hoppie’s Marine Services is a marina smaller than its name implies. The marina consists of 3 steel barges moored on the bank of the river. It used to be 6 barges, but the Army Corps of Engineers put in some new wing dams and the current silted in three of the barges. Now Hoppie’s can accommodate only 6 transients on their barge marina. 

The reduced capacity created a holding pattern for boats upriver waiting to get in. We stayed in Grafton for 3 days, and in Alton for 1 day because we couldn’t get a reservation at Hoppie’s until then.

Hoppie’s has its own bit of charm.



Hoppie's Marine Services



Hoppie's marina

We were the first of the Loopers to land here today.  We arrived about 12:50 PM, quickly followed in by other boats and their folks whom we met in Grafton.  We filled our fuel tank, as did the others, and we were jockeyed into our final docking position for the night.  The docking plan was to put the large cruisers on the north end pointed upriver.  Fine by us!  That meant  that any debris from the river would need to get by them first! And there was lots of debris floating by.


Tim waiting to tie up Sea Fever

Several times we were reminded by Fern that the Sunday Night Potluck would be after the 4:30 briefing.

We went down below to prepare our special Minnesota ]wild rice as our contribution, and headed to the briefing.

So 8 of us gathered by the fuel dock for Fern’s briefing.  She went through the following:

>   Where the heavy turbulence is between Hoppie’s and the Ohio River

     The fact that barges sometime break away from the tows, and float on their own to cause disaster to any boat “what come across them”

>    Size of tows: HUGE because no locks restrict their size.

>   Where the good protected anchorages are (and why Fern disagrees with the anchorages listed in the guide books).

>    The important phone number of Gordon from Green Turtle Bay Marina.  Gordon is the guy to call if your vessel is in trouble.  He will find you, get you, and tow you to safety anywhere between Hoppie’s and Green Turtle Bay.

>   Take the Cumberland River route through the Barkley Lock and Dam to Green Turtle Bay Marina in Kentucky Lakes.  Avoid Kentucky Lake Lock and Dam. Even though Barley Lock is some 25 miles further, there is less commercial traffic. The Tennessee Lock is known for delays of over 5 hours waiting for commercial traffic to go through.

 By now, Kathy’s eyes are wide open and she asked how far the St. Louis airport was.  She was about to abandon ship, freaked out by all the potential disasters we were about to encounter.


The briefing

 

Fern

Fortunately, the potluck intervened before she could make reservations. And what a potluck it was.

We hooked up with the folks that we had met in Grafton, as well as the other Loopers, and had a great time.  Turns out several of them became ‘buddies” much earlier in their journey, and traveled together. We were accepted into the fraternity, and planned to meet up at the next anchorage. Sea Fever couldn’t keep up with the big power boats but our new friends promised to save us a spot at the anchorage.

All the folks at dinner calmed Kathy down and she agreed to continue.
 

The pot luck spread



Chowing down

It was a rock and rolling night for sleeping.  Because Hoppie’s is on the river, not protected inside a harbor, each time a tow went by, there was a large wake. Sea fever went up and down and side to side bouncing off the barge to which she was tied. I guess we are getting somewhat used to it, though. 

Both of us slept well.