Day 32: Cape Girardeau to Green Turtle Bay Resort, KY

05:30 CDT: anchor up, filthy with mud from the Diversion Channel where we passed a quiet night well out of the reach of passing push boats and barges. We had air conditioning thanks to our Cummins Onan Genset which mitigated the steamy, buggy night. We met an early procession of push boats headed upstream. Depending on the load and the power required, some produce 4- to 5-foot standing waves in the initial wake, with short periods from crest to crest. The chop remaining can be energetic, to say the least, and will last a surprisingly long time afterward, particularly when we pass two running close together. 

On the Ohio River, we switched over to the next US Army Corps of Engineers charts, which we are using to back up the very accurate Navionics electronics charts running in our Raymarine nav system - very visible on the flybridge, even in direct sunlight.

There's differences between the Mississippi and the Ohio are distinct. The water is green as opposed to cafe au lait. The number of tows have diminished. Near Cairo, we passed numerous empty barges flanking the navigable channel.

From Kimswick to Lock and Dam 52 on the Ohio, there have only been high bridges averaging 70 feet or more. This was the busiest section we've seen for several hours. The banks of the Ohio have been low and gradually sloping, unlike the steeper banks and occasional stone bluffs on the Mississippi. We've seen fewer quarries and more power plants on the Ohio. Just passed Metropolis, IL where there is a paddle wheel-style riverboat casino.  Wondering if Clark Kent and Lois Lane drop in now and again for a couple of rounds of blackjack? The strong breezes of this morning have moderated, but there is still enough to make hanging out on the flybridge enjoyable.

We made it through L&D 52, it was SO long. I learned what caused the delay:  large dredge and its service vessels were headed upstream when one of their small tugs sank abruptly in the mouth of the larger of two locks this morning. There were large tows on both sides of the locks, either waiting for the tug to be raised, or waiting for another tug to break off part of their tow and get it through the smaller lock.

We then passed Paducah, KY, which has a large concrete ramp on its waterfront where locals park their cars and watch the considerable push boat traffic. Just up the Tennessee River, which empties into the Ohio River at Paducah, I saw several large docks full of the distinctive, flat-fronted boats designed to attach to the flat stern end of a barge or a massive number of them tied together. Unusual looking, to the traditionalists among us, they are nevertheless incredibly effective and oh-so powerful!

We have elected to continue up the Ohio and to enter the Cumberland River, avoiding what is sure to be an overcrowded Kentucky Lake Lock & Dam. This added another 24 miles to our journey, and not to mention a bit of angst about our fuel supply, but this stretch of the river is quiet and pastoral. There are a few riverfront homes in the distance, and an occasional fishing boat or runabout. As the afternoon light began to lower, this part of the river seemed more and more idyllic.

At 17:00 hours, we entered the Cumberland River, a narrow, bend-filled waterway that is completely different from the broad Ohio. The terrain is tree-covered banks roughly 400 feet apart, rising up to ridges that flank the river. We're passing several long strings of barges grounded along the bank. The push boats here are typical of others we saw on the Ohio, being wide and multi-decked, with twin stacks. We waited for more than hour at the entrance to the Barkley Dam Lock. We understand that commerce takes precedence, but we awaited the lock keeper's decision as to whether or not it would let us go.

We stopped for the night at Green Turtle Bay Resort. Overall an awesome day on the water but still very long ! J

Best,

John