Kicking Around - Part 3

Had a leisurely breakfast this morning and prepared the boat for cruising about 35- 40 miles up river to Old Coney/Riverbend for the Pops concert and fireworks.  At an average of 9-10 miles per hour the trip will take a bit over 4 hours.  Stopped at Lawrenceburg to stretch our legs and have lunch at the Riverwalk Restaurant.  Nice place and a good menu.

Lawrenceburg, IN

Anchored across from Riverbend, kayaked and generally just hung out in the water to cool off from a 90 degree day.  Returned to the boat club around 11:30 PM to find out that the ramp from the stage had broken (failed weld), so moved the boat to another dock in order to off load in the AM.

Boats waiting for the Pops concert and fireworks across from Riverbend

Kicking Around - Part 2

Woke up this morning to a bunch of mayflies (aka, ugly bugs) on the decks and thick fog.  Washed down the decks with river water from a bucket suspended from a line, and had a nice breakfast as the sun burned the fog off.  Did a little kayaking and swimming throughout the day, chilled and decided to spend another night.  Oh, also finished removing the glue from the transom of the faded name of the boat that I put on about 7 years ago and applied the new letters.

Yours truly returning to the boat

Looking NW, up river, just before going down below

Kicking Around

Over the 4th of July weekend, Barb and I decided to take the boat 37 miles down river to Laughery Island which on the narrow side of the river is a safe place to anchor out, as the commercial river traffic passes on the other side of the island.  Laughery Island, also called Laughery's Island, and is named after Archibald Lochry,  the leader of an ill-fated group of Pennsylvania militiamen who were attacked near the island by Native Americans in 1781 during the American Revolutionary War, a battle known as Lochry's Defeat.

The rest of this trip will be detemined by what moves us!

Heading south from Cincinnati

Aurora Indiana

On the hook, enjoying a beautiful sunset with a glass of wine and fruit with whipped cream

Abaco

Barb and I decided to go to the Abacos (Bahamas - The Out Islands) on our own after our very good friends were not able to meet us there in the last week of May, 2010. 

We selected a hotel, the Abaco Beach Resort at Marsh Harbor on Great Abaco Island, and arranged for two days of scuba diving and three days of boat rental (a 20' center console). 

View from our Hotel Balcony

Great Abaco Island is situated on the Sea of Abaco which is defined by the various cays (pronounced keys) to the east and Great and Little Abaco Islands to the West.  In general, the width (E to W) of the sea is less than 10 miles and the boating area in the main hub of activity is about 40 miles North to South of the total 120-mile-long island chain.  In the summer, seas are calm, so the little Albury 20 footer did just fine.  The boat is built on Man-O-War Cay (population 300 Bahamian residents and about 135 foreign resident families) just some 10 miles across the Sea of Abaco.

Barb at the Helm of the Albury 20

Docked at Guana Cay, on our way to Nippers

Hope Town on elbow Cay is probably the most picturesque destination with its striped lighthouse and well kept cottages and narrow streets.

Hope Town Lighthouse on Elbow Cay

Street in Hope Town on Elbow Cay

Breakfast in Hope Town at Hope Town Harbor Lodge

Abaco is a destination that  one can enjoy on a your own boat or a rented sailboat, cruiser, hotel or cottage.  If you are land based, a rental boat is highly recommended since there are also deserted beaches, reefs as well as the various cays to explore.

Up River

Barb and I had hoped to do an up-river trip, as far as Portsmouth, Ohio - approximately 110 miles each way. The plan was to leave on Wednesday, the 5th of August and return on Tuesday the 11th. Heavy rains on the 3rd and 4th altered the river conditions to the point we needed to postpone and shorten our trip. Finally, on Friday, we shoved off at noon after taking on fuel.

Our original destination that day was Manchester Island, but the late start and our new slow, more fuel efficient cruising speed, as well as a strong river flow (current) relegated us to make headway at about 8.6 mph. With lost time for the Meldahl lock thru and the 71 mile distance to Manchester Island, we would not have arrived until well after dark.

Barb tending the stern while locking thru

Instead, we decided to dock at Augusta, a destination we went to last year. With the addition of our bicycles on board, we explored more of the town and surrounding area. Dinner was at a little pub, (Augusta Pub), which was pretty good for pub food. A free Stella Artois glass was awarded for ordering three Stella's (Barb participated), so after dinner we left with our trophy in search of ice cream.

Augusta has a number of beautiful historic homes and a great dock (if you are self sufficient for power).

Home with garden in Augusta

Barb on board Degaje with histroric homes in background

Barb biking around the Augusta area

The next morning, we departed after a leisurely breakfast, a trip to the grocery store and a bike ride. Our intended destination, Manchester Island (again) but as luck would have it, the water pump on the generator went out. Our choice was to return to Cincinnati, or locate a marina for transient moorage that had electric. We contacted the Lively Lady Marina in Aberdeen who had space. They are located directly across from Maysville KY, which boasts some decent restuarants, art galleries and murals painted on the flood wall that protects the city from the ravages of the Ohio. We decided to take a chance on their small dock for a quick tour and lunch before arriving at the Lively Lady.

Degaje at Maysville

Flood wall murals at Maysville

That evening, while at anchor in Aberdeen, we enjoyed the view of the Aberdeen-Maysville bridge's lights reflecting on the water:

Aberdeen-Maysville Bridge

On Sunday, we stayed at the Lively Lady until afternoon, bicycling in Maysville, washing the boat, kayaking, and generally relaxing. Mid afternoon, we traveled a mere 9 miles down river to Ripley Ohio, where the Ripley Boat Club had a few transient spaces available. An easy docking with a helping hand positioned us for the night. It turned out there was a motorcycle gathering in Ripley that day, so most of the bars were open. Barb and I decided to have our happy hour on the Degaje, where it was quiet.

We were gain underway by 9:00 AM the next morning, heading to New Richmond for lunch and then back to ORLC (home).

Ripley

On the way to New Richmond, a riverside park and museum lies a couple of miles above Meldahl Dam. The museum is about an old lock (lock 34) and other interesting facts about the river.

Lock 34 Museum at Chilo

Regrettably, the museum did not open until around noon, so we walked around and left. To our surprise, the starboard engine would not start, no power, no gauge activity - - nothing. Degaje at Chilo

We tried jump starting the engine, cleaned the battery terminals, reset the ignition breaker, still no joy. A call to Washington Marine resulted in Greg arriving about 45 minutes later, who found the problem - the battery cable connections to the terminals.

After locking through Meldahl dam, we stopped at New Richmond for lunch, a short walk, and then continued down river toward home. The radar and sky showed sever storms in Cininnati, so we turned around and kept out of the storm's way, then reversed course again and arrived in Cincinnati in clear weather.
The trip did not go as planned, a late start and an early return. A failed generator requiring docking instead of anchoring out and a starboard engine that would not start. The boat is named Degaje, a Creole word meaning to "Make Do" or "Be Flexible". We were!

Madison, Indiana

Whiel in Madison, we stayed at River Crest Marina. This Marina is under new ownership and currently being "re-introduced".
Friends, Laura and Dick Young arrived stayed with us Friday night. On Saturday Morning, we went for a short cruise of about 10 miles down -river.

and returned for lunch and hiking at Clifty Falls State Park.

While Madison has a lot to offer, historic homes and mansion tours, events, etc., we did not take advantage of them due to limited time. We did have a great meal on Saturday night before saying farewell to Dick and Laura. On Sunday morning, we shoved off to a strong headwind and current to return to Cininnati in about 10 hours.

Smugglers Cove to Madison Indiana

A late start this AM, finally underway about 9:00 AM, through the lock by 10:00 AM.

The river has been very quiet with regard to pleasure craft, and moderately busy with barge traffic. We are learing to throttle down and cruise at 8.5 to 9 mph, at around 1400 rpm. An additional 1 mph requires an additional 500 to 600 RPM. Rather than our usual 1 gal per mile, we think we are getting up to 1.5 miles per gallon, and really enjoy the trip more.

The Craigs Bar Power and Light plant was pretty interesting as we went by , smoke billowing, towboats bringing coal to the conveyor (picture below):

Barb continues to take the helm more and more (as long as the captain runs below for more coffee . . . see carafe to her left), which is great for the Captain who can relax, and enjoy the scenery between coffee runs.

Cincinnati to Smugglers Cove and Madison, IN

It once again has been a while since we made an entry on this blog. Last year (2008) we did mostly local boating, but were also distracted by a trip to Italy for touristing and our nephew's wedding. One trip that we did (alas, no photos were taken) was to Augusta, Ky. Nice trip with a public dock, but no power which is not a problem in our case.

We left this AM from Cincinnati with our destination once again at Smugglers Cove marina. This will be a stopover on our way to Madison Indiana to meet some friends for a couple of days and enjoy the area.
The river was calm, and finally going down to pool, but drift persisted. Should be gone in the next few days.
Rather than eat lunch on board while under way (our usual practice) we decided to stop at Rising Sun and sample some local fare. We were not disappointed and other than the heat, the chance to exercise our legs was welcome.

Degaje docked at the public dock in Rising Sun.

Inland Marina to Golconda Armina, Golconda IL (10/24/07)

We decided to leave early from Evansville at first light in rainy weather. Drift (floating debris) was light to none, so we made good time to Golconda, though two cold and and rainy lock thrus.

We passed Cave-in-Rock, a place that was variously the home of pirates, counterfeiters, hi-jackers, assorted yeggs, and the haven of brave pioneers. First written about in 1924 by Rothert in “The Outlaws of Cave-In Rock” the Cave was used by Samuel Mason to provide a waylay for New Orleans flatboats to which he lured them and who were expeditiously murdered for their cargo. Now a state park, the mouth of the cave is 55 feet wide and extends back come 60 feet, it was originally partially concealed by vegetation

After arving in Golconda, the rain continued with moderate wind. We were able to call a local tavern and have them pick us up for dinner, drinks and a little pool (Springwater Saloon). Very freindly folks at the local watering hole.

The balance of this cruise is continued at Island Hoppers Blog, managed by the first mate.

Rocky Point Marina to Inland Marina, Evansville, Indiana (10/23/07)

Rain rain go away . . . the childhood poem of a rainy day dismay rings through my head as we motor down the river, two lock thrus and finally dock at Inland Marina in Evansville, Indiana.

During the day we noted a couple of dredges, "mining" the river bottom for gravel. They scour the bottom and offload it to barges on both sides of the dredge.

Mining the Ohio River

Although a bit soggy, our spirits are high . . . the question “are we having fun yet?” being bantered about from time to time. We are told by Katie at Inland Marina that the river is going up 9’ to action stage (23.4’) by Wednesday midnight.

Moorage at Rocky Point Marina

Fueling at Rocky Point Marina

We are currently tied up at the gas dock, but have water, 50 amp service, and a courtesy car at the marina. There is a couple in transit from Terrace Park who have left their sailboat here, rented a car and returned to Cincinnati for a couple of days, pending better weather.

We anticipate slow or no passage tomorrow, needing to make 112 miles or stay here another night. We will see.

Louisville Kentuckty to Rocky Point Marina Indiana (10/22/07)

We left Lousiville early this AM after a heads up from the lockmaster at McAlpin Dam who infored us he was locking though a towboat ( Crescent City) and a pleasure boat at 8:15 AM.

We made it and total lock thru time was about 15 minutes, score one for the good guys!

McAlpin Lock Thru

The weather forecast was for a good morning and a rainy afternoon which was exactly correct. The river between Louisville and Canelton is pristine, very little development. Add that to the rainy afternoon, besides towboat traffic, no one on the river.

A rainy day on the Ohio

This allowed us to make very good time, 7.5 hours for a total of 120 miles. Score two for the good guys!

In route we passed Leavenworth Indiana, well known for it's luxurious inn and where Jenny and Dan opted for luxiourious accomadation over the modest venue of the Greenbriar in West Virginia (http://www.leavenworthinn.com/).

Leavenworth Inn

What a surpise to see our former Rear Commodore involved in a new business enterprise on the river after Leavenworth (Terry's Camp). We all wish Terry the best of luck!

We arrived at Rocky Point Marina in a steady rain and docked with little fanfare. The marina was recently purchased and provided a very good meal at their on-site retuarant.Tomorrow we expect to arrive in Evansville Indiana, a short 73 miles or so.