Good morning from Cave in Rock O 880.5
Yes that’s actually a name of a town. There’s actually a huge cave here right on the river. During the 1800s when there was a massive flux of people moving west there were a lots of flatboats floating down the Ohio to the Mississippi and then on down to New Orleans and other destinations loaded with manufactured goods, produce, guns and munitions. Piracy was rampant on the Ohio River as it was then and still is for the most part very desolate. Cave in the rock was a hideout for pirates who used various means to lure unsuspecting river travelers into a trap where they took their money, goods and often their lives. Finally the federal government sent in troops to rid the river of its pirates.
Last night we spent anchored behind Cincinnati Island. We tried to get into an anchorage behind the island at old Shantytown. Indications from the cruising guides and our charts were that there was enough water to get in. We were watching the depth sounder while we were going in and were going dead slow when we hit the soft bottom at the entrance.
. Our original plan was to go to Cincinnati Island but decided to take a look at Shanteetown. The town used to be right on the river but when the town was devastated by the flood of 1937 the town was moved back from the river a few miles and the buildings were abandoned. The old bank building was one of the first banks in Illinois. Also therev is an old abandoned brick church building still standing . We thought that if we could get into the anchorage we would dinghy ashore and go exploring. Well that didn’t happen so on to Cincinnati Island.
Cincinnati Island was only a few more miles downriver and there were some other options if that didn’t look good. We had to approach the anchorage from down river and were able to get up fairly close to the island to protect us from the wind. We anchored in about 12 feet of water. We dropped the anchor and it immediately dug in. There was a pretty good current running behind the island where we were anchored, but that good as Annie lies perfectly still in a current. I would estimate the current was about 2 mph. The downside of that is that we have been having some outboard issues and have not used it in two weeks and if I had problems with it I was going to have to row against the current. We got in about 3 o’clock . After bedding the boat down I wanted to take Hillary ashore and scope out the island as I would have to take her ashore again before we went to bed except the second trip would be in pitch blackness. As it turned out the island had good hard sand beach that immediately dropped off into deep water. This was a perfect landing spot as I could drive the dinghy right up on shore and get myself and the dog out of the dinghy without getting our feet wet and muddy. I pulled a log down from the bank and tied the dinghy to it while we were walking and would also use this log as a landmark so I could find the same spot again in the dark. The outboard was a little cantankerous but I have gotten used to fiddling with it to keep it running. The first trip ashore was uneventful, and Carol went with me last night and aside from a little mud in the dinghy and some wet doggy feet it went well.
Last night was cold. It was predicted to go below freezing so when we walked the dog last night we ran the big generator and ran the heaters and got the boat toasty warm while we wer gone. . I don’t think it made it to freezing last night but it was chilly.. .we just put an extra blanket on the bed and sleeping was great. I woke up about 6 and started the generator to get it warm and then took Hillary ashore for here morning romp. When I got back Carol was up coffee was made and we got the dinghy secure and anchor up and we were on our way.
Tomorrow is Golconda to Paducah which is a run of 33 miles with one lock at Smithland which will be our last lock on the Ohio. The ;lower Ohio is our least favorite section of the trip. The banks are low and treelined. There are very few houses along the river and even fewer towns, so there is not much to look at. The river is wide ½ to ¾ mil at places. There are lots of islands however which provide anchorages in the chutes behind the islands protected from the wind and wakes from passing tows. Most of these islands are wildlife refuges.
Destination today is Goncola Marina which is about 40 miles downstream from Cincinnati Island. The town of Goncola is a ghost town and the marina is not much more. It’s in a dredged basin off river and extremely well protected, unfortunately there are not many boats there to protect.
What’s left of the town is about half mile walk from the marina with a very elaborate foot bridge across the creek that separates the town from the marina. . This was a state funded project and was a very expensive project located in a very bad location. The marina unfortunately silts up and we are in the mud just inside the entrance. They usually tell us to come to the fuel dock when we go in there but there is no way we can get there, so we blow out own channel to the nearest dock and get tied up. We tried it again today and made it all the way to the fuel dock and got tied up.
There is a Subway and two bar and grills in town… mostly bar and little grill but the foods not too bad and its a chance to get off the boat. I would not classify this as a culinary experience. The saving grace of Goncola is that its cheap, the people are friendly and they have good power and water. . We’ll be in and secured early afternoon so I can work on the patching the deck leak an washing the e boat down. Its Supposed to be in the 60s today. Weather clear and there is not a cloud in the sky. The river is like glass.
We’re not sure what we are going to find in Paducah. Last time I was through on a boat was coming back from Lake Michigan two years ago. At that time there was a city dock by a boat ramp downtown. This would be a good place to tie up as it’s close to the waterfront area with shops, the Maritime Museum and restaurants. One reference says ther is a 15 minute time limit, presumably to prevent people launching their boats at the ramp from monopolizing the dock. Whether this is enforced or not is another question. We called the Paducah Waterfront Development Council and they didn’t answer the phone. Then we called the “Parks” Department and they didn’t know. So I guess we will find out tomorrow when we get to Paducah. . David Quin our friend and frequent crew member will be meeting us in Paducah tomorrow. If there’s no dock, we will just have to find a place to anchor and commute to shore by dinghy. Paducah lies at the mouth of the Tennessee River so it iss at Tennessee Mile “0” Miles on the Tennessee are measured from Paducah and get larger going upstream. While the mile numbering oin the Ohio is opposite, The Ohio numbering system begins at Pittsburgh at mile “0” and goes to mile 979 where the Ohio flows into the Mississippi at Cairo Il.
From Paduah its 22 miles up the Tennessee River to Kentucky Dam and Lock. Since Barkley Lock is down for repairs, all of the traffic on the Cumberland is going up the Tennessee. through Kentucky Lock, So barge traffic is backed up at Kentucky Lock. We called the lock this morning to see if recreational vesels were on a locking schedule. And the answer was no. The locking regulations are such that government and commercial vessels have prioriry but it states that if there is a backup of vessels locking through that every third lockage has to be for recreational vessels. It takes about 45 minutes to and hour to put a tow in the chamber and bring it up or take it down. So a complete turnaround could take and hour and ahalf or maybe as long as two hours. So two complete turnarounds could take as long as 4 hours. Now if we got really lucky and there were a bunch of recreational vessels trying to go up and they have been waiting for some time then we would go up with them. Bottom line is we won’t really know till we get there how long its going to take. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.
I met the M/V Annie just downstream of Swallow Bluff Island on the Tennessee River the morning of 11-20-15 and struck up a conversation with her Captain and builder who was quite knowledgeable of professional river educate which is refreshing when you meet non-commercial craft on the river. As a professional mariner of 20 years for Tennessee Valley Towing and the Captain of their Flagship the M/V William Hank I was impressed to find out that the owner operator of the Annie had build her from scratch but not only the vessel but it’s calliope which was powered by a hot tub motor! This labor of love he said took 16 years to complete…I can say no more that hats off to you captain and quite simply…WOW
Captain Byron Mathis (AKA Captain Garfield)
M/V William Hank