October 11, 2021
We left Hoppies to continue down the river, expecting to anchor in the Kaskaskia River, about a 140 mile run. With our late start (around noon), the 3 or 4 hours to get to the Kaskaskia River was all we wanted to tackle that day. It was a pretty uneventful day, dodged our share of logs in the river, a very windy day (drove from the pilot house). We arrived at the Kaskaskia River around 3:00. What boats have to do these days at the K lock and dam is to go through the lock and anchor up river. Then, of course, the next day, you have to go back through the lock to get back out on the Mississippi. On our way down, we had been practicing seeking out good anchorages, should we need one. It had been suggested that we could anchor behind any of the weir dams that have been placed along the river’s edges. They create a pool of still water behind them and are well out of the channel.
Right across the river from the Kaskaskia River entrance was one of these weir dams. We went downstream of the end of the dam, and carefully and slowly entered the area behind the dam. We need 4 feet of water under us, and, as we entered the area, we saw 5 feet briefly, then 7, 8, and then 10 feet when we were well in. Perfect! Now, in the morning, we only have to just pull anchor and enter the river – no lock to negotiate.
We had a lovely night at anchor: still water, clear skies, absolute quiet. Tows did come by, both as we watched them and as we slept. Their only sound is from the tow boat itself, at the rear of their huge barge group they are pushing. I got up at 6, still dark outside. In 30 minutes, I watched as 4 huge tows came by, first as lights in the distance, then slowly passing. The captains used a huge spotlight to sweep the river ahead of them and, I imagine, to check out this small boat anchored to the side. These tows did not ‘wake’ us, but some other craft (we suspect fisherman’s boat with a huge outboard) did ‘wake’ us around 5:30 – rocked us around quite well!
Tonight, we will be at anchor again, but we are hoping to make about 100 miles. There are no marinas in this stretch of the Mississippi and not much to see. Even places to anchor are fairly scarce. As we understand it, most of the Mississippi River is like this. We will be turning up the Ohio river either late today or tomorrow morning. The Mississippi River is just not friendly to recreational craft, and that remains true all the way to New Orleans!
10/11 Angelo Towhead anchorage
Angelo’s Towhead anchorage
Our guide book said that this anchorage should not be attempted in low water, which the rivers are. However, we decided to check it out. It is at the end of the upper Mississippi River, where the Ohio River comes in. We are going up the Ohio, which will be a different experience than ‘flying’ down the Mississippi. Anyway, it was probably an hour before dark when we entered the anchorage – what a beautiful and deserted piece of water! It was very large, very deep, and could probably accommodate 100 boats! (Just my assessment!) We never saw depths shallower than about 14 feet, and much of the space was 20, 30, even 40+ feet deep! We found ourselves searching for a shallow enough spot for the amount of anchor ‘rode’ we have! We had a very peaceful night – could occasionally feel, more than hear, the rumbling of tows passing on the Mississippi. Otherwise a beautiful, calm, peaceful night! We had an easy exit at 8:30 the next morning.
Turning up the Ohio, there were a LOT of tows, many just sitting at the side of the river. We are 16 miles from the Olmstead Lock, and there’s no telling how long we might have to wait to get through. Of course, commercial traffic gets priority, but we have found that the lockmasters are very kind and will get us through when they can.
No comments:
Post a Comment