[Most recent entry is at end.] [Previous log file is https://www.billdietrich.me/MagnoliaLogEarly2003.txt ] 2/28/2003 (Friday) At anchor in Boot Key Harbor at Marathon FL. Warm and humid day: 80 degrees inside boat before 10 AM. Worked on pilothouse screens, screwing hooks into the pilothouse and hanging screens with dowels on them. Very sweaty work; had to towel off every 5 minutes. Dinghied ashore, did internet cafe and groceries, bought starting fluid ($2). Loaded more water. Back to boat, then back ashore. Did library, dropped car at storage place, biked back to marina, put bike in dinghy, loaded more water, back to boat. Sweating all day, too. Started raising anchors shortly after 5, and didn't get them up until almost 6. Secondary anchor had hooked 50 or 75 pounds worth of primary anchors chain, so I really had to sweat to get the tangle up to where I could deal with it. Just then, a guy came over by dinghy from a nearby boat, where they'd been watching the entertainment. He started spouting off about how he'd been doing this for 22 years, how I should have put my anchors 180 degrees apart and 100 feet apart (I did, more or less), how he was going to tell me how to fix the problem, how he'd been doing this for 22 years. I told him I appreciated him coming over, but I didn't want him grabbing the tangle; I told him it was dangerous, I was afraid it would let go and drag him under. Finally I said "please move away so I can finish raising the anchors", and he said "you're just like a British guy !" (I think that was an insult). He moved away saying "Okay, I've been doing this for 22 years but you know how to do it better." Two minutes later I had the secondary anchor completely up, a few pokes later the tangle let go, and 5 minutes later I was moving. Got out of the harbor and through Seven Mile bridge just before dark. A few shoals to watch out for on the gulf side, but really not hard with the GPS and the lights of Marathon to keep me oriented. Anchored near Knights Channel and Rebecca Shoal about 7:40. Calm night. Feels good to be out of the harbor. Just after I went to bed, I heard a powerful boat coming past, and looked out to see it being flagged down by an equally powerful police boat with flashing lights. They floated nearby for 15 minutes, then dispersed. 3/1/2003 (Saturday) At anchor in Florida Bay outside Marathon FL. Raised sail and anchor at 0730, wind going in direction I want to go. By 0800, I was tired of doing 2.3 to 2.7 knots. Started the engine, took down the jib, and motor-sailed at 6.2 to 6.4 knots with the mainsail up and the engine at less than normal cruising RPMs. Out of sight of land from 0945 to 1100. Had to watch out for crab-trap floats all the way. A couple of sailboats going the other way, and one following me, several miles behind. Ran RADAR to exercise it. Wind blew harder and harder, but it's a tailwind and following seas. Probably 10 knots when I started, 20 when done. Went up Little Shark River and anchored about 3 PM at lat 25.19.748 long 81.08.263 About 10 other boats here. Hot now that I'm out of most of the wind. At 3:45, had to start the engine, raise anchor, remove the trip line, and re-anchor a couple hundred feet away. The powerboat next to me was lying to the current, while I was lying to the wind. But my boat was pointed by the current, putting my trip line near my propeller. About 5 PM, started getting attacked by no-see-ums and barely-see-ums. Mostly better inside the boat, but still a lot of scratching and cussing. Salad and grilled chicken for dinner. Insects seemed to go away by 7:30 or so. 3/2/2003 (Sunday) At anchor in Little Shark River. Bugs started up again at 6:30 or so; eased off by 8 or so. Anchor up and moving by 8:15. Five more boats came out right behind me, one going south, four going north. Motor-sailed through breezy, hazy, humid conditions. Out of sight of land, although it's only about 7 miles to the east of me. Anchored about 2:30 in Indian Key Pass, just east of Indian Key, at lat 25.48.876 long 81.27.681 I'm pretty exposed to the wind and some swell, but I like the breeze, the swell is moderate and right on the nose, the wind is supposed to lessen tonight, and I'm as far as possible from land and those pesky bugs ! A little uncomfortable later, as current swings the boat around so the swell hits directly on the stern, but I think I'm going to stay here. Too windy through the cockpit to cook anything. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 3/3/2003 (Monday) At anchor in Indian Key Pass. Nice cool morning, few bugs, one other boat anchored, some small fishing boats and a canoe moving through. Greased tach fitting on engine, tightened stuffing box, cleaned water strainer. Several dolphins hunting. Moving by 0900. Didn't put up sail because there are some dark clouds (but they went away within an hour). Have to head SW a bit to round the Cape Romano Shoals. Stuffing box still leaking; I'll have to repack it. Put seizing wire on shackles in the running rigging. Watched the condo towers of Marco Island all day as I did a 240 degree arc around them. A bit rolly at times when the swell hit from the beam. Saw a few dolphins. Lots of boats in the Coconut Island anchorage. I anchored about 3:20 in Factory Bay, right in the (very wide) east channel. A couple more boats anchored right after I did. Put some paint on the "anchored" dayshape I'm making. Nice, spacious anchorage with good holding. A bit of noise from workers doing construction on a waterfront house. And nowehere to get ashore for free, and apparently not much to do once you get ashore. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 3/4/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor in Factory Bay at Marco Island FL. Did a bunch of cleaning and straightening up, in preparation for having my friend Gary come aboard. I was supposed to radio him at 1000, and I did. Then, I got a radio message through a towing service saying that he couldn't contact me because his boat had a bee infestation. I thought he might have heard my radio call, and might come over in his runabout. At 1030, I launched my dinghy and tried to start the outboard. It ran for 30 seconds and then died and wouldn't start no matter what I did. I worked on it off and on for almost 2 hours; finally, running some carb cleaner through it may have done the trick. With only one wrong turn, I found Gary's boat(s) and dock behind his house, and docked there. Sure enough, there were bees circling in the cockpit of his big boat, the Morgan Out Island 41 "Eileen". I left the outboard running and walked around to knock on the front door. But no one was home. Back to boat, a bit of lunch, then raised anchor about 2:15 and motored up the "old ICW" to Naples. Anchored about 4:20 in a lovely wide canal (the "Port Royal anchorage") surrounded by multi-million-dollar houses. But no way to get ashore. Lat 26.06.503 long 81.47.445 Calm, almost cool evening, with only a few bugs. Saffron rice and chicken-and-potato soup for dinner. 3/5/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor just inside Gordon Pass, a couple miles south of Naples FL. Raised anchor about 0830, motored up to Naples to see what the harbor looked like. As expected, it is totally full of marinas and a city mooring field; nowhere to anchor. Turned around and came back out. On the way, got waked by a big fast powerboat (and he didn't answer the radio when I called him ahead of time), but at least he saw me give him the finger. He yelled "what ?", and I pointed to his wake just as it rolled me. Went out Gordon Pass, which was a bit rough with incoming tidal current and breaking waves alongside the channel. Lots of swells on the beam out in the Gulf; a bit uncomfortable. Had the mainsail up, but it was just slatting around in the swell as I was motoring partly downwind, so I took it down. Saw another boat sailing wing-on-wing, and they were really rolling and their sails were flopping. Arrived at the mouth of San Carlos Bay, off Ft Myers Beach, where there were parasailing boats operating. Followed slightly confusing channel through Matanzas Pass. Passed under bridge, and then saw lots of boats in anchorage. Still, not much of a problem finding a decent spot at 2:30 or so, on south side by red 28, near Estero Island. A little tricky because I arrived just at high tide: if I'd run aground, it would have been ugly. Not much extra water as it is: I'll probably be in 4.5 feet at low tide, and I draw 3.5 feet. The usual number of interested eyes watched me put down two anchors. Lat 26.27.331 long 81.56.778 Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 3/6/2003 (Thursday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Nice cool morning. Did a bucket of laundry. Dinghied ashore to free dock behind someone's house. Walked south along the main strip, getting oriented and finding useful things (supermarket, library, etc). Did library and a few groceries. Seems like a nice place, unless you're in a car (traffic is very slow). Back to boat, and after lunch, sat in my undies in the pilothouse, reading a book, munching cheese curls, watching boats go by, enjoying a cool breeze, looking forward to going to the beach, and thinking "this is great !". Put more paint on the "anchored" day-shape. Dinghied ashore, and intercepted a nice cruising couple and pumped them for some local information. Went to the beach for a couple of hours, and it was nice. Plenty of pretty women, lots of activity, half-dozen boats anchored almost in the breakers. The water itself is nothing exciting: pretty shallow, very gentle surf, lots of churned-up sand limiting visibility. But I had a short swim that was nice. Did lots of walking on the beach, and read a magazine. Salad and fruit and egg-salad sandwiches for dinner. 3/7/2003 (Friday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Took bike ashore in the dinghy and biked to the library. Did internet and newspapers, then biked down to Matanzas Pass Bridge / Times Square just to see that part of the island. Left the bike locked to a telephone-pole guy-wire ashore. Back to boat for lunch. Measured fuel level 7.0 inches at engine hour 2586.9 Dinghied to a couple of boatyards, asking about working on a new exhaust riser/elbow. The first said they used to have a good welder, but alcohol took him over. The second place said to bring the part ashore on Monday and they'll see what they can do. Then went ashore and talked to the guys in the house whose dock we use. A couple of nice old retired guys who just like watching boats and talking to cruisers. We had quite a nice chat for a half-hour or so, before I headed out to the beach. Nice long walk on the beach, and then back to the boat. Salad and grilled sausage sandwiches for dinner. Had propane leak from fitting on regulator; wonder if it needs cleaning or a new gasket. 3/8/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). The one beer I had with dinner last night gave me a headache half the night and this morning. Dinghied ashore and biked to the library. Back to boat for lunch, then dinghied ashore again. Hopped on local trolley to do a tour of the island, and quickly realized that a) it's air-conditioner wasn't up to the task, and b) traffic the other direction was going 5 MPH; it would have taken an hour plus to get back. So I hopped off after 15 blocks and walked down the beach to my usual spot, then walked down to the pier and back. Beach was really hopping on a Saturday afternoon: 50 boats anchored close in, lots of people having fun, and lots of seriously beautiful women (including 5 in thong bikinis; I counted). Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 3/9/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Loafed all morning. Then took fresh water pump apart and put gasket gunk in it to try to stop the leaking. Removed exhaust riser/elbow from engine so I can take it ashore to boatyard tomorrow. Dinghied ashore. Some cruisers at the dinghy dock recognized my dinghy from Marathon; they left Marathon a couple of days before I did, and spent an extra couple of days around Cape Sable. They're heading for Lake Okeechobee soon. Went to the beach, and it was really busy ! Maybe spring break has sprung, or it's just busy on a Sunday afternoon. About a hundred boats anchored and pitching up and down just outside the surf. Counted 8 thong bikinis in the hour and a half or so I was there. Back to boat. A Gulfstar 40ish trawler has anchored close to me, but they had time for only a brief shouted conversation with me. They said they have the same kind of one-piece exhaust riser that my engine does. Salad and cheese-and-crackers and fruit and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. Rained off and on much of the night, fairly hard a couple of times. 3/10/2003 (Monday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Still cloudy in the morning, but sunny by noon. Dinghied to boatyard at 0900, showed them the exhaust riser/elbow and discussed options with them, left it with them. They're going to write up an estimate for something made out of pipe, a few welded pieces, and a cheap elbow; the estimate will cost $30 or so. Dinghied across harbor, ashore and did library and groceries. Dinghied ashore and went to beach. Less crowded, partly because it's a bit cooler today. But still fun. Salad and hotdogs for dinner. In the middle of the night, figured out how to do the exhaust elbow a bit more simply. 3/11/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Measured and diagrammed exhaust system piping, then dinghied over to boatyard and dropped it off for the guy I'm working with. Dinghied across harbor and did library and groceries. When I got back to the dinghy, there was a nasty note telling me I'd blocked the ladder and I wasn't to use the dock any more. (I'd tied up to the ladder, but it was easy to move my dinghy aside, and the dock is low and easy to get onto from any direction anyway.) Another cruiser there laughed and said probably it was from the crazy woman on "Black Out"; she likes to boss everyone around, even though it's not her dock. Back to boat for lunch, then dinghied over and found the metalworking shop, and discussed the project with the guy. Told him to go ahead; probably will cost $250 or so. Across harbor and ashore and biked to north end of the island, to Bowditch Park. Not as nice as I hoped; walked on the beach, then biked to the pier and walked on that, then went to my usual beach and walked there. Only one thong bikini seen today. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 3/12/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore and did library, then took the trolley south to the end of the line and back, just to see the rest of the island. I'm in the best part of the island, it appears. Did groceries and back to boat. Dinghied ashore and went to beach. As I was walking to the beach, a woman came out of a house and asked me to carry a container of hot soup to her neighbor; she didn't have any shoes on and the yards here are all gravel; I did the favor for her. One thong bikini seen today. About a dozen dead stingrays washed up on the beach. Salad and pork chop and saffron rice for dinner. 3/13/2003 (Thursday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Started cutting up old firehose to make fenders on davits. Dinghied ashore and did library, bought gas ($5) for dinghy. Back to boat for lunch, cut and drilled more firehose, dinghied to metal shop but guy wasn't there, went to beach. Today's thong bikini count: two. Now I know it's spring break: a plane went past towing one of those banner signs. More work on firehose. Salad and cheese-and-crackers and eggsalad sandwiches for dinner. Some crazy guy yelling from his boat several times during the night. Fortunately I'm fairly far away from him. 3/14/2003 (Friday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore to canal near supermarket. Did library and then bought soda at supermarket. Back to boat, and had nice visit with John, who has been reading my web site for a year or so, and bought his boat (Pearson 28 "Tyche" ?) a couple of months ago. Dinghied ashore to check on progress of exhaust piping; almost ready. Went to beach. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. Lots of lightning south and east of here, but it looked like cloud-to-cloud lightning, not strikes to earth. I hate lightning. Crazy guy yelling from his boat from 6 to 8. Rained a little in the middle of the night. 3/15/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore and biked around the Shrimp festival parade; it was fun. Bought fruit at the produce stand. Back to boat for lunch, then finished working on firehose to make fenders to put on davits. Looks pretty good. Dinghied ashore and went to beach; counted six thong bikinis. Beach really hopping today. Back to dinghy dock, and was having a nice chat with some other cruisers when some woman came ashore in a fury, ramming her dinghy into another one, and started snarling at me about putting my dinghy in the wrong place and not using a stern anchor. Then she had the dock owner come out to tell me the same thing. None of us knew those were the rules; I promised to obey them from now on. Cheese-and-crackers and salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 3/16/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Loafed all morning, then dinghied ashore in the afternoon and walked on the beach. Counted six thong bikinis. Beach was mobbed. Saw a 40-foot powerboat that had anchored too close to the surf; a SeaTow boat barely managed to get it free. More than a hundred other boats anchored near the beach. I don't know how people can sit on some of them; the swell was making them roll violently. Saw one young guy out on the bow of a small motorboat raising the anchor, and the bow was going up and down 4 or 5 feet very rapidly. Back to boat, and loafed some more. A couple more boats came into the anchorage, and one tried anchoring in several different spots and screwed it up each time, ending up close to other boats. There's plenty of space; they just couldn't get it right. Spaghetti for dinner. Started raining with occasional lightning about 10 PM, then started pouring about midnight. Kept pouring for over 2 hours; I've never been in such sustained heavy rain in my life. Just kept pounding down and pounding down. And it was the worst possible situation: the tide changed during the heavy rain, so the rain came from several different unusual angles, and soaked even the INSIDE of the pilothouse 3 feet up in most places. Then it slacked down to normal rain for a couple more hours. The opening ports I rebedded seem to be fine, but the boat is leaking in two places I've seen only in heavy rain (fixed port in walk-through, and in starboard-forward corner of aft head), and four places I've never seen before (fixed port on port side of V-berth, fixed port on port side of main cabin, and two places on transom, including right into the foot of my berth, getting my mattress wet). 3/17/2003 (Monday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore and did library and groceries. Back to boat, and started attacking woodwork near foot of my berth, inside and outside, to see about fixing that leak. Have to remove inside wood because the stern railing seems to be through-bolted through the teak trim. It's the usual pain: the interior woodwork is three layers: molding, panels, plywood backing. And they overlap unevenly, so to get something off you usually have to take off everything on both sides of it. I worked on it for a while, doing a few things to make it easier to take off next time (adding removable connectors to wiring, etc), and trying to get to the bolts and nuts I need to remove. Gave up and dinghied to welder (he was busy), then ashore to beach. Windy today, but still a decent-sized crowd. Counted two thong bikinis. Lots of grey clouds blowing through. Gulf is rough. Back to boat, having a brief chat with a guy on the dinghy dock. I helped him with the computer in the library this morning. He's French, don't you know, and he seems to be on a mission to cover as much territory as possible. He said something about having sailed 60,000 miles. He was in the Chesapeake two months ago, came down here, went across to the Bahamas, is here again, is leaving for Cuba soon. Whew ! Not my style. Sat on boat and watched dark clouds approach. Sure enough, at 5:15, it started blowing a cold wind, got darker, and then blew 40+ and poured rain for about 10 minutes. A few strokes of lightning a mile or two away. Within 20 minutes it had stopped raining and was relatively calm again. Sun came out for a while. Salad and grilled cured ham hock slices for dinner. I picked them up in the Chesapeake, and they're incredibly salty and loaded with sodium, and made the grill start dripping flaming drops of fat. I poured buckets of water around to keep the drops from melting the fiberglass or the dinghy fabric. I have to figure out a good way to clean grease out of the grill after every use, without making a big mess on the boat. Or maybe I just need to stop grilling greasy things. Huge, bright full moon rising. 3/18/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Did a bucket of laundry. Dinghied ashore, did library and groceries. Back to boat, and excavated the rest of the interior wood so I could get at the leaks into my berth. Found several screws that seem to be leaking. Dinghied to welding shop, but the welder was out because his son broke his arm. Went to beach. On the way back to the boat, stopped by the boat behind mine and had a nice chat with the couple aboard. Boat is "Nansea", home-ported to Naples FL, but they said a day ago was the first time the boat had been to Naples. I think they bought it in the Chesapeake, and picked a nice-sounding home port in FL. Salad and cheese-and-crackers and eggsalad sanwiches for dinner. 3/19/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Going to be hot today, probably up to 90. But at least there's a fairly strong breeze. Dinghied ashore and did library and groceries. (I'm doing groceries just about every day because I can carry only small amounts on my bike, and I'm stocking up because the next few stops have no supermarkets.) Donated $5 to the dock owner and loaded water. Found out why the fleet of shrimpers never seems to move: the shrimp burrow into the bottom to hide from the full moon. So the fleet is getting ready to move out soon. Also found out why I've been coughing a bit on the beach: red tide. I knew there was red tide somewhere, and there are dead fish in the surf every day. But apparently the toxin in the water gets released into the air, and causes respiratory irritation in people. I guess the red tide is right here (although the water doesn't look red). Couple from Nansea came by and invited me to a movie in air-conditioning, but I had a full afternoon of work planned, so I declined. Worked on deck leak, taking out about 20 screws, cleaning up the holes, and rebedding them with caulk. Hot work in a hot and humid afternoon. Dinghied to welding shop, and my exhaust system is ready to try for a fit; picked it up and brought it to the boat. Dinghied ashore and went to beach. Loaded more water. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. Hot and humid night. 3/20/2003 (Thursday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Tried fitting the exhaust riser/elbow; needs a bit of adjustment as expected. Dinghied ashore to library. Another hot but windy day. Back to boat, fitted new exhaust pipe again, and realized it doesn't match my specifications: the riser is 4 inches short. And my original spec probably was short by an inch anyway. Took it to the welding shop, told them to add 5 inches. Turned out they thought my measurement was end-to-end, while I measured between the centerpoints of the elbows. Should be ready tomorrow; total bill will be $250. They want cash; have to hit an ATM ! I need to buy some hose, too, and that woun't be cheap. More recaulking of deck screws on the stern. Many have no caulk at all; no wonder they leak. Was doing dishes about 1:30 when John came by in his dinghy and said a boat had dragged into another boat, would I help ? Dinghied over to find an old semi-derelict snagged on the side of Dieter's boat. The bowsprit of the old boat was snagged on a spare anchor and a solar panel on Dieter's boat. I boarded the old boat, and we rigged a line from the bow to a forward cleat on Dieter's boat, to relieve some of the pressure on the snagged area. Then we scratched our heads, wondering where Dieter was, should we call the Coast Guard, etc. If we cast the old boat loose, it probably would just hit the two boats nearby. About then, Dieter appeared. He called the USCG and argued with them for a while, and finally they and a fish-and-wildlife boat appeared. They debated back and forth for a solid 2 hours, trying to figure out if they should do anything, what to do, etc. Meanwhile Dieter and I were holding the boats slightly apart to keep them from grinding together. We put out a third anchor on the old boat, but soon the tide changed and the boat ended up right on top of that anchor. Various other liveaboards came by in dinghies, and one had a first name and phone for the owner. The phone number turned out to be a bar he often hangs out at. We tried to figure out if the anchor lines were snagged in Dieter's propeller or rudder. So we stood there in the sun all afternoon, talking and waiting for a decision. John gave us water, and we all told stories and such. The old boat was a mess, full of old empty food cans, most of the stanchions yanked out of the deck, no cleats (just one samson post near the bow). The USCG boat left and came back 20 minutes later, and searched the old boat again. Finally fish-and-wildlife agreed to take responsibility, and they used the USCG boat to take the old boat away and re-anchor it. John said "they're going to anchor it right next to ME !", and sure enough, they did. I went back to my boat, and decided not to go to the beach today; I'd had enough sun for one day. I'm sure all the girls at the beach were disappointed. Salad and cheese-and-crackers and chili for dinner. 3/21/2003 (Friday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Very windy today, blowing 15-25. Hard to tell if that old boat has dragged further; I don't think so, but one guy said it did. Dinghied ashore, did library, got cash to pay welding bill, got groceries. Dinghied to the welding shop about 2:30, and they were closed already ! Tried again at 3:45, they still were closed, and got to the store at the boatyard to find it closed too. On the way, was hailed by a nearby boat. They asked if I'd seen anyone on their boat, and they were very upset because a new mainsail and an 18 HP outboard (and maybe a dinghy) had been stolen. I hadn't seen anything. As I looked at their boat, I realized it was a sister-ship of mine; I think theirs is a 1971 Gulfstar 44, and mine is a 1973 Gulfstar 44. Decided not to go to the beach; my skin needed a rest from the sun, and I was tired. Stopped by Nansea and was invited aboard; had an ice-water and some nice conversation. Salad and chili-over-rice for dinner. 3/22/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Woke up with a headache. Looks like it's going to rain hard soon. Dinghied ashore and did library. As I was doing my internet access, it started blowing and pouring rain sideways, and suddenly I couldn't remember if I'd closed the forward hatch. I could remember closing everything else, but I suspected I'd forgotten to close that one. I just could see tons of water pouring in through there, soaking everything. And of course I hadn't thought to wear my foul-weather jacket to the library, even though I knew it would rain. Sat at the library for another half-hour, waiting for the rain to die down, and finally got on my bike in the middle of soft rain and pedalled back. Dinghy had lots of water in it, but fortunately the boat was closed up properly when I got back. I got wet, and the dinghy got water inside the keel again, but nothing else wrong. Dinghied ashore and went to the beach. Still a bit rain-soaked, and lots of dead fish at the high-tide line. But plenty of people, and I counted two thong bikinis. Back to boat, and the couple from Nansea came by and pointed out that a boat had sunk overnight or today. Not sure, but looks like a smallish powerboat, sunk to the gunnels. Cheese-and-crackers and salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 3/23/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Feel absolutely lousy, with a headache. I think some of it is due to red tide. Hard rain for about 15 minutes at 0900. Still have a leak on the transom, into my berth. Slept and took pills and read all day. Rained hard at 1 PM. A couple stopped by at 4, but all they wanted to do was look at my barbecue; they're about to buy one. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. More rain at 9 PM, then rained much of the night from midnight to 6 AM or so. 3/24/2003 (Monday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore and did library. Went across harbor to welding shop, but the guy wasn't there. Ate lunch, caulked more screws on transom, then picked up exhaust piping from welding shop. Found guy at boatyard and paid him $250. Back to boat, fitted it on, and found that one pipe was wrong size (he was thinking ID, I was saying OD). Can fix it with a reducer and a nipple. Back to boatyard, they had good prices on hose but none in stock. Went to place next door, and prices were much higher but they had it all in stock. Bought 1 foot of 3" exhaust hose for $20 (!), and 4 feet of 1" hose for $30, reducer and nipple for $4. Dumped it all on the boat and went to the beach. Very windy on the beach today, but lots of people. On the way back, stopped at John's boat (Pearson 323 "Tyche") and had a nice chat, and a tour of his boat. He told me the couple on the converted fishing boat "Gulf Pak I" are making a B&B on it; sure enough, they're framing in a room on the aft deck. Can't imagine they got a permit to do that, but maybe it's just a charter-boat from a legal point of view. Cool and windy at sunset; going to be a cool night. Ran genset for 1 hour to exercise it and cook dinner. Salad and pigs-in-a-blanket for dinner. 3/25/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Feel fine today. Did some work on exhaust piping, then dinghied ashore and did library and groceries. Back to boat, more work on exhaust. Have to exchange some small parts; again, I screwed up ID versus OD of piping and hoses. Dinghied to metal shop and had them adjust one pipe-joint slightly, then to boatyard to exchange a reducer and a nipple. Back to boat, put it all together, and fired up the engine. Ran fine, one small leak in a joint I put together. Engine sounds same as before (I was afraid it would sound like a fishing boat), but the exhaust riser gets VERY hot very quickly (because now it's a dry riser). Maybe I should wrap the riser in insulation to avoid any ugly accidents. Ran engine for 30 minutes to test and exercise it. Still some oil coming out the exhaust. Dinghied ashore to beach, stopping to chat briefly with Bob on Nansea. On the way back, stopped to chat with John on Tyche. Curious: he says his (much smaller) engine comes up to full temperature pretty quickly at fast idle; mine won't come up to full temp until it's under load. Cleaned grease out of the grill. Salad and grilled pork chops for dinner. Started doing my income taxes (the numbers are VERY small). 3/26/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore to library, then took free bus to a shopping center on the mainland. Bought lots of junk food, because that supermarket has much better prices on junk food than the supermarket on the island. But of course they were out of the corn chips I wanted. Back to boat, checked battery water, tightened exhaust fitting and ran engine for 5 minutes (still has a very slight leak), poured water on transom and still have big leaks there. Had a nice chat with Brian from nearby boat; it's about 27 feet long, 1964, gasoline engine doesn't work, but he has an outboard on the stern. He's been living on various boats for 27 years. Although he has a halyard banging, and his anchoring setup is suspect. Recaulked some screws and holes on the transom teak. Dinghied ashore and went to the beach. Saw two nice thong bikinis. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 3/27/2003 (Thursday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore and did library until early afternoon. Rained off and on while I was there. To hardware store and bought pipe strapping ($2) and an impact screwdriver ($12). Back to boat, and found that another big boat ("Geneve" from Bradenton) had anchored quite close by. I told them I thought they were too close, and they said they'd move a bit. Salad and fruit and eggsalad sandwiches for dinner. The other boat hasn't moved, and they all took off for dinner ashore. When they came back (after I was in bed), I got up and told them I needed to raise anchor and go refuel tomorrow, and they were on top of one of my anchors. They said they'd be gone by then. 3/28/2003 (Friday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Woken up at 0600 by Bryan knocking on my hull, telling me there was a problem. Got up to find very damp, foggy morning, and that big boat aground and listing right next to me. I'm swinging with the tidal current, and they're aground. Bryan woke someone on board, and they must have said "ok, we're aground", and gone back to sleep. 15 minutes later I yelled over to them, someone came up, and called me a pain in the ass when I asked him to put out a stern anchor to keep them from swinging into me when they floated off. Then he went back to bed. I sat in the cockpit reading and keeping an eye on the situation until they started stirring at 0830 or so. I let them know I wasn't happy; their stupidity and mistakes cut my sleep and endangered my boat. At 0900 they started trying to kedge and motor off, but they're stuck solid. At least one of the guys is a bit apologetic. They have an 8-foot draft, I have a 3.5-foot draft, and we have about 8.5 feet of water at high tide. I guess they figured "there's a big boat; we're a big boat too; we can anchor there too". I'm doing chores and keeping an eye on them, but I had to miss my scheduled internet slot at the library; I don't dare leave while these guys are stuck 10 feet from me. If their stern frees first and the current swings them, they'll hit me. Measured fuel level 7.0 inches at engine hour 2587.5 Tested deck leaks on the transom; seem to be fixed. It's 0955, high tide is within 30 minutes or so, and they're still not free. They got free about 1025, without hitting me. I think they were briefly aground again a little further back. But I was already in the dinghy and heading ashore. Did library, bought dinghy gas ($6). Back to boat, quick lunch, no sign of "Geneve", started raising anchors. Had to use dinghy to spin the boat around a couple of times to untwist the rodes. Inside the chain locker, one of the mounts for the rope reel has detached from the hull; I'll have to rebuild it. Lots of muck and barnacles on the rodes, but only in two 10-foot sections. Deck got very mucky. Motored over to the fuel dock and had to wait for 30 minutes in tricky wind/current situation with a lot of traffic through the channel. Finally got to the dock, and the guys there were super-friendly; we had a nice chat and lots of stories and laughs. Best of all, the price of diesel has fallen 20 cents in the last week for some reason ! Bought 139 gallons for $190 ($1.36/gallon including tax). Back to my anchoring spot, put down two anchors. Hard to get them right with wind and current at right angles to each other. Scrubbed the muck and barnacles off the deck. My back is very tired from all the anchoring, fueling and scrubbing. No time for beach today. A little later, a TowBoatU.S. boat brought in a 30-foot sailboat and they anchored near me. Not too close, but hard to tell since it's directly to sunward of me. I don't see John of "Tyche" in the harbor any more. I thought he might be out for a day-sail, but now it looks like he must have left and headed south. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 3/29/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Fuel level 16.75 inches at engine hour 2588.9 Dinghied ashore to library and hardware store. Coming back, suddenly realized that the sailboat that got towed in and anchored near me is "My Brother's Keeper", owned by Richard. I met him in Tavernier in a marina I stayed in for a couple months just after I bought Magnolia. He helped me a lot with advice, at a time when I was totally stressed with the shock of boat ownership and living aboard. He sailed up from the Keys and had 40-knot winds off Cape Romano, blowing out his mainsail. He made it into Marco Island with engine problems. He has a towing membership, so called them up and had them TOW him from Marco to here ! I'm amazed they would do that; must have taken 12 hours. He's planning to stay here a while and do boat-detailing work. Quick lunch, then helped Richard put out a second anchor. Then we dinghied ashore, met up with another boater, Harry, and walked around. Harry often goes around with a parrot on his shoulder, although he didn't have it today. He told us it's a great woman-magnet, and sometimes gets him free beer in bars too. Richard and Harry are much more into where to eat and drink beer than I am, but we had fun walking the street and the beach. Saw four nice thong bikinis and one shouldn't-wear-a-thong. Very entertaining mini-soccer game on the beach among a group of very pretty girls in bikinis. Should be a new national sport, I think. They were good, too; I think they might have been part of a college soccer team or something. A couple of interesting things during the conversation with Richard and Harry. Apparently Richard's boat has an old Atomic 4 gas engine that is dying; he can't run it very much. He tried to sail up to Marco Island in one shot from Tavernier, I think, with some buddies on two other boats. They got hit by 40-knot tailwinds after midnight somewhere between Cape Sable and Cape Romano and lost contact with each other. They called the Coast Guard and persuaded them that it was a dire situation, setting off a huge helicopters-and-boats search for their missing buddy, who turned up safe a day later at Coon Key. His cell-phone had been out of range and it wasn't clear if his VHF was working. Richard's mainsail got blown out, partly because it doesn't have any reef-points, but he made it into Marco Island. Then Richard had TowBoatU.S. tow him from Marco to Ft Myers Beach. It was a 9-hour tow, at 9 knots ! We started talking about towing memberships (I don't have one), and Harry mentioned that he had used his membership so much (because of groundings and also some engine problem) that they cancelled it on him. Another thing: I noticed that every time I asked them about places to sail to on the west coast of Florida, most of what they told me involved identifying the best bar in each town. And as we walked around Ft Myers Beach, Harry was telling us the price of beer in each bar in town, which place had a great hamburger or hoagie for $5, that the VFW had a great prime rib for $10. I told them I was impressed by how many guys at Dockside in Marathon were drinking and smoking every penny of their VA pensions away, and it soon turned out that Harry and Richard are both ex-military. And they both smoke, and they both are very fluent with bars and restaurants. I said something about I didn't understand how you could afford to do that all the time, and Harry said "well, actually, I'm just about broke now". He sold two fishing rods off his boat last week, although he didn't need them anyway. And Richard is hot to find some work detailing boats up here, to finance repairs to his mainsail, a diesel replacement for his Atomic 4, and various other boat things. Installed new O-rings on the deck fill caps. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 3/30/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). A front coming through today, and I thought the weather would be really nasty, but it's just very cloudy in the morning. Not even raining yet. Reinstalled some of the interior wood in sft cabin. Dinghied ashore, biked to supermarket for groceries, then loaded groceries and bike into dinghy and back to boat. Edge of front came through at 1230 with a brief rain squall and then some wind. Soon a boat was dragging a little toward Richard's boat. My dinghy was still down, so I got in and went over and took a 3rd anchor out for the guy on the dragging boat. I think he stopped dragging without the 3rd anchor. It was clear in front of me, but there's a marina about 2 boat-lengths behind me; if my anchors let go, it'll be ugly. But they're solid. Blew 25-30 for several hours. Saw the last thing I expected: a wind-surfer came into the harbor. He was pretty good, in rough conditions with lots of obstacles. Very strange when the tide changed: now the current is holding us beam-on to the wind. Richard's boat suddenly sailed forward against his anchor, freaking him out; he was sure he'd gone adrift. He's still sailing close to his neighbors. Reinstalled the wood in the aft cabin; a relief to have all those big pieces of wood and molding out of the way. Blew very hard most of the night, but periods of less wind started occurring. It's keeping me just upwind of this marina, and I keep imagining the carnage if I break loose. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 3/31/2003 (Monday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Wanted to leave town today, but I'm not going anywhere: it's blowing 15-20 with gusts to 30+, and it's a very cold wind. The warm water is keeping the boat at a moderate temperature, but as soon as you get out into the wind it takes your heat away. Dinghied ashore to do library and get groceries. Warmer in town, where buildings cut off the wind. Salad and chili for dinner. Used a little too much hot Hungarian paprika ! 4/1/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Up at 0700, into dinghy, and spun the boat around twice to untwist the anchor rodes (took some effort; there's a little tidal current and a fair amount of wind). Raised anchors with no problems, moving by 0800. A bit of a scare as I got funny smells from the engine, but I think it's just a little anti-freeze venting and burning off. Auto-pilot doesn't seem to be working. Motored up the Caloosahatchee river to Ft Myers. Long slog through a sunny but pretty cool and very windy day. Was intercepted by a Customs boat west of Cape Coral; they just motored along next to me and asked me where I'd been in the last few weeks and where I was going and where I lived. I guess if I'd been out of the country recently, they would have boarded me. Anchored next to Ft Myers city mooring field about 1 PM (I'm too cheap to pay $8/day for mooring). Engine hour 2594.1 Anchoring was a little weird; there seems to be upriver current here. Where was it as I was motoring upriver ? I tried to come up with the tide, and got no help from it. (But maybe I had the tide time wrong.) The entrance channel is very shallow, and after I came in, "Adaggio" called me and asked about depths, and said they've been waiting all day to "escape" from the mooring field; they draw 5 feet. "Tyche" is here; I'll try to hook up with John. Loafed all afternoon, feeling tired. John rowed over about 6 PM and we had a nice chat. He confirmed that there's not much to do ashore. Salad and chili-over-rice for dinner. Not feeling well. 4/2/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor at Fort Myers FL. Coolant level lower than usual, but not too low. Slept late, waiting for tide to rise. Got moving about 1115 and eased my way out of the anchorage and through the shallow channel to the main waterway. Motored up the river through nice weather. Fairly scenic river up above Ft Myers. Through one opening bridge and then Franklin Lock. The lock tender didn't give me lines far enough apart; I had to wrestle my boat up a little so I could cast a line around a bollard. Thought of anchoring in basin by lock, but it was too small. Anchored at 3 PM near Hickey Creek, a couple miles east of Franklin Lock on the Caloosahatchee River. Unfortunately, I'm still in the river and parallel to it, so some of the big boats flying down the river rock me with big wakes. But that stopped fairly soon. Anchorage was nice and quiet overnight. Salad and eggsalad sandwiches for dinner. 4/3/2003 (Thursday) At anchor on the Okeechobee Waterway east of Franklin Lock. Coolant level low, but steady. Got moving about 0800, motored up to LaBelle. Some nice houses and pretty scenery on the way. Anchored about 1120 in the river at LaBelle. Dinghied ashore to a boat ramp, got rid of garbage, walked over the bridge and into town. Not much charm, but convenient facilities. Saw several very large trucks full of oranges go past. Library usually charges $5 for non-resident use of computers, but the nice lady let me go on for free. Did library, got groceries, back to boat. Repacked propeller shaft stuffing box. Watched a couple of boats med-moor at the free dock; the first took more than 20 minutes to get in, and the second docked in 2 minutes flat. A jet-ski roaring around pointlessly for a while. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. A couple more boats anchored in the river as I am. A big commercial barge came through the bridge and past me about 11 PM or so. Plenty of room, and he was using a big searchlight to make sure, but I'm further out in the middle of the river than I planned. 4/4/2003 (Friday) At anchor on the Okeechobee Waterway at LaBelle. Checked engine zinc. Raised anchor about 0830, through bridge, motoring on. About a mile east of the bridge, I heard a plane go over, then an ultralight floatplane did a touch-and-go landing about 200 yards ahead of me. Auto-pilot still on the blink: every part of it seems to work except the change-course buttons. But hard to really check it in these restricted waters. Stuffing-box nut is running a little hot, but there's plenty of water coming through the cutless bearing. Saw why ash was falling on my boat at LaBelle: they're burning brush at the orange groves. Went past 6 or 8 burning piles in one place, right at the edge of the waterway; lots of smoke. Someone said there's poison ivy in it, too. Went through Ortona lock, and that was about the scariest lock experience I've had. Light tug "American Muscle" came charging in right behind me as I entered the lock, and came past me as I was grabbing lines. My stern swung out toward him before he got to me, but fortunately I had the forward line fast, and I threw the engine into reverse and swung my stern away from him. Then his wash hit me, and I bounced around. Then he and his mate swore at each other a few times as they tried to handle their lines; guess they don't know what they're doing. Then a huge mega-yacht came piling in next to me, and a mini-mega-yacht behind me (barely enough room). I should move forward, but I was barely keeping the boat in control as it is; no way I was going to move. Then the lock started opening, and the current yawed me back and forth, in and out. The forward rub-rail went crunching into the concrete wall a few times; I didn't get a fender far enough forward. I had to keep trimming the lines in as the water level rose. Finally it's open, and then as we're leaving the yacht behind me wants to floor it and pass me while we're barely out of the mouth of the lock. I'm not nice; I don't pull over at all to help him. He starts to go head-to-head with waiting oncoming traffic, and has to drop back and wait. Finally he's able to roar around me and the boats ahead. Another huge brush fire, but a mile or so off the waterway. Now getting into more of cattle country. But I can't see very far; there are dikes right at the edge of the river. Was kind of anxious about what would happen at the Moore Haven lock, but it was a piece of cake. Zipped right in, one boat ahead of me, no problem tying on and controlling the boat. An alligator paddled across the bow as I was approaching the lock. After the lock, turned to port and went 200 yards up the "old canal" and anchored about 2:15. I'm just about filling the canal, but I don't think there's any big traffic through here. Nice to be at rest after all the tight channels, traffic, locks, and hand-steering. There's an island between me and the lake, and I have to go 10 miles south to actually get into the lake, but I'm here ! I can hear alligators grunting in the bushes every now and then, and I've seen 4 or 5 of them swimming in the canal. Fair number of bugs: dragonflies, wasps, etc. A kayaker came by and confirmed that this canal is safe from big commercial traffic, as I thought. And a trimaran has anchored 100 yards south of me. But every now and then a small fishing motorboat will roar past at 30 or 40 knots. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. Heard air-boats (I think) out toward the lake after dark. 4/5/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at Moore Haven at the edge of Lake Okeechobee. Did various chores: dishes, bucket of laundry, loosen stuffing box nut, check battery water, put strap on exhaust hose, etc. Raised anchor about 11 and motored down the waterway. Not much scenery: a dike on the starboard side and islands of dead trees on the port side. A few other cruising boats, and several small fishing motorboats going flat out. Turned to port at Clewiston and went out into the lake. It's huge: about 30 miles by 25 miles. Motored and motored out into it, then picked a nice bit of water and anchored about 4 PM, at lat 26.48 long 80.45, a couple of miles NW of Kreamer Island. Nice and peaceful and isolated, and should be too far out for flying insects. Salad and an attempted ham-onion-potato casserole-equivalent for dinner. Barely tolerable. 4/6/2003 (Sunday) At anchor in Lake Okeechobee, near the south end. Decided to loaf and stay put today. Fiddled around with a few boat things, but mostly loafed and read. Blowing a little harder than forecast. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 4/7/2003 (Monday) At anchor in Lake Okeechobee, near the south end. Blowing 20 today; time to move to a more sheltered anchorage. Raised anchor about 9, motored through channel at Pelican Bay and into the Waterway. Down to Pt Chosen, through the bridge (hand-operated; a guy came out and pushed a big lever around in circles to make the bridge swing around so I could get through). A mile south of the bridge, went into a nice basin and anchored about 12:20. Lots of room, nice scenery, hundreds of hawks circling and roosting in trees. Or maybe they're vultures, who have heard of my cooking ? Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. "Tern" came in and anchored; think I saw them at Ft Myers Beach, maybe. 4/8/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor near Pt Chosen on the Okeechobee Waterway, at the very southernmost tip of Lake Okeechobee. Raised anchor about 1030, motored and motored up the waterway. Arrived in Moore Haven about 3:15. Tough to make a U-turn in the tight canal with wind gusting up and keeping the bow from coming around; almost ended up in the bushes. Should have picked a wider spot, but none are more than 10 feet wider. Salad and sausage-and-noodles for dinner. Miserable night: hot, no breeze, several insects buzzing and biting me in bed all night. 4/9/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor at Moore Haven. Raised anchor about 10; hard in strong wind and tight channel. Through Moore Haven lock, then motored down and through Ortona lock. Blowing hard on the nose all day. Tried to slow down so green sailboat who locked through with me at Ortona could get through LaBelle bridge with me, but he didn't respond to radio, and he stayed far behind no matter how much I slowed down. I finally gave up and went through the bridge, and he got stuck waiting there for 10 minutes. Heard the bridge trying to raise him on radio, too. Anchored just west of LaBelle bridge at 3:40. Waited a little bit to make sure the anchor was holding, then dinghied ashore to town dock. Dumped lots of garbage, did quick internet and newspapers session in library, then got some groceries. Salad and eggsalad sandwiches for dinner. Nice night; some wind, but cool for good sleeping. 4/10/2003 (Thursday) At anchor at LaBelle. Cool and blowing 15+. Raised anchor about 0815, and it was a real pain to wash the mud off and keep the boat from heading into the banks at the same time. Really have to fix my auto-pilot. Blew harder and harder as the day went by and I went west. Blowing 20-25 on the nose at Franklin lock. I did a good job there, getting in and finding that their lines barely reach my cleats. Quickly bent on the docklines I had ready for exactly such a situation, and had everything under control. Then watched a small motorboat make three attempts to come in behind me, getting all confused and blown around in circles by the wind three times. They finally gave up and didn't lock through. Blowing harder and harder: 25-30 with gusts to 35 at Ft Myers. A big ferry-boat came up behind me as I neared Ft Myers, and I sped up so he didn't have to slow down to the point of losing control. The wind was making both of us crab across the channel, and made going under the bridges dangerous. I headed for the NW bank of the river and anchored about 3:45, due west of Ft Myers and due north of Cape Coral. Sheltered from some of the wind and swells, but still pretty rough. But it's shallow with good holding and safe. Probably should have anchored 10 miles earlier up the river for more shelter. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches and cheese-and-crackers for dinner. 4/11/2003 (Friday) At anchor in the Caloosahatchee River near Ft Myers and Cape Coral. Raised anchor at 0730, before wind increased. Anchor was hard to get up; it was dug in well. Tricky job getting back to the main channel; went through some 4.5-foot water. Motored down the river through cool day, wind blowing 15-20. Had to waste 20+ minutes waiting near Sanibel Causeway bridge before it opened. Motored down to Ft Myers Beach and anchored at 11:50, not too far from my previous anchoring spot. Dinghied ashort, taking bike (which is not easy). Biked to library, did internet and newspapers. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 4/12/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore and biked to library, did long internet and reading session. Back to boat. Fuel level 12.75 inches at engine hour 2636.9 Started sawing wood for anchor chain locker but blew out a fuse inside the inverter, I think. Finished the sawing by hand. Then John from "Tyche" came by; he came into the harbor this morning. And then Richard from "My Brother's Keeper" came by; I missed seeing his boat when I came in. John came by a little later, and we talked and looked at charts, then went ashore and had a nice walk on the beach. A bit windy. Dinghied back and stopped to have a nice chat with Richard. Salad and eggsalad sandwiches and saffron rice for dinner. Gorgeous red sunset. Saw a disaster on "Coquette" nearby: the husband went to turn the meat on the grill, and the whole grill pivoted around the stern rail and dumped dinner overboard. He said a few choice words I couldn't quite hear, then zoomed off in the dinghy, apparently to the supermarket for more meat. 4/13/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Woke up with a splitting headache; stayed in bed all morning. More hand-sawing of wood for anchor chain locker, then put a coat of paint on it. Opened up auto-pilot binnacle. Tested bulb in place; seems to be okay. Took the compass bowl out, removed wires to the bulb, and tested it; seems okay. Not sure how to get the bulb out completely; doesn't seem possible. Dinghied ashore, stopping to invite John along for a walk on the beach. Both of us stopped at Richard's boat and spent about 45 minutes chatting and petting his cat, Crackers. The cat jumped onto all three of our dinghies and wandered and rolled around. Richard says the cat even likes to swim occasionally. Then had a nice walk on the beach. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 4/14/2003 (Monday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Bit of a headache again this morning; think it might be due to red tide; some other people are complaining of headaches too. Dinghied ashore to library, then did groceries and loaded water. Assembled and painted wood for anchor chain locker. Inflated the dinghy; the front tube was low. Dinghied ashore, walked on beach, happened to meet John there. Salad and cheese-and-crackers and eggsalad sandwiches for dinner. 4/15/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore, did library, bought $4 of gas for dinghy. Put wood in anchor chain locker; mostly works. Opened up auto-pilot motor unit but couldn't see how to lubricate the motor. Replaced fuse on inverter; fixed. Dinghied ashore and walked on beach. Hot sun. Saw two very beautiful women in thong bikinis. Blew hard for a half-hour at 5:30; various boats re-anchoring to deal with it. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 4/16/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore and did library, bought some fruit, had nice chats with John and with guy from "Agape". One of those jobs when I wish I had a 20-foot boat: got in the dinghy and washed the sides of the hull with a hull-cleaner based on phosphoric acid. Made most of it look pretty good, but didn't get the toughest waterline stains off. Dinghied ashore and had a nice walk on the beach. About 5 PM, started blowing hard, with wind directly opposing the tidal current, and lots of boats went crazy. The big boats tended to point toward the current and get blown forward onto their anchors, and the little boats sailed back and forth or did circles or spun in place. Lots of boats coming closer to each other than usual, including a little boat close to my bow. Salad and cheese-and-crackers and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 4/17/2003 (Thursday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore, did library, got a few groceries. Looked at auto-pilot motor; still trying to figure out if it can be oiled. Took auto-pilot binnacle apart, removed bulb, tested it (looks fine), put spare in, auto-pilot still doesn't work. It's a control problem, I think: the mechanics are fine. Got ready to clean waterline spots on the hull and then go to the beach, and just then the wind kicked up hard and opposed the tidal current, just like yesterday. Boats started going wild, and 50-foot gaff-rigged ketch "Bliss" that anchored a bit close to me yesterday evening started getting VERY close. The guy came up top and took about 45 minutes to put out a third anchor to pull away from me a bit. He's still a bit close, and he's in the channel. A pontoon boat came by and just swerved at the last minute to avoid his third anchor rode. A couple hundred yards ahead of me, I saw a small boat at anchor T-bone an anchored catamaran and get stuck to it. After 30 minutes or so, the owners of the catamaran appeared and took their boat elsewhere. Guess I'm not going to the beach today; have to stay here and keep an eye on things. While hoisting the dinghy, I split the seat of my swimsuit, so I sewed that while watching the boats go crazy. Salad and sausage-and-onion sandwiches for dinner. 4/18/2003 (Friday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Launched dinghy at 0730 and attacked waterline stains with RustAid (it's some kind of acid). Scrubbed and washed deck too. Dinghied ashore and did library. Took bus to Summerlin Square and bought stuffing-box packing ($7) and groceries. Nice chat with guy at dinghy-dock. Snagged a floating bag of garbage out of the water. Did a bucket of laundry. Dinghied ashore and went walking on the beach with John. It's hopping today; I guess everyone has Friday off because it's Easter weekend. Saw one very nice thong bikini. Back to boat, the wind/tide thing is going on again, and the big ketch is swinging close on one side and a powerboat has anchored with one anchor on the other side. [Why do powerboaters anchor so weirdly ? I told them they probably want two anchors in this harbor, so they put a second anchor off one side, instead of on the bow ! Another big powerboat is anchored with one bow anchor and TWO stern anchors, because they've had so much trouble with swinging close to another boat. This just holds these powerboats sideways to the strong tidal currents a lot of the time, putting strong forces on the anchors and making the boats list.] Finished reading Michener's "Caribbean". What a depressing and infuriating book ! A quasi-history of 500+ years of history in the Caribbean, and it's a sad story of men enslaving, torturing and slaughtering each other for money and religion. What a terrible waste of human life and potential ! Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. Blew hard while I was trying to cook dinner in the cockpit; had to build an enclosure out of cockpit cushions to keep the heat from blowing away. Then about 10 PM the wind died completely, leaving a hot and still night that made it hard to sleep. Marina nearby set off some pretty nice fireworks. Must be an accident on top of the bridge: lots of flashing lights. 4/19/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore and did library. Back to boat, to find that all of the too-close boats have left. Cleaned bilge a bit. Dinghied ashore and had a nice walk on the beach. It's hopping again today. Saw 5 very nice thong bikinis. Hot today, and sun is strong. Salad and chili for dinner. Rained off and on until midnight, fairly hard at times. Made it hard to sleep; had to close all but the main hatch, and it was hot and muggy. 4/20/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Slept late. Defrosted and cleaned refrigerator. Put jib whisker pole (reaching strut) back together and lashed a hook onto it. Started to dinghy ashore, and found John in his dinghy chasing a pelican who'd gotten tangled in a kite-string. The kite was still flying, 200 feet up, and the string was wound around one of the bird's wings. I joined the chase, and finally John snagged the bird and freed it. The bird took off and the kite went in the other direction, the reel of string skipping across the water. Soon someone in another dinghy caught it and went through the harbor trying to return the kite to the owner, who probably was 5 miles away. Had a nice walk on the beach with John; beach was really hopping again today. Not too many thong bikinis, but we saw one beautiful woman in a thong getting onto a jet-ski. She was wearing a life-vest that said "15" on the back, and John said that's her rating on a scale of 1 to 10. Loaded some water. Attacked stains on side of hull with Soft Scrub. Cheese-and-crackers and chili for dinner. 4/21/2003 (Monday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore and did library, then groceries. Back to boat, raised anchors about noon, and motored out of the harbor. I always have bad luck timing the Sanibel Causeway bridge; got there 5 minutes too late and had to wait 25 minutes for an opening. Some small boat had sunk just north of the bridge, SeaTow was pulling people out of the water, and the bridge-tender was all excited about it. Probably the most excitement in his life in a while. Motored on through the "miserable mile", which wasn't too miserable. It's called that because the channel is narrow and there's very shallow water on each side, and tidal currents try to push you out of the channel. Anchored a little before 3 PM just outside of Ding Darling wildlife refuge, outside the little cut into Tarpon Bay. Two powerboats are anchored much closer to shore, but I think it's too shallow for me, and I want to stay out in open water to avoid bugs, and I'm leery of anchoring in specially-restricted waters (don't want to get cited for damaging sea-grass or something). Wind stronger than forecast, and some big wakes. But it settled down by 7 or so. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 4/22/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor outside of Ding Darling wildlife refuge. Launched the dinghy, put the bike in it (not easy), and tried to go through the cut into Tarpon Bay. Too shallow, so started to go the long way around. It's a manatee / minimum wake zone, and it's longer than I thought. After 15 minutes, realized I was only 1/3 of the way there, and this wasn't worth it. Turned around and went back to boat. Took bike back out of dinghy (not easy). Put down the swim platform and jumped in with snorkel gear and a putty knife to scrape the bottom. Usually I mostly enjoy this job, but today it was awful. No barnacles, but billions and billions of little "sea lice" (I think; they didn't sting; maybe they were just crabs or something). As I scraped them off, they clouded up the water and a lot of them crawled all over me and attached themselves to me. Some on my face and around my mouth, on my chest, a few in my ears, many down my swimsuit, many all over my gloves. After a while, a school of small fish came along and darted around 2 feet below me, feasting on the crabs. Why don't they eat them right off the hull ? More barnacles on the propeller than I expected. My nice new zinc that I put on 2 months ago is completely missing; the screws must have worked loose ! Scraped for an hour or more, then called it quits. Wiped off as many crabs as I could in the water. Nasty job trying to shower all the dying crabs off on deck. Still feel a bit itchy in places. Found a nice deposit of dead crabs in my navel later (probably more than you wanted to know). Raised anchore about 1 PM and motored north. Lots of traffic, and I'm a bit tired. Saw lots of Mercury test boats; someone told me there's a Mercury factory up here, and they test or burn-in outboard motors by running them on boats here. Saw several oddly plain-looking boats, white or beige with no trim, most with no glass, roaring around at high speed with a driver wearing a crash helmet. Started to go into Tween Waters (Roosevelt Channel), hoping to anchor, but got spooked by all the traffic and the tight channel. Someone was sailing a big boat out the channel as I got just inside the mouth, and they deliberately came very close to me to emphasize that they had the right of way. Impressive skill, but not very courteous. Then a small boat hovered right next to me and wanted to ask local directions, as I was waving him past so I could make a U-turn. After I got back out, there was a sailboat race I had to maneuver around. Motored up to Cayo Costa and anchored about 4:30 at the very SE tip of the island, just north of Captiva Pass. Seems like a nice place, and I'm glad to stop moving. Some nasty dark clouds came over about 5 PM, but they kept going SE, maybe to dump their rain on Ft Myers Beach or so. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 4/23/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor in Pine Island Sound, off the SE tip of Cayo Costa island. Anchorage got rolly from 4 AM to 6 AM, as the tide came in and held me abeam to the swell. Then from 6 to 9, the boat swung around and the wind held it stern-on to the swell, so waves were slamming into the stern noisily. Didn't sleep well. Dinghied ashore and had a nice walk on the beach, around to the Gulf side of Cayo Costa. Couldn't go more than 1/2 mile or so, because of dead trees fallen across the beach and into the surf. Lots of shells. Lots of rental boats with people coming ashore to enjoy the beach and look for shells. Raised anchor about 11:30 and motored up the ICW to Useppa Island, where I anchored on the SW side, across from Cabbage Key. Not a very good anchorage, since it's right next to the ICW, but it's the only one around with protection from NE and E. I'm not going ashore, because Useppa is ultra-rich and private, and Cabbage won't let you land unless you stay in their marina or eat at their restaurant. Those Mercury test boats come through here, too. They must go a long way ! Traced steering hydraulic lines, opened relief valves under port aft berth. Wheel behaved differently with valves open; didn't hard-stop at starboard full-turn. But no matter what I did, couldn't get it to bleed fluid out of the valves. Maybe didn't turn fast enough ? At least my steering seems to still work after messing with it. I was trying to fix bleeding problem, and see if maybe I could figure out something about autopilot problem. Salad and fruit and eggsalad sandwiches for dinner. 4/24/2003 (Thursday) At anchor at Useppa Island in Pine Island Sound. Raised anchor about 9:15 and motored over to Pelican Bay. Lovely anchorage, except that the entrance is very shoaly. Dinghied ashore and had a nice, long walk on the gulf-side beach. Lovely, and plenty of people and seashells. Nice campground and cabins there. Although the guy running the tram mentioned that last week there had been a group of 20 people from Colombia camping there, and their neighbors all left early because they couldn't stand the late-night noise. Raised anchor about 1 PM and headed up Charlotte Harbor. Nice 12-15 wind from right direction, so I raised all the sails ! Did about 5 knots for a while, until the wind eased a bit and then I had to turn mostly downwind. Furled the jib and mizzen, started the engine, and motor-sailed up to Punta Gorda. Took a long time, but at least I was going with the wind and swells. The Harbor is so big that the few markers are hard to see; took me forever to see the Cape Haze marker, and I almost went on the wrong side of it, which would have put me aground. Found later that I was misreading the scale of the chart, so I was a mile or more off course. It was hard to furl the main in strong wind and big swell with no auto-pilot to hold the boat on a course. Anchored about 5:30 near the SE corner of the bridge at Punta Gorda. I was expecting to be sheltered from the forecast SE wind, but the wind has turned SW, so it's rough. By 10 or so the wind died down, and overnight it went SE. I'm tired from all the hand-steering, fiddling with sails, and raising and lowering anchor twice today. Salad and a clam-casserole-like concoction for dinner. There's some kind of small concert or recital going on ashore, in a gazebo at the waterfront. 4/25/2003 (Friday) At anchor at Punta Gorda FL. Dinghied ashore to park at waterfront. Did library (sprinkled rain while I was there). Walked out to highway, found a West Marine, bought propeller shaft zinc ($13). Back to dinghy, to find that wind was up to 20 or so, waves kicked up and filled dinghy with water. Pulled the plug and wrestled with the dinghy, pulling it higher ashore to help it drain and try to keep waves from refilling it. Got it empty, wrestled it out into knee-deep water, put motor down, and started the motor while standing outside the dinghy. Hopped in and motored away before wind and waves could drive me ashore again. Out to the boat, where it's blowing 25+ with gusts above 30. Boat is rolling a lot. Most dangerous point was when I had the dinghy attached to the davits but still in the water with me in it: a big wave could have lifted the dinghy with me in it and slammed us down, breaking the davits. Made it okay, and had fun hoisting the dinghy while boat was rolling. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. Wind died cimpletely about 8 PM, making it too warm to sleep well. Slept in cockpit for an hour before it got moist and rain threatened. Rained a few times, then started blowing and raining and thundering about 2 AM. Kept going off and on, with the lightning all seeming to be cloud-to-cloud. Then at 5 AM the wind blew and the heavens opened, and rain pounded down for several hours. Finally eased about 9 AM. 4/26/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at Punta Gorda FL. Decided such a grey, blah day was a good day to cover some miles; not a good day for going ashore, and there's not much to do here anyway except the library. And I want to get back to Ft Myers Beach, order a bunch of stuff mail-order (charts and guides for a trip up the Tenn-Tom), and wait in a comfortable, well-known place for the stuff to arrive. Raised anchor about 10:15 and motored south. Started to regret it when I turned the corner from the Peace River into the main body of Charlotte Harbor: strong wind and big swells knocked my speed down 2 knots. But within a mile or two that eased, and I made 5 knots most of the day. Some nasty lightning ahead as I got started, too, but that went away. As forecast, the weather slowly improved, although it was cool and wet and windy and grey most of the time. But it never actually rained on me. Arrived at Pelican Bay and anchored about 2:45. Salad and chicken-carrot-rice for dinner. Sun came out for the first time, with a vengeance, at exactly 6:30. Bright and warm for 45 minutes or so, then the clouds came again. 4/27/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Pelican Bay on Cayo Costa Island. Raised anchor at 8 and went out Boca Grande pass. Getting out of Pelican Bay near low tide was a close thing; some 4-foot-deep water on the way out. Ugly swells from 2 directions out in the Gulf; boat rolling constantly, and every couple of minutes it rolled 15 degrees to each side several times, making it really uncomfortable. Put the mainsail up and tried to motor-sail, but the sail just kept flogging and slatting around, especially because I was going downwind. Took the sail down. At times, the rolling eased a bit, but the whole trip down was uncomfortable. Was relieved to get into Ft Myers Beach harbor again. Put down 2 anchors at 3:15. Sunny and warm. Maybe I should have done this segment on the ICW instead of in the Gulf. The ICW would have been an hour or two longer, a lot more comfortable, but I would have had to pay strict attention every second because of traffic and narrow channels. The Gulf was rolly but I was able to read or leave the helm for a minute at a time whenever I wanted to. Would have been a lot better if the auto-pilot was working; really have to attack that again. And I could have waited until more settled water tomorrow, but it might not have been much better. Salad and chili for dinner. 4/28/2003 (Monday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Did a bucket of laundry. Dinghied ashore, carrying the bike, and found a place that will accept a UPS delivery for me. Did library and ordered New Orleans - Panama City chartkit ($82). Requested mail in Marathon to be sent to me. Bought groceries. Back to boat, then dashed back ashore to call up and correct the address on the order I just placed (doh!). Back to boat. Dinghied ashore, stopping to chat with Richard (he was pouring gasoline into his dinghy fuel tank, while smoking a cigarette) and pet his cat, Crackers. Walked the beach, which was windy and a bit deserted. Fruit and salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 4/29/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Very foggy in early morning. Tried to dinghy ashore to library, and the outboard started and then died. Even using starting fluid didn't work; it would fire for 5 seconds and die. Paddled to the dinghy dock behind the supermarket, fortunately down-current and downwind. Did library, bought groceries. Motor wouldn't start again. Paddled down the canal and then had to fight small current and some wind to get to the boat. Exhausted by the time I got there. Richard came by, wanting help to move a boat, and we tried the outboard again, but no go. Took the carburetor out of the outboard, and took apart the fuel-pump side of it. Looks okay, a little gunk in a few places, but nowhere important. Replaced the fuel pump diaphraghm and put the carb back on the motor. No go. Took it off again. Fairly discouraged. Noticed there's no gasoline in the carburetor at all; something is keeping an air-lock against fuel being pumped in. Found something more annoying than a jet-ski: someone's running a gas-powered modeled boat in the harbor, about 100 feet from my boat. Loud and annoying. Fruit and salad and chili-over-noodles for dinner. 4/30/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Very grey and still, slightly drizzly, in morning. Up a little early and worked on carburetor; took apart the non-fuel-pump parts and examined and cleaned them; don't see anything wrong. Put it back together and back onto the motor, and got the motor started ! Heard air wheezing out as I pumped gas in; maybe there was a problem on the priming side of the carburetor. Dinghied ashore and did library. Ordered charts ($150) and guidebooks ($41) for Tenn-Tom and Mississippi trip. Started raining fairly steadily while I was in library. Bought some groceries, and it was raining harder when I came out of the supermarket. Biking in the rain, carrying tire pump and groceries, was not fun, but I had my foul-weather jacket. Outboard started okay ! Back to boat, and rain got heavier after I got inside. Yes ! Took apart the auto-pilot some more, decided the compass bowl and photo-cell were okay, but then found that the "drive cable" between the compass motor box and binnacle was bad. The binnacle end is stripped, and all I may have to do is cut it a bit shorter to fix it. Will check with manufacturer. Fruit and salad and chicken-corn-rice for dinner. Rained until 2, then sun came out at 4 and it was a nice day ! Clouds came back by 7, and by 10 or so it was raining occasionally. Warm, still, humid night with most hatches closed made it hard to sleep. 5/1/2003 (Thursday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore and did library. Weather turned nice while I was in there. Cleaned bilge a bit. Pumped water out of dinghy keel. Tried to patch gouges on side of hull, but found that all the hardener has leaked out of the tube. Dinghied ashore. Package of 2 months worth of mail arrived ! About 5 pounds (1/2 magazines) in 2 months; I'd like to cut it down more. Bought hardener ($2). Took a walk on the beach; very windy, not very many people, but still saw two thong bikinis. One woman had a bit more tattoo than bikini. The mail contained an "antique boat" sticker for my boat; free registration from now on ! Fruit and salad and cheese-and-crackers and saffron rice for dinner. Took forever to cook the rice, since a strong wind right into the pilothouse kept blowing all the heat away. 5/2/2003 (Friday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Woke up with a sinus headache, and it got worse as the morning went by. Dinghied ashore and did library. Loaded water. Put gelcoat patch mix on gouges on sides of hull, a tricky job pulling the dinghy around by hand, mixing the stuff in the dinghy, putting in on the gouges, wiping off the excess, then taping plastic wrap over it to let it cure. Dinghied ashore, stopping to chat with Harry and Richard, and someone on Daulphin Dancer (because they're from Mobile, where I'll be heading). My charts arrived ! Two big boxes of them. Nice walk on the beach, but it's a hot afternoon. Almost 90, and it will be around 90 for the next several days. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. Warm, still night but no rain clouds. 5/3/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Still have nagging sinus headache. Did a bucket of laundry. Dinghied ashore. Saw Dieter on the dinghy dock, and he said his propane alarm had gone off in the middle of the night. He jumped up and turned off the propane, and then found that the alarm had been set of by a 5-liter bottle of red wine which had broken and gotten all over his carpeting. Did library and got groceries. Ordered another guidebook ($42). Took a look at the auto-pilot cable, and decided I couldn't repair the end myself. And the manufacturer suggested a more dire possibility: stuck gears in the binnacle might be stripping the cable. Removed and caulked screws on top of transom to try to fix deck leak. Put new screw and spacers on cover over anchor chain hawsehole. Hot afternoon. Dinghied ashore and walked on beach. Lots of boats and people, but a thongless task. On the way back to the boat, stopped to talk to Steve on Magic Daulphin from Mobile AL. Richard said I should talk to him. Talked about the Tenn-Tom and Mississippi, but he's never done that trip. Salad and cheese-and-crackers and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. Started looking at the charts I bought for my trip up the Tenn-Tom and down the Mississippi, and suddenly had a panic: the bridges are lower than I expected ! I consider my mast height to be 53 feet, and there are many 52-foot bridges above Mobile AL, and a 50-foot bridge at Knoxville TN ! (Found out later that I don't have to go to Knoxville; it's off on a side-river.) Then I realized: the top 3-4 feet of my "height" is removable stuff (mainly, radio antenna), and I could loosen stays and tilt the mast back to gain several feet if I really had to (it would be a pain, I've never done it, but it's a deck-stepped mast and it would be possible). There still may be a problem: those bridges are 52 or 50 feet above "normal pool" level; if there's high water when I get to them, I might not be able to get through. 5/4/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Totally still, hot morning. Got in dinghy and wet-sanded the gelcoat patches I did to the sides of the hull; some look good, some just tolerable. Many need another coat. Used dinghy to push the boat around to untwist anchor rodes a bit. I wonder if there's a better way; I don't see anyone else doing this, although most people here don't have two chain rodes, and a lot of people here never leave. How else to keep two all-chain rodes from twisting, or raising the anchors once they are twisted ? Went through more of the batch of mail I received; missed some IRA renewals; they're raising my boat insurance rate (as they're doing with everyone). Going from $868/year to $1058/year; time to go without insurance or go with liability-only. I was starting to think about doing this anyway. Today is the 2-year anniversary of my purchase of "Magnolia"; I've been living aboard for 2 years ! Wow ! I've met nice people and had some good times and been to some really cool places, and there's a lot more ahead. The life still is a pain sometimes, mainly when it's hot and humid, but generally it's pretty good. I'm still learning new things every day and going new places, and I'm VERY glad that I got out of cubicle-and-apartment living. I still haven't slowed down enough, and I'm not patient enough to be a good sailor (as opposed to cruiser). Stock market losses and being without a paycheck and medical insurance still keep me awake sometimes. Onward ! Dinghied ashore and had nice walk on the beach. Saw 3 or 4 thong bikinis. Back to boat, loaded some water. Spent a couple of hours straightening up and cleaning the boat, in advance of: Dinghied ashore to marina and picked up Jerry and Becky, a couple I met through email. They bought a sistership of mine, a 1973 Gulfstar 44 motor-sailer, about 6 weeks ago. Took them out to Magnolia, and we had a lovely 3-hour visit. They brought homemade peanut fudge things ! They got a terrific deal on their boat, and it has the 270 HP turbo version of my 130 HP engine, and has a much higher cruising and top speed. They're totally reworking the interior of their boat: changing the V-berth into a queen bed, removing the port aft berth to make an office, etc. Lots of fun talking about all the similarities and differences between our boats, and what we plan to do with them, and lots of other things. Nice people. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 5/5/2003 (Monday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore and did library. Then caught bus to NAPA auto, another bus to Summerlin Square, and then another back to beach. Nasty surprise: now that the "season" is over, the bus comes every hour instead of every half-hour. And they charge for it now. So a 90-minute trip turned into a 3-hour ordeal. Bought a tip ($1) to fix the auto-pilot cable, and groceries, and a swimsuit. Fixed and reinstalled the auto-pilot drive cable, and it was a struggle. The clamps on the ends are a bit strange, and it took a while to get the cable on. But the auto-pilot seems to work again; will have to take the boat out for a spin to see for sure, and we'll see how long the fix lasts. Decided I'd had enough sun and heat and sweat for today; not going to the beach. I'm kind of wiped out. It's hot. Fruit and salad and cheese-and-crackers for dinner. 5/6/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Another hot day; going up to about 90. Stupid outboard won't start again; or rather, it started, ran fine for 30 seconds, then quit and couldn't be restarted. Fires up fine with starting fluid, but then dies again in a few seconds. Paddled ashore and did library, got groceries. Two guidebooks arrived. Paddled back to boat. Hot afternoon; every time I move, I sweat. Read Tenn-Tom guidebooks. Cleaned bilge a little. Got ready to repaint rudder stuffing box mount; scraped it. Tried to trace wiring under navigation station. Tested backup VHF. In early evening, messed with outboard and managed to get it to start with starting fluid. I wonder if it's at the age (9 years) when it just needs a new carburetor ? Not sure why that would be. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. Rained briefly about 9 PM, so I had to shut most of the hatches and lie in bed sweating in the heat and humidity. Ran a fan a bit to cool off. Was able to open the boat by 10 or so. 5/7/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Another hot day; going up to about 90. Dinghied ashore, did library, got some dry groceries. Got insurance quote; I'm going to drop boat insurance. Can't get liability-only; full insurance is $1058/year. Caught bus to Summerlin, renewed my boat registrations ($15). Looked in West Marine for a while, got more groceries, and bus back. Chatted with Justin on bus, Richard on way back to boat. Dinghied ashore, stopping at a marine supply place among the fishing boats to look for a spare anchor. No anchors for sale, but a machine-shop guy would make any size plain-steel Danforth-type anchor for about $250. Walked on the beach; pretty empty. Guy from green ketch stopped by to say hi; I think we saw each other in LaBelle. Salad and cheese-and-crackers and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 5/8/2003 (Thursday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Another hot day; going up to about 90. Dinghied ashore, did long session at library, got some groceries. Yes ! Homemade brownies arrived from my lovely, wonderful, terrific sister in PA ! Painted rudder stuffing box mounting. Phares (odd name) and Stephanie stopped by, and I invited them aboard for a quick tour. They have a 1972 Gulfstar 44 "Andromeda", sistership to my 1973. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. Homemade brownies for dessert ! 5/9/2003 (Friday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore, did long session at library, got some groceries. Brought down the jib and mainsail, so I could examine the halyards, and to prepare for climbing the mast (ugh!). Caulked wire entry on top of transom. Fuel level 11.0 inches at engine hour 2660.9 Gave myself a bit of a haircut. Salad and corned-beef-onion-noodles for dinner. Surprisingly good corned beef from a can. 5/10/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Did bucket of laundry. Dinghied ashore, did long session at library, working on broken links on my web site. Tried to go for free skin-cancer screening, but they were all booked up. Dinghied ashore and had a nice walk on the beach. Tried to call Mom for Mother's Day, and got her answering machine. Snorkeled under the boat and put on a new propeller shaft zinc. Got sea lice all over me. Was surprised at how well it went. The zinc was a nice one: the bolts had little plastic washers to keep them from falling out, and no copper insert to mash down. Dove once and set half of the zinc on top of the shaft, then dove again, put the other half against it, and got a couple quick turns on one bolt to hold them together. Still had to dive many times, turning the bolts in with an Allen wrench. Put some caulk on the bolt threads to help keep them secure. Salad and eggsalad sandwiches for dinner. Homemade brownies for dessert ! 5/11/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Climbed the mainmast at 0800. Halyard feeds looked good. A few cracks in the body of the masthead box, but they're in the middle and may have been there for quite a while. Wanted to unbolt and flip over the two radio antennas, but as I loosened the bigger one, found that the fiberglass wand was just standing loosely in the bracket; nothing was holding it into the bracket; it's broken. Took the wand out and brought it down to deck. The thin white wire going into the bracket had a lot of cracks in the insulation, too. Both VHF radios still work; probably that antenna was unused for years. Scraped and painted a small corroded section on the mainmast compression post. Dinghied ashore to supermarket, stopping to chat with Richard on the way. He told me a bird landed on his boat and started crapping all over his windshield, then went up to the spreaders and started barfing in all directions. Huge mess to clean up. Back to boat for lunch. Dinghied ashore, seeing a small sea-turtle swimming in the harbor on the way. Nice walk on the beach, saw 2 thong bikinis. On the way back, had a nice long chat at the dinghy dock with Bruce (from "La Dolce Vita") and Mel. Watched a big manatee slowly swim under the dock. It had 4 or 5 small propeller-scars on its back. Salad and corned-beef-mustard-onion-noodles for dinner. Hot, still night; didn't sleep well. 5/12/2003 (Monday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore, did library and groceries. Outboard quit a couple of times each way. Topped up battery water; was slow again. My solar controller must really be charging the batteries hard. Dinghied ashore, stopping to chat with Bruce and Justin. Bought gasoline ($5). Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 5/13/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Climbed the mainmast at 0730. Got the remaining radio antenna turned upside down as I planned, but then put the bolt in backwards, and then dropped the nut when I tried to put it on. Fortunately the nut bounced off something soft, so it didn't hit the deck hard, and it stayed on deck instead of bouncing overboard. Have to go back up again tomorrow. Radio still works with antenna upside down alongside the mast; reduced my mast height another foot or more. Outboard started and died, and this time I couldn't get the bulb to feed fuel into the inline filter. Something feels loose inside the bulb. Switched back to the old bulb. Worked better, still couldn't get it started, finally got it started. All morning at the library, working on broken links on my web site. 2nd cruising guide arrived in mail, then back to boat for lunch. Dinghied ashore and caught bus to Summerlin. Renewed car registration, bought some teak plugs ($4), various groceries. Made the mistake of weighing myself at a free scale in the supermarket; oh, well, always thought my boat needed a little more ballast. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner, homemade brownies for dessert. 5/14/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Climbed the mainmast about 0715. A bit cooler this morning, which is very nice. Fixed the bolt on the radio antenna, spritzed the windvane and sheaves with silicone spray. Saw 3 manatees swim by while I was 1/3 of the way down; they all had propeller-marks on them. Hoisted the jib. Now my mast height about water should be about 49 feet, instead of the less-than-53 it was before. Probably should consider it to be 50, to be safe. I have to get under a lot of 52-foot bridges (at normal water) on the inland-river trip coming up. Dinghied ashore, did library, some groceries. Lunch, then got fuel. This was a 2-hour ordeal in the heat: spin the boat with the dinghy to untwist the anchor rodes, hoist the dinghy, raise two anchors (cleaning off some very mucky sections of chain), motor to fuel dock, fuel up ($140 for 105 gallons at $1.25/gallon plus tax), then back to my spot and put down two anchors, then wash off the deck. I'm sweaty and exhausted. Engine hour 2661.7 The fuel-dock guys tell me my timing is good: in a day or two, the place will be a madhouse as boats arrive for the air-show and boat-race. Mel stopped by and we chatted a little about rigging and such. Low, dark clouds came over and it rained hard from 6:15 to 6:45, then was nice again. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 5/15/2003 (Thursday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Did a small bucket of laundry. Dinghied ashore and did library. Hardware store and bought $5 worth of various small parts. More patching on gelcoat gouges on hull sides. Dinghied to boatyard, expecting to have to walk to Napa Auto. Boatyard didn't have any anchors for sale, but they did have most of what I was going to get at Napa, so I bought 4 oil filters ($34) and some starting fluid ($3). A couple of fighter-jets flew over about 3 PM, and several more about 6 PM. maybe in preparation for the air-show ? Salad and eggsalad sandwiches for dinner. Dinghied ashore to see the parade for the boat-race, but it was pretty lame. Only 4 or 5 race-boats. Hot and still night; didn't sleep well. Disappointed by the lunar eclipse; I expected some kind of angry red color. 5/16/2003 (Friday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore and did library, got groceries, loaded water. About 1 PM, there was a red biplane doing aerobatic stunts over the beach; saw it from the harbor. Nice loops and stalls. Then a single-wing plane came and did more of the same, plus spins. It was just about able to hover in place, nose-up, at the top of one of the stalls. Then a pair of biplanes came by and did some loops. At 2:30, something MILITRY! came over and shredded the air for a while. Repaced water filter under galley faucet; the old one was disgustingly dirty. Dinghied ashore, checked for mail, did hardware store, loaded water. More work on hull gouge patches: removed the plastic over them and wet-sanded them. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 5/17/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore, did library and some groceries, donated $10 to the dinghy-dock guy. On the boat at 1130 when the air-show started. A couple of cranes are putting race-boats in the water in the harbor, so they can go out for practice runs, then get out again. One fancy semi-race-type powerboat came by with three nice-looking women wearing thong bikinis sitting lined up across the stern. Dinghied ashore and walked the beach for an hour. Tons of people, and a couple hundred boats out 1/2 mile, watching the air-show But only one nice-looking thong bikini. The air-show wasn't very impressive: lots of dead time, only a few good acts. Back to the boat to get out of the heat and give my skin a break from the sun. Fuel level 17.3 inches at engine hour 2661.7 Evil dark clouds blew over about 6 PM, and it looked clear behind them. But in fact it was grey, and it poured rain for 30 minutes or so, then drizzled for a while after that. Salad and chicken-and-potatoes-au-gratin for dinner. 5/18/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Dinghied ashore; tried to call Mom but got her answering machine. Did groceries. Chatted briefly with a guy who's been living aboard for 28 years, mostly here. Nice guy, but he was having his 9 AM beer. Dinghied ashore to the beach in time for the 11 AM race, but it didn't happen. Walked the beach for a while, tons of people, saw 4 or 5 thong bikinis. Turns out they had so few boats enter that they changed from two races at 11 and 1 to one race at 12:30. Back to the boat for a quick bite of lunch, then back ashore to see the race. It was interesting, but not that great. Only about a dozen boats (and three helicopters chasing them), and the boats were in 3 or 4 different classes, so you couldn't tell who was winning or anything. Back to boat, and loafed most of the afternoon; I got too much sun already today. Put some clamps on the jib whisker pole; maybe I'll be able to use it tomorrow. Dinghied ashore late, bought gasoline ($5), retrieved my bicycle and hauled it to the boat. Everyone's leaving town after the races, and what a bunch of yahoos ! Must be the same people who love NASCAR. They're all yelling at each other, whistling at women, revving engines in bumper-to-bumper traffic. A bunch of unhappy people who had their cars towed for illegal parking, too. Said goodbye to Harry and Richard. Salad and eggsalad sandwiches and fruit for dinner. 5/19/2003 (Monday) At anchor at Fort Myers Beach FL (Estero Island). Raised anchors about 0800, motored out of harbor. Put sails up, but swells off Sanibel were rolling me so badly and the wind was so light that the sails were flogging and banging, and I took them down. Motored up to Boca Grande Pass and anchored about 3 PM in Pelican Bay, approx lat 26.41 long 82.14.5 Front came through about 6 PM, with dark clouds and some wind and rain. Of course it blew from S and SE instead of the forecast E, so I was a little close to a neighboring boat, maybe 60-70 feet away. The woman on the boat freaked out, started blowing danger signals, giving me the evil eye. My anchor was holding fine, and I was watching it. An hour later she was giving me grief about not having an anchor light on; it wasn't even dark yet, I was reading in the cockpit as I ate dinner. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. During the night it blew fairly hard from the E as predicted, and I swung away from the other boat. 5/20/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor at Pelican Bay (Boca Grande Pass). Raised anchor about 0800, motored out of the pass, and raised sail by 0900. Turned off the engine and sailed about 4 knots in a 10-12 wind on a close reach. Dropped to 3.3 or so knots when wind eased to 8-9 knots. Auto-pilot working a little more than I'd like, but I don't know if I have the sails balanced properly, and there's a bit of a beam swell moving the boat around. Worked on the rudder position indicator, which has never worked. Got a little life out of it. Sailed until 1 PM, covering about 13 miles in about 4 hours. Wind kept fading down to 5-6 knots; was at 7-8 most of the time. The boat was doing 2.5-2.9 knots much of the time. Started engine and took down jib and mizzen. Went in Venice inlet and anchored about 4:30. Very tight shoaly anchorage, full of local boats and a few cruisers. Had to put down 2 anchors, and I'm close to a moored boat and slightly in a channel. Worked some more on the rudder position indicator, and found that remounting its potentiometer next to the rudder is going to be a challenge; not sure how the old mounting worked. As usual, dark clouds and blew hard and a little rain by 6 PM. The last couple of weeks, the weather has been the same every day: gorgeous, sunny, hot all morning and early afternoon, then windy and maybe thunderstorms in early evening, then calm and maybe cloudy/sprinkling at night. Watched a couple of guys fishing from a dock just behind me; they had a great time, but seemed to catch and release the same couple of fish again and again. Not sure if they kept anything. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner, last of the homemade brownies for dessert. 5/21/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor at Venice FL. Raised anchors about 0815, motored up the ICW. Gave the finger to some big powerboat who roared past me at high speed with a big wake, and wasn't listening to the radio. He gave me the finger back. Through 3 or 4 bridges to Sarasota, where I anchored at about 1115, at lat 27.19.582 long 82.32.819 Nice spacious anchorage with lots of boats in it. Last bridgekeeper told me there was a baby dolphin in the bay next to his bridge. After lunch, dinghied ashore; $2 to land dinghy at park. Saw the funniest dinghy name I've ever seen: "Row vs. Wade". Walked to library and did a long internet session. Town is fairly pretty but useless: lots of boutiques and a nice waterfront park, but no grocery store, and museums and such are several miles away. Sat in the bayfront park reading stuff for a while. Supposed to be a reggae festival onshore fairly close to my boat tonight. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. Could hear a bit of the music festival, but it was a bit far away, and definitely a lot of the music was not reggae. Nicer weather than usual this evening: no thunderstorms or rain. 5/22/2003 (Thursday) At anchor at Sarasota FL. Raised anchor about 0845, motored through the Ringling bridge and motor-sailed up the ICW. Was supposed to be iffy weather, lots of thunderstorms and rain, but it's lovely. Anchored just south of Longboat Pass, at 1100, at lat 27.26.313 long 82.40.733 After lunch, dinghied ashore and walked around a bit. Some nice houses and trees, and the gulf beach is nice; sat there for a while watching someone fly a stunt-kite. Fairly hot at times, and no stores in evidence. Back to boat, and wondering where the evil storms are; the radio is full of dire forecasts for today. Fair number of boats roaring through the anchorage at full speed; it's on one of the approaches to the pass, and these people have no courtesy. Lovely evening: about 10-15 degrees cooler than usual, which feels wonderful ! Salad and cheese-and-salami-and-crackers and fruit for dinner. The dire weather finally arrived just after I went to bed. About 9 PM, there were dark clouds overhead and a gentle S 5 wind. Suddenly the wind changed to N 25, and we were off ! All the boats went slewing around, and I wondered if I'd left enough room between my anchor and the shoal to the south. The answer was yes, but only by 30 feet or so. And I was swinging over top of a crab-trap float. About 10 minutes later, the deluge started, and it poured rain until 11 or so. The powerboat ahead of me, which came in just before the storm, was grilling steaks; I could smell them. Humid and stuffy inside the boat, and half the time the rain was blowing in from the stern and soaking the inside of the pilothouse, so I couldn't keep the main companionway open. Slept fitfully. Was able to open things up a bit in the early AM. No deck leaks, except a little moisture inside the frame of the fixed port in the walk-through. 5/23/2003 (Friday) At anchor just south of Longboat Pass. Started pouring rain again at 0700, and kept going although the forecast said it was supposed to go south at 0800 and the rest of the day was supposed to be nice. Raised anchor at 1000, motored through the bridge and out through Longboat Pass into the Gulf. Rainy with swells from SW as I expected. Bad planning: didn't realize I'd be going more NW than N, so the swells really rolled me and the rain came into the pilothouse. Worse, my @$%^@$& auto-pilot crapped out again ! Motored up across the mouth of Tampa Bay and into Johns Pass, five hours of hand-steering with everything wet. Halfway through, I turned more N, so the rolling was replacing by pitching, which is easier to take. And at least the swells were aiding my speed. Got out from under the rain about 1130, and sun came out by 1200. But still windy and rough and everything is wet, including me. And with no auto-pilot and constant swells, the boat slews off wildly any time I leave the helm to do anything. Sitting at the helm, tried to shift position to do something, and my right foot slid along the wet cockpit sole, in one of the few places where there's no non-skid, and I jammed 3 or 4 bare toes hard into the base of the binnacle. Hurt like hell, but I don't think anything's broken. Into Johns Pass, where a sailboat came in ahead of me and totally missed the well-marked channel. They swerved when they saw me and realized I was in the channel, and came across some nasty-looking shoals with breaking waves to get to the channel. They were a catamaran motor-sailer, so they must have a shallow draft, and they made it. Anchored about 3 PM in a lovely wide protected canal inside Johns Pass, on the inland side of Madeira Beach, at lat 27.47.602 long 82.47.181 I'm tired, and a bit headachy from breathing my diesel exhaust fumes all day. Opened up all the ports and hung everything out to dry. Rainclouds came over at 4, but then it was sunny again soon after. At 6, I watched a mother and baby dolphin feeding in the canal; the baby was about 2 or 2.5 feet long. Another nice, cool evening. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. Watched pelicans who were acting like that most dangerous of animals, an intelligent sheep: they tended not to fly so much as plummet. Huge, noisy crashes into the water as they attacked fish. Very successfully, too. Fireworks over the beach started just after I went to bed, but they were annoyingly sporadic. Several nice ones would go off, I'd get up and watch, then they'd stop for a couple of minutes. I'd go back to bed, and a minute later more would be going off and I'd get up again. Rained very hard at 2 AM; no wind, just rain straight down. 5/24/2003 (Saturday) At anchor inside Johns Pass. Bit of a headache this morning. Fuel level 14.25 inches at engine hour 2684.9 Raised anchor at 0945, having to wash lots of muck off the rode. Motored out through the bridge and up to Clearwater. Not much wind and lots of rolly swells. In through the Clearwater bridge, through a confusing intersection with lots of traffic, then anchored about 100 yards off the channel. Anchored about 1245 at lat 27.57.646 long 82.48.390 Lots of wakes, but they're mostly on the nose, which is okay. But every now and then a big one rolls me from the side and wipes me out. About 2 PM, launched the dinghy and looked for a place to get ashore. It's a concrete jungle here; nowhere to get ashore. Eventually went back to the first place I tried: a mud-flat close to my boat. Went aground 50 yards from shore, so I anchored the dinghy there and waded ashore through soft muck and sea-grass, probably violating half a dozen environmental protection laws. Came ashore at the parking lot and bay-walk of a retirement community; figured some old guy probably would freak out and call the police about the terrorist frogman coming ashore. Lots of hot nothing in this part of town, but then I found the nice supermarket that I'd heard was there. Got a good load of groceries and frog-manned back to the boat. Salad and eggsalad sandwiches for dinner. Fireworks over the town later in the evening. 5/25/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Clearwater FL. Got going early, because now the wind has me parallel to a busy channel, and I'll get badly waked as everyone starts roaring past on the way to their holiday weekend fun. Raised anchor by 0630 and motored out through the pass. Motor-sailed north up the coast, but there's little wind, so I took down the jib and left the main up. Took it down too, until after lunch when the wind piped up a little, when I put it back up. Did a bucket of laundry. The next few days, I'll be going up around the bend of the Florida Panhandle. A tricky trip, because there are no harbors or anchorages at all between just north of Clearwater and then to Carrabelle FL. About 160 miles or so, but I'm not doing it straight across. I'm looping to the NE a bit so I can stay in shallow water where I can anchor. But there's no shelter to anchor behind; I'll be exposed. Just realized I'm entering a bit of a "dead zone" as far as my charts are concerned: it's a joint between two chartkits, and all I have is a 1-2,000,000 scale chart (shows the whole state of Florida) for this lower part of the Panhandle. And no decent chart for Carrabelle, which I want to enter. Tired and headachy in the afternoon. Out of sight of land after 2 or so. Perfect auto-pilot territory; too bad it's not working. Finally anchored at 4:45, in the middle of empty water except for a few scattered fishing boats and some nuclear powerplant towers east of me. Water is 15 feet deep. Lat 28.47.924 long 82.56.097 Did about 52 miles, straight-line. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. Tried lemon juice instead of soy sauce; not a success. 5/26/2003 (Monday) At anchor in the middle of nowhere, 1/3 of the way up the Florida panhandle from Clearwater to Carrabelle. By 2 AM, I'd gotten some sleep, but couldn't sleep any more and was sick and tired of feeling the swells roll the boat and make the interior wood squeak and crunch. Got up, raised anchor, and motored on in the dark. The only risk is that I might plow into an unlighted marker, but it's 5 miles between markers out here and I've seen a couple of lit ones far away. Water's 15-20 feet deep, so that's no problem. Nice sunrise: perfect orange ball appeared on the horizon. Wanted to stop and anchor and take a nap, but a big swell has appeared out of the WNW, and I don't think I'd sleep much with the boat plunging up and down. Motored all day, taking little 1-minute naps in the cockpit. Didn't have to touch the helm too much most of the time; it held a pretty steady course. Raised mainsail once, but the swells made it slat, and it made the helm a full-time chore, so I took it down. Anchored at 6 PM in the middle of nowhere; nothing but water in all directions, 60 miles to the east of Carrabelle. Lat 29.41.290 long 83.56.574 In 45 feet of water ! Hope I can get the anchor up again. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. Tried to sleep, but it's too sunny and hot and also the boat is leaping in all directions, pitching and rolling and gyrating. Impossible. So I start to calculate the options, trying to arrive at Carrabelle in daylight, hoping I can stay awake and functioning that long, wondering how long I can tolerate being anchored here. Finally realize that I'd better get that anchor up while there's still light; it's going to be tough. Raised anchor about 9 PM, with the bow of the boat surging up and down, a big strain on the windlass, the boat trying to turn sideways and roll every time I motor forward to get some slack in the anchor rode. The anchor seems heavier than usual even when there's only 20-30 feet left to bring in; I guess I almost never anchor in water even 25 feet deep. Then it's off on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride ! Motoring straight into swells that don't seem that high, maybe 2-3 feet, but they come fast and close together, and boat is hobby-horsing wildly. Surging up over some swells to land with a thud on the next swell, slicing through some, huge bursts of spray bouncing away from the bow, often the boat veering away strongly after hitting a swell. No water over the bow, but the whole front half of the boat is getting soaked, and I have all of the ports and hatches closed tight. It's very dark, no moon, I don't know exactly where I'm going, and my mind is mush from sleep-deprivation. Hope I can do this. I just keep going, with constant hand-steering, making the compass needle line up with the course I want. Can't see anything, so I rely on the depth-sounder to see if I approach shallow water, but it's all 50-60 feet deep. Play some music CD's, have some snacks, occasionally there's some brief traffic on the VHF. Only go past one marker all night, and it's flashing rapidly and I can't tell if it's the "horn" on my chart. The big swells on the nose ease by about 2 AM, which makes steering a lot easier; now I can doze for a minute or two between steering corrections. Finally see multiple lights, including some house or building lights, and what looks like several islands. Slow down and head in, watching the depth-sounder, and it takes forever to get to 20-foot deep water. Lots of green channel markers; looks like a major commercial channel, which is puzzling. Anchored about 5 AM in 20 feet of water at lat 29.47.885 long 84.33.056 Put everything away and went to bed. 5/27/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor off a barrier island somewhere near Carrabelle FL. Wake up suddenly at 0830. Take a look outside and it doesn't resemble anything I saw in the night. Just one low sandy island with some houses on it. No sign of all the channel markers I saw in the dark. Never did find them during daylight. Everything completely different. Raised anchor about 0930 and motored up around the NE of the island into St George Sound, but soon found shoals everywhere, and no marked channel. I found a slightly better chart (1 to 400,000 scale instead of 1 to 2,000,000) but it still has no details on this whole Sound. Went back out and motored down the length of the island, in the main inlet, and up to Carrabelle. Anchored about 1:15 in 5 feet of water over a big grassy shoal in the middle of town, lat 29.51.024 long 84.40.313 Had to try anchoring twice; first time I was swinging too close to the channel. I'm tired. Well, I made it across "The Big Bend", from Clearwater to Carrabelle. Things learned: - don't assume the chartkits contain all the charts you need - fix the auto-pilot - anchoring with no shelter is intolerable - on the return trip, plan to do the crossing as straight as possible, with no stops - I did manage to pick a nice weather window - the Gulf of Mexico and Florida are big ! Cleaned myself up and dinghied ashore. Nasty carcasses of fish all over the little sandy spit by the boat-ramp. Did library, then walked around a marina and started talking to a 70-year-old guy, Willy. The guys here are all nuts for fishing tournaments. We had a nice chat, and then I took him out to see Magnolia. Back ashore, chatted to someone else for a little while, then back to the boat. Found her hard aground and up about 6 inches at 6:30. Looking at the tide program, I'm caught by an unusually low low tide. Shouldn't have much of a problem getting out tomorrow. Fixed (I think) the auto-pilot again. The problem was the drive cable again; I think by crimping a tip onto it, I made the cable too long relative to it's sheath, so now the sheath tends to slip out of the fastening nut on the end, and then the tip slides out of its socket and doesn't engage any more. May have to get a new crimp-tip and shorten the cable a little. One wire cable for hoisting the dinghy is frayed through. Will need one more swage-sleeve than I have on board to fix it. Salad and cheese-and-crackers-and-salami and fruit for dinner, while swatting yellow flies. At full low tide, I'm up almost a foot more than usual. No problem, but it will be a sickeningly lurch if someone wakes me and the boat falls over to rest more on one side. 5/28/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor at Carrabelle FL. Slept long and solidly, got up a little at 0830, and then slept again until 0945. Tested auto-pilot briefly. Listened to weather forecast, and again found that the NOAA synthesized voice here speaks a different dialect than in south Florida. Here it says "ta" for "to", and "pertecked" for "protected". As in "winds 5 ta 10 knots, light chop in pertecked waters". Fuel level 11.25 inches at engine hour 2727.2 Cleaned engine intake strainer. Added 1/2 quart of oil to engine. Exercised valves on all through-hulls. Added water to batteries; they keep getting low. Added a little water to the engine coolant. Drained a little fuel out of the engine water-separators / primary filters; first/port one had fair number of particles in it, second/starboard one had a few particles, no water in either one. Dinghied ashore, went to hardware store, got groceries, did library. Back to boat, raised anchor about 1:15, and motored out of the harbor. Went out to the inside of the inlet and anchored about 2:15 at lat 29.47.415 long 84.40.300 in 20 feet of water. I plan to leave about 8 PM, go out the inlet, and do the trip to Panama City, which should take about 20 hours, arriving about 4 PM. If I had waited at anchor in town, I would have been caught by low low tide again, and also would have had to go out the channel in near-dark, and the channel markers are far apart. Greased the anchor windlass and checked its oil. Greased the tach adapter on the engine. Canned stew over rice for dinner. Edible. Heard on the radio that the Ft Lauderdale area had 11 inches of rain ! Later heard that all of S Florida is getting soaked, even over where I was near Ft Myers. Started blowing harder about 6:30 and there's a chop coming down the length of the Sound at me, so it's time to go. Raised the anchor by about 7:00; what an ordeal ! I guess I hadn't clutched the windlass all the way after greasing it, and when I put the chain on it, the pull was so strong that soon the chain had run out and some rope ran out too. Conditions were ugly, 15+ knots of wind and strong chop. So I had to keep repeating: motor forward, hurry to bow and get another 10 feet of chain in, cleat it off before the boat slid back and the load came on again, do it again. High loads on the chain, and the big swells made the bow leap around and blow off quickly when I motored forward. Left the chain piled on the foredeck because I had to pull the rope below first. Motored out through the inlet, with strong wind on the beam and a strong tidal current helping me. Got out and found equally bad conditions out in the Gulf: 15 knots of wind with steep short swells. Got rolled badly by a series of swells on the beam, everything crashing around in the cockpit and down below. Had to work in the V-berth and then on the bow to get the anchor chain stowed, and it was dangerous work. Fortunately the auto-pilot is working; would have been 5 times worse without it. Conditions a little better once I got out of the inlet approach and could turn more directly into the wind. But apparently the 10-15 forecast is going to be 15+, and the swells are making the boat pitch. Making a little more than 4 knots, and sometimes we slam down into a swell and drop to 2.5 knots briefly. Prop cavitates for a while until speed gets back up. But the auto-pilot is working, so I can rest. Saw some strange lights and turned on the RADAR to see if it would help. Realized I should have used it when I was making landfall the other night. Think the lights are fishing boats. Spend much of the early AM motoring through fishing fleets. Only come close to 4 or 5 boats, but there are lots of lights on the horizon and all over the place. They look strange, all winged out and lit up, and often it's hard to tell which way they're facing and whether they're moving. 5/29/2003 (Thursday) In transit from Carrabelle to Panama City. 0700, sun's up, and I'm frustrated. Seas have been lumpy with strong swells and wind on the nose. I've been averaging barely 4 knots. Every minute or two, the swells align so the boat rises high over one swell and blasts into the next one, killing the momentum and slowing down to 3 knots for a while as the prop cavitates and we slowly build up to 4.3 or so again. Soon we crash into another swell and slow down again. What I hoped would be a 20-hour trip is turning into more like 26 hours. At least the auto-pilot has been working perfectly. Feeling really grim by noon. The speed is bad, my course is getting me rolled a fair amount, I'm tired, the wind is staying strong and the swells are big, the dinghy is grinding it's rubrail to pieces against the davits and chafing every lashing I have it tied with, lots of creaking and groaning noises as the boat flexs in the swells. Hope the main lifting wires don't chafe through and drop the dinghy; one of them chafed through on my way across the Big Bend. Very dangerous climbing around deck and lashing things down and relashing them. Should have stayed in Carrabelle and waited for a day with less wind. I'm wondering why I bought a boat. I hate the Gulf of Mexico. Feeling a little better after lunch. And motion gets a little more tolerable as I change course. I'm tired, and worrying about what to do if the engine quits, if the dinghy drops, if the auto-pilot craps out. Not many options out here. Wind kicked up to 20 and swells got really big the last couple of hours. As I approached Panama City, I had to keep turning aside to take the biggest swells more on the nose; some of them were huge and steep. Still got rolled and pitched quite a bit. Kept looking at the chart and GPS, saying things like "only another 15 miles to go", and then realizing that meant ONLY another 4 hours to go. Very tricky getting in the inlet. The swells were very nasty and from the beam as I came up the coast, so it took a long time to get abreast of the inlet. Then I turned between two sets of swells, getting rolled pretty well anyway, and headed in with large following seas hitting me from the port stern quarter. I was slewing around pretty good for a while. Then of course nothing is simple: fishing boats coming out, SeaTow towing someone in, dredge operating in the inlet mouth, some other traffic. Anchored about 6:15 just inside the Panama City inlet, in Grand Lagoon, at lat 30.08.038 long 85.43.777. Plenty of room, but I'm near a channel and a boat-ramp; I'll get waked a bit, but I just needed to find the nearest refuge and stop. Trip took 23+ hours. The boat is covered with salt. At least nothing fell overboard, although the anchor windlass handle got loose. I'm afraid to look at the dinghy and it's lashings. Below, the books all stayed on the bookshelf until some time in the last half hour; then they got dumped everywhere. But I got here, the engine and auto-pilot worked great, tomorrow's a new day. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 5/30/2003 (Friday) At anchor near Panama City. Slept late. Walking around, my back went "ping"; I must have strained it, probably when raising the anchor in St George Sound. Raised anchor about 11, motored over to anchor closer to the "city". Anchored about 12:15 across from the town, behind Redfish Pt. Dinghied ashore about 1:30, 3/4 mile across the open bay. Went into Massalina Bayou and met Bruce, who it turns out is anchored next to me in a red Durbeck ketch. He was in the bayou kibitzing with someone painting on a ferrocement ketch anchored there. We had a nice chat. Then I went into the city marina, and it took a while to find the free dinghy dock. Big place, oriented toward cars; took a while to walk around it. Long chat with Kenny at the dinghy dock; turns out he's the small white Beneteau anchored near me. Went to the library, did internet, read a weeks worth of newspapers. Back to dinghy dock, met someone who's anchored in Smack Bayou, not far from me. He said his friends went from Panama City to Destin yesterday, in same conditions I saw, and afterward they called NOAA and complained that the forecast was inaccurate. Back to the boat, and crossed the bay in nasty conditions, blowing up to 15, spray getting me pretty wet. Outboard motor quit halfway, but fortunately because it just wasn't drawing through the inline filter; two pumps and it started again right away. Had to be careful of my back as I hoisted the dinghy. Lots of dolphins feeding around the boat; saw 5 together, then a couple of singles later. And I've seen swirling schools of medium-sized fish, too. I think this part of Florida must be teeming with fish. Later, Bruce stopped by for a quick look at my boat. It was really messy, since the trip loosened a lot of stuff, I had things out drying, stuff is piled up where I had to dig to fix the auto-pilot. And, being a former carpenter, he snorted when he saw all the Formica. But he generally said nice things. I mentioned the dolphins and he said once he saw kids feeding dolphins at the inlet, and the dolphins were coming 1/2 out of the water and letting the kids touch them as they fed them. Chicken-and-rice for dinner. Later, a powerboat anchored ahead of me and started running a very loud generator. And they ran it ALL night. And a small beam swell came up after midnight; thought I was protected from that direction. But it's nice here; 5-10 degrees cooler than in Ft Myers Beach, and no bugs so far. 5/31/2003 (Saturday) At anchor near Panama City FL. Half a dozen dolphins came around the boat a couple of different times, feeding. Raised anchor about 0820 and moved a little further into the cove, to get more shelter. Also warmed up the engine so I could do an oil change. Did the oil change, and what a disaster ! Took about 4 hours, and the new filters that were supposed to be compatible turned out to have rubber rings that are not compatible. The first time I fired up the engine, some leaks from the filter housing. Adjusted it and tightened it again, fired up the engine again. This time I got jets of oil spurting out of the housing, out the open door of the engine compartment, and onto my cabinets and carpets ! A real mess, although replacing the carpeting has been on my to-do list for a while. Took a while to clean up. Put the old filter's rubber ring in, fired engine up, no problems. Got 9 quarts out, put about 11 in; was about a quart low to start with; extra quart is spill. And a day or two later it looks like I overfilled it slightly. People are swimming and fishing off a beach and boats nearby, small sailboats are racing in the bay just behind me, and I've spent all day wresting with oil. Dinghied ashore through fairly rough water, disposed of used oil and trash, and did library. Coming back was really rough, blowing 20+ with swells. Got fairly wet. Kenny came over about 5 PM and we chatted for about 2 hours; he was delighted when I provided a couple of cold beers. Very nice talk about places we've been, boating, women, etc. He's quite a character: Vietnam vet and merchant seaman, living on a 25-foot sailboat with no engine and no head, no refrigeration, very much into "smoking", firm and interesting views on women (always pay cash) and the USA (Communists and UN'ers are taking over), doesn't do much of anything all day. He's cruised quite a bit around Florida and the western Caribbean, living for a year or two in each of a dozen places. He was on an Amtrak train when it hit a truck, so he's suing for damages (he wasn't hurt, he was just on the train). We've both been a lot of the same places in the Keys, and had fun comparing impressions. A lively guy, lots of fun to talk to. Salad and cheese sandwiches and cheese-and-salami-and-crackers for dinner. 6/1/2003 (Sunday) At anchor near Panama City FL. Blowing W 15+ again today; if I'd waited at Carrabelle for better weather, I'd still be waiting. And the forecast is for more of the same indefinitely. First day without boat insurance; they were raising my rate from $870 to $1070, and I decided it wasn't worth it any more. Thinking of going out of the country in 9 months anyway, so it would have stopped or gotten more expensive then. Loafed much of the morning, then worked on leaking fresh water pump, and tightened rudder shaft stuffing box nut. Cleaned the outboard lower housing a bit. Put new registration sticker on dinghy. Greased grease-points on outboard. Dinghied ashore, taking the bike with me. Did library, then biked to grocery store and got some groceries. Rough, wet ride back across the bay as usual. Found a powerboat and sailboat rafted together and anchored very close alongside me, maybe 60 feet apart. I'm a 44-foot boat on 100 feet of anchor chain. I hoped they would leave at dinnertime with the rest of the day crowd, but they didn't. Fortunately, when I said they were too close and asked them to move, they complied without much hesitation. There's plenty of room here. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. Watched the water nearby boil with fish for 20 minutes or so, in a moving patch about 50 feet across. A school of bigger fish, maybe 8 inches long, was attacking a school of little fish, maybe 1 inch long, and a few dozen birds were cheeping overhead and diving in. Could see the bigger fish breaking the surface of the water frequently as they made violent maneuvers to catch the little fish. Quite a spectacle. 6/2/2003 (Monday) At anchor near Panama City FL. Woke up with a sinus headache. Today's my birthday ! I'm 45. Fuel level 9.0 inches at engine hour 2753.6 Cleaned up various spilled oil spots. Ran engine for 15 minutes to test it. Worked on the starboard bow nav light. At lunchtime, Kenny came over and we had a nice chat. Dinghied ashore, bought swage parts ($8) for dinghy hoist, line ($41) for dinghy hoist, auto-pilot cable tips ($2), engine oil ($15). Did library, got groceries, got water. Dinghied back to boat with a full load: me, bike, groceries, water, bike pump, etc. Put starboard nav light back together. Salad and eggsalad sandwiches for dinner. Raised anchor about 7 PM and motored up the bay. Got to Hathaway Bridge and slowly eased under it. The chart said 50, the gage said 52 (since I'd timed it so mostly-low tide gave me an extra 1.5' or so), and I really should need only 50, but it was dark and I was nervous. Made it, and motored on. Pulled into first convenient cove and anchored in the dark about 8:50 at lat 30.13.836 long 85.44.941 Motoring in inland channels in the dark makes me nervous; too many things can go wrong. Had to deal with a tug-and-barge that went on the wrong side of a marker, and a boat that was flying a green light up top (from a distance, it looked like an extra green marker). 6/3/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor an hour north of Panama City FL, off the ICW in West Bay. Nasty clouds and 30+ knot winds at 0515, then the rain started. Glad to have it; need to wash all the salt off my boat. But then the day continued grey and damp. Raised anchor about 0915. Checked the engine intake strainer and then left the valves set wrong, but managed to see the problem before the engine had run more than 30 seconds. Shut it down and reset the valves. Very windy and rough on the West Bay, but then I was in a canal for several hours, and that was calm and with a favorable current. Had to maneuver through an extensive dredging operation as soon as I entered the canal; lots of moving parts to watch out for, and a trawler towing a sailboat coming the other way. Passed a couple of large (1x4) barges coming the other way in the canal; I'll bet a 1x4 seems small by the time I've come down the Mississippi at the end of the year. Into Choctawhatchee Bay by 1:30, and started to put up the mainsail, but the wind's mostly on the nose; changed my mind. Whoops: got to the Ft Walton Beach bridge at 6:30, expecting to see the clearance gage reading about 51, and it's reading 49 ! Supposed to be a 50-foot clearance, plus the tide should be down 6 inches from high. Maybe I can get through at 2 AM, when the tide should be at dead low, and down another 6-8 inches from now. Going to be very close. If I can't get through here, and can't get through the nearby 50-foot bridge at Destin, which is my only alternative, I'll have to backtrack all the way to Panama City ! Made a U-turn and anchored east of the bridge at lat 30.23.943 long 86.35.138 Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 6/4/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor at Ft Walton Beach FL. Got up at 0130, raised anchor, motored over to the bridge at 0200 (dead low tide), and found the gage still reading 49 on the nose ! Must be zero tidal range here; the nearest station I have info for is at Destin, several miles away, and it only has a 1-foot range. Back to my anchoring spot. Now I have to find out the actual gage at the Destin bridge, and if the inlet is marked well. If I can't get out there, I'll have to backtrack to Panama City. Slept late, then spent the morning cleaning up and straightening up. Long dinghy ride to get ashore downtown. Brooks bridge is STILL reading just less than 49 feet; never changes ! Did library, got groceries. Called anyone for gage on Destin bridge, and it's 48, and at dead low tide it'll be only 48'9" or so. I'm screwed ! Back to Panama City tomorrow. Wasted 3 days and a bunch of fuel. Both of the charted 50-foot bridges here really are 48- and 49-foot bridges. Scott hailed me from shore; I'd left messages for him when I was ashore. I dinghied over and brought him out to see the boat, then we went ashore and he treated me to a nice seafood dinner (I've been eating my own cooking for about 4 months straight, which is too long). Lots of good conversation about various things. He's an Air Force lieutenant colonel, former B52 bombardier, Air Force Academy graduate, has a 23-foot sailboat, has been a lot of interesting places. We had a good time; could have talked for another couple of hours. He did confirm that the Destin bridge was supposed to be built to be 50 feet high, but they screwed up and it ended up at 48 feet. Guess they never corrected the charts. Dinghied back to the boat, and it took 5 minutes to get back inside: too dark to see the combination on the lock, and the dinghy stern light I usually use as illumination wouldn't light. Had to climb in and out of the forward hatch (not easy) to turn on lights so I could get the main hatch unlocked. Very still and humid, warm inside the boat, I worked up a sweat getting the dinghy up and climbing around and opening the boat, and can't stop sweating. So I took a couple of cushions out to the foredeck and snoozed there for a half hour, until I cooled off enough to go to bed. 6/5/2003 (Thursday) At anchor at Ft Walton Beach FL. Up at 0400 because the wind backed and grew and blew me against a shoal. Raised anchor, moved 50 yards, put it down again. Fuel level 7.25 inches at engine hour 2766.1 Blowing 10+ from exactly the direction I'll be going. Raised anchor about 0830 and got going. Long day of motoring. Only interesting sight was a standard house, on pontoons or a barge, being pushed by a standard motorboat, up the ICW from Panama City. Anchored about 8 PM in Grand Lagoon just inside the Panama City inlet, at lat 30.08.004 long 85.43.749 Wanted to anchor slightly further west, but there was a newly sunk small sailboat right where I had planned to be ! Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 6/6/2003 (Friday) At anchor near Panama City FL. As I feared, the weather forecast for the next 5 days is bad: SW 15-20 winds and lots of thunderstorms, and I need to travel W in the Gulf. Guess it's an opportunity to acquire some patience, which I definitely need to acquire. Started raining at 0945, and then blew harder and poured with 1/4-mile visibility a little after 1000 for a while. Fuel level 5.25 inches at engine hour 2777.6 Added water to batteries. Sprinkled a little much of the day, with moderate winds from SE. Kept thinking it would have been perfect for my trip, but the wind is supposed to be SW 20 at Destin, halfway through my route. Blew, poured, low visibility again at 4 PM. Salad and eggsalad sandwiches for dinner. Evil clouds coming over at 7 PM, and started raining. At 8 PM, started blowing SE and E 20+ with long gusts to about 35+ with very heavy rain, and kept doing that for an hour or so. Then kept raining and blowing 15-20 all night, until about 5 AM or so. Still cloudy and breezy and threatening after that. 6/7/2003 (Saturday) At anchor near Panama City FL. Still blowing SE 15 or so, with thick clouds. About 1000, raised anchor and headed over to the anchorage closer to the city. Tossed over the decision for a while: the place I'm leaving is more sheltered in SE wind, but the wind's supposed to go SW tonight, and there are a lot of wakes where I am now. Want to be closer to town, to go to library. Good to run engine, to charge batteries. Maybe get fuel on the way over; I have barely enough for the next leg of the trip, and would like a safety margin. So I go, and it's a sloppy, wet move. Get near town and the fuel dock is occupied. Anchor near Redfish Pt about 1115, and it starts raining moderately hard just as I get the anchor down, so I'm glad I'm not on the fuel dock. Have to run engine an extra 30 minutes to charge batteries more. Rain eases around 1 PM, and I dinghy ashore. Nice to get off the boat, and into a dry library. Do internet and read newspapers. Back to boat. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. Sunny for about 45 minutes at 6 PM. 6/8/2003 (Sunday) At anchor near Panama City FL. Sunny and partly clear morning; looks nice. Putting clothes out to dry, solar panels working. And the weather forecast sounds good for leaving tomorrow. Fuel level 5.0 inches at engine hour 2779.2 Raised anchor about 1130 and headed for fuel dock. Had trouble raising them by radio, then as I approached the dock several small boats appeared suddenly, and everyone wanted to get to the fuel dock. Had to make two circles in congested circumstances, then had trouble throwing my lines to the guys on the dock, so I was pretty stressed by the time I got set. Loaded 75 gallons of fuel at $1.19/gallon plus tax (total $95), plus water. Back out to anchor. Kenny came over for a nice chat for an hour or so. Then I snorkeled under the boat for an hour or more. The prop zinc is still there. Removed a fair number of barnacles from propeller and hull. Nice sunny afternoon. 400-foot freighter went by about 1/4 mile away. Heard later that about 8 people drowned along the coast today, from here to Pensacola. The weather was nice, but the surf still was nasty from days of storms and strong winds. People ignored warning flags and went swimming. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 6/9/2003 (Monday) At anchor near Panama City FL. Another sunny day; some rain-clouds but none over me. Dinghied ashore, bought gas ($5), did library, got groceries, got water. Back to boat, raised anchor by 1130, motor-sailed out the inlet and west up the coast. Conditions a little lumpy, wind almost right on the nose, but not too bad. Doing about 4.8 knots. Didn't see another boat all day and night, from inlet to inlet. Must not be fishing territory. Some pitching or rolling much of the time; a little uncomfortable but really not a bad trip at all. 6/10/2003 (Tuesday) In transit from Panama City to Pensacola. Had to slow down a little to get daylight to enter Pensacola inlet about 0600. Nice big whiff of petrochemicals as I turned west on the ICW; maybe blowing from Mobile ? Anchored about 0645 in Big Lagoon at lat 30.19.190 long 87.20.422 I'm several miles west of Pensacola; won't be going there this time. Down for a nap. Awakened at 0900 by sounds of a fighter jet landing on my boat. Turned out to be the Blue Angels practicing; I'm anchored about 2 miles from their home air-base. They went around me several times, and I could see them do their whole routine over the base. Sunny, hot day. Did a bucket of laundry. Lots of dolphins feeding here. A lot of water near the rudder stuffing box, but I'm no longer sure that's it coming in through there. Hope I don't have a hull or rudder skeg leak. Raised anchor at 1:15 and motor-sailed west. Some nice-looking houses and waters. Crossed from Florida to Alabama; boy, Florida is a huge state ! Anchored about 4 PM at south end of Wolf Bay, at lat 30.17.875 long 87.34.553 A lot of small fishing boats here dragging nets along the bottom, I think. Amazing that the environmental laws allow that. It appears that I have a leak near the base of the rudder skeg. Will have to monitor it. Maybe tightening the nuts from the inside of the boat will fix it. If it gets bad, might have to haul out to fix it, which would not be fun. Chicken-and-rice for dinner. Propane fitting is leaking; wondered if I'd blow myself up. Several dolphin-watching tour boats came around. 6/11/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor in Wolf Bay, just W of Florida/Alabama border. Added water to batteries; forward two were pretty low. Raised anchor about 0745 and motored west through a long canal/creek to Mobile Bay. Raised sail about 1045, did about 3.7 knots, so I motor-sailed with all sails up (with engine not working hard, did 6.2 knots). Mobile Bay is huge and there aren't many sheltered places to anchor. Since I was heeling a bit, went down and dried off, sanded and caulked the place I think is leaking, near the rudder skeg backing plate. Worth a try. My timing was great: about 2 PM, the weather got threatening and I took down the sails, then some really evil thunderstorms with 40- and 50-knot winds went across the mouth of the bay and the canal I'd come through. I watched from 10-15 miles north, glad that I wasn't down there any more. And then about 5-10 miles north of me, a decent-sized storm dumped plenty of rain on downtown Mobile. Went into Dog River, the best anchorage in the whole bay. Nice spacious river, but shallows very quickly. When it went to 5.5 feet, I stopped at 3:15 and dropped anchor in the middle, at lat 30.34.347 long 88.05.880 Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. Still have leak near rudder. Upon further investigation (sponging up water and then looking for it's reappearance), found that the locking nut had worked loose, and then the main nut had loosened (should have checked for that first). Was made confusing by the contorted path the water had followed, out the back of the shaft and around and then behind a beam. Tightening the nuts stopped the leak. Will repack it tomorrow. 6/12/2003 (Thursday) At anchor in Dog River, 10 miles south of Mobile AL. Dinghied ashore about 0830, tried a couple of marinas before I found a decent place to tie up, then walked around for 20 minutes before the dockmaster of the place I'd tied up appeared. Very nice guy, Cliff, former policeman. Turned out he had to drive up to Mobile anyway some time today, so he did it early and drove me all the way to the battleship park. Had a nice chat on the way up; turns out he has a sailboat, has done deliveries, etc. Nice guy. Toured the USS Alabama battleship, the submarine Drum, and saw lots of airplanes including a close relative of the SR-71 (the A-12). Very interesting. Rained hard a couple of times during the touring. The battleship is aground: they've built a low cofferdam around it, and they're doing all kinds of welding on it. They towed it 5600 miles from Washington State to get it here. Had to get a cab ($10) from the battleship park to downtown; no other way to get there. Downtown was disappointing; the art museum branch that was supposed to be there has moved out, the library was poor, and not much else to see. Had a false start catching the bus back, and it rained hard a couple of times, but finally got to the right place and didn't have to wait too long. Ducked into a small firehouse museum for a minute while I was waiting; the guy running it seemed starved for company. Long, twisty bus ride through lots of interesting neighborhoods. Had to walk a couple of miles from the end of the bus route to get back to the marina, but didn't even rain on me. Back to boat by 5:30. Fuel level 9.0 inches at engine hour 2809.8 Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 6/13/2003 (Friday) At anchor in Dog River, 10 miles south of Mobile AL. Lots of rain from 6 to 9 AM; it's been raining all over this area for 3 or 4 days now, and it doesn't look like it's going to let up. Saw a very close rainbow: the left end was about 1/4 mile from the boat, and the right end about 1/2 mile away. Dinghied ashore about 10 AM and biked 4 miles to stores, got groceries, biked back. Hot and sweaty work, along a busy highway with no shoulders, but at least it didn't rain. Chatted briefly with Cliff; he wondered if the bridges upstream are going to be passable since they've had all this rain. Felt tired and hot all afternoon; guess the bike-ride really took a lot out of me. It's a gorgeous, sunny, breezy, dry afternoon. Raised anchor about 3 PM and went to the fuel dock. Got 105 gallons of diesel at $1.26/gallon including tax ($132). Loaded some water too. Back to anchor in the river again. Fuel level 16.0 inches at engine hour 2810.4 Salad and sausage sandwiches for dinner. 6/14/2003 (Saturday) At anchor in Dog River, 10 miles south of Mobile AL. Beautiful sunny day. Raised anchor about 0915 and motored out, then motor-sailing up the main ship channel by 1015. Not too much problem getting through the main industrial part of the harbor, but it was tense watching to see who was moving and trying to decipher the warnings on the radio ("mumble mumble casting off from pier 5 southbound"; no pier 5 on chart, no signage). Only had to talk to two ships. Following breeze had me breathing my own exhaust fumes all morning and some of the afternoon; not fun. Nice going up the river; wide and a bit muddy, maybe a little higher than normal. Water is the color of tea-with-milk. Overtook one 1x2 tow and then we had to wait 5 minutes at a railroad swing bridge until a train crossed. Much later, a 1x2 coal tow came the other way. Some small fishing boats, and nothing else. Current is about 0.8 knots against me. Some nasty floating logs and thick tree-branches at times. The charts have a bad feature: they tell you too much about the power-lines you're going under. I'm nervous enough about power-lines without being told that it's a 230 KV line. Put the anchor down about 5 PM near Whitehorse Bend, but soon realoized it was a bad place to stay. I picked it because it's the widest spot in the river, but it's also the trickiest bend, shoals on both sides, and when I tried to anchor near shore I found very shallow water and swirling currents. The more I looked at where I was, the less I liked it. So I raised anchor and motored up another mile or two, and anchored in a straight part about 1/4 mile below a big raft of old barges. Put the anchor down, decided I wanted to be closer in, raised it again and put it down about 20 feet further in. I'm only 30 feet or so from the bank, held parallel to it by the current. Should be okay. At Mobile River mile 29.5, lat 31.00.351 long 87.59.380 at 5:30 PM. Starting to blow hard by 6 PM; there have been threatening clouds for the last hour or so. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. More insects or frogs or whatever chattering than I think I've ever heard. A real racket. Saw a tow go by about 10 PM, and another about 11 PM. 6/15/2003 (Sunday) At anchor in the Mobile River at mile 29.5 from Mobile. Raised anchor about 0845; it was stuck so hard I was afraid I'd snagged a tree-root, and would have to see if my trip-line did any good. But it came out; the current had buried very solidly. Just as it came out and I wanted to drift out into the river as I stowed it, a 4x2 tow of empties heading downstream appeared. The current is stronger today, about 1.7 to 2 knots against me. Heard engines at one point, looked back to see a sportfisher overtaking me, and they were making a very deep hole in the water, going upstream at 15 knots against a 2-knot current. Their wake echoed from the shores for a while. 15 minutes later, a cruising trawler overtook me. So I'm not the only fool going up the river. Another big powerboat overtook me. Auto-pilot stopped working about 11 AM. Passed a 3x3 tow. Got to junction of Alabama and Tombigbee rivers, where they join to form the Mobile river, and went up the Tombigbee. Hot afternoon with little breeze. Hoped the current would ease, but it didn't. Less junk in the water, though. Some rain at 2 PM, then nice again. At one point, suddenly saw a red buoy way over toward the green side of the river, wondered if I should honor it, then realized it was floating down the river ! Got tired of doing 3.7 knots over ground, and pulled over and anchored a little after 4 PM, at Tombigbee mile 60.5, lat 31.15.724 long 87.59.092 Watched a tree-trunk go over my anchor trip-line float without snagging it. Three guys in a small fishing boat came by to say hi and ask how much my boat cost. Poked at the auto-pilot a bit. Drive cable seems to be okay, but the pump may not be pumping (bad news). It seems to be clicking but the fan belt on it isn't turning; could mean the electric motor is bad, the hydraulic pump is seized, hydraulic pressure is at max ? Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. Counted 5 tows going downstream and 1 going upstream during the night. 6/16/2003 (Monday) At anchor in the Tombigbee River at mile 60.5 from Mobile. Raised anchor about 0845 and started motoring. Another warm day with little breeze and lots of humidity and clouds. Lots of small butterflies hitchhiking on the boat: 20 or 30 flitting around, and more than 100 sitting on the bow pulpit and the lifelines; looks like a scene from "The Birds". Got frustrated and almost pulled over and stopped about 1100: current grew to 2.2 knots against me; I was doing 3.3 knots over ground when I should have been doing about 5.5. Finally tried cruising very close to the bank, no more than 20 feet from the trees in water 10-15 feet deep, and that cut much of the current. I also started taking the inside of left-hand bends, which put me on the wrong side of the channel. But I was so close in to the trees that I figured it wouldn't interfere with the tows. A big one passed in a bend, and I just stayed very close to the bank, and there was no problem. Got to the first 52-foot bridge, and after some back-and-forth with the bridge tender, made it through with 10 feet to spare. The charts and guides have this calculation you're supposed to do: that bridge has 52-foot clearance above water at level 24.9, so if today's water level is 27, you have about 50 feet of clearance. But the bridge tender didn't work in those terms, and couldn't tell me the water level, and conveniently there were no gauges on the bridge. He said he was open 43 above a head of 20, which I figured made 63 for me. We went back and forth a little, and I apologized but said I didn't want to have an accident, and he told me about a tow which tried to get under while the bridge was down, and tore off all of their RADAR antennas and stuff. Went through very slowly, which was tricky in the strong current with no auto-pilot, stepping out of the pilothouse to look up at the top of the mast. Seemed to have 10 feet to spare. The next bridge was a fixed bridge, and it took a while to see that its gauge was written in huge letters carved into the concrete of one of its towers. Unusual, and not easy to get a precise reading since it was marked only every 10 feet, but it said I had about 8-10 feet to spare, and I made it under. A big relief to get through the bridges; I had no idea how high the water really was, and was afraid I might have to wait a couple of days or something. Looked for an anchoring spot, and suddenly the water is 40 feet deep right up to the banks ! Finally found a tolerable spot of 20-25, and anchored about 4:15 at mile 94.5, lat 31.31.818 long 87.57.790 Salad and fruit and salami-and-cheese-and-crackers for dinner. No tow traffic during the night. 6/17/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor in the Tombigbee River at mile 94.5 from Mobile. Raised anchor at 0930 and motored on. Pretty uneventful day. Made about 4.6 knots most of the time, by hugging the banks to stay out of the current. Under one bridge and then through the Coffeeville Lock, which was easy because there was no other traffic and they have floating bollards, so I didn't have to keep adjusting my lines as the water rose. The rivers have been pretty (lots of green, trees growing like crazy, dense on the banks) and quiet, with big gaps between houses or any other signs of civilization. Very few tows the last day or so, since getting north of a big powerplant at mile 90. Anchored at 4 PM at mile 127.2, lat 31.52.022 long 88.08.435 Nice breeze started just before I stopped. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 6/18/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor in the Tombigbee River at mile 127.2 from Mobile. Raised anchor at 0915, motored up the river. Routine day, a few tows, a few bridges. Scenery got a little nicer: higher banks on the river, could see through the trees to meadows and pastures a few times, more houses. Anchored at 6 PM at mile 174.5, lat 32.15.127 long 88.00.540 Salad and corned-beef-and-noodles for dinner. Pretty exciting evening. A tow came by at 9 or so, another at 9:30. I always watch the first couple closely, to see if I've anchored somewhere that makes them come very close. Didn't seem to be any problem. About 9:45, saw this flickering light, and thought it was another tow. But went up on deck and saw the most amazing front to the north, a huge bank of clouds with lightning flickering inside it constantly. At times there were several bolts per second. It was partly hidden by the high river-bank I'm next to, but I still sat on deck and watched for 10 minutes or so. At 10:30, heard another tow, but it didn't seem to be coming by. Got up and saw that a tow was stationary in the river above me, and then saw that another was approaching from below me. They had managed to meet right at the shallow bend where I was anchored. The one above pulled over, facing me from about 1/4 mile away, and let the other one go past. Then the waiting tow slowly edged out into the channel and went past. It looked like a 3x3. I'm sure they wished I wasn't there, although I really had picked a decent spot. In fact, they probably arranged to meet there because it was the only mostly-straight spot for miles; there are lots of tight bends north of me, and two bridges, one under construction, south of me. The front full of lightning passed a little north of me about midnight, although much of the lightning had dissipated by then. Some wind and rain. I was a little anxious that wind might push me into the bank, or make tree-limbs tear off and fall onto the boat. But the wind wasn't very strong. 6/19/2003 (Thursday) At anchor in the Tombigbee River at mile 174.5 from Mobile. Hard rain and some loud lightning at 7 AM. Raised anchor at 0930 and got going. Lots more motoring, and the current is a little stronger today. If I get in the middle of the river, my 5.5 knots turns into 3.2. So I hug the banks. But it means I can't leave the wheel for more than 10 seconds or so, or else the boat starts slewing off radically to one side or the other. Making lunch and doing other things takes some finesse under these conditions. Up through Demopolis Lock with another boat, and then I checked out Demopolis Yacht Basin to see if I could anchor there. It looks big on the chart, but as usual they've filled it up with marina and commercial dock. So I go back down the river 1/3 of a mile to a nice nook I saw, and put the anchor down there. But it's a bit of a fiasco: there's a gentle back-eddy in it, so I swing around opposite to the way I expected to face. And it has a ledge of nice 10-foot water that quickly drops off to 50 feet. I get to a reasonable spot on the second try, but I'm nervous that just a light current is holding me; a strong wind could put me against the bank or out into the channel. I suppose I should pull up and put down 2 anchors, but that's a lot of work. So I anchored about 7 PM in the Tombigbee River across from Demopolis Alabama, at mile 215.5, lat 32.31.096 long 87.50.776 It's been a long day. Saw a tow go straight over a big tree floating down the river. He must have seen it. Went kablam under the first barge, hit off the second and came up to the side of the tug. I guess those tugboats must have well-protected propellors. They must hit floating stuff all the time at night. Chicken-and-rice for dinner. There's a train track nearby; heard whistles several times during the night. I love that sound. Heard them at Mobile also. 6/20/2003 (Friday) At anchor at Demopolis Alabama. Did a bucket of laundry. Started making a dent in 3 days worth of dirty dishes. Tried to start the outboard and it wouldn't go. Tried for 10 minutes, took a 30-minute rest, tried again and finally got it going. Dinghied ashore, taking the bike, and landed at a boat-ramp area. Got rid of a week's worth of garbage, and biked into town. Feels good to be ashore after 6 days on board. Seems like a really nice town, bigger than I expected. Went to library and started dealing with almost 2 weeks worth of email. Library is in a pretty cool old building, lots of nice wood floors and high ceilings and a wide wood staircase. Back to boat for lunch. Dinghied ashore again, looked around a bit, did some more library, biked to supermarket, got groceries, long bike ride back. Salad and sausage sandwiches for dinner. 6/21/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at Demopolis Alabama. Gorgeous sunny day. Did a bucket of laundry. Fair number of small fishing boats racing past; I keep imagining the result if they hit a floating log, of which there are many. Dinghied ashore and biked to library; finally caught up on 2 weeks worth of email, and newspaper-reading. Back to boat for lunch. Dinghied ashore, past a whole flock of bass boats pulled up to the bank; found out later there was a tournament this morning. Biked around some neighborhoods of gorgeous old houses. Some great views from the tops of the river bluffs. Paid $5 to tour Bluff House, an early 1800's house full of antiques. Wonderful, but the normal guide was on vacation and the woman running it knew very little about the house. Across the bridge to the Yacht Basin, scoped out the place. Saw a dozen 8 to 15-inch turtles swimming near the restaurant dock with kids dropping french fries to them. Watched a little baseball on TV. Had some nice conversation with a couple of cruisers (the guy was from Holland) and a 74-year-old guy who worked at the marina. Once I got the old guy diverted from telling us all the gruesome details of his medical history, he turned out to be fascinating. In the Navy in the South Pacific during WWII, traveled a lot in Europe later, worked on tugboats for a while, was on freighters, etc. Said some of the tugboats didn't have very protected propellers; they just counted on the barges and keel to push the logs aside. He said in the spring there was a log-jam in the river right by the Yacht Basin; no one could move anywhere for a while. Said some of the tows on the Mississippi river have 200 barges in them. He's been married 51 years and counting, outlived all his brothers and the rest of his generation. I asked him about this term "the Black Belt" I'd seen in the newspapers, and he said it referred to central and southern Alabama and Mississippi, which had lots of poor black people, because those had been the slave-owning areas with the big plantations, while northern Alabama had had few slaves. I'd assumed slavery was more or less evenly distributed through the South in those days. The other couple was pretty interesting too; they came up from Marathon recently, in one 7-day trip from Marathon to Destin. Said a boat burned in Boot Key Harbor recently, from spilled gasoline on a gas genset. They're hauling out on Monday, and staying through October in Demopolis, working on the boat, mostly. I don't think I'd want to spend 4+ months here. Apparently the marina prices are very cheap, something like $3 per foot per month, maybe plus electricity. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 6/22/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Demopolis Alabama. Loafed most of the morning. A pontoon boat beached nearby and 5 kids went swimming, in muddy water that quickly gets 60 feet deep and has currents and floating logs. But they didn't have any problems. Replace the stuffing on my rudder shaft, and it turned into more of an ordeal than expected. My extractor tool broke halfway through (the corkscrew end snapped off), so I had to get the second piece of packing out with screwdrivers, fingers, needlenose pliers, etc. But I got it out and put three new pieces of stuffing in. Spent the afternoon loafing, and tightening the rudder stuffing nut to stop leaking. Not much boat traffic today. Another boat full of kids who went swimming, but they all wore lifevests. Gave myself a haircut (you didn't think I paid good money to look this way, did you ?). Salad and corned-beef-and-noodles for dinner. 6/23/2003 (Monday) At anchor at Demopolis Alabama. River is a foot or more lower today, I guess because there hasn't been any rain in 5 days. Dinghied ashore, having to wade through lots of gooey deep mud at the landing, and did library. Went to marine store, bought rudder shaft packing ($14) and engine oil ($9). Chatted with Bill, who offered to give me a ride to the supermarket and back. He's also going up to Kentucky Lake / Barkley Lake, and he confirmed the impression I'm getting, which is that there are no supermarkets or libraries up there, which would be a real pain. Back to boat for lunch. Dinghied ashore, started to bike to the library, got intercepted by Bill. Locked the bike to a stop sign and he drove me to the supermarket. He's an interesting guy, lived lots of interesting places including Mexico, has a 40-foot houseboat he's trying to sell since his wife and he decided to build a house in Cape Coral FL. But's he's overweight and has congestive heart failure, a pacemaker and a defibrillator, and can't walk much or exert himself much. I filled a supermarket cart completely with $70 of food (much of it soda; I wanted to get all the heavy stuff while I had a car available). Hauled it into his truck, then into my dinghy, then up into the boat. Dinghied ashore again, bought some hardware stuff, tried to go to a little museum but it seems to be permanently closed, went to library. Still 89 degrees when I came out at 6 PM. Salad and fruit and sausage sandwiches for dinner. 6/24/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor at Demopolis Alabama. Woke up with a sinus headache, and couldn't get rid of it. Loafed most of the morning. Rudder shaft still leaking; I keep tightening the stuffing-nut more and more. Dinghied ashore after lunch and bought stuffing-extrator tool ($27!). Did library. Salad for dinner, then headache got so bad that I went to bed. Lousy, headachy, mostly-sleepless night. 6/25/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor at Demopolis Alabama. Stayed in bed late with a headache. Did a bucket of laundry. Felt lousy all day; didn't go anywhere or do anything, just laid around reading and dozing and taking pills. Did finally get the rudder stuffing to stop leaking. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. Started feeling better in the evening. 6/26/2003 (Thursday) At anchor at Demopolis Alabama. Headache just about gone. Dinghied ashore, did library. Trying to figure out all the logistics when I get up to Kentucky Lake, how to get a Greyhound from there, etc. Back to boat, passing a really gnarly tow on the way: a complete dredging outfit, with dredge and lots of pipes and barges, being pulled by one tugboat and pushed by another, with a third darting around pushing in various places. They'd have done better to break it into three tows. Dinghied ashore, looked around the marina but no one I knew was there, went to library, then went to Gaineswood, an old plantation house. Beautiful interior, lots of nice furniture, some stained glass, great plasterwork, somewhat eccentric layout. The main owner had 12 children with his first wife; 6 of the children died; she died 3 years after they started the house. He had one more child with his second wife. House took 18 years to finish. Went to supermarket, bought lots of meat for the freezer, then biked quickly through the 5 PM heat of town, to the dinghy, to the boat, slap everything into the frig. Almost got too much to fit in the freezer. Chicken-and-rice for dinner. 6/27/2003 (Friday) At anchor at Demopolis Alabama. Totally grey and humid day, going to rain. Fuel level 12.1 inches at engine hour 2859.0 Dinghied ashore about 9, sprinkled on me as I biked to the library. Started raining steadily after I got inside, and rained the whole 4 hours I was there. Finally got hungry enough to leave during a slight break in the rain. Biked back to the dinghy, found a solid 3 inches of water in it. Motored back steering with one hand and bailing with the other. Rained picked up again and shows no sign of letting up. At least it's cooler than usual. Rain eased about 2:30. Loafed all afternoon, when I should have been looking into the autopilot problem. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 6/28/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at Demopolis Alabama. Dinghied ashore, did library, got groceries. Suddenly realized that my Florida intangible tax return is due on the 30th. Back to boat, ate lunch, and then did my tax return. Dinghied ashore, copied and mailed it, and found out a boat I'd sort of been waiting to meet had stayed in the marina last night and left this morning ! I wasn't listening to the radio, I thought of calling the marina and didn't, and I stayed aboard because of all the rain yesterday. I guess they're in a hurry. Brief rain with large drops at 5:15. Salad and sausage sandwiches for dinner. 6/29/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Demopolis Alabama. Started raising anchor at 6 AM, and as I feared, it was an ordeal. The eddy current had spun the boat 200 times over the last week, and the anchor chain was incredibly twisted, and the anchor trip line had wrapped around and lashed the anchor to the chain, 3/4 of the way up. Had to keep raising it a few feet, untwisting or unlooping parts of it, having it fall down a bit. Had to be careful not to get boat-hook or fingers caught, because if it let loose, 75 pounds of anchor and chain would head for the bottom. Took 45 minutes to get it all done. Motored up the river, officially entering the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (doesn't look any different here) and made good time, doing 5.3 to 5.5 knots. My luck almost ran out just south of Heflin Lock: as I was motoring along 30 feet off the bank, the boat hit a submerged tree or log. The port bow rode up on it a bit as I steered away and threw the engine into neutral. Got out into the middle of the river and looked into the bilges to see if water was coming in, but it really wasn't that sharp a collision. Found an NPR radio station that doesn't have interference all over it ! Missed the radio in Demopolis; now I can hear news and intelligent talk and classical music again. Up through the lock, and did even better above it: 5.5 to 6.5 knots ! But I know my tachometer is not reliable, and I think maybe the added speed is mostly higher engine RPMs. The scenery is nicer here: more side-ponds and channels, some houses, some fishing boats and pleasure boats. But found that my 1991 charts (bought new a couple of months ago; they're the latest) are not accurate: many of the side-ponds that look like great anchorages on the chart actually are completely silted-in and have trees growing in them. Anchored about 6:15 near Cochrane Cut-Off, at mile 287.4, lat 33.02.749 long 88.13.297, off the Tombigbee River. I did 70 miles today. Rudder stuffing still leaking badly. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 6/30/2003 (Monday) At anchor on the Tombigbee River, between Demopolis AL and Columbus MS. Woke to hear lots of chirping birds; very nice. Solidly grey sky; looks like a lot of rain today; heard later that tropical storm Bill is about to hit the Louisiana coast, probably about 300 miles SW of me. But the rain ahead of it is moving NE toward me, it sounds. Tightened rudder stuffing nut again. Raised anchor about 0745; it started raining 2 minutes later. Motored up the river, rained much of the time. Soon heard that the next lock is closed for a couple of hours because of some kind of fueling operation. Got a couple of miles from it, radioed and confirmed it, and pulled over and anchored at 10:30. No good anchorage here; I'm swinging way out into the river, but I don't think there'll be any traffic until the lock clears. Rain stopped just before I anchored; very convenient. Small current here, and wind opposed to it, so the boat is swinging unpredictably. Rudder stuffing still leaking badly. I keep tightening the nut further and further. Maybe I should take all the stuffing out and put it all back in differently. Tightened it one more time. Had to wait an hour and 45 for the lock to clear. A boat north of the lock had to wait 3:45; they were very unhappy. Close squeeze between me going in and a 2-wide tow coming out, but otherwise I would have had to wait far away, and the lock-tender wanted to get all the traffic cleared ASAP. I had called the tow on the radio and he said I was okay where I was. Locking through was tough: more turbulent than usual, and the current kept mashing the boat into the side of the lock, pinning a fender and threatening to tear it off. I had to push off as hard as I could several times to ease the pressure. Motored up past some nice houses, parks, trailer-parks and some empty terrain, crossing into Mississippi (the Magnolia state!), to Columbus MS. Went under a railroad bridge just as a big freight train crossed; the first of three engines went about 20 feet behind my stern, and I waved to the engineer, who was leaning out his window looking down at me. Tried several places as potential anchorages, finally found a tolerable one, although I had to put down a stern anchor because the wind/current is making me swing strangely. It's a good place because it's protected by a buoy a little upstream: the tows have to swing way to the other side of the river to honor the buoy. Only the second time I've ever put down a stern anchor, I think, and the first time I lost the anchor because the shackle pin wasn't seized ! Anchored about 5:45 in the Tombigbee River, mile 332, at lat 33.29.717 long 88.27.939 Called to see if the boat I was trying to meet had been at the marina; they hadn't. They must have flown right through, in a hurry. Chili for dinner. An unsettled night, and not just because of the chili. At first, the boat was hanging mainly on the stern anchor, and the wind started blowing a little from that direction, blowing little sprinkles of rain into the pilothouse. But then things magically worked out: the wind increased and the boat swung around, dragging the stern anchor, and hung on the main anchor, pointing into the wind and rain, with the stern anchor keeping it from swinging into the bank. More wind and steady rain after midnight. Got up many times during the night to see how the boat was sitting and where the anchors were. Came close to bank at times, worried that the stern anchor would foul on something (it had no trip line on it), lots of worrying. Poured rain sideways at the boat for much of the time. 7/1/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor on the Tombigbee River near Columbus MS. Swinging a little too close to the middle of the river for comfort, weather very wet and threatening, and no way I can dinghy ashore and leave the boat here. At least the stern anchor didn't snag the bow anchor rode; I expected it would, since the boat flip-flopped a couple of times during the night. Raised anchors about 0645, motored up a couple of miles into Stennis Lock, through it and anchored in an unused (I hope) loop of the old Tombigbee River just past the marina, at about 0740, at lat 33.31.381 long 88.28.746 Had a surprise in the lock: I made a nice clean stop next to the slot for the middle bollard, went out to throw lines around it, and found the bollard was missing ! Had to motor up to the next one. The middle one on the other side was missing, too. Would have been nice if the tender had warned me. These bollards are 15-foot high, 4-foot diameter floating tanks; can't imagine how they'd get destroyed. Maybe they were removed for painting or something. So now I've moved from a 1-mile dinghy ride to Columbus, to a 4-mile bike ride away. And I doubt I'm going anywhere today anyway: it's windy and grey and threatening to pour rain. Must be the result of tropical storm Bill. Loafed in bed, tried to get some more sleep. Blew fairly hard and rained, and my anchor slowly dragged. By 10:35, had to start the engine, raise anchor in near-horizontal rain, and put it down again in the shallowest water I could get to. I think there's a lot of grass on the bottom here. Took rudder shaft stuffing out and put it back in differently. Weather calmed down a little until 3:30 or so, when it started blowing again. Sunny again at 5 PM. Tightened rudder shaft stuffing again and again. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 7/2/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor near Columbus MS. Was a nice, clear, cool night, no wind. Very restful. And it's a beautiful sunny day, lots of clouds but no rain. Messed with rudder stuffing some more; still leaking. Maybe I cut the pieces of stuffing too short, and I just have to replace them all. Dinghied ashore, and everything worked out well. Found a nice large boat-ramp area just east of me; I thought there was a ramp there, but this place is huge and has a nice wooden fishing dock I tied off to. Long (3 to 4 mile) bike ride into town, as I expected, and I got a bit lost once or twice amid highway on-ramps and such. But asked directions a few times, and found the downtown, conveniently right at the Welcome Center. Parked and locked the bike while accidentally standing on an ant-nest, and they bit my sandaled feet. Got oriented a bit, and went to the library. Gorgeous old building, lots of historical displays inside, very nice. Did internet and read newspapers. Biked back to dinghy, stopping for some groceries along the way. Dinghied to marina, to check it out. Took a walk down the road to the lock/dam recreation area. Interesting, but the lock is on the far side, so I couldn't see it up close. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 7/3/2003 (Thursday) At anchor near Columbus MS. Up early, dinghied ashore, biked into town by 0730 to tour the place before it got too hot. Wound through the old section of town; lots of beautiful old houses. Lots of lawn-mowing services doing their thing. Got some looks from people zipping off to work, as I cruised through their neighborhood shirtless and sweaty. About 0900, went into library at Mississippi University for Women, and did internet in the cool air-conditioning for a while. The MUW is a nice place, but about 1/4 of the buildings are in process of being demolished for some reason. Saw an auditorium/theater where the seating area was demolished but the stage (including curtain) was still up; strange-looking. Biked around a bit more, ate some lunch at a nice shady bench, then went into the public library and read newspapers and did a little more internet. Came out to find some rain, and I'd violated my rule and left the boat hatches open. Biked halfway back and went into Walmart supercenter and got groceries. Biked to dinghy, bike into dinghy, back to boat, and everything is fine. Either the rain missed, or was very light. Rudder stuffing still leaking like mad. Fuel level 10.0 inches at engine hour 2880.7 Another very hot afternoon; got extremely sweaty hoisting bike, hoisting dinghy, checking fuel level, checking engine fluids. Raised anchor about 3:45 and motored a couple of miles up the river to anchor near Waverly Plantation at 4:30. Lots of fishing boats and jet-skis roaring around. Very hot (95 inside the boat, probably the same in the pilothouse), and no breeze at all. Would have been tolerable if I'd sat still, but I worked on the rudder stuffing and it was totally sweltering. Kept coming up with sweat pouring off, wiping myself with a towel, and getting no relief. By the time I was done, I was totally wrung out from the bike-riding that morning and getting overheated now. But I figured out the problem with the rudder stuffing: the new stuffing is the wrong size. Can't see how I overlooked that when I replaced the stuffing a week or two ago, but I did. I put a piece of the old stuffing back in, and the leak is stopped. The new looks more like 3/8" instead of 1/2", although I thought it came out of a 1/2" package. Maybe I bought 3/8" and put it into an old 1/2" package I had ? Finally got cooled off a little by 7 or so, took a shower, had salad and sausage sandwiches for dinner. Too hot to sleep inside, so I put up the new pilothouse screens I made 6 months ago (first time they've been used in anger), and slept in the pilothouse for a while. Nibbled a few times by bugs, and there's no breeze. Eventually moved inside. And then some wind came up at midnight and I had to go take all the screens down before they blew away. Let out more anchor rode; don't want to drag into low power lines 1/8 mile further down. Wind soon stopped. 7/4/2003 (Friday) At anchor north of Columbus MS, near Waverly Plantation. Dinghied up under the powerlines and an old railroad bridge to a boat landing, and walked up the road to Waverly Mansion. Had a wonderful tour, given by a very friendly and knowledgeable guide. He lives in another historic house, in Columbus. When I admitted I'd been to Columbus and had looked at but not toured any of the historic houses, he was very disappointed in me. (There's only so much house-touring one can do, and at $5+ apiece, it adds up !) Waverly is fabulous: a 4-story, octagonal house with spiral staircases. Unique design, to get natural air-flow to carry the hot air up and out the top of the house. First floor was for routine use and entertaining, 2nd floor strictly private bedrooms for family, 3rd floor all storage of trunks and trunks full of clothing and draperies, 4th floor all windows and cupola for ventilation and light. Full of antiques, most original. This was a 50,000-acre plantation with almost 1,000 slaves on it. He told me all kinds of things I didn't know. Because it was a working plantation, with the windows all open most of the year for cooling, dust and dirt was a ferocious problem. They kept covers over everything (furniture, lamps, mirrors, etc) when not in use, and a staff of 50 was dusting and cleaning constantly, all day, every day. Many things (mirrors, picture frames, etc) had gold leaf on them, and a fly landing on them would leave a little black spot, ruining the finish. These old houses have tons of mirrors everywhere, glossy finish on everything, crystal cabinets with shiny glass on all sides, etc because lighting at night was generally by candle, so every glimmer of light had to be preserved and used. The so-called "petticoat table" (mirror underneath so women could make sure their slip wasn't showing) was nonsense: the mirror was to reflect light; women constantly showed their slips while dancing, and often lounged in their undies during the hot day if no men were around. The furniture was never out in the middle of the room as we show it today: women in big hoop skirts could never had navigated around it. Hoop skirts were deadly to Southern women: the skirt caught fire if they walked too close to the fire, made them fall down stairs, sometimes caught and dragged them under carriages (happened to Mary Lincoln). The women were smart and well-educated; they kept the books and ran much of the huge plantation enterprise. The girls went to college at the University of Virginia (my alma mater); the boys went to Oxford (I thought England, but the guide meant Oxford Mississippi). Some people say closets weren't built-in because there was a "closet tax" or "door tax", but that's nonsense: there never was any such tax, and they didn't build in because it would have taken up wall space and spoiled air-flow. On the dinner table was a little silver "wagon" with wine carafes on it, but they never rolled that around: it was a signal that told whether drinks were being offered or the party was ending: if the carafes were "on the wagon", the hosts were signaling that the party was ending. The draperies (curtains, carpeting, etc) for the house could cost as much as the building of the house itself. Because of the difficulty of travel, guests who came a distance often stayed for 6 months or more. The owner-slave relationship was interesting. These owners, at least, were so rich that they treated their slaves well, never hired them out, didn't overwork them. The owners were responsible for keeping about 1,000 people (owners, servants and slaves) in health, and it was costly in years when drought killed the food and money crops. The slaves in the kitchen cooked constantly all day, just producing every kind of food they could think of, which first went into the owner's dining room. Anything not consumed there (by far the bulk of it) went to the slaves, so they cooked and cooked. The crops were both "food crops" to feed the 1,000 people, and "money crops" to export. After the war, the black people almost all stayed in place, but became sharecroppers, and the relationship between former owners and former slaves didn't really change much for a while. After the tour, we were chatting. When he found out I lived on a boat, he shuddered and said "ooh, nasty things, why would anyone ever want to live on a boat ? Nasty, sweaty, sandy, salty. We spent a week on a friend's 75-foot sailboat in the BVI's, and they absolutely love it, but it was a hell-hole, and at the end we told them so. Water was short because another guest used it all up, we had to jump in the ocean to wash off, which my wife hated, toilets were a hassle, etc." I was laughing and agreeing with him, mostly. Back to boat, lunch, then raised anchor and motored up the river. Tons of boats and people out, zipping around dragging kids on those inner-tube things, swimming, partying. Lots of stares and waves as I went by in my big sailboat. Up through Aberdeen lock, then made a left turn and anchored in the Blue Bluff / Aberdeen Dam area about 4:30, at lat 33.50.344 long 88.31.793, mile 358 of the waterway. Several boats here with people swimming, and some noise through the trees from a recreation area (on the bluff) that's totally hidden. I launched the dinghy, put down the swim platform, shaved, and then jumped in for a brief swim. Refreshing, but visibility almost zero. Just about everyone left around 7 PM. Salad and spaghetti and a beer for dinner. 7/5/2003 (Saturday) At anchor near Aberdeen MS. Grey and a little rain around 8 AM. Listened to Car Talk, then put the bike in the dinghy and went ashore. About a 2-mile ride to town. Passed a couple of cute young goats by the side of the road, then realized they were part of a big flock of them in some fenced-off business. Aberdeen is a nice little town, lots of old houses, lots of solid brick buildings, several huge churches. Got some groceries (never skip a chance to get groceries) and biked back to boat. Messed with the tachometer a little, then raised anchor about 1:30 and motored up the river. Through Amory lock, tried to pull off and anchor, but immediately ran aground. Backed off and decided to go up through the next lock. Had to wait 10 minutes there, but got through Wilkins lock and pulled over and anchored about 5:15, near Smithville, mile 378, lat 34.04.290 long 88.24.885 I'm anchored in the middle of a big bay, more than 1/2 mile to each shore. Rained a little just as I got out of the lock. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 7/6/2003 (Sunday) At anchor near Smithville MS. Tightened the propeller shaft stuffing nut; it was leaking and filling the bilge. Raised anchor about 1000 and motored up through fairly boring territory. Threatened rain all the way, but didn't rain. Went through Fulton lock, making a terrible exit (crosswind blew me back into the side of the lock, scraping fenders before I could stop the momentum of the boat). Found out from the lock-tender that Fulton does have a library, so I pulled over and anchored just north of the lock, at mile 392.5, about 12:45 at lat 34.16.578 long 88.25.527 Have to wait until tomorrow to go into town, because everything will be closed today. I guess you feel I'm obsessed with libraries, but this seems to be the last town for a while, and I'm still doing a lot of internet searching to figure out where I can leave the boat for a few weeks, where the supermarkets and libraries ahead might be, and so on. Plus I update the log through internet at libraries, plus I read newspapers and magazines there. About 2 PM, a small motorboat with 5 good old boys in it pulled up to a shoal nearby, sand under 6 inches of water. They unloaded coolers and beach chairs, went swimming, and the boat left and came back later with a few more guys. They're just hanging out in the river and having a fine time. They must have come from the boat-ramp 1/4 mile away. It's a grey day, but warm and only an occasional sprinkle of rain. Then they started playing volleyball, using a net that I'd seen there, staked up with poles standing in the water; I hadn't been able to figure out what it was. They must come out here often. They left the net up when they went home. Salad and eggsalad sandwiches for dinner. 7/7/2003 (Monday) At anchor near Fulton MS. Did a bucket of laundry. Dinghied ashore, had to wade the last 20 feet, carrying the bike. Biked into town, which was small but nice. Did library, back to boat. Raised anchor about 12:45 and motored up the river. Following wind kept me breathing my exhaust fumes most of the day. Through Rankin, Montomery and Whitten locks (the last has an 84-foot lift; I had trouble with the boat trying to swing into some indentations in the wall, which would have been a disaster). One of the lock-tenders had a good laugh at all the laundry drying on my lifelines. Into Bay Springs Lake, which is wide and has nice clear water. But it's kind of empty: almost nothing but trees everywhere. Anchored about 6 PM at mile 419, at lat 34.36.555 long 88.17.997 Lots of room, nice and quiet. Dumped a bucket of nice cool lake water all over myself at the start of my shower. Salad and chili for dinner. 7/8/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor in Bay Springs Lake. Beautiful clear, sunny day; probably going to be hot. Nice breeze, but as soon as I get going, I'll be going the same speed and direction as the breeze, and I'll be sweltering with no air going across the boat. I've started using a fan in the pilothouse occasionally as I travel. Fuel level 9.0 inches at engine hour 2896.2 Added water to batteries; I think the alternator really overcharges them. Took the fenders down; no more locks for a while ! Raised anchor about 10:15 and headed up the Divide Cut, a 20-mile narrow section. Came out into Pickwick Lake, very scenic lake with lots of tree-lined banks. Some houses and boats and a couple of marinas. Wound my way through a little and then anchored in Aqua Yacht Harbor, near the marina, about 3:30, about mile 448, lat 34.59.048 long 88.14.741 Lovely breeze at anchor, nice sunny day, beautiful locale. I'm about 2 miles from the end of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, where it hits the Tennessee River. And I'm just about on the Tennessee / Mississippi border. Every now and then, dumped a bucket of nice lake water all over myself to cool off. Wouldn't mind a swim, but I'd have to launch the dinghy and put down the swim platform. I really need to install an additional ladder. Nice guy on a jet-ski stopped by for a chat; he owns a C+C 30 sailboat nearby. An hour later, I was hailed by some sailboat heading for me. Guy at the helm yelled that someone had told him about me, could he raft up to me. I said yes, so we put out fenders and lines and rafted up without much problem. First time I've rafted with anyone. He came over and we had a long chat, showed the boats to each other. He's an interesting guy, ex-Navy, on his 4th boat, wife took everything else in the divorce, the boat's a real project boat, just put a new engine in. The amazing thing is that he snuck into the nearby marina after hours 4 days ago, has stayed there for 4 nights without anyone noticing and charging him for the slip ! And he's been borrowing tools from their service people to do work on his boat. He's about to head down the Tenn-Tom and to Florida, just in time to hit hurricane season. His boat was hit by lightning a while ago, frying some instruments and making it even more of a "project boat". It's a former IORC boat, with all kinds of complicated rigging and 12 sails. Like me, he's a computer programmer and a New Jersey boy. He wants to go south, crew on big boats, get a captain's license. He's been up and down the Tenn-Tom a couple of times, but I get the impression he hasn't anchored on it. We talked for a long time, and he kept pointing out some rainclouds as very dangerous. Finally, as the sun was setting, one of his friends came by in a motorboat, asked if he was anchoring out tonight, and said "rain coming in 5 minutes". I think he may have hoped to stay rafted to me all night, but I wasn't going to do that. I said "time to break up the raft, especially with a storm coming". We separated, I started closing up my boat, and then I saw him motor right back to the marina and go in ! Rain and a little lightning passed well to the north of us. Tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 7/9/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor in Pickwick Lake. Raised anchor about 0900 and motored out of the lake and out of the Tenn-Tom waterway, into the Tennessee River. Wow, what a nice river ! About 3/4 of a mile wide, 5-10 times what I've been used to. Had a little trouble adjusting my mind to the new scale of the river and the charts. Beautiful high banks with tons of trees and some well-located houses. Nice mixture of deep water for the commercial traffic and shallow water for anchoring. First tow I saw is larger then the ones on the Tenn-Tom: looks like a 3x6. Motored up 12 miles to Waterloo AL and anchored about 11:30 at river mile 227.5, lat 34.54.885 long 88.02.951 Dinghied ashore, taking the bike, but the trip was a waste. Smallest town I've seen yet, just some houses, a post office, a high school, and a gas station with tiny food market. At least my timing was good: 15 minutes after I got back to the boat, evil black clouds started coming over, and 30 minutes after that there was lightning and then a fair amount of rain. Two lightning strikes so close that I barely started counting "thousand-and-" before I heard the thunder. I hate lightning. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 7/10/2003 (Thursday) At anchor in Tennessee River near Waterloo AL. Raised anchor at 0900, making it harder by raising mainsail first. Wind was stronger than I thought, and the bow blew around like crazy. Motor-sailed up the river in a very breezy day, and the wind kept changing, gusting and dying and shifting all over the place. Sometimes I got half a knot from it, sometimes zero, sometimes an accidental jibe (I kept those small). River is beautiful, but the current started increasing, and by the time I got 3/4 of the way to Florence, it was up to 1.5 to 2 knots against me. Slow going the last 5 miles, and when I took down the sail, the current made me veer back and forth so wildly that a couple of guys in boat came by, probably thinking I was having a heart attack or something. Wish the auto-pilot was working. Got to Florence, and anchored near the park/bridge intersection about 2:15. Thought the strong current would hold me in place along the bank nicely, but the strong wind blowing up the river, and the swells from it, has me sailing back and forth, even sailing forward against my anchor rode, against a 2-knot current, coming too close to the bank, then out into the river. And dark clouds are coming up the river. Raised anchor and went up to see if I could anchor between highway bridge and old railroad bridge. Just enough room, but if anything goes wrong, it's a death-trap: I'll have a 2-knot current pressing me against the low parts of the highway bridge. Back out and downstream, doing 8 knots because the current's with me. Looked around for another spot, as it started to rain, but the best I could do was 1/2 mile downstream from my original spot. Still a bit far out into the river for my taste, but now that the wind is less, it's stable. And I'm further from the bridge, so tows can see and avoid me more easily. But I don't think I'll stay here long. So finished anchoring about 3 PM, at mile 255, at Florence AL, at about lat 34.46.6 long 87.41.4 Put out a stern anchor to try to keep from swinging too close to the bank. Rained hard and some thunder for 15 minutes, then it stopped and the sun came out again. Pretty here: tall bluffs on the south side of the river, and a park (with some campers) on the north side. Wilson dam and hydro plant is just upstream. Salad and eggsalad sandwiches for dinner. A restless night, listening to my anchors grate over the bare rock river-bottom. And the current stopped; they must have closed the dam or something. So the boat swung around upstream, pointing downstream into the wind. About midnight, I raised my stern anchor to keep it from snagging the primary anchor rode. Several tows went by during the night, but the river is wide and they had no problem seeing and avoiding me. 7/11/2003 (Friday) At anchor in Tennessee River near Florence AL. Water seems to be down a foot or so from yesterday, but some current has come back; by 0800 the boat was pointing upstream again. A totally grey day. Fuel level 7.25 inches at engine hour 2910.3 Put the bike in the dinghy and motored up the river against stiff current. A bit nervous about leaving the boat in a precarious anchorage. Took a while to get up to the marina against the current. Bought gas ($3), but the guy running the office couldn't give me any directions to things in town ! Got on the bike and figured it out myself. Turned sunny and hot just as I got on the bike; wish I'd put on sunscreen and a hot. Had to get up a stiff hill to get into downtown. Found main library, but it wasn't open yet, so I biked around town for a while, seeing a lot of really nice old houses. Ended up at University of North Alabama, which has a pretty campus. Their mascot must be a lion, because they have an enclosure right in the middle of campus with two young lions in it. And they were active; every lion I've seen in a zoo or safari park has been dead asleep. Found the university library and did internet and newspapers. Biked to public library, which is new and a beautiful building. They confirmed that there's no supermarket in town. Bought a loaf of bread in a grocery/bait shop, and headed back to boat. Very hard time getting the bike back into the boat and the dinghy hoisted: the current was over 2 knots, dragging the dinghy away strongly, and I was hot and tired and hungry. Raised anchor about 1:45 and motored down the river, with a lovely 2+ knot current in my favor. Doing 7.3 knots over ground as the engine is loafing along. Current slowly decreased as I went along, but still about .7 knot as I went under Natchez Trace bridge. Turned and tried to go into a nice cove there, but it got too shallow and I backed out. Anchored in the river just outside it about 4:45, at mile 236, lat 34.50.473 long 87.56.578 Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 7/12/2003 (Saturday) At anchor in Tennessee River. Lovely night of solid sleep. Raised anchor about 10 AM and motored down the river. Lots of people out on a sunny Saturday. Several nice sailboats sailing, most doing well but one really letting the sails flog a lot. Past the turn-off for the Tenn-Tom, across the state line into Tennessee, and almost down to Pickwick Dam. Pretty strong wind on the nose, and lots of small chop. Pulled into a lovely cove and anchored about 1:45, at mile 211, lat 35.03.237 long 88.10.576 The only annoyance is a motorboat flying around dragging someone on one of those drag-behind things (what are they called ?). Noisy and some wakes, but also entertaining: the guy actually goes fairly airborne on the fast turns. But later, a jet-ski appeared. Still later, a powerboat with an associated go-fast boat anchored. The go-fast boat was a little two-seater with souped up engines and straight exhaust pipes. Absolutely earsplitting, and he had engine problems, so he kept roaring out, roaring back in, tinkering with the engine, then roaring out and in again. Pretty irritating. And if I owned a house and dock here, I'd be mad: everyone's creating wakes and the docked boats are rocking a lot. Salad and corned-beef-and-noodles for dinner. Laid in bed in the dark listening to wonderful bluegrass on the radio, and a huge bright full moon came up. Magical. 7/13/2003 (Sunday) At anchor off Pickwick Lake in the Tennessee River. Raised anchor at 0745, motored down to Pickwick Lock. My timing was perfect, didn't have to wait at all. Got through and had a huge current with me as I went downstream, 3 to 3.5 knots for a while, 2.5 to 3 after that. Looked at Shiloh National Military Park as I went past, but didn't know if anything good was there, and anchoring would have been tough and then I would have had to haul the bike up a steep 15-foot dirt bank. Anchored at 11 AM across from Savannah TN, mile 190.5, lat 35.13.045 long 88.16.018 Probably 1.5 to 2 knots of current, and I'm a little close to a bend, but other than that it's okay. Dinghied ashore, and what an ugly trip ! Very hot and going downwind as I dinghied over, so I was sweltering. Got to the boat ramp, and it was all concrete and rip-rap, nowhere to leave the dinghy. Went further down the shoreline and found a softer place, but had to carry the bike and everything up a steep slippery bank wearing wet flip-flops. Then everything seemed to be uphill from there: uphill to the main road, brief downhill and then uphill into town, went way out trying to locate the library (just to see where it was). Got very overheated and tired. Back into town, saw a few nice houses, went to supermarket, took 5 minutes to find a water fountain inside it. Got groceries, and as I biked back, dark clouds came over and gave me a lovely headwind. Slow going in the dinghy against current and wind, and fun hoisting the dinghy too. Left the bike ashore; I need to go to the library tomorrow. Dark clouds went away for a while, but came back with a vengeance about 4 PM. At 4:30, sirens went off and a loudspeaker announced a severe thunderstorm warning for our county. Radio says the same, but it sounds like the worst will miss Savannah. The worst is supposed to be wind up to 69 MPH and 2-inch hail. First strong winds blew me sideways a bit, and I was tempted to start the engine so I could motor away from the bank, but the current quickly straightened the boat out. Lightning a few miles away on each side. Raining hard by 4:50. Sat in the cockpit for a while, watching the rain and lightning and wondering if my pilothouse windows and solar panels could withstand 2-inch hail. A couple of huge lightning strikes at various times about 1/2 mile from me. I feel sorry for the people in tents; I've seen a fair number of them camping in the last couple of days. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. Rain eased a bit by 6, and mostly stopped by 7. A big 3x6 tow of empties heading downstream went by about 8:30, and had to be less than 100 feet away. Made me nervous; maybe I'm in a bad place here. But there's no help for it. A couple of smaller tows went by in the night; no problems. 7/14/2003 (Monday) At anchor in the Tennessee River near Savannah TN. Huge 3x6 tow went by about 7:15, heading upstream. Impressive sight. Big towboat with three funnels, all engines working hard. Dinghied ashore. Had a nice chat with an older guy sitting in the park; I asked about the river before they built the dams, and he said his father told him about times the river was so small you could wade across it. Now it's 60 feet deep, 1/3 of a mile wide, with a strong current. Saw some horses (and later cows on the other side of town); first livestock I've seen on this trip. Biked to the library, did internet and newspapers. Came out into the heat, got groceries, biked back, carried everything down the steep bank and into the dinghy, back to the boat, heaved everything aboard and stowed it. Hot and tired and hungry. Raised anchor about 1:45. Rode seemed to be snagged on something at one point, but I slewed the boat around a bit and it slowly loosened up, I guess. Maybe it was just buried deeply near the anchor. Motored down the river. Hot afternoon; several times I dumped a bucket of water over my head to cool off. Some nice houses along the way, but not much else of interest. Got to Clifton TN and anchored straight across the river from the center of town about 6 PM, at mile 158.2, lat 35.23.423 long 87.59.785 Hot. Salad and sausage sandwiches for dinner. Saw something strange swimming down the river at dusk. Fairly large, kind of square head sticking out of the water. Seemed to be going too fast to be a turtle. Couldn't tell what it was. Big tow went by about 10 or so. Made a big wake which rolled the boat. I got up in the dark to try to counteract the rolling a bit, and smacked my face hard into the edge of a door which had swung half-closed. Got a nice cut near the bridge of my nose, and a nosebleed. Fortunately didn't break my glasses. Had trouble sleeping the rest of the night. Hope I don't get a scar that spoils my classic good looks. 7/15/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor in the Tennessee River at Clifton TN. Loafed all morning. Dinghied ashore without the bike (not worth it for such a small town). Went to little 2-room library and did internet, enjoyed the air-conditioning. Walked through town in broiling heat at 2 PM; as I expected, there's not much here. Got some groceries. Back to library, enjoyed the cool for a couple more hours. Enjoyed the gossip too; this must be the hub of the town. Salad and corned-beef-and-noodles for dinner. 7/16/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor in the Tennessee River at Clifton TN. Pretty good rain at 6 AM, then sunny by 9. More rain at 10:30. Fuel level 5.4 inches at engine hour 2924.5 Dinghied ashore, went to library, did internet. Was planning to leave town this afternoon, but then found out that the riverboat Delta Queen is arriving tomorrow, with a bunch of people for a house tour and BBQ (a big tent has been set up near the riverfront). So I'll hang around to see that. Started reading up on the auto-pilot, getting ready to investigate the problem with it. Found a mud-wasp building a nest INSIDE my boat, flying in and out of the main hatch, bringing mud in. Zapped it a couple of times with bug-spray; it flew away, to die, I hope. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. A couple of women wandering on the shore near the boat, looking for arrowheads. 7/17/2003 (Thursday) At anchor in the Tennessee River at Clifton TN. Looked out at 7 AM to find dense fog; can't see more than 100 feet. Cleared up by 8:15. Took a wrench to the auto-pilot power unit, and got some good news. The unit consists of an electric motor and a hydraulic pump, linked by pulleys and a fan belt. It looks like the problem is the pulley on the motor has come loose and slid inward, and is binding on the housing of the power unit. I guess the set-screw came loose. Fixing it is straightforward, but as usual a simple thing is the obstacle: even after loosening the set-screw more, the pulley is sticking on the shaft and I can't budge it. Applied some penetrating oil and waited, but still couldn't budge it. The "Delta Queen" riverboat appeared about 11 AM, playing tunes on a steam organ, I think. The whole town turned out to watch them come in. Took a solid half-hour to tie off and get a gangplank down, because the shore here is almost unimproved (no dock). After they were done, I radioed them and got their okay to land my dinghy near them. Dinghied ashore and checked out the festivities. Found out the lunch was free for everyone, after the passengers got theirs. The town was sponsoring it to attract people to the town. Went to hardware store and bought carb cleaner ($1), but they didn't have any kind of pulley-puller. To library and did internet. Back to the center of town and got my free lunch. Pulled-pork sandwich, baked beans, coleslaw, soda, apple pie. Decent food but nothing special; I was hoping for some good BBQ. Several of the townspeople serving were happy to meet me, curious about my sailboat that had been anchored by them for 3 days. Sat down and had a long chat with an older guy who's a passenger on the Delta Queen. Had a marvelous chat, talking about my trip, both of our careers in computers, the Delta Queen's trip, the various rivers, etc. He worked for IBM in California, and moved away from Silicon Valley about 3 months after I got there, and about 3 months before the Loma Prieta earthquake. He told me a lot about the Delta Queen. I could see it had a stern paddlewheel, but he told me the boat was completely authentic (except for modern navigation equipment). Steam engine, paddlewheel propulsion, steam bow thrusters. Built of wood, in 1920 or so, in Scotland. Disassembled, shipped to St Louis, reassembled, and operated as a floating speakeasy during the 20's and 30's. Went through 7 or 8 owners after that, spending some time in the Sacramento River delta in California. Now cruises up and down the midwest rivers; this cruise is from Louisville to Chattanooga, I think (although he said it was dry states until Demopolis; maybe I have the Chattanooga part wrong). He said it took an Act of Congress to keep it licensed today, because of the wooden construction. They have a full-time guide on board, giving them lectures about the history and geology and such. I didn't think there were many passengers, but he said it's a full house: 200 people. When we finished talking, he said "nice to meet you, and it's nice to meet someone who's doing something interesting !". The passengers did look pretty uniform: old retired people. Raised anchor about 2 PM and motored down the river. Hot and uneventful. Anchored about 6:30 near Denson's Island, mile 125, lat 35.45.143 long 88.00.191 An odd anchoring job; water is 45 feet deep on both sides of island, even the non-channel side where I hoped to find shallow water. So I put the anchor on the 6-foot deep shoal downstream of the island, then led the chain rode to the non-channel side. Ended up in 35-foot water, out of channel, but without short scope in case of a blow. Salad and eggsalad sandwiches for dinner. 7/18/2003 (Friday) At anchor in the Tennessee River. Very foggy again from 0600 to 0800. Did a bucket of laundry. Raised anchor about 0815 and motored down the river. About 0930, pulled into Cuba Landing marina to call someone I might meet with, and to see if they had charts for sale. Struck out on all counts. Back on the road, and about 1215, eased into a channel south of the I-40 bridge and anchored near New Johnsonville TN, mile 101, lat 36.01.016 long 87.59.409 Put out my laundry to dry, but it's not very sunny today, mostly gray. Put the bike in the dinghy and went ashore about 1:30. As I expected, it's a very industrial area: huge power-plant, rail line, other factories. Biked up the road to some stores, got some groceries. Back to boat, stowed everything, raised anchor about 2:30, as wind picked up. Through an opening railroad bridge and down the river, which is wide again. Started raining about 3:30. Got tired of the blowing rain and the chop. Pulled into Richland Creek (it's called a creek, but it's half a mile wide at this point) and anchored about 4:45, mile 88, lat 36.10.032 long 87.54.210 Wind changed 180 degrees as I entered the creek; must be funneled by the land. Beautiful place; several little coves, sprinkling of houses, some with big lawns coming down to the water, tons of trees. I'm anchored right in the middle, far from the shores, great view. 15 minutes after I arrived, the rain stopped, the wind died, and the few other boats left. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 7/19/2003 (Saturday) At anchor off the Tennessee River. Rained hard from 4 AM to 5 AM or so. Nice and sunny by 8 AM. Fuel level 4.0 inches at engine hour 2935.4 Got a late start, and then the anchor rode is covered with goop, and halfway through my bucket springs a major leak. Raised anchor about 10:15 and motored down the river. About 2 PM, pulled into Paris Landing State Park, and the diesel price is so good that I decided to fuel up. Nice chat with the attendant as I bought 134 gallons at $1.30/gallon ($174) and then loaded about 150 gallons of water. Thought the fuel dock would be jammed on a nice Saturday, but they're having a bit of a slack day, maybe because of the early rain and greyish skies. But they don't have the charts I need; I may have to mail-order them. Had thought of anchoring near the marina, but it's busy and there's not much space, and the attendant tells me there's not much of interest in the park, so I motor out. Down the river for an hour or so to anchor about 4:15 in Panther Bay, mile 60, lat 36.31.357 long 88.00.911 Now I'm really in what I consider to be Kentucky Lake. Current is down to half a knot or so, and the dam is a mere 37 miles downstream. Officially, I've been in Kentucky Lake since Pickwick Dam 145 miles ago, but that felt more like river to me. Spaghetti for dinner. Hot and still evening, and flies started swarming. I started slaughtering them with a flyswatter, and by the time dark falls, I'd killed about three dozen of them, swatting most of them when they landed on my legs. Hot, still, muggy night. Listened to blues on the radio until midnight, and got very little sleep all night. 7/20/2003 (Sunday) At anchor off the Tennessee River. Thick fog from 5 AM to 8 AM or so. Woke tired and with a sinus headache. Started popping pills and went back to bed; finally got some rest. Got up about 11:30. Fuel level 14.6 inches at engine hour 2940.6 Raised anchor about 12:15 and motored down the river. Hot day, hazy, no breeze. Called various marinas to see if they sold the charts I need, but no luck. I'll have to order them somehow. Boat getting swarmed by flying beetles, which flop around and then all died after a while, leaving nasty trailing stains on the fiberglass. Anchored about 3:15 at mile 42, out in the river to try to get any breeze that might come up. Just south of routes 68 / 80 bridge, at lat 36.45.994 long 88.06.533 Poured some buckets of river water over me to cool off. Nice jazz playing on the radio most of the afternoon. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. Another warm night, with only a little breeze. 7/21/2003 (Monday) At anchor off the Tennessee River. Woke up with a bit of a sinus headche. Blowing hard this morning, 20+ trying to put me on a lee shore, some rain, and the radio has a severe-thunderstorm warning for many places, including the county I'm in. Was thinking of going ashore and biking a couple of miles to a visitor's center, but I can't leave the boat in this situation, and I'm feeling too tired to bike anyway. Raised anchor about noon and motored straight across the river and into KenLake Marina. Bought a little gasoline ($4) just to be nice, wanted to buy groceries but even their restaurant had no bread to spare, and called to mail-order Cumberland river charts ($24). Had them sent to a marina that I should be near in a few days. Noticed some nasty scrapes on the side of my hull; probably got them when I fueled up yesterday. Motored down the river through rough conditions; wind 20-25 and lots of chop. Pulled into Bear Creek and anchored at about 3:15, mile 30, lat 36.54.636 long 88.12.972 Dark clouds coming over about 5 PM. Worst of it might pass to the north of me. Rained several times during the evening. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 7/22/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor off Kentucky Lake. Woke up at 6:30 and said "wow, it didn't rain all night, I was able to keep the aft hatch and aft ports open all night". Two minutes later, it rained. Cool and grey morning. Raised anchor about 9:30 and motored across to anchor near the North Welcome Station at about 10:30. Ate an early lunch and then dinghied ashore, taking the bike. Hot by the time I got there. This is the "Land Between the Lakes". Biked a mile to the "welcome station", which had some tourist brochures and a friendly attendant. But she had the typical car-based attitude: "oh, yes, there's a library: just go 5 miles to the interstate, go to the X exit, then three blocks on the right". Had trouble finding the bike trail I wanted. Started to bike up the road, but after a couple of miles and a couple of long rises that left me gasping, I decided that I had proved how out of shape I am, and turned around. Probably did 5 miles total. By the time I got back to the boat and hauled everything aboard, I was wiped out. Raised anchor about 1:30, in a stiff wind, and motored down the river into the wind and chop. Slowly cruised by the opening to the Barkley Canal, past Grand Rivers, past Kentucky Dam, and into Taylor Creek. Lovely big anchorage, next to a huge marina but with plenty of room, behind a large breakwater, next to a public boat ramp, in a no-wake zone. Perfect ! If only there were a library and groceries nearby. Anchored about 2:45, mile 23, lat 36.59.290 long 88.17.177 Lots to look at as I cruised by Kentucky Lock and Dam. At least three big tows waiting to get through, which means a pleasure boat like me would wait hours to get a chance (lowest priority). And there were 30 or 40 other barges moored in the area; more tows could appear or be formed at any time. The dam and lock itself is quite an operation: hydro power plant, lots of powerlines, a highway and railroad running along the top of the dam, three things that might be container-cranes straddling the railroad, more powerlines and an interstate bridge just downstream of it. The lake's about 2 miles wide here, but only 50 or 60 feet at the deepest; I thought it would be deeper near the dam. Three ducks came by to quack at me in hope of getting a handout, but I just quacked back at them. Salad and tomato-and-eggsalad for dinner. 7/23/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor in Taylor Creek, near Kentucky Dam. Nicely cooler and breezy day. Dinghied ashore and biked about 4 miles to Gilbertsville. Nothing there but trailer-homes. Came back and checked out the marina a bit. Back to the boat. Did an engine oil change. About 10 quarts out, and 10 quarts in. Leaked from filter housing the first time, but got it tight on the second try. Still spilled a bit of oil in the engine compartment; haven't been able to avoid that yet. Dinghied ashore. Person at service facility kindly took my used engine oil to dispose of at the county waste facility. Biked a mile or so to the lake beach, and sat there for a while, enjoying the scenery. Beautiful clouds, nice sun and breeze. Legs tired from all the biking. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. A bit strange with hickory-smoked sausage instead of italian sausage. 7/24/2003 (Thursday) At anchor in Taylor Creek, near Kentucky Dam. Raised anchor about 11:45 and motored out of the creek and across the river. Anchored about 12:30 outside Lighthouse Landing marina, mile 23, at lat 36.59.802 long 88.14.404 Close to the main channel, where the tows get ready to go through Kentucky Lock, but there's enough room and the depth is good. Dinghied ashore. Tried to land on a beach, but it turned out to be rocky; I think I damaged the prop slightly on a rock. Had to go into the marina, which turned out to be a confusing maze. Finally got to a very wobbly dock, went to the office, and they said it was okay to leave the dinghy there. Biked into "town", which is just 8 or 10 stores and an extremely popular restaurant. Bought brake pads for the bike, and groceries. Salad and grilled pork chops for dinner. 7/25/2003 (Friday) At anchor in the Tennessee river, near Kentucky Lock. Worked on the auto-pilot pulley, but couldn't get it loose. Added lots of water to the house batteries. Breezy and choppy today. Raised anchor about 9:45 and went through Barkley Canal. Goodbye to Tennessee River / Kentucky Lake, hello to Cumberland River / Barkley Lake. Smaller and less choppy over here. Went into Green Turtle Bay to see if there was room to anchor, but they've filled it in with marina. Anchored just outside the breakwater about 10:45, mile 31.5 on the Cumberland, lat 37.00.407 long 88.13.148 Put new brake pads on the bike. Worked on the auto-pilot, and got it fixed ! Some hammering freed up the pulley, and I slid it back into proper place and tightened the setscrew. Seems to work now. Hot this afternoon, and going to be hot tomorrow. Dinghied into the marina about 4 PM, and it's pretty boring and dead in there; maybe everyone's hiding from the heat. But my package containing the charts I need was waiting for me, no hassles picking it up. Bought some distilled water. Back to boat. Raised anchor about 5:15; there are too many wakes to spend the night here. Motored up the Cumberland river and anchored about 6:15 in the river at lat 37.00.955 long 88.07.900, at mile 38. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches and fruit for dinner. 7/26/2003 (Saturday) At anchor in the Cumberland river, in Barkley Lake. Woke up and found the cockpit (actually, the whole topsides) infested with some kind of flying waterbug things. So many that I could hear their wings making a loud hum in the cockpit. Went up and tried to chase them out with a towel and spray, but half of them didn't budge. Raised anchor about 8:30 and motored up the river. Shooed away most of the bugs, but it took a while. And they left nasty dark green spots all over my fiberglass. Pulled into McNabs Creek, where there's supposed to be a county library. But as I expected, there's no way to get to it from the water. Not a public road, beach, bridge, ramp or anything exposed; all the backyards of private houses. Had to give it up. Tested auto-pilot, and it works. Motored up to Lick creek and anchored next to Canton KY at 1 PM, mile 64, lat 36.47.439 long 87.57.988 Scrubbed green bug-spots on fiberglass, to little effect. Maybe the detergent will soak in and the next rain will take them off. Lots of bugs flitting around the stern of the boat. Got ready to go ashore, and just then a fishing tournament ended and about 15 boats circled, waiting to be trailered-out. Dinghied ashore, got on the bike. Found less town and more hills than I hoped. Hot afternoon as usual. Bought a couple of nice home-grown tomatoes. Back to the boat. Raised anchor about 3:15 and motored out. Saw some people running down to the shore to take photos of my boat as I went past. Uneventful trip until I tried to stop. Pulled over at a couple of places and quickly ran out of depth, so had to back out and go further. Finally found a spot. Anchored about 5:45 at mile 75, lat 36.39.791 long 87.54.020 Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. Not very good; thought I had another bottle of soy sauce on board, but can't find it. Lots of excitement at 7:45. I'm always interested to see the first tow come by after I've anchored, to see how close they come. So I watched as Ocie Clark came downstream with a 2x5 tow. I'm on the outside of a turn, not far out of the channel, but definitely out of it, in 6-foot water, with lots of open space for them to see me. Anyway, they come past, and I say "wow, they're pretty far on the other side of the channel". Then I say "wow, they're OUT of the channel !". I'm out past the green side; they went on the far side of the first red buoy in the turn, and ran aground. The buoy is about 15 feet from the side of the 3rd barge, I guess. I see guys moving out onto the barges to see where they are amd what's happening. They put both engines in reverse and floor them, and after some tense moments when they go nowhere and I wonder if they'll have to break up the tow to get it free, they come free and start making progress backward. I wonder how close they'll come to me once they get back in the channel. But they never DO get back in the channel; they back until the red buoy is halfway down the first barge, turn a bit to starboard so the buoy is almost scraping the first barge, and go forward again, still out of the channel ! The buoy scrapes down the sides of a couple of barges, and ends up going underneath the last barge and the tugboat; it pops up behind. They make it without going aground again, and pass on the correct side of the next red buoy, then have to floor the engines to slew around to keep from hitting the far (green) bank, which is rock and would really hurt. Wow ! I guess they were lucky that the barges were empty. Full barges would have grounded sooner, but would have hit harder, and been harder to back off against the current and turn. And they're lucky there was no rock underwater. I wonder if the pilot gets points on his license or something. Several more tows came past during the night. 7/27/2003 (Sunday) At anchor in the Cumberland river. Raised anchor about 8:45 and motored up the river. Got up to Dover TN, at mile 89, and had to do a tricky anchoring job. Depth went from 40 to 5 quickly. Tried twice, first time it was hard to get the anchor up. Got a semi-reasonable spot in the entrance to a side-channel. Done about 11:30, at lat 36.29.398 long 87.50.037 Dinghied ashore and started biking. Whole town is full of steep hills, and it's hot. Found hardware store and library, and figured out that supermarket is too far out of town. Back to boat. Hoisted everything and dumped water over myself. Nice couple came by in a motorboat, to tell me I had anchored in view of their house last night. The guy has been down the Mississippi on a houseboat; he says fuel is hard to get, which I've heard from others. Raised anchor about 2:15 and motored up to Cumberland City TN. Hard to anchor there; huge power-plant has filled in most of the non-channel area. Tried to get into a shoal protected by channel markers, but wind is fighting current and shoal is too shallow to get far enough from the channel. Raised anchors and crossed the river to anchor upstream of the ferry. Too deep here (30+ feet) for good holding, but fairly far from the channel. Wind still fighting current. Anchored at 5:30, mile 104, lat 36.23.736 long 87.37.893 Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 7/28/2003 (Monday) At anchor in the Cumberland river at Cumberland City TN. Dinghied ashore at the ferry landing. Biked up and immediately found that "town" was about 5 buildings, mainly a 2-room City Hall, a bank, and a Post Office that was the local entertainment: everyone drove in to pick up their mail. Sat on a bench on the porch of City Hall for almost 4 hours having a very nice chat with several guys and watching everyone go in and out of the post office. Talked to one guy for a couple of hours about WW II, the war in Iraq, religion, various parts of the country, the river, etc. Wonderful time ! He was on a PT boat in WW II, and he briefly met JFK out there. He says most of the PT boat captains were from rich, famous families for some reason. All of the PT boats were scrapped after the war; I think he said they had wood hulls. Another guy was a Marine parachute rigger in the Viet Nam war. Someone came by with a bunch of apples from their yard and gave them out to us. Everyone in town knows everyone else, and knows the dirt about them too. I think I was the excitement of the day; when I got back to the dinghy, the ferry-boat guys said everyone who'd seen my dinghy landed there had commented on it. Got back to the boat about 1:45. Quickly raised anchor and got going to keep ahead of a big tow I saw coming up behind me. Motored up to Clarksville and anchored about 5:45 in about the only spot available, close to a nasty rock rip-rap embankment. Put out a stern anchor to try to keep from swinging into the wall. Mile 126. Lots of rush-hour traffic gawking at me as it goes by. Nasty clouds came up about 6:20. And then the loudspeakers came on in town, warning of coming thunderstorms, everyone seek shelter. I'd heard warnings on the radio earlier (mentioning violent thunderstorms with "excessive lightning"; seems like an odd way to put it), but for some other county, not this one. Wind hitting me on the stern, slewing me around. Started engine, raised stern anchor which wasn't holding, mainly used reverse to hold myself pointing toward the bank and pulling away from it, against the anchor. Heavy lightning, not too close. Wind gusting up to 35+ at times. Rain blowing sideways so hard that it came in one side of the 9-foot-wide pilothouse and went out the other side. Worst over by 7 or so. Gentle rain and plenty of lightning continued for a while. Some of the lightning was very persistent: big strokes that stayed lit for almost 3 seconds. Salad and egg-salad sandwiches for dinner. Had to run the engine for a while to charge batteries; I forgot to get the alternator running when I started it earlier, and the batteries got dragged down. Put down the stern anchor and shut off the engine about 8. Kept raining with a bit of lightning until 10:30 or so. Then occasional rain. 7/29/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor in the Cumberland river at Clarksville TN. Grey day. Dinghied ashore. Could barely get ashore; the banks are steep and covered with rip-rap and some poison ivy. Had to leave the bike in the dinghy and walk in. Asked for directions and was told that everything good is on the far side of town. Finally found a very nice library in the local college; did internet, catching up on 2 weeks worth of email. Bought a loaf of bread at a bakery, but there's not even a small grocery store within reach. Back to boat. Lubricated prop shaft stuffing, which has been running hot since I tightened it yesterday. Raised anchor about 12:45, motored half a mile up to the railroad bridge, and hailed it. No response. Hailed it 10 different ways on 3 different channels, blew a horn at it, tried high power on radio. Tried my backup radio, in case last night's lightning had damaged my primary radio. Tried to hail a tugboat on a dredge near the bridge. Tried to hail any commercial traffic. Finally called "radio check, radio check" and got a response from someone coming up the river. Turned out to be pleasure boat Four Cees. I tried hailing the lock 25 miles up the river. They tried calling phone numbers for the bridge and the lock, and got no answers or recordings. I tried hailing a couple of marinas 6 or 7 miles up the river; no answer. Finally they phoned one of the marinas, learned that the lock people know how to get the bridge to open, and I think the marina people are going to try to call the lock some more. About then, Four Cees went out of range and I'm alone. And of course no tows are coming by, just when I'd like to talk to one of them. Four Cees suggested docking at the concrete excursion boat dock in town to wait, but I made a pass by it, and it looked too high and unfriendly to work. Finally anchored back in my old spot at about 2:15. Waste of an hour and a half. Afternoon is getting sunnier. The bridge is nominally 50 foot clearance closed, in the "swing" part of it, but the gauge doesn't have a line painted at the 50-foot level, or it's under water. Hard to tell if the clearance today is 49, 50, or 51. My mast is about 49 above water, maybe a little more if I've mismeasured something. So I'd really like to get the bridge opened. Sat around resting, and hoping someone's phone call would connect and some guy would appear on the bridge and call me on the radio. By 4, I realized that wasn't too likely, so I put the singhy down again and went ashore. Climbed the bank, found a non-working pay-phone, then a working pay-phone, called Cheatham Lock, and the guy said he had a phone number somewhere, call back in half an hour. I'd have to call the railroad, they'd call a tugboat company, and they'd send out someone to open the bridge. I'd forgotten to bring a pen with me. By then I was totally hot and mad and worried I'd be stuck there for 4 days waiting for this bridge. And I have plane tickets in a couple of weeks, and I need to find somewhere to leave the boat. Back to the boat, kept trying to call a tugboat attached to a dredge near the bridge, to see what he knew. Finally decided to dinghy up there. Went up and talked to the boss, and he didn't know. He'd been working there 3 weeks and never seen the bridge open. He thought the gauge looked like 51 feet of clearance. Suggested I go for it. Then he suggested I measure the gauge from the 45 line to the water, and that sounded like a fine idea. So back to the boat, grabbed a tape measure, back to the bridge, and came up with 50.0 feet. Rechecked my boat records, and my measurements said 49 with the top 6 inches of that fairly expendable (wind indicator). So I decided to go for it. Raised anchor a little before 6, and of course as I approached the bridge, a big tow came under it from upstream. Waited for the water to settle a little, then eased under, with the guys from the dredge watching. Hard to tell how much I made it by, and I almost had my eyes closed anyway, but I made it without touching. Tricky, because I wanted to go as slow as possible, but too slow and the boat gets out of control and starts turning sideways, and the bridge pyklons were not overly far apart. And have to step away from the helm and out of the pilothouse to see up to the top of the mast. But: there are two more railroad bridges further up the river that definitely are too low for me; I have to get them to open. Motored up the river, and anchored in a reasonable little bulge at about 7:10, mile 132, lat 36.29.380 long 87.20.610 Some people in townhouses at the top of the bluff thrilled to see a big sailboat down below. Starting to see cornfields through the trees. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 7/30/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor in the Cumberland river upstream of Clarksville TN. Thick fog at 6:30, clear by 8. Raised anchor about 9:30, motored up the river against increasing current. Perfect timing at Cheatham Lock; got in just as a tow came out, with another waiting to come down. Lock tender gave me home phone number for some guy to call to open the Clarksville railroad bridge, but couldn't tell me anything about the next two upstream from me. River is prettier and wider in lake above lock, with views of hills in the distance, and some nice high rocky bluffs. Motored up to Ashland City TN and anchored at 2:45, mile 158, lat 36.16.102 long 87.04.447 Hot; dumped a couple of buckets of nice cool river water over myself. Started to hustle to launch the dinghy and go ashore, but found the front tire of the bike was flat. Took it apart and patched it; now best to wait overnight to let it dry and see if it holds. Looks like rain anyway. Saw someone launch a houseboat and almost back their truck too far into the river: the exhaust was bubbling up from underwater, and they spun wheels and water was flying before the truck slowly made it back up the ramp. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. That nice loaf of bread I bought yesterday is already going moldy. 7/31/2003 (Thursday) At anchor in the Cumberland river at Ashland City TN. Rained from 2 AM to 6 AM, then poured from 6:30 to 8:30. Dinghied ashore about 9:30, and found that the library was built on the highest spot in the county (it seems), up a couple of long hills from town. Chugged up there, did internet, tried to call the railroad bridge people. Eventually got to the voice-mail of the right person, but that's all. Got groceries, back to boat, started raining a bit just as I got aboard. But it quickly stopped; the afternoon got sunnier as the day went on. Raised anchor about 2 PM and motored up the river. Uneventful. Went past a plant where they haul barges out of the water, sideways up a bunch of rails; pretty cool. Called a marina for info about the bridges, was told first should normally be open, second should be on radio. We'll see tomorrow. Anchored about 5:30 at mile 177, lat 36.10.582 long 86.54.231 Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 8/1/2003 (Friday) At anchor in the Cumberland river. Huge tow went upstream just before 9; 3x5 of fully loaded coal and sand barges, tugboat engines really working hard. As I got ready to raise anchor, it suddenly started to drag, and I went out to find a big log snagged on the chain. Probably about 15 feet long and 15-inch diameter. Pushed at it with a boat-hook and slewed the boat back and forth with the engine, but it wouldn't let loose. I couldn't see any branch snagging the chain; the log looked like it was just balanced perfectly. Lots of current rushing over it, so hard to budge. Finally got off it by motoring forward repeatedly, cranking in 5 or 10 feet of chain each time the boat drifted back. When the anchor came off the bottom, I was able to back away from the log and then raise the anchor the rest of the way. Got going about 9 AM. Motored up the river against stiff current, 1.5 to 2 knots. Lots of industry along this part of the river: barges and factories, including Ford and Exxon. Success at the first RR bridge; it's open and looks like it hasn't been closed in quite a while: there's a wire dangling into the water from it. Industry and bridges got heavy as I got into Nashville; barges parked on both sides of the river in places, and bridge after bridge. Success at the 2nd RR bridge; the tender answered on the radio and opened the bridge for me. Pulled over near the municipal dock, which looks deserted. Area is smaller than I hoped; 1/2 mile between two bridges, much of it taken up by the municipal dock, power lines overhead, river not very wide. But I anchored just downstream of the dock, at noon, mile 191, lat 36.09.911 long 86.46.519. Not a very comfortable spot, and I'll have to watch to see how well the anchor holds in this strong current. On the other hand, the current should keep me from swinging into the bank or out into the channel, and the pull on the anchor will always be in the same direction. The Nashville skyline is impressive, and I'm right in the middle of it. Unusual-looking BellSouth skyscraper looms on the downtown side of the river, and Titan stadium on the other side. Did a bucket of laundry. Fresh water-pump is leaking copiously. Big riverboat "General Jackson" came past at 1, but it's a fake: the paddlewheel is just for show. Thought it would dock, but it went past. Then it turned around downstream of me, I saw a gangplank off the bow, and I wondered if they wanted to stop right where I'm anchored, at the downstream end of the dock. But they didn't call me on the radio, and they didn't answer my radio call. And they just went right back upstream. Various small logs and debris bouncing off and sliding along the hull; there's a lot of junk in the water here. Dinghied ashore about 3 PM; a real adventure launching the dinghy and putting the bike in it in the 2-knot current. Landed up at the floating dock, which is empty but has a large sign listing all kinds of charges; seems they want $5 or $10 to land my dinghy. I didn't pay anyone and didn't see anyone to pay. Strted to explore town, found the Visitor's Center, did the library, which is huge and nice. Called some people who want to meet me, and made arrangements. Back to boat by 5:30, and hooking the dinghy back to the hoisting rings was very hard in the strong current. Local guy told me the General Jackson usually turns around exactly where I've anchored. And the bridge upstream is having a grand re-opening on Sunday, opening as a pedestrian bridge. Salad and a grilled pork chop and grilled chicken for dinner. City dock filled up with smallish boats. The General Jackson came by again. They charge $35 for a trip from Opryland to here, including a meal and whatnot. Mostly sleepless night. Bright lights from town and the stadium, traffic noises, noises from people on the bank looking down at me, drift hitting the hull all night, warm night with intermittent breeze. Suddenly rained hard for a little while at 2:45. 8/2/2003 (Saturday) At anchor in the Cumberland river at Nashville TN. Did a bucket of laundry. Weather is sounding dicey; chance of severe thunderstorms this afternoon, and lots of rain tomorrow. Cleaned up the boat a bit; expecting company. Dinghied ashore and biked a couple of miles to the Parthenon. Interesting place. They had a Tennessee Centennial expo in 1897, and build a dozen or more temporary buildings that were replicas of Greek buildings, an Egyptian pyramid, etc. Afterward, they all were torn down except the Parthenon; people liked it so much they wanted it kept. But it was made of wood and plaster, and by 1920 it was falling apart. So in the 20's they rebuilt it using concrete. Recently, they added a 42-foot high gilded statue of Athena inside (that's what the original Parthenon held). Athena is holding a small statue of Nike, the winged goddess of victory, in her hand. I guess that's who the sneaker company is named after. Bike tire going flat again. Biked through Vanderbilt University a little, then went to the Frist art center. Nice Ottoman art exhibit, lots of fantastic calligraphy. Also a small modern art area, and a floor of African-American quilts that were quite good. Put the bike in the dinghy, and back to the boat. Heard the General Jackson on the radio asking if that sailboat was still anchored down there. I piped up and said I was still here. Was expecting some friends at 3, but I started getting more and more nervous about the weather. Chance of severe thunderstorms, and I don't think I can leave the boat here so we can go for dinner. Lots of people walking across a bridge downstream of me, heading for the football stadium. Heard cheering from there later. I hoped 3 PM would arrive before the storm, but the weather came at 2:30. Strong wind, a little rain, even the current seem to strengthen. I'd been waiting with the dinghy in the water, planning to use it to pick up my friends, and suddenly decided to raise it. Getting the hoisting wires connected was very hard. Just then, my friends appeared on shore. We tried to yell back and forth, but couldn't do it. Finally got the dinghy up, then started raising the anchor. It came up with a nice big tree-branch snagged on it. I put on a nice show for my friends, weaving all over the river as I tried to get the branch off and the anchor up. Got the boat-hook stuck in the mess, too. Finally got it loose by putting the anchor back to the surface of the water and then violently yanking the boat-hook up and down until the branch came loose. Then had the bright idea of docking to get my friends aboard, so I went up and did it. An ugly docking: thought the current would stop my forward progress, but instead it shoved the bow sideways onto the dock. Anyway, got the lines secure and my friends Robbie and Bernie aboard. Gave them a tour of the boat and chatted for a while. We had been planning to go to dinner, but I couldn't leave the boat there, and didn't want to anchor it here again. So they left and I headed up the river. I'll see them next weekend up above the next lock. Cast off about 4:15, and anchored about 5:15 on the river at Mills Creek, mile 195, lat 36.10.016 long 86.42.745 Current still fairly strong, but I'm out of the worst of it, lots of room, much shallower water, away from the lights and noise of the city. Feel much more comfortable. Too bad; I would have liked to spend a couple more days at Nashville. But it's just too tough an anchoring situation there. Cheese-and-crackers and oddments for dinner. 8/3/2003 (Sunday) At anchor in the Cumberland river upstream of Nashville TN. Lots of rain from 2 AM to 4 or so. Lounged in bed reading a good murder-mystery. Raised anchor about 10:30 and motored up the river. Very strong current, 2 to 3 knots at various times, so progress was slow. Weather got nicer as the day went by. Passed a tow that had deliberately nosed its full coal barges against a shoal, with the tugboat halfway out into the channel and using one engine to hold them against the bank; I think they were working on the other engine or something. A wasp came in the cockpit, I sprayed it, and it blundered right onto one of my legs and then the other. In my frantic attempts to kick it off before it could sting me, I kicked a bare foot right into the boat. For a little while, thought I'd broken my big toe, but it's just bruised. Finally made it up through Old Hickory Lock, and onto Old Hickory Lake. Lots of drifting wood right in the exit of the lock; tried to coast through much of it, to avoid getting it into the propeller. Did a brief loop into Anchor High Marina's cove, but it was a madhouse in there on a Sunday afternoon. Back out and anchored in a small cove just upstream from it, mile 217, lat 36.17.585 long 86.38.683 Tired. Spaghetti for dinner. 8/4/2003 (Monday) At anchor in Old Hickory Lake near Hendersonville TN. Bit of a headache. Dinghied ashore, taking the bike. Biked around and got the lay of the land. As I expected, I came in on the unfashionable end of town, and had a long ride. But the good stuff is near a big creek that I intend to go up tomorrow, so that's convenient. The library could be better; they don't have a lot of newspapers, and as a visitor I'm restricted to one computer where I have to stand up the whole time ! Back to boat, quick lunch, finished a bucket of laundry. Hoisted bike and dinghy. Raised anchor about 3:45. As usual, it came up with a good-sized dead tree hanging on it. Got it off by dropping anchor a little and motoring side to side. Motored up the lake a bit, and anchored about 4:15 near Lakewood Marina, mile 220, lat 36.15.002 long 86.38.090 Dinghied ashore and looked for a friend of the friends I'd met the other day. Found his sailboat, but he wasn't there. Back to boat, hoist dinghy. Chicken-and-rice for dinner. Front with huge, roiling lightning-clouds went over from 10 to 11. Lots of wind, very little rain, but tons of cloud-to-cloud lightning, just continuously. Only a few strikes to ground, and they were far away. 8/5/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor in Old Hickory Lake near Lakewood Marina. Still a little sinus headache nagging me. Richie came rowing out to my boat about 8:30. Came aboard and we had a nice chat about boats and stuff. He's done a lot of sailing around the Gulf Coast, owned several boats, has a Hunter 38ish sailboat "Come Monday" now that he lives on in the marina. We chatted until 10, then he had to go to work. Jumpered main batteries to genset battery to charge it; I need to run the genset to exercise it, then I need to start working on the genset. Been putting it off too long. Dinghied ashore to Lakewood / Old Hickory Village. Biked around to see what was there, browsed in a flea market store while waiting for the library to open. Did internet and newspapers. Apparently last night's storm hit Nashville very hard: many people without power today, and at a big lake near town, an entire dock turned over, wreaking havoc on the boats tied to it. 55 MPH winds, golf-ball-size hail. Glad I wasn't still down in Nashville for that ! Found out I'd made a mistake: I thought Hendersonville had a Greyhound bus stop, but it doesn't. Fortunately, it turns out Old Hickory Village is in the same county as Nashville, so I can take a county bus to the Nashville Greyhound station. Means I'll have to leave Magnolia out on the lake instead of in a more sheltered creek, but on the other hand I can ask Richie to keep half an eye on it, since it'll be near his boat. Should be fine; I'll put down a second anchor, and there's plenty of room here. Couldn't find the supermarket Richie mentioned. Back to boat; hot afternoon. About 20 bass boats suddenly blasted out of the dock area at 5:30; must be an evening fishing tournament. Cheese-and-crackers and tomato-and-egg for dinner. Dinghied ashore, but Richie wasn't home. Bass boats flocking back to the dock. Asked someone about the supermarket, and he said there is none close by. So I put the bike in the dinghy and went back to the boat. 8/6/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor in Old Hickory Lake near Lakewood Marina. Still a little sinus headache nagging me. And my back went "ping"; now I have to be careful with it. Foggy morning, and very grey day after that. Ugly somewhat moth-like insects flocking and mating on the boat. Raised anchor about 0730 and motored up the lake. Almost zero breeze, and lots of floating driftwood, and some floating garbage: styrofoam chunks, bottles, etc. Had to zigzag many times to avoid big tree branches. But it's a pretty lake: lots of coves, nice and wide, lots of interesting houses, some small bluffs. Up into Station Camp Creek and anchored about 10:30 near Gallatin TN, mile 237, lat 36.21.129 long 86.28.475 Dinghied ashore and it was a long, tough bike ride through lunch-hour heat and traffic, for little result. Couldn't find the museum that was the main reason for coming here; I remembered the address wrong, bungled the directions someone in town gave me, and apparently it's hard to see and I must have gone right past it at one point. Did manage to get in touch with Ron, who invited me to his place for dinner. And got groceries, after a week with no bread, fruit or salad. Raised anchor a little after 2 PM, and motored down the river to Cedar Creek. Clouds looking more threatening, and some thunder as I arrived. Anchored about 3:30, mile 233, lat 36.16.491 long 86.30.428 Dinghied ashore, met Ron and brought him out to the boat. Showed him the boat and had a nice chat. Rain sprinkles stopped, sun came out, weather turned nice. Went back ashore and went to Ron and Becky's house, where they treated me to a tremendous homemade dinner: steak with all the trimmings. Had a great time, talking about boats, mainly. They have so many projects going that it makes my head hurt: improving the house, building an addition to the house, building a pool, major rebuilding of a Bristol 40 in a big shed, fixing up an RV, planning to build a house in Florida, running a small concrete-construction company, on and on ! They gave me some fresh tomatoes, some books, and a little "peg-leg captain" statue. Really nice people. 8/7/2003 (Thursday) At anchor in Cedar Creek off Old Hickory Lake. Loafed all morning. Raised anchor about 1130 and motored down the lake. Anchored about 2 PM back at my old spot next to Lakewood Marina. Dinghied ashore, biked to library, spent several hours there. Can't figure out the bus to Nashville, so I'll probably take Robbie up on his offer of a ride. Still have to find a marina to leave the dinghy in. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 8/8/2003 (Friday) At anchor in Old Hickory Lake next to Lakewood Marina. Nice sunny day, a wisp of fog early. Loafed all morning. Raised anchor about 11:45 and motored up the lake and then up Drakes Creek. Beautiful area. Anchored near the boat ramp and Creekwood Marina about 12:45, at lat 36.17.298 long 86.36.325 Lots of jet-ski traffic. Cleaned engine intake strainer. Checked the zinc, and it probably should have been replaced a month ago. Found the starboard-forward engine mount has a nut that should be tightened, but it seems immovably frozen to the stud. Checked genset to see if it's in shape to attempt to start it. Salad and chicken/rice/onion/tomato for dinner. Tried to start the genset but the battery is too low. Robbie and Kevin came by on a boat and rafted to me; we chatted a little and I gave Kevin a tour of the boat. I lost a boat-hook overboard when they arrived, and Robbie was going to swim for it, but I flagged down a passing boat and they retrieved it for me. Lent my copy of Quimby's to Kevin; they're doing a trip down to Barkeley Dam in a couple of weeks. 8/9/2003 (Saturday) At anchor in Drakes Creek at Hendersonville TN. Woke with a nasty headache. Dinghied ashore and biked to library, then groceries, then two gallons of engine oil ($11). Ron and Becky stopped by on a Sea-Doo to say hi. Dinghied ashore at 4 and was picked up by Robbie and Bernie and taken to a cookout at Percy Priest Lake. It's a huge lake near Nashville, and I was surprised to see large numbers of sailboats in the marinas. Plenty of wind and lots of good sailing on the lake. Many of the boats are fairly new Hunters and Beneteaus, but there are older, more unusual boats too. We had a cookout on the dock, hosted by Todd and Tracy. Had a wonderful time, lots of telling of stories and laughter. Met some nice people, Ken and Janet, from a nearby boat. Great food, and then as dark fell, Robbie said "let's go sailing!", so Robbie and Bernie and Todd and I got on Todd's sailboat and out we went. Made me a bit nervous, out in the dark on a strange boat with a skipper I didn't know, after drinking plenty of beer, in a lake I wasn't familiar with. But they'd done it a lot, and we didn't hit any logs or run aground. Saw some very nice fireworks in the distance, and we couldn't figure out what the occasion could have been. Found a big new fender floating in the water and picked it up; a profit for the evening ! Went across the lake to Elm Hill Marina, the one where a storm last week turned over a roofed dock, capsizing or sinking about 30 small boats with it and injuring several people. We could see the submerged dock dimly in the dark. They said the same marina almost burned down a few years ago: a houseboat caught fire, someone cut it loose to get it away from other boats, and it drifted straight into the marina restaurant and burnt it to the ground ! Burned the fuel dock too, but the pumps and tanks didn't go up. We pulled into a slip near some of their buddies, and joined his friends for a little party on the dock. Met some people from nearby boats too. Lots of retelling of stories of crazy things they've done together. And lots of people wanted to hear about my decision to live on a boat, and my travels. We motored back to the home dock and packed everything up about 11 PM. Robbie and Bernie drove me back, and I dinghied home in the dark and hoisted and stowed everything. Into bed somewhere near midnight, I guess. 8/10/2003 (Sunday) At anchor in Drakes Creek at Hendersonville TN. Loafed all day, reading and listening to the radio and watching all the boats and jet-skis zooming past. Fired up the genset, and it started up easily and ran okay. Exercised the freezer a bit, used the oven to cook dinner, burned a CD-ROM backup of my laptop. Ran the genset for an hour and 15 minutes. The voltage was a bit low. Salad and pigs-in-a-blanket for dinner. Sun looked like a pink neon ping-pong ball as it set. Nearly-full moon came up yellowish. 8/11/2003 (Monday) At anchor in Drakes Creek at Hendersonville TN. Suddenly decided to rebed the opening port over my berth. Took several hours to get it out. Repainted it, and ran out of time to put it back in before both the rain and the time I wanted to go ashore arrived. Unfortunately, I had already launched the dinghy, and the rain was very heavy, so the dinghy got a lot of water in it. Really poured and blew, much harder than the news had led me to believe. My anchor dragged about 100 feet, so I started the engine in case I needed it. Fortunately the plastic I taped over my missing port held through all the wind and rain. Some lightning. Kept raining until 6 or so; hoisted the bike and dinghy back up and didn't go ashore today. Salad and chicken-and-saffron-rice for dinner. 8/12/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor in Drakes Creek at Hendersonville TN. Reinstalled the opening port over my berth. Dinghied ashore, biked to library, went to some stores. Bought spray paint ($5). Salad and spaghetti for dinner. The daily thunderstorm came at 8:15. Suddenly blew with gusts up into the 40's and buckets of rain. Some loose jugs and stuff on deck almost blew over the side, but I captured it. Some lightning. Still and muggy all night after the storm. 8/13/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor in Drakes Creek at Hendersonville TN. Grey and humid day. Raised anchor about 10:45, moved up the creek 1/2 mile to get to slightly shallower water and get out of the traffic from the boat ramp, and put down two anchors about 11:30. Sweaty work. Put the anchors toward the sides of the creek, so a storm blowing up or down the creek will distribute the load across both anchors. Cleaned mud out of the anchor chain locker. Stupidly dinghied ashore just before it started to rain. Stood under a tree that didn't give much shelter for 15 minutes until the rain stopped. Went to library. Got sprinkled on again as I returned to the boat. Warm and muggy. Richey stopped by in his motorboat for a quick chat. Turns out he's another one of these guys who owns not only a sailboat but a "fleet": big sailboat, motorboat, jet-ski, Hobie cat, and he's thinking of buying a 23ish sailboat too ! Rained a bit just after he left; lightning strikes within a mile or so. Wished for a bit of strong wind to test my anchors, but didn't get any. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 8/14/2003 (Thursday) At anchor in Drakes Creek at Hendersonville TN. Sunny morning and going to be a hot day. Tested bilge pumps; switch for primary was tangled up and not working. Did a bucket of laundry. Tried to free nut on engine mount, but it won't budge. Added water to batteries. Pumped water out of the hull of the dinghy. Scrubbed the sides of the boat hull; lots of spiders and spider-eggs. Dinghied ashore, biked to library, got a few things at the supermarket. Got back to the dinghy to find that someone had untied it from the end of the dock, dragged it ashore on rip-rap, and chain-and-padlocked it to a piece of the dock supports ! Lots of water in it, too, probably from getting waked while it was ashore on rocks. Got a lift out to the boat from a jet-skier, picked up bolt-cutters, jet-skied back to the dock, and "unlocked" the dinghy. Back to the boat, then decided to bring the bike out too, in case someone decided to lock or damage it. A jet-skier suggested it might have been done by a city employee who objected to a boat tied to the dock. Other city guys are doing work on the dock but don't know who did this; maybe an earlier crew moved and locked my dinghy. Hot, still afternoon. Poured a bucket of creek water over myself every now and then. Finally got a little breeze now and then after 4 or so. Listened to the radio reporting about the huge power blackout in the Northeast. Chicken-and-beans for dinner. 8/15/2003 (Friday) At anchor in Drakes Creek at Hendersonville TN. Loafed most of the morning. Not planning to go ashore today; library is closed, it's going to be hot, and I don't want someone to lock up my dinghy again. Fuel level 10.6 inches at engine hour 3003.5 Tested primary bilge pump again. Put some chain on the anchor rodes to keep them from pulling too sharply sideways. Took stuff out of the dinghy and added lashings to it. Cleaned the cockpit, and stowed a bunch of stuff that had accumulated in it. Add bleach to the water tanks. Tied down the jugs and fenders left on deck. Hot afternoon; dumped buckets of water over myself. Got a suitcase out and started packing. Chicken-and-rice for dinner. Finished eating through the refrigerator (my favorite chore; if you have a fridge that needs eating-through, I'm your man!), turned it off, and defrosted and cleaned it. 8/16/2003 (Saturday) At anchor in Drakes Creek at Hendersonville TN. Left at 9 AM to go on vacation from the boat for a couple of weeks. Kevin and Robbie picked me up in Kevin's motorboat and took me down the lake; faster than I've gone in a boat in years ! Robbie drove me to Nashville, caught a Greyhound to Indianapolis to my sister's house. Culture shock: a real bed, a real bathroom, cable TV, air-conditioning ! Sharp thunderstorm at 4 AM, and I woke up ready to dash around the boat closing ports and seeing if the anchor held, but nothing needed to be done. Wind and rain made a gentle tapping noise on the sides of the house. Very strange feeling. 8/17/2003 to 9/5/2003 On vacation from the boat. Saw all of my brothers and sisters, and my dear sainted Mom. Bought water filters ($24), sink strainer ($1), carvac filters ($5). Got new eyeglass frames. Did work for Mom: dug up garden, fixed air-conditioner fan. Tried to fix computers and struck out; we ended up getting a new computer for Mom. Went to dentist. Took the train into New York City and saw the sights: walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, walked across Central Park, etc. Floppy drive on my laptop died, so updating the log onto my web-site will be suspended for a while. 9/6/2003 (Saturday) Greyhound to Nashville, picked up by Robbie and Bernie and Todd, drove to the boat-ramp, 7 of us in Richey's motorboat, then out to Magnolia. Everything perfect with her; nothing lost or damaged or stolen. Took a moment to track down an odd beeping sound: low battery on my CO alarm. We had a little party aboard for an hour or two, drinking and talking and showing everyone the boat. Peanut-butter crackers for dinner; no fresh food aboard, and I didn't feel like cooking. During the night, a powerboat and sailboat came in and anchored near me. The sailboat is a little too close. 9/7/2003 (Sunday) At anchor in Drakes Creek at Hendersonville TN. Replaced batteries in CO alarm. Replaced CarVac filter. Guy on the sailboat next to me hailed me, and it turned out to be a friend of Richey's, and he'd been keeping a bit of an eye on my boat while I was gone. So that was nice. And they invited me over for breakfast, but I'd already eaten, and I had chores to do. Replaced sink water-filter; old one was ugly. Removed jumper-cables from batteries and added water to the house batteries. Got the outboard started with only a few spritzes of starting fluid. Went over and picked up Glenn and Betsy from Caroline, the sailboat next to me. Brought them to my boat and gave them a tour. Nice people. Removed propane tank from the stern rail; seems mostly empty. Dinghied ashore before 1, taking the propane tank. Someone had promised to pick me up at 1 and take me on some errands, but he never showed up; guess he forgot. Waited until after 3, then went back to the boat. Ran the engine for 15 minutes to exercise it; it started a little reluctantly. Corned beef and noodles for dinner. 9/8/2003 (Monday) At anchor in Drakes Creek at Hendersonville TN. Cool, foggy morning. Odd: when I was in Indianapolis a couple of days ago, President Bush was visiting town. Now that I'm here, he's visiting Nashville (15 miles away). Maybe he's following me ? Worked a bit on raising the anchor, to see how hard it will be. The rodes are all twisted, and I don't know where the little chain I put across them has gotten to. Pumped up the bike tires and took it ashore in the dinghy. Biked to library, ordered floppy drive for my laptop (to be delivered to a marina at other end of the river), called Robbie to arrange to meet tonight, got groceries. Called marina, and they say my used anchor has not arrived yet ! I thought it would have arrived a couple of days ago. Now I'll have to wait here longer, and try to trace it, which could take a couple of days. Pumped more air into the dinghy tubes. Raised the 2nd anchor, which took about 2 hours. Had to use the dinghy to spin the boat 8 or 10 times, and deal with various tangles and lots of mud. Dinghied ashore and was picked up by Robbie and Bernie. They took me to buy gasoline ($5), propane ($17), and a ton of groceries. They were pretty wiped out, because yesterday they got up at 6 AM to go fishing, then went to the Titans football game and were up until 1 AM. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. Homemade cookies from my sister for dessert. 9/9/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor in Drakes Creek at Hendersonville TN. Bit of a headache. Lashed propane tank into place. Did a bucket of laundry. Richey stopped by to chat. Called the marina, and they're pretty sure my anchor hasn't arrived yet, so I'll have to call Florida and get a tracking number. Wanted to leave town today, but have to wait. Dinghied ashore, did library, left phone and email messages to get anchor tracking info, got some groceries. Odd: the viruses that were making my emailbox overflow every single day have suddenly stopped almost completely. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 9/10/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor in Drakes Creek at Hendersonville TN. Headache again; popped pills. Did a bucket of laundry. Anchor hasn't arrived yet; can't leave town. Dinghied ashore, biked to library and spent most of the afternoon there, got some more groceries. Salad and grilled pork-chop and saffron rice for dinner. 9/11/2003 (Thursday) At anchor in Drakes Creek at Hendersonville TN. Loafed all morning. Dinghied ashore, went to library. Found that the guy who said he shipped my anchor almost 2 weeks ago apparently shipped it 2 DAYS ago ! Even that's not clear; UPS didn't enter the addresses into their system, so I can track a package but can't be sure that it's coming here. Have to wait another 3-5 days here to see if it arrives. And last reports are that it seems to be heading for Phoenix, which is wrong; the guy probably put the wrong zip code on it too ! Got a few more groceries. Salad and egg-salad sandwiches for dinner. 9/12/2003 (Friday) At anchor in Drakes Creek at Hendersonville TN. Did a bucket of laundry. Lots of cleaning up and straightening up. Shook up the fire extinguishers. Replaced battery in fire alarm. Dinghied ashore at noon and met Roy, and gave him a tour of the boat. He treated me to a nice BBQ lunch, then drove me to a couple of marine stores, but they had no zincs for me. Sat talking for another hour or so (fine time except our politics are completely different), then met his friend Irving and the three of us went out to the boat for another tour and some conversation. Nice time. Roy gave me a cup full of home-grown mint. Tried to track my package, but it's between Texas and Phoenix, on unstoppable progress westward to somewhere, where they'll say "wrong zip code" and send it here (I hope). UPS can't stop it, doesn't know where it's going, etc. I think this is a hole in Homeland Security. Peanut-butter-and-banana sandwiches (my usual lunch) for dinner. 9/13/2003 (Saturday) At anchor in Drakes Creek at Hendersonville TN. Dinghied ashore, did library, got some groceries. Ordered zincs (for an outrageous price once shipping is included, but there are none in town). Maybe I was tracking the wrong package: another package with a similar number shipped from the right place on the 11th and has made it to Knoxville. If that's it, he shipped it even later than I thought before. Patched gelcoat chips on the dinghy sole. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 9/14/2003 (Sunday) At anchor in Drakes Creek at Hendersonville TN. Lots of rain from 2 AM to 7 AM. Fairly breezy day. Cleaned insides of fixed ports. Messed with tachometer to try to recalibrate it, but no luck. Ran engine for 15 minutes to exercise it. Stayed on the boat all day; library is closed, and the water is fairly rough and windy. Salad and chili for dinner. 9/15/2003 (Monday) At anchor in Drakes Creek at Hendersonville TN. Cool, breezy, sunny day. Put penetrating oil on loose engine mount. Greased the tachometer adapter. Dinghied ashore, biked to library. Found my package was delivered, but it says to Nashville. Phoned the marina, and they have a package for me ! Bought a gear-puller ($8) and masking tape ($5) and some groceries. Raised anchor about 12:30; it was an effort, since there was lots of mud on it, the anchor was buried solidly, and there was a bit of wind. Motored down to the marina; feels good to be moving again. Fuel dock looked a little iffy, so I anchored out and dinghied in. My package was sitting by the driveway, where the UPS guy had plopped it. It looked like an anchor with wrapping around it. Took it out to the boat, raised anchor, and motored down the creek and river. Opened the package as I went, and it's the right thing. Nice brand-new CQR 45 anchor. Unfortunately, got to Old Hickory Lock at the same time as a tow going my direction, and had to wait a couple hours for them to split up and lock through. Drifted in the lake for a while, taking the old CQR 35 off and putting the new CQR 45 on. Then anchored near the lock. Not my best job mooring inside the lock; I'm a bit out of practice. Out of the lock a little before 5, and down the river. Nice current; I'm doing 7 to 8 knots. Almost immediately, I encounter a tow coming up the wrong side of the road. Manage to radio him and coordinate things in time. Salad and celery-and-peanut-butter for dinner. Anchored as it was getting dark, at 7:30 about 4 miles upstream from Nashville. In the entrance to Mill Creek, a spot I used on my way up the river eons ago. 9/16/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor in the Cumberland river just upstream of Nashville TN. Cool, foggy morning. Raised anchor about 8, went down to Nashville, then had to wait 45 minutes at the train bridge, as two very slow trains passed over. Plenty of time between them to get me through, but I guess they don't want to take any chance of delaying a train. Down the river, past Ashland City, eventually through Cheatham Lock, then anchored about 5:30 a few miles upstream of Clarksville, in another spot where I anchored on the way up. Salad and noodles-and-chili for dinner. 9/17/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor in the Cumberland river just upstream of Claskville TN. Very foggy in the early morning. Raised anchor at 8 and headed down the river. Got to Clarksville and the low railroad bridge about 8:45. Tricky situation: I got under that bridge on the way up, but the gauge on this side is very unclear. And now there's a work-barge blocking one side of the bridge. Went dead slow, but couldn't afford to slew sideways too much because quarters are very tight. Came to almost a dead stop, and was greatly relieved when I slid under the bridge with probably a foot to spare. Met a 4x4 tow a few more miles down the river; that's the widest I've seen, I think. And the river isn't very wide here. Lots of motoring all day, then tried to go into Terrapin Creek to anchor. Ran aground immediately, and had a hard time getting off even though I'd been going very slowly. Went further down the river and anchored out in the middle at mile 64.5, across from Canton KY. Didn't do it well the first time, so raised it and nosed a little further into 6+ foot water, then anchored again about 5:15. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 9/18/2003 (Thursday) At anchor in the Cumberland river across from Canton KY. Got up to find bugs had spawned all over the boat in the night, leaving greenish dots all over the place. Raised anchor before 8, then spent 10 minutes scrubbing. Motored down the river, and anchored about 12:30 across from Green Turtle Bay marina. Hot, still afternoon. Long dinghy ride to marina. My packages were waiting for me (floppy drive, and zincs). Biked to supermarket and got groceries. Got a bit lost on the way back; the marina resort roads are confusing. Have to decide: do I make a 14-mile roundtrip to fuel up at the marina where diesel is 8 cents/gallon cheaper ? If I need 160 gallons, save $13 but spend 2.5 hours and $4.50 of fuel to get there. Went snorkeling under the boat, but visibility was about 2 inches. Dove down and felt the prop zinc; it's there, but it's shrunk and no longer tight on the shaft, which is not good. Scraped some muck off the waterline, but couldn't see to do any more scraping. Salad and egg-salad sandwiches for dinner. 9/19/2003 (Friday) At anchor in the Cumberland river just above Barkley lock. Cool, grey, slightly rainy morning. Installed new engine zinc. Fuel level 7.1 inches at engine hour 3032.8 Raised anchor about 8:45 and headed into Green Turtle Bay marina. Bought 155 gallons of diesel at $1.55/gallon ($230), 3 gallons of gas ($6). Filled the water tanks and jugs. Filled the fuel tank to overflowing; this may be the last easy fuel available until New Orleans. Several people stopped by to look at my boat. One had a 1972 Gulfstar 43. To Barkley Lock, which was difficult. Had to wait 45 minutes to get in, and there was a pontoon boat fishing right at the entrance gates. The bollard was two bollards, one 3 feet too low and the other 4 feet too high. I used the high one, but that meant I didn't have good leverage when pulling on the lines. The wind swirled and made my boat oscillate. After closing the gates, they reopened and we waited 5 minutes to let one more boat in. As we left, the boat ahead of me dawdled, and the one behind started early, so I had to hang on and wait, fighting the wind coming in through the open gates. Got out at noon, found nice 2.5-knot current, and the sun came out about 12:30 ! Cumberland river joined into the Ohio river, which is nice and wide but loaded with tow traffic and dredges. Saw a big fox running over a big bare spot on the bank; I've never seen a fox in the wild before. Motored down to Paducah. Tried to go inside Owens Island, just to see what was there, but the markers at the Tennessee / Ohio junction were confusing and my chart was a black-and-white copy, so I almost ran aground. Made a U-turn and gave up on that plan; went down the wide side of the island. No protected anchoring spots, so I decided it was safest near the tiny marina. But as soon as I anchored near the marina, someone in the marina said I was in the "navigation channel". I'm not really, and the river is 1/2 mile wide here, but apparently the tows often nose barges in to shore here, as they do everywhere else. I raised anchor and moved a little closer to the marina, then the marina manager called, said he was the "harbormaster", and said I'm still in danger. But none of them offer any alternative (other than staying in the marina). I can't believe tows would nose in without looking first. Finally got settled a little before 6, and I don't know how well I'll sleep tonight. Put the new floppy drive in my laptop, and it doesn't work. Crap ! Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. Uneventful night; none of the tows came close to me. Lots of light from the hotel, too, so I was pretty visible. 9/20/2003 (Saturday) At anchor in the Ohio river at Paducah KY. Cool night and morning. Dinghied ashore, tying up near a replica of Columbus's "Nina", and biked to library. Did internet and some newspapers. Went to railroad museum, which had several lonely, enthusiastic and knowledgeable volunteers; had a great time talking to them about the rivers and railroads and history and stuff. Went to the main street, where there was some sort of biker get-together going on (lots of chrome). Also, the river barge River Explorer had docked and let off a lot of people; I passed that barge when I was coming down the Cumberland, I think. Went to the Market House museum, which had a lot of cool old pianos and drugstore counters and an old plug-style telephone switchboard. Biked over to the marina, which is a set of small barges floating in the river, with a really funky metal catwalk to it from shore. Had a nice talk with a very knowledgeable guy there. Almost went into the River Heritage museum, but it looked a little pricey for what you got. Climbed on an old locomotive near the riverfront. Back to the boat for a very late lunch. Realized I missed an art museum, and it's closed tomorrow and Monday. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 9/21/2003 (Sunday) At anchor in the Ohio river at Paducah KY. Grey morning. Big fuel barge nosed into the bank upstream of me; there's plenty of room. Dinghied ashore and biked up to the shopping. Turned out to be pretty far away, 3 or 4 miles each way. Frustrating to be in a Walmart Supercenter and being limited to how much you can carry back on a bike. Back to boat, lunch, then back ashore. Some powerboats came by my boat, and then I saw them up at the dock, and they said "hey, weren't you in Hendersonville last week ?"; I was. Biked to library and spent whole afternoon there; pretty crowded on such a grey day. Rain held off until about 1/2 hour before it was time to leave; mild rain as I biked back, put bike in dinghy, out to boat, haul bike into boat, haul dinghy up, etc. Foggy, too. Spaghetti for dinner. Rained all night, and lots of tows doing strange things out in the middle of the river next to me. Sometimes the wind made the boat head for shore a bit. Didn't sleep well. 9/22/2003 (Monday) At anchor in the Ohio river at Paducah KY. Raised anchor at 0815, sun started coming out about 0830. Almost had a total disaster: almost went over dam 52 ! It's only about 5 feet high at the moment, but it would have been ugly. The charts say they're removing dams 52 and 53 and building Olmsted dam. Got to the site of dam 52 and saw no dam, no concrete, no warning signs, no warning buoys, just a dredge in the middle of the river and a rusty lock on one bank. Then the lockmaster called me and said I was about to go over the dam ! Made a quick U-turn, then waited 15 minutes to get into the lock, and had to shift fenders and lines from starboard to port. It was the worst lock I've ever been in; port side tie-up, where I was set up for starboard and my pilothouse opens to starboard; the lock wall was big round caissons instead of a flat wall that my fenders could hand; fixed bollards instead of floating. But the lockmaster was very nice and helpful, although he probably thought I was an idiot. He said he'd drop the water slowly to avoid damaging my boat, then he dropped it VERY slowly, making it a long, drawn-out process. Passed three cruising sailboats coming up the river with their masts down and lashed on deck (and one more with no mast at all; must have had it shipped ahead), and 5 or 6 powerboats. Part of the annual "great loop" migration, I'm sure. Rough on the river today: 15+ knots of wind on my nose, and a 2.5-knot current helping me. Tons of barges anchored in the river and along the shore near Cairo IL. But I found an empty spot across from town and anchored a little before 3 PM. Not sure I'll be able to dinghy ashore tomorrow; the shoreline looks all concrete; nowhere to leave a dinghy. From here, about 850 miles to New Orleans. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. Lots of tugs going back and forth at night, and one broke up the barges just upstream and motored up the river with them. He came a little close to me, maybe 200 feet upstream, and floored the engines, so I had 6 to 8 knots of current past me for a minute. I watched anxiously, but my anchor held fine. 9/23/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor in the Ohio river at Cairo IL. Dinghied ashore. Extremely difficult landing: the whole shore is rock, the current is strong, and there are wakes from tugs. Found a big log stuck along the shore, and nestled against it as an impromptu dock. Took an anchor ashore, hooked it over a big rock, and piled a couple more rocks on top. Took a locking cable ashore, looped it around a rock, and piled another rock on top. Just then, a tug came to get some barges just upstream from the boat-ramp and me, and blasted a strong prop-wash downriver 20 feet abeam of me as I held on and the dinghy swirled in the backwash. Lifted the bike ashore, plus a bag of garbage. Hauled it over the rocks to the boat-ramp, and up to town. Whew ! Town turned out to be interesting. The area nearest the river is partly abandoned, as is some of the west end of town. But there are plenty of nice old buildings, and a nice historic district with lovely tree-shaded streets and old houses and a nice park. Biked around there a bit, then went to the library. Their only internet computer was broken, and they have no newspapers, but the building itself is beautiful, and it's part museum and full of old furniture, some American and some Italian Renaissance. Gorgeous stained glass over some of the windows. Then went to the Custom House museum. Had it to myself except for an old lady who reminded me of my grandmother. She let me wander through the 2nd and 3rd stories, telling me to turn lights on and off as I went, then insisted on narrating a tour of the 1st floor for me. Wonderful old building, incredibly high ceilings, gorgeous floors, some wood and some stone. Part of 2nd story floor is built from arched brick, something I've never seen before. Lots of 1920-1950's stuff, including an optometrist's office, a pharmacy, a post office, a dry-goods store. All seem to be contents of real businesses that existed in town, some in this very building. Great WW II uniforms and documents and photos. Whole room full of arrowheads. Lots of town photos, many showing town flooded by the river. Marvelous place ! Got groceries, and picked up a BBQ sandwich on the way out of town. Back to the dinghy, which I was relieved to find intact. Fought stiff current to get back to the boat. Major ordeal to haul everything back aboard while a 2-3 knot current kept sweeping the dinghy away. Raise anchor about 1:30 and headed down the river. Soon at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, which was cool. Then down the Mississippi. About 3.5 knots of current, so I'm doing 8 knots, keeping the engine at lower-than-normal speed. A lot less traffic here, which is nice. Did a 360 to pick up a milk-crate floating in the water. Passed a 5x5 tow. Passed a huge mass of barges and tows on the bank, not near anything notable. Went into the "harbor" (really a creek) at Hickman KY. Would have been just big enough to anchor in, and very nice, except it's full of barges. Back out into the river, and anchored at 6:10 just upstream of the Hickman Harbor entrance. About 1.5 knots of current where I'm anchored. Salad and eggsalad sandwiches for dinner. Lots of tow activity in the river at night, including a lot close to me, feeding a nearby plant. 9/24/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor in the Mississippi river at Hickman KY. Added water to batteries. Lots of blasting of horns from the tugs as they go by me; I think they don't like me being here, they have to go an extra 1/4 mile up the bank to do their stuff. Came on deck and started lowering the dinghy, and a tug came over and told me to leave, I was in their fleeting area. I asked why they had to have this exact spot, and they just kept saying "we got a 40-barge tow". They steamed away, and I got irritated and got in the dinghy and strated heading into town. They came steaming after me, blowing the horn, until I gave up and circled around inside the "harbor" to talk to them. They told me to anchor right in the harbor entrance. So I went back out, raised anchor, and went into the harbor entrance and anchored. Not happy with it, but I got back in the dinghy and went ashore. Main part of town is pretty empty; lots of empty lots and unused buildings. Biked up a big hill to the library. Wonderful scenic overlook behind the library; can see for miles and miles. Did internet, then down the other side of the hill to the supermarket. Didn't really need anything that was light enough to carry on the bike over hills, but dutifully got some groceries anyway. Up the big hill and down the other side to the dinghy. Back to the boat, and raised anchor about 12:45. As it came up, the ferry went by and then a tow went by, so things were pretty exciting for a couple of minutes. Got out into the river and had to wait for a big 7x6 or so tow to go downstream, then I followed him. Heard the USCG announce on the radio that I was no longer obstructing the channel ! Called them and told them I'd been chased out of my anchorage and told to anchor in the harbor entrance, but they just said "complain to the tug company". And they said the tow may have needed that exact area; they can't land just anywhere, which I knew. I shouldn't have gotten irritated, and as soon as I heard horns, I should have gotten on the radio. Now it'll take a while for my blood pressure to settle down. Oh, well, no damage done to anything except my ego. Motored down the river, and the tow ahead was doing only 3 knots or so, so I passed him. As I got along him, he started doing 7 knots or more, so I had to speed up a bit to pass and then open a safe gap between us. Stiff breeze in the afternoon. Lots of swirling water too, making hand-steering a chore. Finally started the auto-pilot and let it work for a while. Started working on the bike tire; looks like I picked up a staple in the rear tire. Tried to anchor about 4 PM, but the current was too strong. Went further downstream and anchored a mile or two upstream from New Madrid MO about 4:30. About 2 to 2.5 knots of current where I'm anchored. At least I'm far out of the channel, and not near any kind of barge area. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. Too tired and stressed out to cook. 9/25/2003 (Thursday) At anchor in the Mississippi river just upstream of New Madrid MO. Patched the bike tire. Raised anchor about 9 AM in strong breeze and rising current. Motored down inside New Madrid bar, which was a little closer than I thought. Turned out to be a great anchorage, except that right now the wind is blowing straight down it. But the current is less, and when the wind shifts, it'll be nice. Anchored at 9:30. Cleaned the heads. Used a nut-cutter to get the frozen nut off the starboard-forward engine mount. In the process, the big wire to the alternator fell off; crimped a new connector onto it. Dinghied ashore, and found that I'd mounted the bike wheel crooked; had to go back to the boat, grab a couple of wrenches, and fix it ashore. Biked into town and got the lay of the land. School let out and kids driving around honking car horns at each other; I guess that's the excitement here. Neat little town, nice library, and a river museum. Got some groceries and bought nuts for the engine mounts ($1). Gave myself a bit of a haircut. Guy named Larry stopped by in his boat, to admire my boat. He does some fishing and various jobs, and we had a nice chat. Salad and grilled pork chop and hotdogs for dinner. 9/26/2003 (Friday) At anchor at New Madrid MO. Boy, the weather is nice ! Nicely cool for sleeping at night, sunny and warm during the day. Did a bucket of laundry. Installed new engine mount nut, raising the nut underneath a bit so it carries it's share of the engine weight. Started blowing hard at noon, opposing the current, so the boat's moving and swerving. Dinghied ashore and biked into town. Had to detour to avoid an area where a grain bin on the waterfront had started burning. Did hardware store, library, liquor store. Wind eased a bit at 6:30. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. Wind picked up a bit at midnight; expected thunderstorm and lots of rain, but got just a little lightning in the distance and a few sprinkles of rain. 9/27/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at New Madrid MO. Completely grey day. Loafed all morning. Started getting nice after noon. A houseboat named Tweedle Dee pulled in and anchored. Dinghied ashore and biked to museum. Nice civil-war era stuff, weapons and furniture and clothing and pictures of the town and such. Two nice old people running the place; I chatted with them for a while. Back to the dinghy, and stopped by Tweedle Dee for a chat with a guy on board. We're both leaving tomorrow morning; probably see them in Caruthersville. He's looking for a dentist, to have an aching tooth pulled. They came down the Upper Mississippi from Minneapolis (I think), then went up the Illinois for a while. Salad and fruit and grilled sausage sandwiches for dinner. 9/28/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at New Madrid MO. Cold morning; winter's coming. Flocks of birds appearing; must be start of the migrations. Fuel level 16.0 inches at engine hour 3055.7 Raised anchor about 8:30; Tweedle Dee was out about 10 minutes ahead of me. Shaft vibration seems normal; I was worried my fiddling with the engine mount might have thrown alignment off, but it probably was off anyway. Started blowing NW 15+ and cold about 10:30, and it was cold in the pilothouse. Slogged on to Caruthersville MO. Anchored at a stupid spot on the waterfront, but it was on a lee shore and near a dredge and too near the casino boat (security rules). So raised anchor, crossed the river, and anchored between some dikes and off a sandbar about 2 PM. Not a great spot (should have gone closer to upstream dike, and gotten further in), but somewhat sheltered from the current, the wind is supposed to ease tonight, and it's straight across from the boat ramp I want to land at tomorrow. Tweedle Dee pulled into a creek (old harbor) a few miles upstream from town; they'll have to move down tomorrow, I guess. I probably should have done that too. Chicken-onion-greenbean-mushroomsoup thing for dinner. Pretty good, actually. 9/29/2003 (Monday) At anchor at Caruthersville MO. Cold night and cool morning. Dinghied ashore, and found the only reasonable way across the river was to get the dinghy up on plane. Hard to get ashore; found a little patch less rocky than the rest, so beached the dinghy there. Found a path up through the weeds, across a flood-levee, and biked into town. Not much in town; stopped at Chamber of Commerce, and they made sure I knew about their riverboat casino. Library opens late, so I got groceries and left. Raised anchor about 11. Tried calling Tweedle Dee on the radio, but just got wise-guy tow captains responding "Tweedle Dum". Almost 5 knots of current going down the river now. Starting to see bunches of tows now; strings of 3 or so following each other, a couple miles apart. Often see one or two pulled over to the side to let another come past. Some big ones, too: 5x7, 6x6. Pushed by big triple-prop tugboats. Anchored about 4 PM in the middle of the river at mile 799, about 14 miles upstream of Osceola AR. Failed again to get out of much of the current; I keep trying to hide behind dikes, and they keep turning out to be smaller and have shallower water behind them than I expect. Salad and eggsalad sandwiches for dinner. Current strong enough at times to make the propellor freewheel; stuck a hose against the shaft to stop it because the noise was disturbing my sleep. 9/30/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor on the Mississippi river a bit upstream of Osceola AR. Added 1/4 quart to the transmission fluid. Raised anchor about 9:15, and had to get behind a big tow going downstream. Started to pass him, but he was going too fast for me, so eventually I dropped back and followed him. Made for a lumpy trip; these tows tear up the water and leave wake and prop-wash that you can still feel 5 minutes after they pass. Went down to Osceola and anchored about 11:15. Disappointed: the convenient channel up to town has been blocked by a dike and a sandbar, so I had to stop just upstream of a plant. Got ready to go ashore, and saw a guy in a canoe come into the creek. Eventually he came by and said hello. He looked in his 60's and fairly scary-looking, but was pleasant. He's one of those guys I've heard about who canoe down the Mississippi ! I don't know where he started, but his canoe has a Minnesota registration number. I asked where he's going, and he said he's trying to figure out how to get to Florida, so he can buy an old sailboat for $1000 and get back into sailing. He built his own sailboat years ago and sailed it on the USA west coast. I saw a bedroll and a disassembled bike in his canoe, and not much else. I suppose he has some food and water. No charts; he's using a Rand-McNally street atlas. He said he did the same trip 30 years ago, so this is sort of a nostalgia trip for him. He said back then, the river didn't have all these dikes forcing him out into the channel as it does today. He went to ask the guys at the plant if he could land there. I launched the dinghy and went upstream a bit. Landed at a sunken barge, saw traces of an old road I was looking for, and hauled everything up the bank. Started biking on the old road, but it quickly became nothing but ruts through weedy fields, and it smelled like cow. Soon I was seeing fresh cow-patties, and hoping they weren't bull-patties. Biked a mile or two with no way to get out to a real road, then dead-ended at a barbed-wire fence. Came back and found a black cow contemplating my dinghy from the riverbank. Quickly got myself down the bank before the cow could amble much closer (I'm a city boy), loaded up as she watched, and went back to the boat. Looks like the canoe guy went ashore at the plant, but I'm not up for that. Don't need anything from town except the library. And it's looking more like rain. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. Started blowing about 6:30, and from the one direction I have no protection from. At least it started before dark; now I'll be sure my anchor is not dragging. There's not much room here. Started raining a bit about 8:30 or so. Feel sorry for the canoe guy in this weather; wonder where he's sleeping tonight. On the other hand, he chose to do this, and he knew (better than me) what he was getting into. 10/1/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor at Osceola AR. Cool, foggy morning. Raised anchor about 8:30 and got going. Saw someone camping on Hatchie towhead; a tent and some gear and a skiff. Saw some houses on the bank a few miles down from there; first houses I've seen from the river, other than those in towns. Was doing 10.8 knots over ground at one point, through a chute at mile 765 ! That's with engine at less than normal revs. Probably had 5.5 knots of current. Got to Memphis TN, went up the Wolf river. Narrower than I'd hoped, and they bring barges through it. And a Coast Guard station, which security rules prevent anchoring close to. Waved at Tweedle Dee in the marina as I went by. Found a spot along one side and anchored at about 2:30, then spent 45 minutes taking a lone ashore to pull the stern in close, and putting out a stern anchor to keep from swinging into the shore. Now to see how long until someone comes along and tells me I can't anchor here. Think there may a homeless camp downstream of me; heard voices, and saw someone washing clothes on the riverbank. Sun came out and the afternoon turned nicer. Took the dinghy down the river to the marina. The dockmaster there is a really nice guy; chatted with him for a while. But keeping my boat there would cost $44/night. Chatted with Doug and Sally on Tweedle Dee for a while. They zoomed past me while I was in Caruthersville, to get here because Doug had a bad tooth. He met a dentist right on the dock, and the doc put him in his car and took him right off to the office. Walked up to the Riverwalk display, which is fabulous. 5-block-long scale model of Ohio and Mississippi river system, and billboard-sized models of river systems from Pittsburgh to Colorado and Ohio to Louisiana. Really cool layouts of all the towns, too. Fantastic to see all the places I've been, and the ones ahead too. But got kicked out by a security guard; turned out I was there after closing time. Chatted with Doug and Sally again, then back to the boat. Passed a homeless person bathing in the river, totally naked (I think). I was chilly wearing jeans and a sweatshirt; he must have been frozen. Took my own quick shower on the stern of the boat, and the wind chilled me. Salad and fruit and grilled sausage sandwiches for dinner. 10/2/2003 (Thursday) At anchor at Memphis TN. Loafed most of the morning. Fuel level 14.8 inches at engine hour 3075.2 Dinghied ashore, landing next to USCG station in the hope that would keep the dinghy safer. Biked into downtown. Found library, which is just a small branch. Started catching up on email. I'm a little disturbed by all of the signs of a high-crime area: the library has a full-time guard, locked restrooms, and invited me to put my bike inside the foyer so it didn't get stolen. Outside the welcome center there are "24-hour surveillance" signs. Biked down Beale Street, which has some major resurfacing going on. Wandered around town a bit. Went to the welcome center, which has 12-foot-high statues of Elvis and B. B. King. Back to the library to pick up bus schedules and read newspapers. Memphis is a huge city; looks like some of the best things require a bus ride. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 10/3/2003 (Friday) At anchor at Memphis TN. Dinghied ashore at 0900, biked to bus station, took bus to U. of Memphis art museum. Wow, Memphis is ENORMOUS ! The bus kept going and going, and progress across the city map I had was slow. Eventually found the art museum, which was small and not worth the effort. Did some email in the school library, back to the main street, and missed my bus by 200 yards. Waited half an hour for the next. Got off at Brooks art museum, grabbed a quick lunch, then went into the museum. Nice place; wide variety of exhibits, although a couple of galleries were closed for some reason. Back out to main road, and again missed my bus by 100 yards or so; saw it zip by just as I came out of the front door of the museum. Waited half an hour for the next one. Back to the bus station, biked to the library and did internet and newspapers. Back to the boat. Water-skiing boat going up and down the river, waking me. Salad and eggsalad-on-crackers for dinner. 10/4/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at Memphis TN. Dinghied ashore, biked McGrevey-Neeley mansion and took tour. Great house, nice tour, but the guide talked nonstop. Had to interrupt him to ask questions. Then went to Peabody Center, took a quick look at the "folklore museum", which was just a bunch of (interesting) paintings and photos spread through a cafe and gift shop. Got a few groceries. Sailboat "Beluga" stopped by briefly and we chatted a little; they went up the river to anchor for the night. Salad and hotdogs for dinner. 10/5/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Memphis TN. Grey day. A little rain at 10. Homeless people yelling in the bushes. John and Monique on "Beluga" stopped by again, and we rafted up for an hour. We gave each other tours of our boats, chatted. When John asked about how I did oil changes, I was shocked to see that somehow I managed to shear off the fitting on top of the tube down to the oil sump. I don't need it; I don't change oil that way any more. But I must have snagged it on my clothes one time too many, and sheared it off. Dinghied down to the marina. Tweedle Dee left this morning for Helena. Walked through the Riverwalk Park complex for an hour or two; very nice. Guy in the marina says the city has a $100 million plan to rebuild the entire riverfront and island; they're going to move the marinas and the USCG station, demolish grain silos, build another pedestrian bridge, make the whole area into a park, etc. Saw a powerboat in the marina with 12 gasoline jugs strapped down across the whole width of the swim platform. Back to boat, and ran engine for 30 minutes to charge batteries. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 10/6/2003 (Monday) At anchor at Memphis TN. Another grey day. Water level dropped 2 feet in 24 hours. Checked engine zinc; looks fine. Dinghied ashore, biked to library, did internet and newspapers. Tried to go to Peabody art museum, but it's closed Mondays. Got groceries. Back to boat for lunch, then back ashore to try another art museum. My information was bad; it was a small art gallery, and it was closed anyway. Wandered around a community college for a while, back into town, got some more groceries, back to boat. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. Spaghetti didn't work too well with hickory-smoked sausage, but you can't find hot Italian sausage here. 10/7/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor at Memphis TN. Started working at 0730, to raise anchors and get ready to go to fuel dock. A ton of work: had to launch dinghy, untie from shore, try to raise stern anchor, give up and hoist dinghy, slack main anchor, raise stern anchor from boat. Dumped diesel jug into tank, put oil in dinghy tank, got water jugs lined up. Raised main anchor. Wasn't moving until 0900. Went to fuel dock and bought 20 gallons of diesel at $1.39/gallon ($28) and 2 gallons of gasoline ($4). Probably could have loaded another 10-15 gallons of diesel, but the vent was making bubbling noises and I didn't want to risk a spill. Loaded water. Moving again a little before 10. Down by West Memphis, passed the biggest tow I've seen. A 6x7, with a big 3-engine tug plus a small tug pushing it up the river. Passed two casinos at Tunica MS. One was a huge, boxy thing; the other was a fairy-tale castle. Close encounter with a tow; he was going into a bend as I was coming out. I stuck close to the greens on the starboard side, and came within a foot of hitting one. He had forced me that close, since the next green 100 yards ahead was sliding down the side of his barges. I usually would have gone out of the channel in that situation, but there was a nasty-looking shoal not far outside the channel. Surprised to see Tweedle Dee anchored at mile 694; they left 2 days ago from Memphis, and I thought they'd be in Helena already. Called them on the radio to make sure they were okay, and they're just taking their time. Anchored in a spot between two dikes, completely shielded from the current, but between two working dredges. Kept going to mile 681. Tried to anchor downstream of one dike, but they've punched a hole through it, and it's shoaled in. Went 1/4 mile further, and found a lovely anchorage inside a big hook-shaped dike. Opening is bigger than it looks on the chart. Anchored about 4:15, about 18 miles upstream from Helena AR. Hearing strange rumbling noises miles away. Maybe a military target range ? After dark, watched a big tow creep very slowly downstream around the bend next to me. Can't imagine why they were going so slowly, unless it's a green captain. Kept expecting to hear them crash. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 10/8/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor on the Mississippi River, between Memphis TN and Helena AR. Woke at 7:30 to find thick fog; visibility maybe 100 feet. At 9, still foggy, 100 yards. Tows going on right through the fog. Replaced cotter pin in bow anchor chain roller. Fog thicker at 10 AM. Saw another tow going extremely slowly through the bend. Maybe it's a very tough bend for a certain class of tow (large, loaded, downstream) ? Fog starting to clear at 10:30. Raised anchor about 11 AM, went down the river as the fog finished clearing. Not much traffic until almost Helena, then 4 tows close together going upstream. I just went out of the channel and stayed about 50 feet out, watching the depth sounder the whole time. Got to the nice anchorage at Helena AR, and was relieved to find it empty (no barges). Anchored about 1:15. Saw a sailboat go motoring past down the river about 5:30. Wonder where he could be going; I'm in the finest anchorage for 50 miles in either direction, and it'll be dark in an hour or so. Salad and fruit and eggsalad sandwiches for dinner. 10/9/2003 (Thursday) At anchor at Helena AR. Raised anchor about 0900 and moved slightly, more into the center of the anchorage. Dinghied ashore in anchorage, but found nothing but mud and weeds and fields ashore. Back into the dinghy, out to the river, and went ashore ina little mud patch. Hauled bike up over the rocky bank, across a grassy, sandy field, to a road. I'm in a riverfront park, and it's slowly filling up with campers here for the blues festival. Biked to end of road, and found there's a small harbor which doesn't appear on the chart, and the other side of it has a boat-ramp right into town ! Much of it is filled with a grain silo and barges, but the upstream end has some space. Not sure if I'll try moving into there; it's a bit small for my boat. And by the time I get there, other boats may have appeared. Biked into town. A mixture of vacant buildings and some historic buildings, including several big churches. They're blocking off the main street for the festival. The supermarket has just gone out of business; nearest is 4 miles out. The mailperson says every business at that location has shut down because of shoplifting ! Found the library and did internet and newspapers, and toured the museum attached to it. Picked up a few groceries at a gas-station market, and biked back to the dinghy. Almost stepped on a 2-foot-long snake in the rocks, wearing my flip-flops, as I went back down the riverbank. Started raining hard as I got the dinghy going. Expected to find Tweedle Dee in the anchorage with me, but I'm alone. Saw a couple of small boats go down-river as I got back to the boat. Cut battery-box lids to make them fit. Heard blues festival music from town, about a mile away; must be very loud. Lots of rain at times. Ran engine for 30 minutes to charge batteries. Salad and fruit and cheese sandwiches for dinner. Rained most of the night until about 4 AM. 10/10/2003 (Friday) At anchor at Helena AR. Very damp, foggy morning. Loafed all morning and dinghied ashore after lunch. Wandered through the blues festival, went to the Delta Cultural Center (lots of Civil War photos), did library, then back to the blues festival for a couple of hours of good music and pretty women. Nice, sunny afternoon. Found a bunch of boats docked to a barge in the "inlet". Turned out to be the Memphis Yacht Club; they come down for the festival each year. That explains the powerboats I've seen zipping down the river today. Chatted with the security guard for a while, and had trouble getting away from him; he's desperate for someone to talk to, and he told me all about his divorce and its aftermath. Fruit and chili for dinner. 10/11/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at Helena AR. Another very damp, very grey morning; a few sprinkles of rain. Dinghied ashore after lunch. Wandered through the blues festival, did library, back to the blues festival for a couple of hours. Took little breaks and went biking through town a bit. Back to the dinghy, chatted with some guys standing near it, then back to the boat. Fruit and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 10/12/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Helena AR. Totally fogged in until 10. Saw a bunch of powerboats heading up the river as the fog started to clear; everyone going from Helena back to Memphis now that the festival's over. Raised anchor at 10 and headed down the river. Lots of tow traffic today, and lots of bends where several tows are pulled over to let others by. Got stuck behind a slow one for a little while, but passed them and had clear passage for a while. Very grey day. Was passed by a fast tow, and followed them for the next couple of hours. Sun started coming out in later afternoon. Anchored about 4:30 at mile 610, in a nice side-channel. Made a ham-onion-rice-mushroomsoup thing for dinner; pretty good. 10/13/2003 (Monday) At anchor off the Mississippi River at mile 610. Grey morning. Added water to the batteries. Raised anchor at 0730. Slight rain from 8 to 9. Tons of tow traffic on the river today, most of it upstream of me. The tow captains are complaining about how hard it is to keep track of where everyone is. Motored on and on. Arrived a little upstream of Greenville MS about 3:30, and planned to anchor inside a big L-shaped dike on the river. But then I listened to the weather forecast, and it could be ugly: thunderstorms, wind blowing S for a while, then W, then NW 15-25. Not sure if it all applies to my area, but decided to head into the harbor, despite being tired. Took more than an hour to get in and anchored; it's a long harbor, stuffed with marine businesses. Saw lots of tugs and barges in dry-dock, with guys grinding or welding on them. Fortunately not too many tugs moving, maybe because it's late on a holiday. Anchored about 4:45, in a nice empty area protected by channel buoys and with good room in all directions. Tired. Salad-like-mix and peanut-butter crackers for dinner. 10/14/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor at Greenville MS. Wind blowing from SW at 5:45. Rain at 7:45, wind from NW by 8:30. Totally clouded-over and grey. By 9:30, wind blowing 15-20 from NNE through NW. Not going ashore today. Bright and sunny and clear by 1, but still windy. Wind eased a bit about 3, but keeps rising and falling. Saw the "canoe guy" about 4 PM ! Same guy I talked to in Osceola exactly 2 weeks ago; that was about 250 miles ago, so he (and I) are averaging a little less than 20 miles a day. He was heading out of the harbor here today. I waved at him, but he was looking straight into the sun to see me, and he didn't wave back. Strange: there's been no traffic through the harbor at all since I've been here. There are several large marine businesses and casinos upstream of me; I thought there'd be traffic. Made a ham-onion-rice-garlic-mushroomsoup thing for dinner; pretty good. 10/15/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor at Greenville MS. Beautiful sunny day. Did a bucket of laundry. Dinghied ashore, stopped briefly at the marina but it was deserted, biked through town. More prosperous than many of the other towns I've seen, but still a fair number of vacant buildings, and no museums or much else of interest. Did library, got groceries. Strange supermarket, very Southern, I guess: 20 kinds of smoked sausage, but no Italian sausage, and every part of the pig except the squeal: feet, jowls, maws ! Brief chat with a guy back where I landed the dinghy. Salad and grilled sausage sandwiches for dinner. Right after dinner, I heard someone hailing me. It's a small boat pulling near in the dark, and it turned out to be someone the guy I chatted with mentioned: "river Bill". He's on about an 18-foot motorboat with an outboard that doesn't work at the moment, using solar panels and a trolling motor to move, but he also has a mast and sails rigged. His boat is stuffed; the deckline looks like a heap. He has two big wolf-like dogs on board with him. He says he's been cruising the rivers for 6 years, and used to be a shrimper near Pensacola. He had a sailboat in Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans, but it got crushed against a seawall in a hurricane. He's going down there to try to get a Columbia 26 sailboat. He's been here a week. A real character. He complained about not being able to afford fuel for his outboard, but he offered me a cold beer, and he had just come from spending some time in the casino. 10/16/2003 (Thursday) At anchor at Greenville MS. Beautiful sunny day. Did a bucket of laundry. Made a big batch of hot oatmeal for breakfast. Tweedle Dee came into the harbor and we had a short yelled conversation as they came past. They were in Helena for the blues festival when I was, and we just missed seeing each other. They were very impressed with how downtrodden the town is. Launched the dinghy and went down to see River Bill. He pulled up on the sand island in the middle of the harbor. Talked to him for well over an hour. We're the same age within 3 months, but look completely different: I'm a clean-shaven computer geek, and he's completely tattooed with a full beard and lots of wild hair. He offered me a beer for breakfast. He's been working to get his outboard working again, but for now he has sails and three trolling motors (powered by 6 batteries and two solar panels) for motive power. His boat is stuffed with "stuff", plus one large dog and one medium-sized dog. He says when the outboard is working, he often can't resist zipping around at 40 knots (it's a 55 HP, I think, on an 18-foot motorboat), and the fuel just takes all his money. He says he's leaving the harbor today, once his batteries get charged. He gave a couple of different boats tows up and down the rivers, until his outboard gave out. He often goes ashore by just ramming the boat up onto a sandbar, and once it cost him: he hit a submerged rock and bashed a big hole through the bottom of the boat. He had to go tie off to a barge and get some help to lift and repair the boat. He's navigating with a road atlas. Dinghied up to town, did library, got groceries. Saw the guy from the riverfront park at the supermarket, and he said he'd just given River Bill a lift to there to buy dog food. Biked back to the harbor, and they arrived back just as I did. Wind has picked up a bit, and now he has a stiff upwind haul to get back to where I'm anchored, or to get out of the harbor. Said hi to River Bill one more time, and after I left, I realized he was hinting that it would be nice if I gave him a tow. Don't feel like doing that, since he's not in danger, I have groceries to get into the fridge and freezer, and it's almost 2 PM and I want some lunch. And I don't want to get signed up as part of his act. Got back aboard, and 15 minutes later the wind eased a little and I saw him out in the harbor motor-sailing a bit. He'll have a lot of tacking to do if he wants to get upwind. A little later, saw him anchored not far from where he went ashore. Went around the boat in the dinghy, working on the rub-rail. Replaced several missing screws, and put wood-filler in holes where the screw was just spinning without gripping. Pumped some water out of the dinghy keel. Salad and cheese-and-crackers for dinner. 10/17/2003 (Friday) At anchor at Greenville MS. Cool, breezy day. Raised anchor about 8 AM; took a while because there was sticky muck on much of the chain. Some narrow parts of the channel just south of Greenville, with lots of tow traffic. Went through some strong "swirls" in the water, and over a small standing wave in the strong current. Weather getting colder and greyer. Lots of tow traffic, and some radio chatter about the river being closed somewhere above Greenville, and someone going aground last night. Maybe the water dropped a little and the river shoaled ? Heard later that the river might be open again up there. The water does seem to have been dropping over the last couple of weeks; it dropped a couple of feet while I was in Memphis, and a foot or so while I was in Greenville. A bit of pressure near the end of the day; came up behind a big tow going slightly slower than I wanted to go, and then he said he was about to "back up" and "do a flanking" and he wanted me past him. So I floored it and crawled past, about 0.2 knots faster than he was going. Getting cold and shivering a bit, too. Made it down to the anchorage I was shooting for, and it looked good. Glad it's okay; the next good one is another 10 miles further. Pulled in across from Chinaman Light, a few miles south of Lake Providence LA, and anchored about 3 PM at mile 481. Worked on aft head sink drain a little. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. Very little meat on the chicken I bought; don't get "stripped back portions" ! 10/18/2003 (Saturday) At anchor on the Mississippi River at mile 481. Cool, grey day. Lots of ugly moth-related bugs all over the boat. Raised anchor about 0915. Just ahead of a tow right away; took a while to figure out that I was going slightly faster than him, so I slowly pulled away all day. Sun started to appear about 12:30. Lots of tow traffic again today. Arrived at Vicksburg MS, and the Yazoo River past the city front makes a very narrow anchorage, with barge traffic. Anchored about 2:30, tight along one bank between a buoy and an anchored houseboat, with a stern anchor to keep me from swinging into bank or channel. But the weather is supposed to be good, and the bank is soft mud. Just after I arrived, a small tour boat went past, and the guide was using me as an example to tell everyone about the annual migration of pleasure-boats down the river to warm weather in Florida. Beautiful sunny day now. Salad and grilled sausage sandwiches for dinner. Lots of barge traffic past the boat during the night. 10/19/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Vicksburg MS. Dinghied ashore and biked all around town. Lots of exercise; the "bluffs of Vicksburg" are just hills (I was expecting more like the white cliffs of Dover), but the streets of town go up and down and all over the place. Everything closed, as I expected on a Sunday morning. Several small museums and a nice-looking library but no groceries. Very sticky mud on the riverbank; had to work hard to get the outboard skeg free of it. I think the water level is continuing to go down, day by day and minute by minute. Cleaned and gapped the outboard spark plugs; they're all oily as usual (all low-speed operation). Greased the lube points and the throttle cable. A little later, managed to loosen two big nuts I've always wanted to loosen, but tilting the motor is still very hard, and I think grease isn't getting through the responsible joints. Tweedle Dee came into the "harbor" about 4 PM, and they're bummed. They like a nice dock or marina for getting ashore, and they don't like to dinghy ashore. So they don't like what they see here. They went further up the channel to look around. A little later, the sailboat "JenRae" (Pearson 323) came in and called Tweedle Dee. They didn't answer, so I responded and chatted with JenRae. They've come down from St. Louis, heading for Punta Gorda. They went ahead and docked at what I think of as the "tour boat" dock; maybe it's okay to dock there. They'll see if anyone kicks them out. They're going to do the Tenn-Tom trip next spring. Tweedle Dee came back down the channel after a while, reporting nowhere to go ashore, and lots of derelict tugboats and barges up there. I pointed out that JenRae had docked, but Tweedle Dee said they needed to back in, to get their scooters off the boat. They're very disappointed with Vicksburg, without having stepped ashore yet. But 10 minutes later I saw that they had indeed docked, next to JenRae. Salad and a ham-onion-noodle thing for dinner. 10/20/2003 (Monday) At anchor at Vicksburg MS. Dinghied ashore, talked to cruisers on Tweedle Dee and JenRae, then biked to library. Did internet and newspapers, then found a supermarket and got groceries. River's gone down another 6 inches or so; lots of mud showing on all the banks. Guy from Tweedle Dee went to Corps office to get Atchafalaya chart (and they didn't have any), and they told him the water will go down another 8 inches, then come up 2 feet. Lunch on the boat, messed with the aft head sink drain some more, then dinghied ashore. Chatted with the guys at the dock, then biked to an ATM and then to the Old Courthouse Museum. Wonderful place, full of Civil War and Vicksburg stuff. Never knew that there were "tinclads" as well as "ironclads". Also, the name "Dixie" comes from the French word "Dix" on a 10-dollar note issued by a Louisiana bank and widely used before the Civil War. And the bluffs of Vicksburg gradually fell victim to the developer's bulldozer; there used to be some decent cliffs and caves. Nice kittens and cats on the cool slate porch at the front of the building; spent a while scritching the kittens. Back to the dock, and chatted and had a beer with the guys there. One guy said those big tugs burn 12,000 gallons per day ! Let's see if that could be right: My 100-HP burns about 1.5 gallons/hour, maybe 3 if I pushed it hard. That's 75 gallons in a 24-hour day. A big tug might have 20,000 HP of engines. That's 200x mine, so 15,000 gallons per day. Wow ! Back to the boat, showered, ate a little salad, then tried to start the genset. Wanted to burn a CD-ROM, to take into town tomorrow so log and site are updated. Laptop's floppy drive still broken. But it turned into a disaster. First, the genset battery wasn't strong enough to turn it over well, despite a couple of days of charging. Used the house batteries, and it turned over, but heard some funny gurgling and then a backfire. Stopped and looked in the engine compartment, and there was some haze in there, but didn't see anything damaged. So cranked it again, got it running, and heard all kinds of water sloshing. Looked in to find water gushing up from the genset exhaust system. Shut it down, thought for a moment, and realized I'd forgotten to open the through-hull for the genset exhaust. I almost never close it, but I closed it a couple of months ago when I left the boat for a vacation, and never re-opened it. Went into the engine compartment, and found that the exhaust pressure had blown chunks out of the top of the genset water-lift muffler. Better than having water back up into the exhaust valves; guess I got off cheaply for my stupidity. But won't be running the genset for a while. Lots of exhaust and some water in the engine compartment to clean up. Cheese-and-crackers for dinner. That's all I deserve. 10/21/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor at Vicksburg MS. Cleaned the boat a little. Dinghied ashore, taking laptop and CD-burner, went to Visitor's Center, and used their AC power to burn a CD with web site and log file updates on it. Then put CD in their computer and sent the updates off. Nice chat with a guy working there, about boating and various things. Met Randy at the dock, gave him a tour of Magnolia, then we went ashore and had lunch and talked about boats and life. He sent me email a while ago, saying "if you're ever in town, drop me a line". He says my web site talked him out of wanting to live on a boat ! That's fine; it's not for everybody, and there are lots of other ways to boat, or other things to do in life. He stumped me with a question "what one thing could you add or fix to make the experience a lot better ?". I couldn't think of anything at the time, but later I thought: a woman ! Toured the Coca-Cola museum; it was invented here and first dispensed and then bottled here. Pretty nice little museum, showing the original equipment, lots of Coca-Cola memorabilia, old-time soda fountains, some nice old furniture. To the Old Courthouse Museum again, to scritch the cats some more and talk to the staff some more. To the hardware store, and bought an elbow for the aft head sink drain ($1). To the library, to read newspapers and magazines. To the supermarket, to get a few groceries. It's a hot afternoon, and I'm bushed from heat and walking and biking all the hills here. To the dock, brief chat with everyone, then to the boat. Tired. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 10/22/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor at Vicksburg MS. Mopped up in the engine compartment and started taking the genset muffler out. Raised anchors about 0945 and headed out. After being passed by one tow and then going around a bend with that tow and two oncoming tows, it was a no-traffic day. Anchored about 3:30 at mile 390. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 10/23/2003 (Thursday) At anchor at mile 390 of the Mississippi River. Had a nice, quiet night; a nice change from the heavy barge traffic and train whistling of Vicksburg. Removed the genset muffler. Raised anchor about 0900 and motored down the river. Uneventful trip. Anchored about noon across from Natchez MS. Managed to get out of most of the current, but I may be in the top end of a barge "fleeting area"; these guys take up all of the good anchorages. Worked on the aft head sink drain, and it's the toughest kind of work: getting hoses onto barbed hose fittings. Lots of straining and swearing. Got it mostly right, and the drain works, but really need to get it better. Dinghied down along the Vidalia side of the river, and found Tweedle Dee docked to a rock barge, with a crane operating right next to them lifting rock from dump trucks and dumping it on the barge ! I stopped to talk to Sally, then landed my dinghy just downstream of them, almost losing my flip-flops in the sticky mud, and biked out through the gravel business. Biked into Vidalia, did library, went to tourist info, and there's not much to see in town. Biked down to Riverview RV park to meet Cappy. Turns out he's one of the owners of the place. We jumped into his truck and he took me for a brief tour of the Vidalia waterfront, scouting out better places to anchor. Then we went across the bridge to Natchez, and he took me up and down and all around town, showing me everything. He knows everyone and everything that's going on, and gave a wonderful tour and commentary. Back to the RV park, biked back to the gravel company, and chatted with Doug and Sally on Tweedle Dee for 15 minutes. Then up the river to the boat, planing to make headway against the current. Made it back just before dark. Salad and grilled sausage sandwiches for dinner. Lots of big wakes from tows during the night. 10/24/2003 (Friday) At anchor at Natchez MS / Vidalia LA on the Mississippi River. Raised anchor at 0820, went down under the bridge and anchored again about 0845. Closer to town and easier to show boat to Cappy, and out of barge area. Ate breakfast, cleaned up the boat, then dinghied ashore. River is low enough to expose bottom-mud at the banks, and it's like crusty snow: you step on it, it holods for a second, then you sink in 6 inches and have trouble getting your foot out. Was told later that it's called "gumbo". Biked to the RV park. Met Cappy, drove back to the dinghy, and took him out to see Magnolia. Toured the boat and chatted for a couple of hours. Big plume of smoke rising a few miles away across the river; smells like a forest fire. Back ashore, got lunch at Wendy's, then saw Cappy's fleet: 3 aluminum skiff hulls, and a big aluminum jet-boat with twin V-8's ! And he showed me some big power-cats on the internet he has his eye on; $800K boats. I kept suggesting he think cheaper, older, smaller. Off to the Vidalia library, then back to the dinghy about 4:30. Wind coming upriver, current is negligible, and Magnolia is backing onto shore; I think the rudder might have been digging into mud. Hitched the dinghy on, ran to start the main engine, and motored off. Then raised anchor while the wind was trying to put me ashore again. Anchor came up with a steel cable snagged on it first time, but I dropped it again and it came up clean the second time, luckily. Could have been difficult to get off. Motored out further from shore and dropped anchor. Much safer now, but out in stronger current. No perfect spot, I guess. Shouldn't have stayed where I was this morning when I saw how little current there was. Lots of smoke all over the river from that fire. No dinner. Cappy invited me to "Angels on the Bluff", an annual event here. So I got dressed up in long pants and a dress shirt, and dinghied up and over to the Natchez boat ramp about 6 PM. Had to make the dinghy plane to get up and across through the current. Managed to find a tiny little patch of mud near the boat ramp, almost got my rolled-up pants wet getting out, wiped most of the mud off my feet, put on my sneakers, and then hoisted the bike and myself up about 30 feet of rocks. Then up, up, up to the top of town. Biked to the Visitor Center, found Cappy and crew, and we all loaded onto the 7:15 schoolbus. They do a bus full of 50 people every 15 minutes, from about 5 to 8 PM, I think. Lots of groaning about fitting adults into kid-sized seats. They drove us off to the old city cemetery, which is very large and full of old tombstones. They had candles in cups lighting the way through all the paths in the cemetery, and guides to lead us. We stopped at about 8 different places in the cemetery, where actors in period costume gave us little speeches and dramas about the person whose grave they were standing next to. Several of them were very good, and several not so good. But it was a fun and unusual experience, and we had a gorgeous evening for it. Interesting how mobile some people were back in the 1800's: one guy had worked in Natchez, then when gold was discovered in California, he took ship to Panama, got across the isthmus, another ship up to San Francisco. Didn't make money there, so when gold was discovered in Australia, he went there ! Came back to Natchez years later and ran businesses here. Got back to the Visitor's Center about 9:15, and then I biked back to the boat ramp. Left the bike locked to a post ashore. Clambered down the rip-rap to the dinghy, took off sneakers and rolled up pants, waded through mud, cast off, paddled to get the outboard free of the mud, and strted going across the river in the dark with no lights on the dinghy. Big tow about a mile upstream was coming down, sweeping a big spotlight, and they spotted me. I was surprised; I was wearing dark clothes, and the dinghy is light gray. Anyway, I was racing across a mile ahead of them. The biggest danger was that I might hit a floating log or something (although there's been very little debris in the river so far) and stall in front of the tow or get swept down the river. Surprising to see how dim my anchor light was; hard to see 300 yards away, and I knew where to look for it. Got to the boat and hooked up the dinghy in the strong current; fortunately I've done it so much that I can do it in the dark with no problem. Hoisted the dinghy. Starting to blow harder; a front is coming through tomorrow. 10/25/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at Natchez MS / Vidalia LA on the Mississippi River. Very cloudy and damp and blowing a fair amount; thunderstorms possible this afternoon, and gusty winds and rain likely. I think I'll stay aboard today; don't want to have to dinghy back across the river in wild conditions. And I'm tired. Lots of wind and clouds all day, just a brief sprinkle of rain. Never got as nasty as I feared, but I'm still glad I stayed aboard. Can't figure out why the wind is coming from the south as a front is coming across the region; thought the front was heading SE. An hour of sun at 3 PM, then back to clouds. Checked engine zinc; it's fine. Salad and peanut-butter crackers for dinner. Ran engine for 45 minutes to charge batteries. Short burst of 30+ wind at 7 PM, then hard rain for a couple of hours. After midnight, completely calm for 5 or 6 hours, then starting blowing from north. 10/26/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Natchez MS / Vidalia LA on the Mississippi River. Totally grey and damp and blowing from north. Getting colder, too. Ran engine for 45 minutes to charge batteries. Ugly day. Felt like doing nothing, so I did. Read and listened to the radio. Completely grey and breezy and cold and damp all day. Ham-onion-noodle thing for dinner. Ran engine for 30 minutes to charge batteries. 10/27/2003 (Monday) At anchor at Natchez MS / Vidalia LA on the Mississippi River. Grey and cool, but not much wind, and sun is trying to come through the clouds. Dinghied across to the Natchez side. The river has risen a couple of feet, so the little mud-patch where I landed before is gone; had to land 50 yards further down. That meant a much longer scramble up the rip-rap to get to the road. My feet sank into lots of deep mud, and I sat on the rocks trying to scrape it off, but ended up just putting my socks and sneakers on over fairly muddy feet. Up the bank, reclaimed my bike (which I left locked there 3 days ago), and walked the bike up into town. Biked around, checking out the old train depot, the cathedral (very nice stained glass), then did the library. Cold even in there ! Saw lovely historic photo's in the Presbyterian church, then came out to find chill wind. Biked to lovely scenic overlook at riverfront: tremendous views up and down and across the river, but too cold to enjoy it much. Back to the boat-ramp. Scrambled down 120 feet of rip-rap dragging the bike with me. Sat down, took off sneakers and socks, then loaded everything into the dinghy, sinking into foot-deep mud as I did so. Sat in the dinghy and washed my legs over the side, then went across the river to the boat. Lunch on the boat, then dinghied over to the Vidalia side. Chilly biking into the north wind. Did library, then groceries. Salad and grilled sausage sandwiches for dinner. 10/28/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor at Natchez MS / Vidalia LA on the Mississippi River. Cool and a little breezy but clear and sunny. Fuel level 13.0 inches at engine hour 3126.7 Raised anchor about 0815. Lots of traffic on the river today; saw 5 tows coming upstream within 3 miles once, saw 4 within a couple of miles later. Anchored about 4 PM in a nice anchorage at mile 298. Did about 65 miles today; another 70 to Baton Rouge. Tired. Loafed for a while, got savaged by a couple of mosquitoes, and then didn't have the energy to cook dinner. Got incredibly dark very quickly. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 10/29/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor on the Mississippi River between Natchez and Baton Rouge. Woke with a headache again. Did a bucket of laundry. Raised anchor about 0830. Beautiful sunny day, slightly breezy and cool. Uneventful trip. Several tows, but nothing tricky. Can't get rid of my sinus headache. Air started getting a petrochemical tinge to it. Anchored about 2 PM at mile 252, about 20 miles upstream of Baton Rouge. Every now and then, I catch a whiff of something and think "uh-oh, smells like the propane tank is leaking". Then I realize it's from some refinery. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 10/30/2003 (Thursday) At anchor on the Mississippi River 20 miles upstream of Baton Rouge. Nasty sinus headache all night and morning. Raised anchor about 0830. Strong wind blowing; rising to 15-20. Rough trip at times, and my head's aching. Got to Baton Rouge, and it's full of barges and tugs and docks and refineries, as expected. Saw a small tug named "Cletus", just like the hillbilly character in "The Simpsons" ! Wind roaring straight up the river. Found a reasonable anchoring spot near a boat ramp and an apparently abandoned big dock. Opposing wind and current making the boat spin crazily. Anchored about 11:45. One freighter or tanker in harbor, and another came up later; another after dark. First big ships I've seen on the river. They go faster than the tows ! A few bites of chili for dinner, then I couldn't eat any more. Headache still crippling me. 10/31/2003 (Friday) At anchor at Baton Rouge LA. Headache slightly better this morning. Did a bucket of laundry. Cold chili for breakfast; yum ! Re-anchored about 0930; best to get closer to shore, now that the strong SE winds have weakened. Pumped up the bike tire, and it went flat again very quickly. Dinghied ashore without the bike and walked into town. Sunny and hot. Went to one library, couldn't do email. Walked to another library and did email. Then to State Capitol building, and up to the observation deck on the 27th floor. Stunning view in all directions. Head and stomach not feeling so great. Then a long hot walk back to the dinghy, which had shipped some water and gotten stuck in the mud. Back to the boat. Had some lunch. Was thinking of going ashore again, but I was feeling weak and queasy, and I ended up just pulling up the drawbridge (the dinghy) and loafing. Felt much better by dinnertime; headache seems to be gone ! Salad and grilled sausage sandwiches for dinner. Watched rush-hour traffic on I-10 bridge come to a near-standstill. Tug spotlighted me in the middle of the night and hailed me to tell me my anchor light wasn't very bright. Duh ! The harbor is fairly bright at night, I'm over in a sensible spot, and I've been here 2 nights so most local tugs should be aware of me by now. I'm comfortable. 11/1/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at Baton Rouge LA. Patched the bike tire, but it still leaked afterward. Gave up and dinghied ashore without the bike again. Met a young guy named "Trey" on the shore, and we chatted for a while and then walked down to LSU together. He lives and works there. Interesting looking guy: some kind of Mohawk haircut, and some word tattooed in big letters across his throat. Turns out LSU is having its big homecoming football game today, against Louisiana Tech. People started tailgate-partying before noon, and game time is 7 PM. I wandered around for a while, did internet in the library, wandered some more, and then walked back to the boat. The partying scene on campus is wild; people have set up canopies and barbecues everywhere through campus, even on the loading dock of one building. Lots of seriously beautiful women, too. Parking is a mess, scalpers looking for tickets, helicopters overhead and more people pouring in. Art museum closed for renovations. A long, hot walk there and back; probably did 8 miles of walking today. Really miss my bike. Found a catamaran "Sol y Mar" anchored upstream of me, above the bridge, in a supposedly off-limits area. Will be interesting to see if they get rousted out, and where they go ashore. Chicken-and-rice for dinner. 11/2/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Baton Rouge LA. Dinghied ashore and picked up Robert. Took him out to see the boat, and we chatted for a long time. He's an ex-marine, had a lung transplant a few years ago, and works as a paralegal. Has an Allman 31 he's doing lots of work on, at Mandeville on Lake Pontchartrain. Told me that Huey Long had the upstream highway bridge (since replaced) built low so big ships had to stop and use the port here. Went ashore and Robert took me to lunch at Georges, a local/student place where I had a catfish poboy. More very beautiful women there. (Interesting that both guys I've met here say that the women are amazingly beautiful here. We wondered if it's the Souhern heritage, or the climate. Maybe the French and Spanish influences ?) Robert drove me to the supermarket, where I got groceries (but forgot to get bread). Back to the boat, then dinghied ashore again. Tried to hail the catamaran, but I think they're inside with air-conditioning running. Went to LA art and science museum (disappointing, but at least it was free, because it was the first Sunday of the month), Old State Capitol building (fabulous building, blah exhibits celebrating politics and probably designed by political committees), and USS Kidd destroyer. Had wonderful time talking to the volunteer working there today, a 69-year-old black man who served on board ages ago. Lots of fun. Salad and peanut-butter crackers for dinner. 11/3/2003 (Monday) At anchor at Baton Rouge LA. Opened my eyes a little before 7 to see the catamaran a mile down the river; they left early. Raised anchor about 0830. Lots of traffic on the river for an hour or two, then not much after that. A couple of freighters came up the river past me. Pulled into the last sheltered anchorage before New Orleans (100 miles from it), and anchored about 1:15. An otter swam across my bow as I was pulling in. Nice and spacious and peaceful here, after the crowding and traffic and bright lights and interstate traffic noise of Baton Rouge. Hot and sunny day. Loafed all afternoon. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. Fighting some mosquitoes inside the boat much of the night. 11/4/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor on the Mississippi River about 100 miles above New Orleans. Added water to batteries. Raised anchor about 0845 and headed down the river. Uneventful. Started clouding over, and the weather forecast is a little startling: a tropical wave 200 miles SE of New Orleans and heading straight for me, and then a cold front coming down. Probably won't be too bad, but my options are pretty limited. Got to Donaldsonville LA, brief rain sprinkle, circled around a bit scoping out the situation, and then anchored at about 1145. Repaired bike tire again, but the hole is bigger than I thought. Probably time for a new tube. Suspect this one isn't the right size anyway. Dinghied ashore, and chatted with a guy in a truck at the boat-ramp, then had a long chat with the volunteer at the historical museum. He was amazed and admiring of my cruising life, but he'd never have the desire to do it himself. Museum was nice: in a huge old department-store building, with some of the original wares, plus photos and memorabilia from other parts of town. Some unusual things: a photo of Sisters of Charity nuns wearing habits that make you realize where the "flying nun" idea came from; a photo of 5 former mayors of Donaldsonville which suggested that they must have one through a lot of mayors in a hurry; a diagram showing about 20 grocery stores in town simultaneously, I guess showing a time when every store was a specialty store. Long session in the library, then got groceries. Pretty dark when I got out, and I had a tough time at the dinghy. Had to bail out some water, couldn't unlock the paddle because I couldn't see the combination wheel, outboard stuck hard in mud that still let my feet sink in a foot or more, took lots of pulls to get the outboard started, and mosquitoes munched me. But got back to the boat okay. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 11/5/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor at Donaldsonville LA. Raised anchor about 0820. Foggy, then hazy, morning. Made it a little harder to see the traffic. Current is down to 1 knot or so. Overtaken by the Hunter 25ish sailboat "Zap". Saw 3 people on board. Radio communication very fuzzy; wasn't able to talk to them much. They came down from Minneapolis. Now in the seriously industrial area of the river: many stretches where both banks are full of docks and fleeting areas, refineries and grain companies and so on. Passed by a freighter as I went under Gramercy bridge, which caused some anxious moments, especially as he changed speeds a couple of times while picking up a pilot. Lots of freighters anchored or being loaded/unloaded at docks. Some fleeting areas with 100 or more barges in them. Lots of moving parts to keep track of, to see if any of them are moving toward me. After some circling, found an empty stretch with nice shallow water and protection from possible N or NW winds and nice wide section of the river; probably last such spot before New Orleans. Anchored about 2 PM, mile 133.5, on the La Place LA side. Tomorrow, have to do 40 miles to New Orleans, then 7 or 8 miles through a canal full of locks and bridges. Freighter came in and anchored just upstream of me, about an hour after I got here. Heard tugs down the river trying to hail "Zap" a couple of times, to no avail. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. Propane camp-stove suddenly sprang a leak: a jet of flame from a pipe-connection, threatening to scorch fiberglass in the cockpit. Got it out, taped it up, finished cooking dinner, but I need a new stove. Half a dozen freighters went by at night. Some huge wakes, from a couple of them, and from unknown sources. Freighter next to me was gone by 0400. 11/6/2003 (Thursday) At anchor near La Place LA. Raised anchor at 0640. Foggy. Grey and lots of refineries and other plants billowing steam and smoke into the air. This whole stretch of river makes me think of the description of Mordor in Lord Of The Rings. Surprisingly little traffic until near New Orleans, then it got interesting. Freighter started overtaking me, and I hugged the bank, and suddenly a single-barge tow pulled out in front of me and froze when he saw the freighter. So I made a U-turn and waited them both out. More freighters up and down as I went through New Orleans. Skimmed the bank along the French Quarter, but you can't see much. Looks small compared to all the massive concrete of the rest of the city. Deepest depths I've seen: 200 feet deep right at the bend at the French Quarter. Turned off the river and into the Inner Harbor Canal about 12:15, and took more than 2 hours to go the next 5 miles (as I expected). A lock and 5 opening bridges to get through, and I didn't know the names and radio channels of most of them. The lock was horrible; they put me in following a tow (I should have waited), and I forgot to ask which side I could tie on (turned out to be port side, no bollards, had to scramble and move everything and then their "helpful" staff had short lines and kept giving unclear instructions). The tow had great difficulty getting in, so they all got anxious to get me in past the bascule bridge behind me which was holding up traffic. I was shifting fenders and lines, trying to keep the boat under control, trying not to hit the walls or the tow very close in front of me. A mess, and I was sweating like crazy in the 85-degree heat and sun. Then the lock changed the water level a whole foot, if that much. I held on while the tow powered out, making a lot of prop wash past me. And then my engine wouldn't start right away; couldn't hear very well, but I think the starter wasn't turning; gear probably needs oil again. Then one of the bridges didn't respond until I called it 20 times, and the next one had a bad radio. Lots of fun. Glad to get out into the lake. Turned west along the shore, found a little cove at Lakeshore / Spanish Fort, and anchored at about 3:15. Lat 30.01.753 long 90.04.946 Glad to be off the Mississippi River, and away from commercial traffic for a while. Saw someone wade across a creek I'd thought of dinghying up, but they hardly got wet up to their knees; too shallow. Salad and grilled sausage sandwiches for dinner. North wind 10-15 came up as predicted, about 1 AM, and soon the boat was rolling and pitching, sometimes violently. This whole side of the lake is totally exposed; no shelter unless you go into a marina. So I tried to sleep as the boat gyrated until 6 AM or so. Still a bit rough after that. 11/7/2003 (Friday) At anchor in Lake Pontchartrain at New Orleans LA. Slightly cool, totally grey, a little foggy, and the lake water is lumpy. Raised anchor about 1015 and headed over to see what West End looks like. As expected, no space to anchor inside the breakwater: it's all marina. Went out and around, and found a semi-sheltered spot on the outside of the west side of it. A very nice breakwater being built nearby, but there's a USCG station inside, and I don't know if they'd let me anchor inside. Anchored outside about 1100, and let engine run a little more to charge batteries. Much calmer here. Loafed all day, reading and listening to radio. Totally grey all day, and I feel the same way. Wind has mostly died, no rain, but everything still and damp and grey. Fruit and peanut-butter-crackers for dinner. Ran the engine again to charge batteries. Squirted oil into the flywheel housing to maybe lubricate the starter gear. Wind started again about 9 PM. Another sailboat anchored nearby about 10 PM. Then both of us pitched and rolled in the swell all night; miserable. Decided to give up on New Orleans. 11/8/2003 (Saturday) At anchor in Lake Pontchartrain at New Orleans LA. Cool, cloudy blowing N 15, "anchorage" is extremely rolly. Weather forecast says it'll be cool and cloudy and blowing N 10 all week. Raised anchor at 0445 and motored out in the dark. Very rough, but at least I'm going pretty much straight into the swells. Doing about 5 knots, but every 45 seconds or so, hit a series of big swells and get knocked back to 4 knots while the prop cavitates for a while. Got across the lake, through some bridges, and suddenly the water is calmer, and I'm in winding rivers with low marshes on the sides. Dolphins, and commercial fishing boats. Been a while since I saw those. Anchored at 1140 up the Pearl River, on the Louisiana / Mississippi border, lat 30.11.627 long 89.35.092 Sunny and warm and calm here. Swatted a hundred flies in the cockpit. Salad and grilled sausage sandwiches for dinner. Slept well; first really quiet anchorage I've had in more than a week. 11/9/2003 (Sunday) At anchor in the Pearl River on LA / MS border. Got started late, raised anchor about 9 AM. Raised the mainsail and motor-sailed down the river, through bridge, out into Lake Borgne / Mississippi Sound. Raised the jib, and had to take it down 3 minutes later, as I turned onto the ICW and wind came exactly on the nose. Realized I can't make Biloxi today, will have to divert into Gulfport. Wind eased and swells lessened as the morning went on. About noon, engine suddenly made an odd racing noise. Throttled back and checked the situation: still moving, so prop hasn't fallen off or gone loose. Looked in engine compartment, see a little leaking from top of injector 2, but nothing else wrong. Shaft and stuffing box look good. Kept going. About 1:30, engine raced briefly again. Ten minutes later, engine raced, I throttled back, then it raced up and down and then stalled. Raised mainsail and jib and started doing about 3 knots mostly in the right direction. Fortunately, engine died in best possible place: nice, wide-open water, and 10 minutes after a tow passed me. I can sail to a mostly-sheltered shore anchorage if I need to. Went into engine compartment and bled the primary fuel filters. A little unpleasant, since the engine is very hot. No problems with filters: pleanty of fuel, and only a little gunk at the bottoms. Tried starting the engine, after it had been off for 10 or 15 minutes, and it started pretty easily and ran okay after running a little unevenly for the first 30 seconds. Got back on course and took down the jib. Made it into Gulfport, did a circuit inside the fishing-boat harbor, then anchored outside, just off channel, at 4:15. Salad and fruit and cheese-and-crackers for dinner. Got rolly about 8 PM or so; went out and put up mizzen as a riding sail. After a few adjustments, seemed to work somewhat, or else the wind just shifted to a slightly better angle. 11/10/2003 (Monday) At anchor at Gulfport MS. Fuel level 9.0 inches at engine hour 3182.1 Checked strainer on fuel lift pump, and it's okay, but the cap on the pump seemed loose; maybe air was leaking in through there. Started engine at 0730, rigged sheets for sails, raised the mainsail. Raised anchor at 0815, motored out tight channel past dredge. Wind and swells right on the nose, as usual. Motor-sailed. Into Biloxi and anchored about 11 AM. Nice, sheltered spot, across from nice beach. Dinghied ashore to a corner of the beach. Happy to find I'm in the right part of town; I was guessing. Went to visitor's center, then library, then did $4 worth of busses to get to Walmart and back. Bought new propane stove ($41), bike seat ($20), two bike tubes ($4), deck cleaner ($5). On the way back, talked to a guy who's sailed a fair amount, and is looking to buy a sailboat maybe next year. Salad and chicken-and-rice for dinner. 11/11/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor at Biloxi MS. Put new tube on bike tire. Did engine oil change; got the filter seated correctly on the first try. Dinghied ashore, stopping to chat with guy on Lord Nelson 35 "At Ease" (he's ex-military). They stopped to wait for tide to get into a marina. They're coming back from a couple of years in the Caribbean, and we chatted about various islands and plans for a while. He says don't spend a hurricane season in DR and PR; go to Trinidad, and work up and down the islands for a couple of winters to cover it all, if necessary. Antigua mized, Bequia good. Biked to supermarket and got groceries. Hard ride upwind on the way back. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 11/12/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor at Biloxi MS. Did a bucket of laundry. Dinghied ashore and found that my bike has been stolen ! New seat and tube and all. It was locked, but not locked TO anything, because there was nothing to lock to within 200 yards. Walked around a bit hoping someone had dumped it nearby. Went to visitor's center and had them call the beach maintenance dept, but they didn't grab it. Took busses to Walmart and bought a new bike and lock for $73 total. Had to pedal back 5 miles, and it's misadjusted so I was stuck in 3rd gear out of 15. Stopped on the way at a library, at police station to report the theft, and at the supermarket. To boat for lunch. Back ashore, and biked around the east end of town. More casinos over there ! Eventually found a boatyard I was looking for, and bought 3 propeller shaft zincs ($17; very cheap). Went to Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum, which was pretty interesting. Then to library to read newspapers. Salad and chicken-onion-noodle-mushroomsoup thing for dinner. 11/13/2003 (Thursday) At anchor at Biloxi MS. Cool and very windy; front coming through. Dinghied ashore, did library. Went to George Ohr pottery museum; nice but overpriced, and the lady at the desk insisted on telling me about every other thing to see in the whole Gulf area. Went to aquarium, which was quite nice. Back to boat. Wind howling. Apple and cheese-and-crackers for dinner. 11/14/2003 (Friday) At anchor at Biloxi MS. Cold and windy. Raised anchor about 0830, and getting the mud off the chain in windy conditions was a pain. Motored over to Beau Rivage marina and bought fuel. 125 gallons of diesel at $1.06/gallon ($132), and 3 gallons of gasoline ($5). Loaded tons of water; I knew one tank was empty, but the other must have been almost empty too. Kept pouring and pouring water in, checking to make sure I wasn't filling the bilge or something. Probably loaded more than 200 gallons into tanks, and 10 gallons into jugs. Forgot to ask if they'd take my used motor oil. Measured the fuel in the tank 4 times and got 4 different readings on the dipstick; gave up. Engine hour 3187. Left the fuel dock about 1045, making a hash of it and almost hitting a submerged board; should have asked for help. Out into Mississippi Sound. Put the mainsail up, but the wind is on the nose as usual. Left it up anyway. Easy motoring, as the wind died and the day got nicer. Then some exitement: went into Pascagoula harbor, which is full of Navy ships being worked on, and a Navay air station, I think. Engine surged a few times just as I approached an open railroad bridge, but the engine didn't stall. Held my breath as I went under a highway bridge, then wound past fishing fleet and anchored in very shallow water, but the engine kept running fine. Anchored after 4 PM. Salad and spaghetti for dinner. 11/15/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at Pascagoula MS. Was a calm night, and now a gorgeous day. Fuel level 16.25 inches at engine hour 3192. Auto-pilot pulley has slipped inward again; pump was making noise yesterday. Dinghied ashore, and biked around for a while trying to find the center of town and the interesting sites. Finally found library, then got groceries. Back to boat for lunch. They had a sale: a gallon of milk for 10 cents more than a half-gallon, so I got a gallon, and now have trouble fitting it into the refrigerator. Loafed a bit, then dinghied ashore again. Looked at the Spanish Fort museum, but it didn't look like it would be worth $4. Went to library to read newspapers, then another grocery store. Biked back overloaded with bags. Salad and eggsalad sandwiches for dinner. Fixed auto-pilot pulley, and tightened engine fuel-pump cap again. 11/16/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Pascagoula MS. Damp, still morning. Raised anchor at 0630 and headed out. Had to hover for 15 minutes in front of the railroad bridge so a train could cross; was nervous that my engine might quit. Got through and out of the harbor okay. Engine surged badly a couple of times around 9 AM. Then it surged and died a little after 10 AM. Tried to restart it, and it wouldn't start. Tightened bolts as I drifted, only nicking myself once on the very hot exhaust pipe. Started after that. Got a little wind, so raised the mainsail. Then the wind died again. Small powerboat zoomed past me, then halted a few miles up, and called me on the radio to ask if I knew where they could buy gasoline. Read an entry to them from Quimby's, don't think the marina answered either radio or telephone, saw them stop a local, and then head in. Pulled off and anchored in the crook of Dauphin Island AL just after noon. Soon found I'm off the end of an airstrip (not marked on the chart); small planes taking off and landing over me. I'm not too close; think I'll stay. Thought a couple of times of diving under the boat to put a zinc on and scrape the hull, but the water's cold. And I'm a bit tired and headachy. Salad and cheese-and-crackers and fruit for dinner. 11/17/2003 (Monday) At anchor at Dauphin Island AL. Tightened fuel-pump bolt again. Raised anchor at 0615 and headed out. Put up mainsail as insurance, but wind is on the nose as usual. Some anxious moments as I fought strong current and a headwind and then went under a big bridge: if the engine quits now, it'll be dicey. But no problem. Raised jib and got some good push out of the sails, but tired of tacking through oil rigs and peering around the jib to see them, so took it down. Motor-sailed with the main not doing much. Across Mobile Bay ship channel with no problems. A couple of miles east of the ship channel, doing 4 knots into strong ebb current and headwind, the engine surged and died about 9 AM. Started sailing, surrounded by several oil rigs and some anchored fishing boats. Tried to restart the engine a couple of times, tightened the fuel pump bolt, tried again, batteries got low. Sailed for 15 minutes or so, and then the engine started (with difficulty). Motor-sailed on, trying to avoid putting any obstacle down-wind and down-current of me. Wonder if surging gets worse at higher RPMs. Maybe a fuel-line connection is loose ? Very relieved to get off Mobile Bay about noon. But now I'm in a more dangerous and unforgiving place: Portage Creek / Alabama Canal / the ICW east from Mobile Bay. 10 miles of narrow, often rock-lined canal with commercial traffic. And it was a nail-biting experience; I didn't get a break. 1 knot of opposing current and 15-20 knots of wind on the nose, so I made about 3.5 knots over ground, taking 3 hours to get through. At the narrowest part, through a bridge, with the strongest current, caught up to a tow behind another VERY slow tow. A sailboat "Uffdah" caught up to me as I was stuck behind them. Couldn't get either of the tows to answer me on the radio, to find out what was going on. We all made barely 1 knot over ground as we went through that narrow point. Then the very slow tow pulled over a bit, and as I accelerated slowly to pass him, my engine started surging. Some loud cursing kept it from stalling. Then I slowly passed and pulled ahead of the slow tow. Couldn't get a break at the second bridge, either: had to pull over and wait while another tow went through it. But I made it without accident, and anchored after 3 PM at the SE end of Wolf Bay, in Orange Beach AL. Same place I anchored on the way up, about 5 months ago. I guess I took a risk, but since the engine problem is intermittent, the alternative was to sit for several days at Dauphin Island working on it and testing it. And the weather is going to be very nasty for the next day or two; better to sit here or in Pensacola. And Mobile Bay and the canal are risky any time your engine isn't 100%. I'm all stressed-out. Time to relax, and I think, maybe, YES: I will have a BEER with dinner tonight ! Where did I buy that beer, anyway ? Kentucky ? Salad and chili and beer for dinner. 11/18/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor in Wolf Bay. Blowing hard; nasty weather expected today. Headache from the single beer I had last night. Investigated fuel lines and tried tightening various things, but no obvious problem. Raised anchor at 0900 and headed out. Engine surging as soon as I get up to slow-cruising RPMs. Probably should have stopped and anchored again; if the engine quits in this high wind, I could be in trouble. But I pressed on, and only had one really anxious moment when the engine surged badly. Through Perdido Key bridge, and anchored about 1115 in the west end of Big Lagoon. Blowing 20+ with gusts to 25+, supposed to clock around from SE to NW over the next 18 hours, all kinds of heavy-rain warnings. Plenty of room here, not too much fetch from the important directions, so here I am, back in FL ! A guy using a para-sail to surf a mile away; amazed that anyone can do that in these conditions. Blew S 20-25 much of the afternoon, with lots of rain at 3 PM or so. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. Started blowing SW 25-35 about 10 PM, with gusts up into the 40's. Blew like that until 6 AM or so, when it changed to W 20-25. Anchor held perfectly. 11/19/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor in Big Lagoon about 10 miles SW of Pensacola FL. Installed new secondary (last) fuel filter on engine. Oil level is rising; maybe I have a blown head gasket letting fuel into the oil sump, and forcing oil into the cylinders ? But oil still smells pretty normal. And I don't see smoke in the exhaust (although it's hard to tell with all the wind). Engine started up fine. Raised anchor about 8 AM. Engine still surging at moderate RPMs. Nasty day; started to regret moving as I neared the inlet and the restricted waters around the Naval station; engine is surging, wind is howling 30+, fighting ebb tidal current to get to Pensacola. Swells and wind on the nose and dicey engine keeping me below 3 knots most of the time. Engine finally quit about 200 yards short of where I wanted to be. Wouldn't restart. Anchored, rested for a couple of minutes, and then engine restarted. Raised anchor, nosed in further, and anchored again at about 11:15, at west end of Pensacola. Blew hard and cold all afternoon. Had thought of going ashore, but too cold and rough. Spaghetti for dinner. 11/20/2003 (Thursday) At anchor at Pensacola FL. Cold and breezy. Dinghied ashore and biked into town. Long session at the library, including paying my credit card and buying plane tickets for Christmas. Biked through town, but totally failed at tourist-type stuff: couldn't find the visitor's center, and by the time I found the museums, I was ready to leave. Got groceries, back to boat for lunch. Tried to get #2 injector out, but it won't budge, and I'd have to take the return pipe off all six injectors to pull it out, which I'm reluctant to do right now. Checked the air intake, and pumped some excess oil out of the oil sump. Raised anchor at 3:30 (should have gotten started earlier) and motored down toward the inlet. Wanted to go across it, through a narrow cut, and anchor in Big Lagoon. But just short of the inlet, the engine quit. I coasted out of the channel, trying to restart the engine with no luck. Just as I was about to anchor at the edge of the channel, got the engine started. Pulled over further and anchored. I'm barely out of the channel; it goes pretty close to the barrier island here. Stupid place to anchor, but it's supposed to be calm tonight, didn't want to chance the rest of the trip with the engine like this, and this avoids going through that narrow cut twice. So, got 90 minutes out of the engine before it quit. Salad and cheese-and-crackers and fruit for dinner. Don't think I slept a wink all night. Worried about engine, about coming trips to get back to Ft Myers Beach, and also swinging a little too close to the beach here. Got up several times to pull in chain to pull myself away from the beach. 11/21/2003 (Friday) At anchor at Pensacola inlet. Cool in early morning, but going to be a gorgeous day. Drained some excess oil out of the sump. Raised anchor at 0630 and started out inlet, on trip to Panama City. About 105 miles ESE, in the Gulf. The weather forecast is good/bad: very calm waters for two days, but also very calm winds. Should be N this morning (good), SE this afternoon (on the nose), and nothing tonight. At normal cruising speed, this trip should take about 18 hours. I expect to end up drifting for a while; who knows how long it will take ? Don't want to run the engine too hard or too long; if the oil is being thinned by fuel, that can't be good for the bearings. Most dangerous part will be Panama City inlet: it's rock-lined. A little after 7, put up all the sails, and soon shut off the engine. From 7 to 9, made 3 to 4 knots generally SE, balanced without auto-pilot. Wind dying by 10:30, and faint by 11. Motor-sailed from 11:15 to 5, but the sails usually weren't doing anything. Saw one fishing boat and one powerboat; it's empty out here. Got to the halfway point at 5 PM, and shut down the engine and drifted in the middle of the Gulf. Hardly a breath of wind, and water calm with occasional swells rolling the boat. Fruit and eggsalad sandwiches for dinner. Tried to nap for a few minutes, but the boat is rolling and creaking too much. Let the engine cool a bit so I could check oil and drain some more out of the sump. Not easy with the engine fairly hot and the boat rolling a lot. Got moving again at 6:45, in the dark. No wind at all in any direction. Motored and motored. Wind came up again, mostly on the nose, after midnight. 11/22/2003 (Saturday) In transit from Pensacola to Panama City. Arrived off Panama City inlet about 5 AM. Had to waste 30 minutes to let dawn start, and it was tough, shivering in the cool breezy dark and my eyes trying to close themselves. Edged closer and closer to the inlet as the light improved, until I could see well enough to enter it. Came in with mainsail up as a backup in case the engine quit. Anchored at 6:45 inside Grand Lagoon, and went to bed. Up 15 minutes later to move 50 yards; I was bumping on a shoal. Loafed and dozed until noon. Lots of wakes on a nice Saturday here. Dinghied ashore to state park, and biked through it and out into the nearby streets. Not much to see, and I got hassled by a guy at the entrance booth, who thought I should pay an entrance fee (I didn't). He even thought I should pay for anchoring 75 yards offshore from the park ! Chicken-and-rice for dinner. Started draining the oil sump. 11/23/2003 (Sunday) At anchor at Panama City FL. Finished draining the oil sump, put in oil. Added water to batteries. Did a bucket of laundry. Raised anchor about 0930 and motored up to the Redfish Pt anchorage, across from town. Anchored in stiff E wind. As I was lowering the dinghy later, a fairly huge freighter came steaming past, maybe 200 yards away. But I'm protected by the shallows here, and well out of the channel. Dinghied ashore, dumped 4 gallons of used oil into the disposal facility, then biked to the library. Did internet and newspapers, then back to the dinghy. Got 100 yards out into the bay, in rough conditions, and the motor quit and wouldn't restart, not even with starter fluid. A sailboat was right there and offered me a tow, and I accepted gratefully. They towed me back to let me off upwind of the marina, and I paddled around to tie off near the fuel dock. Couldn't get a peep out of the motor. More perfect timing: 2 guys in a skiff I'd seen at the dinghy dock came over to fuel up, and I asked them for a tow. They agreed easily, and it turns out they're on another anchored boat, in the bayou out past where I am, so it wasn't even out of their way to tow me. I handed them a line, crossed over into their skiff and we towed my empty dinghy across. One guy remembered my boat from when I was here 6 months ago, because I have a pilothouse and he's added one to his boat. The other guy has worked as or for a diesel mechanic for 12 years. When I described my engine problem to him, he said every time he's seen fuel dumped into the oil in a Perkins as I described, it's been the lower seal on the fuel injection pump. I guess if that seal is an oil/fuel interface, he might be right. There has to be a shaft or gear driving the injection pump from the crankshaft or camshaft, so there may well be an oil/fuel joint. They dropped me off right at my boat, and I thanked them profusely. Could have been ugly if I was stuck ashore with darkness falling. Worse if I'd blown down the bay in the dinghy. Grilled sausage sandwiches for dinner. Wonder what else is going to break ? Genset and outboard down, engine limping. Oh, well, nothing that effort and/or money won't fix. 11/24/2003 (Monday) At anchor at Panama City FL. Rained a lot from 4 AM to 7 AM. Morning totally grey and starting to blow a cold, strong wind from NW. Loafed all morning, had lunch, then tackled the outboard motor. It started right up, ran horribly for 10 or 15 seconds, then died and wouldn't restart. Took out the spark plugs and cleaned them, the bottom one was really filthy. Still no start. Took carburetor off and disassembled it. Nut on bottom of priming bowl was loose, but no other problems found. Put it all back together, and the engine started and ran fine ! Let it run for 10 minutes or so, then took a spin downwind 100 yards to see Kenny, who I met when I was here 6 months ago. His dinghy was there, but he had the hatchboards shut and didn't respond to my hails, and I wasn't about to knock on his hull; I hate when people do that. Back to the boat and hoisted the dinghy. Spaghetti for dinner. 11/25/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor at Panama City FL. Cold and breezy. Trying to analyze the weather. Will be a 2-day trip SE to Clearwater. About a 2-day window starting early this morning, but the cold would sap my strength, and any delay during the trip would put me in strong weather, and I need stuff from shore today. So I'll have to watch for the next window. Dinghied ashore into stiff cold wind. Outboard hesitated once, but I throttled up and it kept going. Biked to library, did newspapers and email, and everyone's telling me I can't run my engine with any diesel in the oil, or it'll ruin my bearings. So I have to fix the engine here. Got groceries and bought 6 gallons of oil ($51). Dinghied back to boat through dead-calm and warmer conditions. Kenny came over. We chatted while he had a beer and I ate lunch and then took the fuel lift pump off the engine. We looked at the gasket between the pump and the block and said "that's diesel where it shouldn't be". He left. I took the pump apart and found a big crack in the pump diaphragm ! Dinghied ashore and went to marine store. He referred me to a Perkins dealer, who was about a 6-mile bike ride away. Chugged over there and bought two fuel lift pumps ($131) and an impeller-removal tool ($50). One pump to be picked up tomorrow, closer to the marina. Chugged back to dinghy dock, back to boat, installed the new fuel lift pump, and fired up the engine. Surged once slightly after 10 minutes. Salad and tuna-salad sandwiches for dinner. 11/26/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor at Panama City FL. Drained oil sump and replaced with new oil. Ran engine for 45 minutes; ran okay. Dinghied ashore, stopping by to see if I could help a grounded sailboat. But before I could get to him, he had hopped out into the water and pushed himself off the shoal. Picked up spare fuel pump, did library, got groceries, disposed of used motor oil, bought 3 gallons of oil ($25). Fruit and salad and grilled sausage sandwiches for dinner. 11/27/2003 (Thursday; Thanksgiving) At anchor at Panama City FL. Ran engine for 45 minutes; ran okay. Laptop died and took phone number for Mom with it; couldn't call her. About 2330, wind switched from SE 10 to NW 35 in seconds, with blinding rain, as squall at edge of front came through. 11/28/2003 (Friday) At anchor at Panama City FL. Blew hard (25-30) and cold all day; blew harder all night. 11/29/2003 (Saturday) At anchor at Panama City FL. Time to cross the "Big Bend". Raised anchor at 0630 in cold NW 20. Out the inlet about 0730, to find big swell from the WSW. Cool and breezy. Felt queasy for a while. Swell was fine, following, helping me motor-sail 6-7 knots, until I turned the corner at Apalachicola. Then had nasty NE swell on the beam, had to turn 80 degrees from intended course to reduce the rolling, and making only 4 knots. Slept below much of the night, letting auto-pilot and engine make progress. 11/30/2003 (Sunday) Out in the middle of the "Big Bend". Motor-sailed all day, then anchored S of Cedar Key as night turned calm. Slept from 7 to 11 PM, then wind picked up. Raised anchor and motored south. 12/1/2003 (Monday) Arrived in Johns Pass (south of Clearwater) and anchored about 1 PM. Slept. Showered. 12/2/2003 (Tuesday) At anchor inside Johns Pass. Motored south in Gulf across mouth of Tampa Bay. Anchored inside Longboat Pass about 2 PM. 12/3/2003 (Wednesday) At anchor inside Longboat Pass. Motored south down ICW all day. Anchored near Englewood Beach about 3 PM. 12/4/2003 (Thursday) At anchor near Englewood Beach. Motored south down ICW all day. Anchored at Fort Myers Beach / Estero Bay about 4 PM. Got a nice central spot near my friend Richard, who came over to chat for a while. He's working on a deal to reopen a historic building as a restaurant, and has sunk much of his cruising kitty into it. Salad and chili for dinner. End of Tenn-Tom / Mississippi River trip ! [Next log file is https://www.billdietrich.me/MagnoliaLog2004.txt ]