Day Five - Wednesday, October 31st, 2007

Barnacle II Cruise Day 5 – Wednesday, October 31st, 2007
Leaving Island Harbor Marina, Pine Bluff, AR

We left the marina at 8:00, after a good night’s sleep and leisurely wake-up call. Initially coffee and fruit for breakfast. We refilled the water tank before leaving, and Kenn checked out the engine room. The generator is making oil now, and the Detroit diesels are acting a little thirsty (each one about ½ quart low). Neither engine seems to be slinging it in the engine room, so they must be using a little. Not a bad sign for these diesels, as they have a reputation for being slobbery and/or thirsty.

No fog this morning, but a little bit of haze on the water. The air is cool underway, but about 55 degrees. So we should have a nice day of it. The boat monkey (aka Kenn) had a lot of wipe-down to do; there was a very heavy dew. We’re seeing water hyacinths everywhere, and I haven’t seen any of those since I lived in Florida. I didn’t realize they inhabited the waters this far north. Some of them still had their beautiful purple blooms.

We had passed under the Rob Roy Bridge by 8:30 and were pulling into Lock and Dam 4 (Emmett Sanders). No waiting…let’s hope the next three are that way so that we can make our allotted 70 miles today. The lockmaster was nice and talkative. He said that he would call L&D 3 to tell them we were on our way and have the lock ready. While we were lowering, he came back and told us to take the scenic route at a slow pace. The next lock was working a double tow downstream, and had another double tow coming upstream. That lock is about 16 miles below #4, and the lockmaster there thought he would be working the upstream tow by the time we got there.

The captain decided to treat us to the ‘Barn Brunch’: waffles, bacon and eggs, and they were mighty good. I pulled clean up duty in the galley, but it doesn’t take long in one that small.

As it was, we still made the lock at 10:15 or so, while the upstream tow was still working through. There was a good breeze, strong enough to keep us steady in the downstream current, so we ‘parked’ here at idle while waiting on the lock. At noon, we were allowed to proceed into the lock and tie off to a bollard for lowering. A wait of nearly two hours, but we were locked through in less than twenty minutes.

We knew that we had a huge tow in front of us, and it would take all of the 30 miles to the next lock to catch up to it. So we decided not to push it, just cruise along at a comfortable pace. It’s been short sleeve weather today with the temperature hovering around 75. We got into the Arkansas Canal at about 2:45 and came into our anchorage spot at 3:30. We only made it 55 miles today, but we couldn’t get through the next lock (#2) before dark and find another anchorage. You see, we finally caught up to that big tow as we were approaching lock #2. We’re anchored about 2 miles upstream from the lock.

The plan was to grill chicken for dinner, but as we were relaxing after setting the anchor, Vickie became sick with the stomach bug. No ginger ale or Sprite on board for her, but we’ve got chicken noodle soup, tomato soup and jello when she feels up to it, and plenty of water. So maybe we can keep her hydrated. Hopefully none of the rest of us will pick it up. I certainly don’t want it again…I can vividly recall what it felt like two weeks ago.

We’re anchored in Merrisach Lake in about 12 ft. of water not far from a small park, just outside the canal channel. We’re almost 15 miles from where we get dumped into the Mississippi. Barney, Kenn and I have tried our hand at marlinspiking, rigging up an extra anchor with a chain rode to rope connection, where we had to splice the rope back into itself. Hard work on the heavy anchor line, but we got it done. Kenn has worked on several projects throughout the afternoon and evening, finishing up with resewing the headliner zipper over the helm station.

Even though Vickie couldn’t join us, Barney barbecued the chicken, and I made home-fried potatoes with onions and seasonings. Everything tasted wonderful, like cooking over a campfire on a riverbank. We have a gorgeous night to anchor out, temp in the mid-fifties, clear and calm. One more day to the big muddy.