Columbus Marina Events

Finally after many decades, Patty gets to be an Air Force Pilot for the day.  I got to fly the AT6 trainer simulator and do rolls and fly under the bridge and it was so fun!!  Thanks to my boat friends, Steve and Julia Erben for requesting that their son, Paul, take me to the base and have a tour. 
He is in the USAF and works as a dentist here in the Columbus AFB so his pilot instructor let me fly the simulator on his own time.

simulator controls












We are enjoying an extended stay here in Columbus as there is a good park close to walk with Maggi and restaurants and good stores and now that the weather has gotten warmer, it is a good stop for awhile.
Maggi decided to chase a duck and ran onto the green grass.  Unfortunately it turned out to be hyacinths floating on the water so down went the Maggi.  I ran to her but could see only two yellow pointed ears sticking out of the water.  She climbed out and looked back at the water, blinked and shook her body and went out for a run again.

Columbus, Mississippi in the cool air

We headed south to escape the cold of St. Louis.  Today it is cold in Mississippi.  Maybe we need to keep moving south.  We like this marina and get mail forwarded here and are getting our truck delivered from the Alton Marina because our friends, Oma and Kenneth are bringing it here and having Thanksgiving with us.  How nice is that?
We spent a winter here about 4 years ago with other Loopers and enjoyed it.  The town is historic and buildings downtown are listed in the Historic Registry as is the Methodist church used during the Civil War as a hospital for both North and South.  It is a huge church and very active in doing things for the community and missions.  Today they loaded 24,843 boxes of food destined to the Philippines for relief of the people without their homes after the storm. We enjoy this church and some remembered us from last time.


Mums given to me by daughter Lara are surviving from Boise to Mississippi but the cold weather may take them out.

November 20 Big Lock Day

Yesterday the Orinoco traveled down 6 locks in a single day.  The river dropped some 400 feet since Pickwick Lake in Tennessee.
Picture taken while at
anchor in the beautiful
Bay Springs Lake in
Mississippi. The trees were in full glory in the evening sunshine

The first lock was Whitten Lock out of the beautiful Bay Springs Lake.  This is an enormous lock that drops 85 feet and leaves us hanging on to the floating bollard for dear life!  Down, down we go into the pit as water and slime from the lock drop on us.  The boat tries to turn and twist in the wind and turbulent water but Patty hangs on unwilling to let the wind take the line from her grip.

A 9 Lock Day Heading South

A beautiful day for the Orinoco as she sits for a picture in the beautiful Bay Springs Lake in Mississippi

We stayed on the lake for a couple of days and enjoyed the beauty and solitude of the clear water and quiet place

This mushroom is found here on this trail around the lake.  It looks like plastic but is growing out of the forest floor .  Wonder what kind it is?  I thought about cooking it with our evening mean and seeing if we get sick but maybe not.
Alas, we left the pretty lake and headed south again getting ready to go down a huge lock some 85 feet of drop out of the lake into the river.  A big let down for sure!

This is the Whitten Lock.  The wind was really blowing this day and as we tied to the bollard hanging on tightly as the boat swayed and tried to swing around.  The turbulent waters flowed out of the lock as if someone pulled the plug and I held on to the end of the line around the bollard as it sunk at an incrediable rate.  Down, down went the 44,000 pound boat into the pit as water and slime descended upon my head.
We made it and the swelling will go away in my right hand soon.

 This is the bollard I rapped my line around hanging on the loose end to keep the boat attached to the lock.

After the big lock we had to descend 300 feet through the next 5 locks, 30 feet at a time.  We went through the Montgomery, Rankin, Fulton,Wilkins and Amory lock on the same day.  At last we found a nice place to anchor and slept.
In the morning we only had one lock to look forward to conquering this day.  We pulled anchor and proceeded down river toward Columbus, Mississippi going through the lock at Aberdeen then finally got to the Columbus Marina in the afternoon.

Orinoco moves south at last

It was a fun start to the new adventure heading south this fall.  We left a group of the best friends we could have standing on the dock at the Alton Marina and we felt the mighty rumble of the big Cat engines straining against the lines that tied the ship to the land.
Off we went into the Mighty Mississippi again as it pushed us south along with its ever flowing current as a rush to the Gulf of Mexico.  Through the first lock at Mel Price we floated on this river current waiting while tied to the concrete wall to open the lock and keep heading down river to Lock 27.
Another lock and now on to Hoppies for the first night and to say goodbye to Fern

who gave a good briefing to us and two other Loopers heading south without any place to tie up or get fuel for 257 miles.  That would mean we must anchor at least two nights on the river.

Fern and Patty say goodbye after a pot luck meal with them on the house barge.



The big wide Mississippi pushes us along





This is what a modern lock looks like as you enter it.












We anchored in the Mississippi River behind a wing dam as the south wind hammered our efforts to point into the current.  Giving way to the wind which was stronger than the current at this time, we pointed the bow and anchored in mud pointed downstream and the night was peaceful and two ancient mariners and one tired dog slept.
The following day we turned up the Ohio and encountered the wide muddy river flowing into the Mississippi and the fleeting yard of the barges going up and down river.
We passed by the new dam and lock site of Ohlstead which has been under construction for over a decade.  When operational, it will replace the old, old outdated and ineffective Lock 52 and 53.

As we approached Lock 53 we were delighted to learn that the wickets are down and we can cruise over the dam.  It is a function of water levels so we had no delay.  Our elation was short in duration as we learned Lock 52 up another 20 miles is backed up with over 50 huge tows waiting to lock through up and down.  Some had waited for over 3 days!  What a big delay

After holding around the lock and finally dropping anchor near the bank for over 4 hours, the lockmaster had a window of opportunity for us and another private (pleasure) boat to hurry in and lock up while a downbound tow help back about 100 yards until we exited the lock.

The lock was literally falling apart as we waited.  The lines picked up metal shavings off the round tubs we tied to and tried to keep our fenders high enough to keep from bumping the metal and concrete walls as the turbulent waters filled the chamber.

As darkness approached, we increased the throttle settings to try to get to our next anchorage.  The big Cats responded growling in appreciation of the extra fuel circulating in the cylinders.  As the moon came out and the last rays of the sun kissed the waters goodnight, we found the anchorage and dropped the hook hugging the bottom of the river.

 This is a windless which has an electric motor and can roll out 300 feet of chain and anchor without any effort on my part except pressing the foot control.  Beside it is the wash down hose to hose off mud on the return to the boat.

This is the other end of the chain in the water with the anchor holding the 44,000 pound boat to the bottom of the river.












 Goodbye St.Louis





First sunset on the river.