It is rumored that Kuttawa is Indian for "leave your trailer in the parking lot and it will get towed". Anyone who has ever cruised and had to make layovers can tell you the two most difficult planning elements are fuel and land transportation management. How do I berth in a distant port, get home, get back and not have cars or friends scattered all over the country. In my experience car management is the most difficult issue in long-range inland cruising. I look forward to the day I can use layovers to enjoy the local sites, sit on the cockpit, have a cigar, sip good scotch whiskey and not worry about how quickly I get home and back to work.
As you will recall, I finally found lay over at Kuttawa and made my way back to Little Rock by car and spent the next month planning the most daunting part of the trip. Cruising the Ohio and the mighty Mississippi. I took driving trips along the path of my trip on the Mississippi because I knew anchorages and gasoline would be of serious consequence. My travels took me to Caruthersville, MO because they have a casino there and I thought it might give me a place to tie up and hide from the floating dangers of the river. I visited the casino to survey for layover possibilities. In the back of the casino there was a work area that looked to be suitable for tying off. It was in the eddy of the casino hull and anything coming down the river would hopefully be deflected. I checked with the casino office and received the number of the marina division, evidently some of their properties have marinas. I was questioned briefly and provided my USCG documentation number. The person put me on hold for a while and informed me I would not be able to tie off. All I could surmise was that I had not lost enough bets there to receive accommodation.
My second land survey of the river was to secure a supply of gasoline. No pleasure boat fueling is located on the Mississippi and obviously I would need gas. I read an account or two of other pleasure cruisers having gas delivered by a supplier in New Madrid, MO. The chamber of commerce in New Madrid was very helpful and put me in contact with MFA Oil Distributors (877-748-5300) and they never hesitated to offer a riverside delivery at the concrete boat ramp in the offshoot south of town at MM 888.5 or so. Just give us a call about an hour before you arrive and we will meet you. I knew it would take about one mile a gallon and I added 20% because of the 4/5 mph downstream current; not a deal breaking decision but I don't recommend it. I used almost as much gas going downstream on the Mississippi as I normally do in lesser current. I guess at the same rpm it doesn't matter much about the current. The Mississippi's current is very confused; sometimes going downstream you can see snags moving sideways or even upstream. Never underestimate the power of the Mississippi River's unpredictable currents, eddys and whirlpools.
OK, listen carefully this is complicated. On the morning of August 6, a Wednesday, I loaded my autocross Miata on its trailer, hooked it to my Honda SUV and took off bright and early for downtown Memphis Tennessee to meet my son Bo and his good friend Jack. It was the first stage of a multifaceted car management plan to get cars boat and people from Kuttawa KY to Little Rock, AR and various other destinations. We met up at the Mud Island Marina where we left Bo's truck and my Miata in the well protected parking lot and headed off, with car trailer in tow, for Kuttawa and the first cruising leg of our journey.
After loading supplies, fueling up and filling the water tanks we pushed off for the trip to the mouth of the Tennessee River at Paducah, KY. It was about 2:00pm in the afternoon and the 53 or 54 miles to the Big E marina on the Ohio River shouldn't be a problem, especially with the existence of the single lock at the Barkley Dam. We chose to stay on the Cumberland rather than the Tennessee because the lock on Kentucky Lake was backed up with commercial traffic. The Barkley lock master never answered my calls and we cruised in circles for about thirty minutes before he whistled us in. Not the worst locking I've had but its always easy to remember the difficult ones. I'll share a harrowing one with you later that happened on Lock 5, Arkansas River. Remember Mickey, I almost lost him.
The trip to the Big E was quiet, peaceful and beautiful. I knew however, the two biggest rivers in the US and one of the biggest in the world lie ahead.
As you will recall, I finally found lay over at Kuttawa and made my way back to Little Rock by car and spent the next month planning the most daunting part of the trip. Cruising the Ohio and the mighty Mississippi. I took driving trips along the path of my trip on the Mississippi because I knew anchorages and gasoline would be of serious consequence. My travels took me to Caruthersville, MO because they have a casino there and I thought it might give me a place to tie up and hide from the floating dangers of the river. I visited the casino to survey for layover possibilities. In the back of the casino there was a work area that looked to be suitable for tying off. It was in the eddy of the casino hull and anything coming down the river would hopefully be deflected. I checked with the casino office and received the number of the marina division, evidently some of their properties have marinas. I was questioned briefly and provided my USCG documentation number. The person put me on hold for a while and informed me I would not be able to tie off. All I could surmise was that I had not lost enough bets there to receive accommodation.
My second land survey of the river was to secure a supply of gasoline. No pleasure boat fueling is located on the Mississippi and obviously I would need gas. I read an account or two of other pleasure cruisers having gas delivered by a supplier in New Madrid, MO. The chamber of commerce in New Madrid was very helpful and put me in contact with MFA Oil Distributors (877-748-5300) and they never hesitated to offer a riverside delivery at the concrete boat ramp in the offshoot south of town at MM 888.5 or so. Just give us a call about an hour before you arrive and we will meet you. I knew it would take about one mile a gallon and I added 20% because of the 4/5 mph downstream current; not a deal breaking decision but I don't recommend it. I used almost as much gas going downstream on the Mississippi as I normally do in lesser current. I guess at the same rpm it doesn't matter much about the current. The Mississippi's current is very confused; sometimes going downstream you can see snags moving sideways or even upstream. Never underestimate the power of the Mississippi River's unpredictable currents, eddys and whirlpools.
OK, listen carefully this is complicated. On the morning of August 6, a Wednesday, I loaded my autocross Miata on its trailer, hooked it to my Honda SUV and took off bright and early for downtown Memphis Tennessee to meet my son Bo and his good friend Jack. It was the first stage of a multifaceted car management plan to get cars boat and people from Kuttawa KY to Little Rock, AR and various other destinations. We met up at the Mud Island Marina where we left Bo's truck and my Miata in the well protected parking lot and headed off, with car trailer in tow, for Kuttawa and the first cruising leg of our journey.
After loading supplies, fueling up and filling the water tanks we pushed off for the trip to the mouth of the Tennessee River at Paducah, KY. It was about 2:00pm in the afternoon and the 53 or 54 miles to the Big E marina on the Ohio River shouldn't be a problem, especially with the existence of the single lock at the Barkley Dam. We chose to stay on the Cumberland rather than the Tennessee because the lock on Kentucky Lake was backed up with commercial traffic. The Barkley lock master never answered my calls and we cruised in circles for about thirty minutes before he whistled us in. Not the worst locking I've had but its always easy to remember the difficult ones. I'll share a harrowing one with you later that happened on Lock 5, Arkansas River. Remember Mickey, I almost lost him.
The trip to the Big E was quiet, peaceful and beautiful. I knew however, the two biggest rivers in the US and one of the biggest in the world lie ahead.
Arrival at the mouth of the Cumberland where it emptied into the Ohio was quite a sight. I was excited to be there but I knew it marked the part of the trip that was the most dangerous for myself, my crew and Detour. Motor trouble, collision with one of the many large snags floating just under the surface or any of the multiple issues that could render a boat inoperable would be very difficult and expensive to overcome. I had decided the best option if Detour became hopelessly disabled would be burial at sea, or river. But that's not a good idea either because the EPA would fine me heavily, the Corps of Engineers would bill me for the removal of Detour and then impound her for sale as salvage. After worrying about all the things that could happen, I decided to not think about it and hope to deal with it if necessary. Thank goodness, I've cruised almost four thousand miles on the inland navigable waterways/intracoastal and Gulf of Mexico with no serious damage or mechanical issues that I or any "kinda handy" captain couldn't handle.
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