The Cosmic C is on the Great Loop at last.

Old Jim · Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 2:41 am Post subject:

Pat,

I'm sorry you got a bit of the Lake Michigan "smackdown" but, trust me, it's normal for the lake to do that.

And I'm sure that you relied on the marine weather forecasts before you left. You discovered what all Great Lakes sailors eventually learn: Don't trust the NWS! They're a bunch of glue sniffers with ouija boards conjuring up their forecasts in windowless buildings.

Good luck on your trip. You're doing what many people can only dream about.

Jim

Byrdman · Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 9:41 am Post subject:

Pat... keep us posted on your travels, and please share any journals you are keeping. These make for a great read and "virtual" cruising...and some neat reference materials too when we get going ourselves.

Enjoying your post on the Loop....and keep me posted when you get down near the Cumberland River area...

Byrdman

Old Jim · Posted: Sat Aug 26, 2006 12:34 pm Post subject:

Pat,

Here's some good news about the Wilson Lock from the Nashville Tennessean newspaper.

Thursday, 08/17/06
State briefs: Wilson Lock barge jam expected to break

TENNESSEE

Officials are hoping to get traffic along the Tennessee River moving again today after an accident at the Wilson Lock near Florence, Ala., blocked passage in both directions weeks ago.

At the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' last count Monday, more than 140 barges were sitting idle in the river, waiting to pass.

The barge industry has estimated that the blockage was costing $42,000 per trapped barge tow train each day the congestion persists.

Workers with the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Corps of Engineers removed a damaged gate Wednesday evening.

The gate was ripped off its tracks Aug. 3 when a barge became entangled its frame as the lock filled with water.

Hopefully, all will be in order by the time you arrive.

Jim

Cosmic C · Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 1:07 pm Post subject:

Byrdman - if you want more details on our trip, go to www.the-fowles.com.

Patrick

SeaSpray · Posted: Sun Aug 27, 2006 11:59 pm Post subject:

Patrick,

Nice web site! I am enjoying your log postings and pictures. Won't take long before you are comfortable with the anchoring.

Steve

Old Jim · Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 2:26 am Post subject:

Pat and Mary,

Welcome to Chicago! I wish I had known where you were staying. My son raced in the triathlon that went right past your dock today and maybe we could have hooked up for dinner. Are you planning to spend more time in Chicago? Let me know and perhaps I can arrange something.

Jim

Pat Anderson · Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 9:57 am Post subject:

Cosmic C · Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2006 8:21 pm Post subject:

Hi all:

After two great days in Chicago, the weather changed again and we woke up to 20+K winds and pouring rain on the third day when we had planned to depart. Being the wimps that we are we decided to stay put, but I felt we couldn't leave the boat because the inner harbor around the Columbia Yacht Club where we were staying was surprisingly rough, and indeed we had to move the boat twice to avoid being beaten up against the dock. Sorry we missed you, Old Jim. We would have been delighted to have dinner with you! How did your son do in the triathlon? We were leaving the yacht club after many had finished and we were really surprised at how fresh most of them appeared to be after all that effort.

The last three days we have been meandering down the Illinois river. We seem to have run out of luck at the locks, always seeming to arrive just as a big tow is going in and having to wait two or three hours. On a couple of occasions another pleasure craft has arrived just as the tow was leaving and not having to wait at all, irritating us all the more. Today we arrived at the La Grange lock and inquired about timing. Their transmission was very garbled, but we picked out what we thought was "4 to 5." Since the gates were opening we thought they had said 4 to 5 minutes, but the light remained red for about 20 minutes. Then we looked behind us and there was a big 15-barge tow coming on in. We had passed it and another one moored at the bank a mile earlier. And, you guessed it, the second tow was coming on in behind, and we realised that what the lockkeeper had actually said 4 to 5 HOURS. So we went back a half mile and found a little channel from the main river into a small lake (actually called Little Lake), one of those that only shallow draft C-Dories can get into, and here we are at anchor in Little Lake having Margeritas before supper. Great!!

Patrick and Mary Fowles
25 ft C-Dory Cosmic C
Currently at anchor in Little Lake, IL
www-the-fowles.com

Old Jim · Posted: Thu Aug 31, 2006 9:41 pm Post subject:

Pat and Mary,

Glad to hear you got off Lake Michigan in one piece. The weather really got nasty with those ne winds blowing up the waves on this end. I hope your river trip is smooth and those barges let you have a little bit of room. If you ever have a chance to see the river and canal system from the air, you'll be amazed at how many of those things are packed in there. One wonders how they manage to move at all.

My son did pretty well in the triathlon. He's 32, a new father and works as a flight instructor; all of which make staying in shape a challenge. But he finished in the top 20% so he was fairly happy with that.

Enjoy the rest of your trip and if you ever pass this way again, we can try to hook up.

Fair weather to ya.

Jim

Cosmic C · Posted: Tue Sep 05, 2006 8:38 pm Post subject:

We’re at anchor behind Angelo Towhead Island at the junction of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. It's a beautiful evening, the fish are jumping, Mary has cooked a meal I wouldn't have thought possible on an alcohol stove, and we're replete and happy.

We were entertained by relatives in Peoria and good friends in St Louis, from where we made use of Southwest Airlines relatively cheap fares to make a 24-hour dash to Kansas City to visit Mary's family in Platte City, MO. Since the last post we have had much better lock luck, and on the two Mississippi locks we were taken in immediately and allowed to float, which we loved.

We've met and enjoyed chatting with several more loopers, including Wayne Roberts on "Opelousas", who happened to be reading our last post at the Alton Marina as we pulled in, and Della and Floyd on their home-made boat "Freddy Freddy", on which they live full-time and with whom we shared the wall at the Kaskasia lock.

Fuel just missed being a big issue for us. In contrast to the well-known stretch on the Mississippi and Ohio where fuel is scarce, we've never seen it noted that there is no gas between Peoria and the brand new marina at Grafton, some 160 odd miles. Had we read Skipper Bob's book closely enough ahead of time we might have noticed the lack of references to fuel, but we didn't and only a chance remark by someone at the Detweiler Marina in Peoria prevented us from leaving with insufficient fuel to make Grafton. We think loopers need as much warning about this stretch as they get for the Mississippi/Ohio River stretch.

Patrick and Mary Fowles
25 ft C Dory Cosmic C
Currently at anchor behind Angelo Towhead Island
Www.the-fowles.com

smittypaddler · Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:32 pm Post subject:

Hey, Cosmic-C, thanks for the warning about gas. I knew of an 80-mile stretch on the Illinois River, but had no idea there was one 160 miles w/o gas. Na Waqa and I are at Harborside Marina. Looks like we're just missing each other.

Also, you're so lucky to have your alcohol stove! I shelled out the extra bucks for a Wallas diesel, and I'd like to throw the @Q$#% thing overboard! I sent it in for repairs last year, and they could find nothing wrong, but replaced some parts anyway. Since then I've started it three times successfully, twice to test it, and once to actually use it. The very first time I turned it on this trip, it squeaked a little, and smoke started coming out from under the galley counter. Fortunately, I brought a Coleman 2-burner propane stove as backup. That, along with a microwave and toaster oven means I won't have to eat raw eggs for the rest of the trip.

El and Bill · Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 10:48 pm Post subject:

Smittypaddler-

Sorry to hear about the Wallas problems -- how far do you intend to go on the Loop? And, your boat name, is it from the Fijian? And how did you come by the name?

Good luck to you and have a good cruise.

Pat Anderson · Posted: Thu Sep 07, 2006 11:55 pm Post subject:

As in this lesson?

"Where is the boat?" - ( E vei na waqa? )

Reminds me of our Turkish lessons...

"Buralarda bir benzinci var mi?" - (Is there a gas station around here?)

smittypaddler · Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:37 pm Post subject:

Yes, Na Waqa is Fijian. You're the second person since I named her that knew what it meant. The other was a lady from western Africa working at a marina on Solomons Island in Chesapeake Bay. I learned a little Fijian while staying at a surfing resort on the island of Nagigia, just off the southwest corner of Kadavu. Actually, my boat's full name is Na Waqa Lailai Totoka, which in Fijian means "The Pretty Little Boat." That's as close as I could come to "Cute Little Boat," which I heard a thousand times on my trip. I'm *really* curious how and where you learned Fijian.

Regarding the gas situation from Peoria to Grafton on the Illinois river, I made a few phone calls. The Tall-Timbers Marina at mile 120.3 LDB has gas only, and during the week you have to call Bob's cell phone, 309-241-7957, to arrange to have him come down to the dock. The Rivers Edge Boat Club, at mile 97.5 RDB HAS NO GAS, but only because their pump is being repaired. You can get gas at the Illinois Riverdock, at mile 20.9 RDB, by calling David Johnson, 618-576-2256, and he'll bring gas to you in his truck.

smittypaddler · Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2006 1:43 pm Post subject:

Postscript: I'll finish the loop when I reach the Mississippi. Actually, I started in La Crosse, to avoid the "Twelve Miles of Hell" as Captain Rick Rhodes describes it in his book. Last summer I returned to Green Bay by way of Key West to New York, Lakes Erie, Huron, and Michigan. But that little missing segment across Wisconsin has annoyed me for a year, and I finally decided to *really* complete the loop this fall.