We've been home for 14 months now and, while we've been busy with many things, we found the winter to be long and dreary and we miss the fun, challenge and excitement of traveling. So in May, we drove down to look at marinas in Mississippi and Alabama, a couple of which we had stayed in and one which was new to us. The new one was Florence Harbor Marina in Florence, Alabama, and we really loved the marina and the town as well. Florence is up the Tennessee River from where it meets the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway and not far from Chattanooga and even Knoxville-some really beautiful cruising areas. They were planning an expansion project which would create a new slip and we decided that we would move our boat down there for at least a year. Unfortunately, a couple of months later we learned that the expansion project would not be completed and there were no other slips available, so we made plans to store our boat here in Port Washington for the winter. A couple of weeks ago, though, we got an email from them and a boat is moving and this has freed up a nice slip! We made the decision within one minute to take it. Since then, we've been making plans to take another trip down the Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio, Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers. Although the rivers were the least favorite part of our Loop trip, we've decided it must be like having a baby. It's a little painful and a lot expensive, but you just want to do it again!! So, if all works out well, we'll leave on September 9 and take a couple of weeks to get to Florence. There is one potential problem but we're hoping it will be solved before we plan to leave. You may remember when I talked about the jumping Asian Carp in the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers-one jumped right over our heads when we were dinghying around the Little Diversion Channel anchorage south of St. Louis. They have now moved closer to Lake Michigan and it would be devastating if they were to make it into the lake. So the Army Corps of Engineers built an electric barrier several years ago, but recently they have identifed carp DNA just 7 miles from the barrier - don't ask me how they get carp DNA!! So they have just doubled the voltage of the barrier and they are now conducting a test to see if it will work-and how dangerous it might be to boaters!! The Illinois River is closed now to all traffic except for a few commercial barges and other steel-hulled boats. No one knows how long they will be testing, so we are hoping the river opens by September 9. If so, we'll be on our way. If not, looks like another long dreary winter for us!! Check back soon to see what happens. We hope to share another adventure with you all.

This is a view of Wilson Lake from the Marriott where we stayed in Florence. It is on the other side of the Lock from the marina.

There is a huge park right next to the marina which will be a great place to exercise Marina and Skipper. That was a huge consideration in deciding on a marina.

The entrance to the beautiful Tennessee River from the Florence Harbor Marina.

Our slip is next to the white boat on the left. There's a beautiful green boat in that slip which has moved to a different marina.

This building houses the marina office and the restaurant. There is a hole in the floor of the restaurant and you can feed the fish while you're eating!!

August 30, 2009

We continue to be "incarperated" here in Port Washington. The river (actually, the Chicago Snaitary Ship Canal) remains closed to recreational traffic. There is one way to get through-you call a tow company and make an appointment to meet them just north of the barrier. Then you call the Coast Guard and ask them please, sir, may I go through the barrier. Then you tie up to the tug boat, disconnect all your batteries (including the one in the dinghy), turn off all power to your boat, put on your life jacket and climb aboard the tug, sign a waiver saying if your boat explodes or all your instruments are destroyed by stray electrical current you won't hold them in any way responsible, pay the nice man $600, cash or check only please, get towed for .7 mile-I think that's like around 10 footbal fields- and then repeat the process-get back on  your boat, reconnect your batteries, power up your electronics (hopefully) and go on your way. As I write this, I'm thinking----how stupid IS this anyway?!! The poor boaters who are scattered around Lake Michigan paying for a marina every night while they wait to see what happens have no choice but we are lucky to be sitting in our home slip so we shall see what happens. Supposedly they are doing more testing this week and may have another announcement for us. We are hoping that they will open the river but it's anybody's guess. Keep checking back to see what happens!!

 September 12, 2009

I think I will have to change the title to "Here We DON'T Go Again!!  The Coast Guard indicated that the closure of the Canal was going to be permanent. Our insurance company had issues with us signing a liability waiver so that we could be towed through and we had issues about risking our boat or at least our electronics for the sake of going south. So, we canceled our slip in Florence and re-signed our contract for winter storage. THEN they decided they would open the canal to boats longer than 20 feet, from 7AM to 5PM every day, with prior approval from the CG. Their announcement contains worrisome language though

The COE/CG has issued a pamphlet which among other things warns that
improperly installed electronic equipment on a boat "is likely to result
in significant damage" to said electronics. That sounds like somebody in
the govt is trying to cover his/her bureaucratic hind end. But that
notwithstanding, there are questions. Then they also warn that contact
with electrified water "may cause serious injury or death." From what I
understand, there aren’t any dead carp floating around the restricted
area. But again questions.

The government says that there are 2 volts per inch of water. It is my
understanding that this means 2 volts per column inch of water depth. If
the depth in the canal is say 12 feet, that is 144 inches or 288 volts. I
have heard that the COE has generators onsite energizing the barrier. Is
that DC or 15 Hertz AC? Are there electrodes along the bottom of the
river or is there one on each side of the river?

All of this comes back to the question of how is this going to interact
with electrical systems on a fiberglass boat. It seems that the steel or
aluminum boats whose hulls are conductive have no problem. They were
never barred transit. Any fiberglass hulls all have thru hull fittings or
running gear in the water which is bonded, so what’s the difference.

Because of the backlog of boats in both directions, they are still warning that it could take several hours to get through this tiny little piece of the Canal and we are tired of thinking about it, so we are going to stay put this year and hopefully next summer will bring better options. So now, to find fun things to do this winter, hopefully in warmer places! Stay tuned.