Ohio River Weekend Life

After being on the river for 11 days in a row trying to bring SS BS up from Kentucky Lake. Not in a hurry to go out on the boat. Borrowed a pontoon and went for a little evening/night ride. Pontoons are cool but I enjoy having an inside. But for zipping and zinging pontoons are great. But I'm kind of partial on the being able to live on the boat life. 

Voyage of Bluewater SS B.S 9/4 - 9/14

 The voyage of the Bluewater from Kentucky Lake to Four Seasons. Our voyage of SS BS started from Kenlake Marina and was detoured to Kentucky Dam Marina via Bill w/ Tow Boat US then across the Barkley Canal to the Cumberland River to Green Turtle Bay where Bill turned out to be Harbormaster. 

Our new route is the Lake Cumberland to the Barkley Lock to the Cumberland River to the Ohio River. This journey was originally suppose to be a 5 day voyage which turned into an 11 day true voyage after some engine issues. 

The voyage is underway officially now the stress and frustration of the last month has been crazy, a complete rollercoaster of emotions, ups and downs, waiting the anticipation with nothing going as planned. Went through all the work of creating a very detailed itinerary. Ready to go but wait yet another road block pops up, causing distress and frustration day after day with little hope in sight. The wait one thing goes right others fall through or just simply don't work out as intended, causing sporadic plans, which make me very uneasy and unsure. After all the irritation & frustration finally seeing the boat & all the paperwork being done, money transferred. It is more than I could have imagined the excitement and fear is real & unreal @ the moment just waiting to hear the baby purr. All gassed up and ready for the voyage ahead. Optimistic for the voyage ahead, anxious, excited, fearful, confusion every possible emotion is building with the upcoming voyage. With one day down even though it was all in the car. A lot of the anticipation is over but more has surfaced now that we are finally on the boat. Boat organized well as much as I can with things in their respective places and beginning to feel like home even though we are 5 hours by car & 5 days by boat from home. Our voyage is starting from Kenlake Marina on the morning of September 5th. 

Start of day 2, September 5th well day one on the water is off to a wet gloomy start but we have hope & optimism for the voyage ahead. No boat adventure is complete w/o a pre voyage trip to Walmart, no matter the city, place or time. Now even though we are 5 hours behind schedule due to the weather not cooperating & other issues that arose with non helpful or time conscious travel companions, that are unware or don't care but more likely the latter. Finally out on the water a little windy w/ choppy water on the Kentucky Lake but not to bad. Nice overcast day, the wind needs to die down a bit. But a good day for boating & the start of a voyage into the unknown. As we get closer to the Kentucky Lock skies are clearing up & turning out to be a nice day. But wait as we are in view of the Kentucky Lock more trouble arises w/ the port engine overheating & and now the starboard deciding it doesn't want to start. Luckily it is before the Kentucky Lock with several marinas around. Just have to make it there now. Sitting and waiting for the port engine to cool down enough so we can continue and put along and try to figure out what is going on so we can continue on our voyage and make it back home. More stress and frustration but such is the life of a boater/owning a boat. (Break Out Another Thousand). Well not what we planned but glad for the experience just more memories along the way. New marina, new experiences is what a trip is all about. Made it a total of 20 miles on our first day definetly what I had planned but such is life. 

Day 3 September 6th, with it being Labor Day we are in no rush. Since we are in search of a mechanic. A different type of wait hoping for a call back but not looking good. Need to go to the store and restock & come up with a plan. Hey let's go get the car and do some needed running around. Now trying to find a ride, no user cars available & Lyft wants $216 or $304 for a 20 mile ride. Finally found a taxi & way back to the car. Goodbye Kenlake Marina enjoyed our stay but gotta go. Look another trip to Walmart & back to the boat. Hey we can also send our travel companions back home w/ the car since they were no help and got very annoying over a day and  half. Funny how this is the closest we will be to Cincinnati for the next 2 to 3 days once we are back mobile on the water. With stops in Illinois, Indiana & KY ahead. Crazy how our next scheduled stop once we finally reach the Ohio River is in Illinois @ the Golconda Marina. Relaxing with my man on our home on the water while we wait. Enjoying the day, the boat, the company 💖. Smooth R&B/Neo Soul music playing, clear night sky and the overall atmosphere. Finally able to put everything up & get organized officially. Things are coming together little by little.

Day 4 - Tuesday, September 7th a beautiful day ahead, hopefully we have the issue figure out, simple fixes are the best. But off to Green Turtle Bay Resort to see a mechanic & new marina, I mean resort experience.  Just a quick trip across the Kentucky Lake to the Barkley Canal to Lake Cumberland then Green Turtle Bay (31.7 mile marker). Hey look our TowBoatU.S membership has paid for itself with the discount on our transient dockage @ Kentucky Dam Marina. Short 3 mile trip our new destination. Not too bad of a trip on only one motor. Got an appointment with the mechanic so now we wait, relax & enjoy the amenities. This place has it all; a beach, mechanic shop, fuel dock, shuttle, condos, ship store, spa, indoor pool, 2 outdoor pools, laundry room, enclosed shower house, 3 restaurants & wait golf carts that can be taken into town and all over the property. Golf cart rented now time to explore in style, all over the resort & even into town. Thirsty Turtle Tavern had good food & drinks. Think we may have found a nice little vacation spot, quiet, relaxing and peaceful. Laid back area no more walking and having some fun with the golf cart. Hey my baby got the generator working, quick trip to the ship store to buy the part and we are in business. Remove the old impeller, quick swap and test. We have power no matter where we are on the dock or out on the water. Dock with shore power or anchored out in the river or on a lake. WE OUTSIDE (compliments of Topp Notch). 

Day 5 - Wednesday, September 8th we are still at Green Turtle Bay waiting on the mechanic might as well do some laundry while we wait. Hmmm what to do for breakfast, lets order some food from Dockers on the Bay. Laundry almost done, food ordered, mechanic @ work, port engine in process. Time to look over the maps & chart our new course. Looks like we will be able to continue our voyage soon, things are looking up. Generator working, marine air, new course charted for Barkley Lock to Cumberland River to the Ohio River. Let's do some light cleaning with the musing going as the evening approaches preparing for the voyage and trying to find ways to make up time, due to our 3-4 day setback. But our stay at GTB was much needed as well deserved. Trip 3 to Thirsty Turtle Tavern but this time a nice walk w/ great company. Bill & company was awesome thanks for everything, but we have to go.

Day 6 - Thursday, September 9th well day 1 on the beginning of our voyage to the Nasty Nati. First L/D (Barkley L/D) down, think it went pretty good. Pre-planning finally paid off, got our plan down now time to perfect our L/D system. Next stop the Ohio River, after our 30 mile run upstream on the Cumberland River we appear to be the only ones out now. Going through the lock didn't realize how low some L/D go depending on whether you are going downstream or upstream. There are a lot of twist and turns up and down on the river. Cumberland river is surprisingly 400 ft. wide, easy sailing on the SS B.S. moving through the water smooth. Each marina has been nice than the latter plus more amenities than the previous stop. As we approach the Smithland L/D we realized why you need to go around Cumberland Island once we reached the Ohio River, there is a Rock Dike as it is called making you go downstream to go upstream. Well maybe it is a good thing we didn't dock @ Golconda marina, list of amenities did not match what we saw. Found out there are really islands in the dead middle of the Ohio River. Went from 14ft. to 3ft. real fast, boat started going slowing down and going up in the air. Good thing we only need 23.4 inches of water. Think I finally have the buoys figured out and how they are suppose to be used, close call. Finally got gas now back on the Ohio, headin north toward Mt. Vernon & Evansville, Indiana. Two locks down, hopefully we can make it through one more before the day is over. Well didn't quite make it to the next L/D but we are 10 miles out from the next L/D of John T. Myers. Hopefully we can get there by 8am and keep pushing our way up the Ohio River, to the next marina. Love the fact that we can beach ourselves or anchor out depending on the situation. . So quiet and peaceful out on the water, away from everything and everyone. Time to get some rest for the rest of our voyage ahead as we head home to the Port of Cincinnati by way of Four Seasons Marina. Never thought sleeping on the water would be different based off of where you are but we have it all from a bat screech, owls hooting, unknown bug sounds and who would forget the pack of coyote howling, everything sounds different, when you are in an unknown area. Wow fish really do jump out the water like they do on TV & the movies a good foot or foot and a half. Definitely high enough to see them from the flybridge. Whole body out the water. 

Start of day 7 or day 2 - Friday, September 10th waking up on the water, sun coming up over the distant hill. Seeing what the tide has now made visible an island that wasn't there the night before. Fog rolling over the water is a majestic site. Based off a couple maps it appears we are starting just off Raleigh Island mile marker 854. Just south of Wabash Island. The SS B.S had a rough start fog, chilly morning, tryna get ourselves unbeached with one motor didn't realize how many barges go up and down the river after dark. Made it through the John T Myers L/D now off to  Inland Marina. Hopefully through the next L/D - Newburgh. Just before Diamond Island small debris field but not too bad. The water is as smooth as glass which makes for a good day of cruising. Didn't quite make it to the Newburgh L/D but made it to Evansville, Indiana about 15 miles south of the next L/D. SO with our late start we made it through one L/D with a total of 65 miles. Definitely will make some time up by leaving out no later than 7. Time to make a run since we are back in civilization or as close as we have been, since last weekend. 

Start of day 8 or day 3 on the water, Saturday, September 11th. Thanks Inland Marina enjoyed our brief stay but gotta keep pushing forward. I think we have our system down. Hopefully we make it through 2 L/D today & end up  about an hour or two outside of Louisville, if my calculations & charting is correct. We are making our way up the Ohio River fairly smooth. Made it through our first L/D of the day 45 minutes, could be faster but we got caught in a bit of a wind tunnel but my baby got it figured out. Crazy how every L/D we have went up w/ the exception of the Barkley Lock. Now a nice 5 hour cruise to our next L/D - Cannelton then a pitstop for gas as we continue on our voyage up river towards Cincinnati. As we get closer to the Cannelton L/D the wind is @ our backs seemingly pushing us forward from Evansville Indiana to Owensboro, KY to Cannelton Indiana. Using various methods to track or plot our course; navigational charts of the Ohio River - Louisville & Nashville District, mobile apps (Simrad, Navionics, Marine Ways) to check & track our course & to keep landmarks so I can continuously know our position. Just realized that this voyage to Cincinnati has been going on for 7 days now w/ only 3 of those days being part of the actual voyage. Despite only making it 20 miles before issues arose. Making good time since we have officially been on the water for going on 3 days actually riding upstream choppy waters, windy Saturday with 11 miles away from our next L/D - Cannelton the water is moving and the wind is blowing coming from Newburgh Indiana. Up to Cannelton is a steep incline appears we have leveled out and back on calm water. Crazy how different the water is as we approach the Cannelton L/D. Hey we made it to our original day 3 stopping point in Cannelton Indiana @ Rocky Point Marina. Hey another courtesy vehicle now we can make a much needed re-stock run. Oh look another trip to Walmart in Tell City, Indiana. We are back in civilization passing houses and recognizable franchise food chains. Definitely needed more food w/ a delayed start to our voyage went through more food than intended and being tied up to a fuel dock for the last 2 nights can't fire up the grill. Time to get a pizza and shower, finally figured out the jet ski lift. It's out the water, so we will see if our speed increases oh wait we figured out the bow thrusters as well, we are in business. Just took some time, and a moment to think about it. Random batteries, battery charger and switch now know their purpose. Jet ski lift, bow thrusters finally figuring everything out only took a week on the boat and going over every piece of this 59ft (65ft) Bluewater - SS B.S. Hope to get another early start but we will see. 

Start of day 9 or day 4 of actual being out on the water. Waking up at Rocky Point and heading north. Looks like a good day ahead, water is calm, wind is low lets begin this 100 mile voyage to the next L/D (McAlpine) in Louisville, KY. Getting that jet ski lift appears to be paying off so far staying overnight @ Rocky Point Marina was a good thing got more food, had a chance to think about what those batteries and switch in the galley were for. Jet ski & bow thrusters we are fully functional. Today is gonna be a long one heading toward Louisville. Nice and peaceful out on the river this Sunday, calm water slight breeze, good place to get a piece of mind on this journey. Funny how after being on the boat for over a week we can feel when you are going uphill and when you level back out. We are literally going upstream a true uphill battle. Didn't quite make it to our scheduled destination. Didn't recalculate mileage accurately with a reduced cruising speed to conserve gas on our longest stretch with access to gas for 112.1 miles, playing it smart. We only have 13.2 miles away from the McAlpine L/D about an hour and a half trip. So close but we made it 98 miles today only if we had more daylight could've kept moving.

Start of day 10 or day 5  (Monday, September 13th) we are getting an early start up and ready to go before the sun. About an hour out from the McAlpine L/D  and 2 hours out from our gas stop. Gonna be an interesting one since I have to work today. But I think we can make it to the other side of the Markland L/D. In the homestretch now only 156 miles left on our voyage and home at Four Seasons. Been on the water for 10 straight days now. Made it through the McAlpine L/D through downtown Louisville got some gas for the first time in 121 miles at Juniper Beach Docks. Time to head up river towards the Markland L/D. A little tricky today since I am back to work and navigating on the side. Good thing I love technology and always carry multiple devices with me. Working, navigating and occasionally driving is putting my multitask skills to the test. Going uphill most of this leg of the trip, home stretch. Made it to & through the Markland L/D before dark. Tried to go to Smugglers Cove for gas but no gas. Didn't look like what we thought it would was expecting the Ritz Carlton but got Motel 6. Turtle Creek Harbor in Florence Indiana here we come. Shower, food delivery, football and some relaxation for the night. Fill up in the morning then on our way home final 65 miles. Did 2 L/D  and both went smooth. Markland was the fastest by far. Bow thrusters helped out would never stop so close to a L/D but we are in a marina. Pulled into Turtle Creek Harbor after dark but everything went smooth. My baby is handling the SS B.S perfectly. Boat & people at the marinas helped us get in the transient slip.

Day 11 or day 6 - September 14th the sun comes up on this Tuesday we are waking up at Turtle Creek Harbor in Florence Indiana. We wait for the fuel dock to open so we can top of and begin the last 65 mile journey to Cincinnati to bring this 11 day voyage to an end. Slight issue this Tuesday morning the starboard engine doesn't want to cooperate but no problem my baby got it. All gassed up and out on the Ohio River heading towards Cincinnati, OH. The last 65 miles should be a piece of cake, 6 hours drive ahead. The closer we get the more the surrounding area gets more familiar. Wait is that Laughery Island, the drive is becoming easier and easier. We can see Aurora, Indiana in the distant view. Just past Lighthouse Point Yacht Club water is still smooth. As we cross over into Ohio under the 275 bridge getting a little windy, but not too bad. See downtown Cincy in the distant view, been so long hello Cincinnati - Paul Brown Stadium, Reds Stadium, Covington, Newport, Hooters, Sawyer Point we are home. Hey now the wind has picked up gonna make for an interesting docking experience. As we head to our new home of D94 it doesn't look like we will fit, sticking out 14 feet past the finger, D42 here we come. Smooth docking by my man, El Captain. Thanks to our dock neighbors for the assistance getting into the slip, all tied down., time to lock it down and pack it up for the next couple of days. Finally home after a total of 515 miles with 20 miles on the Kentucky Lake, 2 going over the Barkley Canal and 30 on the Cumberland River and then 456 miles on the Ohio River. This was definitely a voyage, the SS B.S you are home and can take a much needed rest. You made it with a few issues but nothing to major.