RIVER SYSTEM: DAY 105/6: Hoppies to Little Diversion Canal/Just Above Dogtooth Island: AN EXCITING NIGHT

THE EASY

Hoppies to Little Diversion Canal: 11.0 mph; 110 miles; 9:56 hours

The river current is with you at a swift pace, 2 miles to the gallon; was lovin’ the Mighty Mississippi. For some reason, we passed a perfect place to anchor behind a wing dam off the river. Little Diversion is a tight fit but big enough for 5 larger vessels and a half-knot current.

THE NOT SO EASY

1:15AM to 5:06AM: Pitch Black - New Moon - Raining after a 10 hour day

Little Diversion to Sliding Out of Canal: 1.3 mph; 285 yards; :07 hours

Mouth of Canal to Some Ridiculous Anchorage: 4.0 mph; 3.3 miles; :50 hours

Are You KIDDING Anchorage to Just Above Dogtooth Island: 8.5 mph; 20 miles; 2:20 hours

Little Diversion Canal Should be Named: Little Disaster Canal

No one should anchor here EVER. 

This is my memory of the night; seriously much more dramatic than Jim’s recollection of events.

On our way to Little Diversion, we saw a perfect anchorage and passed it up. Big Mistake. We hardly ever anchor with more that a few boats and we will never put ourselves in this position again; not because of Loopers but because too many things can go wrong with big boats. Little Diversion is a reckless canal. When we got there, the current was a slow half-knot. We set anchor WITH CHAIN; plus, we threw the stern anchor for good measure. Somewhere, outside of our radar and telepathic-weather-communication abilities, it rained and, in a heartbeat, the little canal turned into a chute at 4-5 kts.

UNBELIEVABLE: 1:15 AM we lost hold of our bow anchor and the little stern anchor stopped us from ramming the boat behind us. After making a lot of noise and flash-lightings, the second boat woke up and set into action (we had just had dinner with them at Kimmswick and thank heaven they are seasoned boaters). Our boat was on their anchor and there wasn’t a way to loosen the stern anchor. We were unable to cut the stern line because the canal was increasing speed and we would have collided with their boat. Jim almost had us off their anchor when the current tossed us back on and cut their anchor. I am not sure if they had thrown a stern anchor. They were the last boat in so maybe - maybe not. It didn’t really matter at this point, they were without anchor and we needed to protect them. We all went into action tying the boats together while a swift current pushed us into the river with LegaSea keeping us from flying out.

An anchored tow boat captain saw the action and quickly assessed if we had engines or not (that would have been a whole other show); then, he announced to oncoming barges the predicament of our two boats. One barge had already made the turn and was on its way - it’s pitch black and we didn’t see her. She was moving along, and why not? PCs don’t cruise at night. The Tow Boat's wake rocked our boats like an earthquake while we were still tied together - ugh!. Needless to say we untied quickly working as a team. 

The second boat actually had another full anchor on deck and ready to attach (WHAT?! And he has another anchor under the forward bunk?! He IS a retired Boeing Engineer- makes sense now). Once we knew everyone was safe, the second boat headed BACK into the canal and we chose to find another anchorage in the dead of night. This turned out to be a great decision. 

Now we are on the Mighty Mississippi River, pitch black, zero moonlight, and the rain has increased - you’ve GOT to be kidding!! The towboat captain stayed in touch with us letting us know where the dangers were outside the channel on the Left Descending Bank while we waited for the enormous barge to pass. Had we been in the channel, we would have passed him on the 1 whistle but we were on the LDB - not a great place to be. The Mississippi has jagged rock edges along the shores. Thank goodness for that Tow Boat Captain - I never got his name.

LegaSea continued down the Mississippi and attempted a marked anchorage behind the bridge; who the devil marked this anchorage?! A rowboat?! We headed further down river, it was still pitch black and still raining; we used our electronics and whatever visuals we had for direction. Man, pitch black is really black. We eventually found a space behind a blunt wing dam just above Dogtooth Island and dropped anchor. Once set, we settled into the anchorage with every alarm set.

But Wait! There’s more! Meanwhile, back at Little Diversion Canal...

Jim used NEBO to make sure the second boat made it safely into the canal and was at anchor. All was well, three ducks in a row. Good. Breathe. 

Half an hour later, I checked NEBO. WAIT A MINUTE!! How did the little ducks change places?! The boat that had anchored ahead of us lost hold of THEIR anchor and they slipped into the mouth of the Mississippi! The only thing holding them in place was the little stern anchor! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

At 5:00AM, I went below for a few minutes of shut eye while Jim remained on the bridge trying to do the same. When we ‘woke up’, the sky was overcast and beginning to clear. Good day to go boating - Let’s go to Paducah.

When you look at the map, you see an anchorage close to where we dropped anchor. There was a barge on AIS heading up river. We wouldn't have been able to maneuver safely on the bend, in the dark, in the rain.