ST. LOUIS FROM THE WATER

September 19, 2011  Dateline: Kimmswick, MO USA

Rich bought me some fuel this morning and then we headed off to the Melvin Price lock about a mile down river from Alton, IL.  MY WAY  left the marina first  and entered the lock ahead of me. There was one other pleasure craft in the lock already and then another two boats followed me in.  This was my first lock on the Mississippi River and it was huge.  Tows on the Mississippi are larger than those on the Illinois so the locks need to be much larger.  After leaving this lock I then went slow so that all five of us would get to the second lock at about the same time and I would not have to wait for the slower boats to arrive.  Before arriving at the second rock I had to proceed through a narrow canal that goes around an area called The Chain of Rocks, just the name scares me. The canal was built to bypass a portion of the Mississippi that has rapids.

I sailed past St. Louis and Carol got this picture of the Arch and the court house where the Dred Scott case was tried.

She was also able to get a picture of the Lewis and Clark statute that is located by the river.  Because it is located so close to the river it gets covered with water periodically.

I ended my day at Hoppies Marine Services located in Kimmswick, MO.  Hoppies is the last place to get fuel for the next 270 miles.  Hoppies is located along the side of the river and consists of several barges tied together.  Every day at 4:30 Fern Hoppy holds court in a covered area of the fuel barge and tells those heading down stream where the hazards are in the river and where the safe anchorages are located.  In attendance this afternoon was a man who was heading down the river in a 20 foot center console with an outboard engine.  He was very concerned about his ability to have sufficient fuel onboard to make the next 270 miles.  After talking with Fern, who is about 75, he felt more comfortable but was still concerned about the best route to take.

Tomorrow I am off to Little Diversion Canal, 110 miles down the Mississippi. MY WAY and I will anchor out, so there will be no posting to the blog as there will be no internet access.