Thursday Oct. 9, 2014

Kaskaskia Lock mm 117.5 to Little Diversion Channel mm 48.8

After a very restful sleep tied securely to a lock wall we departed at 0900 headed for the Little Diversion Channel down by Cape Girardeau, Mo. The river was running its normal speed so we did 10.5 kts at only 1500 rpm. That’s about a 3 knot per hour push by the river to our normal speed. There was a lot to tow and barge traffic on the way down. We passed 13 tows with barges all but one headed north bound during the trip. The Little Diversion Channel is really a very sizeable water drainage system for the town of Cape Girardeau. It is big enough to hold 8 or 9 boats of our size. As it was last night Harbor Lights and we were the first two boats in followed by two more later in the day. We had arrived at 1500 and anchored. The cruising guides state that there is 6 to 7 feet of water in the channel but with the rain and high water we found 28 feet. Plenty to anchor in. We cooked dinner and ate on the back deck. A great way to end a day cruising. After dinner I was looking over the side of the boat when I noticed all these fish on the surface looking like they were breathing air. Really strange. Shortly thereafter the rains began and lasted on and off thru out the night. Remember how I mentioned the water drainage system for the town. The one caveat that the guides say is not to anchor here if strong storms are forecasted. I conferred with my cruising guru, Mr. Jimmy Wray who told me not to worry about the rains. Well he was right. Come morning none the worse for the rain everything was fine. All four boats pulled out early because it is a long run to the next stopping point. The rains continued as we departed.  We will finish off the last 48 miles of the Mississippi River and turn and head up the Ohio River.

These were some of the fish around the boat