searay40dad
Active Member
- Oct 23, 2006
- 1,161
- Boat Info
- 2001 480 Sedan Bridge w/ Novurania RIB
- Engines
- 660 hp CAT 3196's
Here's a few pics from our trip home from Panama City. We made the 850 mile trip in just over 4 days, pulling out at 1130 on Friday May 3 and arriving at our homeport in KY at 1200 on Tuesday May 7. Ugly weather for most of the trip. Day 1 saw us battling 20-25k winds and rough seas as we crossed the Gulf to Mobile Bay, AL. We had about 20 miles up the Mobile shipping channel before entering the secondary channel to the marina we would overnight at (Dog River Marina). we hit an absolute white out just as we came off the shipping channel, virtually zero visibility in a very heavy rain.
First pic is the crew tending the lines. we made ~170 miles and took on 329 gallons of diesel at $3.89.
Here's the infamous Carnival cruise ship that lost power at sea and stranded a few thousand people aboard without working heads. She was looking pretty rough. A couple weeks ago the ship broke loose in Mobile Bay and slammed into a pier killing a pier worker. another is still missing I think. the ship was just towed out of Mobile bay a couple days ago. story here: http://blog.al.com/live/2013/05/carnival_triumph_leaves_mobile.html
Downtown Mobile Alabama.
Once we made the lower Black Warrior/Tombigbee rivers and the Tenn-Tom Waterway, we weren't quite sure what to expect from spring rains and flooding. The current was crazy strong and the water was very high. To our surprise, all waters we travelled were amazingly clear of debris. A few rough patches here and there but otherwise very clear. The bad weather and flooding probably played to our advantage keeping fishing boats and recreational boats off the water thereby lessening the number of times I would have to back down. We had 13 locks to make and for all, except maybe one or two, the lockmasters had the gates open and ready for us upon arrival. This was a combination of good planning, good comms with the lockmasters...and most importantly just plain 'ol good luck.
Here's a view from bottom of the Jamie Whitten Lock whcih has a ~'90 lift.
Now here is where things got very, very hairy. we've almost completed the 234 mile Tenn-Tom waterway run when we come up on Tows & barges everywhere. We're on Pickwick Lake now which is where we meet the Tennessee River. We call the lockmaster and and he tells us the lock has been closed for 2 days due to repairs and flooding and he's not sure when it will be re-opened. That means our trip is OVER. So, we head to Aqua Harbor and tie up and I'm getting ready to call home to have the kids drive to Iuka, Mississippi to pick us up. Then I get a call from the lockmaster and a meeting with the Corps of Engineers just ended and they have agreed to make the auxillary chamber available to us, keeping the main chamber closed. I have a 15 minute conversation with the lockmaster on what to expect from the heavy currents coming in and departing the lock. He tells me 4 days ago a Tow boat and its barges got caught in a cross-current and was swept to the bank and pinned there. Great. But he feels I'm more manueverable and the aux chamber will let me out more towards the center of the river vs. closer to the bank. so, He "thinks we can make it" but its our decision. I tell him I'll motor over and look things over before deciding. anyway, we decide to lock through. heres a couple shots of what we're seeing downstream below the lock. I'm taking these shots from the bridge. tells you how high we're sitting in the lock. waters is 20 feet above normal poool. Unbelievable.
I've locked thru alot of locks over the years but have never seen this kind of turbulence. Most lockmasters wont tolerate you causing a wake in their chamber but I requested and got the ok to be well under power when he opened the doors. It was quite a ride and I could feel the stern wanting to shimmy around but we had good bite and stayed well under control. All I can say is there is no substitute for big diesels turning big wheels.
Once thru the lock, it was pretty obvious of the flooding upstream on the Tennessee. Many homes were under water. now going downstream, we were moving at 16+ mph AT IDLE. throttling up, about 36 MPH at 1950 cruise rpms. From .5 mpg battling the gulf and going upstream on the tombigbee river to nearly making diesel!!
Sad to see so many homes under water.
It was endless...hundreds.
we made a 230 mile run from Mobile bay to Demopolis Yacht Basin. running upstram against the current kicked our butts...and my wallet. I had a 435 gallon fill-up on the trip to Florida in October. that was a record I never cared to beat. hopefully, I'll never get close to 444 gallons...but atleast I know my fuel capacity pretty intimately now.
Back home in the midwest aka Gods country. She's very happy to be back under her covered slip. 843 miles, ~1350 fallons of diesel, 1 log strike but no vibration or shudder, half quart of Rotella in each Caterpillar, one gen oil pressure switch, 1 gallon of Capt Morgan, 1 gallon of vodka for the morning Bloody mary's, atleast 3 bags of microfiber rags, and so on. All in all, fun trip and the boat ran fantastic thru all she faced.
I cant thank my buds who made the trip with me enough. An experienced, knowlegeable crew is very key to trip like this. No way the captain can do it all. We're blessed to live in a great country with great sites to see and great people to meet along the way. Can't wait to get back to the boat tonight and enjoy some sunshine this weekend.
First pic is the crew tending the lines. we made ~170 miles and took on 329 gallons of diesel at $3.89.
Here's the infamous Carnival cruise ship that lost power at sea and stranded a few thousand people aboard without working heads. She was looking pretty rough. A couple weeks ago the ship broke loose in Mobile Bay and slammed into a pier killing a pier worker. another is still missing I think. the ship was just towed out of Mobile bay a couple days ago. story here: http://blog.al.com/live/2013/05/carnival_triumph_leaves_mobile.html
Downtown Mobile Alabama.
Once we made the lower Black Warrior/Tombigbee rivers and the Tenn-Tom Waterway, we weren't quite sure what to expect from spring rains and flooding. The current was crazy strong and the water was very high. To our surprise, all waters we travelled were amazingly clear of debris. A few rough patches here and there but otherwise very clear. The bad weather and flooding probably played to our advantage keeping fishing boats and recreational boats off the water thereby lessening the number of times I would have to back down. We had 13 locks to make and for all, except maybe one or two, the lockmasters had the gates open and ready for us upon arrival. This was a combination of good planning, good comms with the lockmasters...and most importantly just plain 'ol good luck.
Here's a view from bottom of the Jamie Whitten Lock whcih has a ~'90 lift.
Now here is where things got very, very hairy. we've almost completed the 234 mile Tenn-Tom waterway run when we come up on Tows & barges everywhere. We're on Pickwick Lake now which is where we meet the Tennessee River. We call the lockmaster and and he tells us the lock has been closed for 2 days due to repairs and flooding and he's not sure when it will be re-opened. That means our trip is OVER. So, we head to Aqua Harbor and tie up and I'm getting ready to call home to have the kids drive to Iuka, Mississippi to pick us up. Then I get a call from the lockmaster and a meeting with the Corps of Engineers just ended and they have agreed to make the auxillary chamber available to us, keeping the main chamber closed. I have a 15 minute conversation with the lockmaster on what to expect from the heavy currents coming in and departing the lock. He tells me 4 days ago a Tow boat and its barges got caught in a cross-current and was swept to the bank and pinned there. Great. But he feels I'm more manueverable and the aux chamber will let me out more towards the center of the river vs. closer to the bank. so, He "thinks we can make it" but its our decision. I tell him I'll motor over and look things over before deciding. anyway, we decide to lock through. heres a couple shots of what we're seeing downstream below the lock. I'm taking these shots from the bridge. tells you how high we're sitting in the lock. waters is 20 feet above normal poool. Unbelievable.
I've locked thru alot of locks over the years but have never seen this kind of turbulence. Most lockmasters wont tolerate you causing a wake in their chamber but I requested and got the ok to be well under power when he opened the doors. It was quite a ride and I could feel the stern wanting to shimmy around but we had good bite and stayed well under control. All I can say is there is no substitute for big diesels turning big wheels.
Once thru the lock, it was pretty obvious of the flooding upstream on the Tennessee. Many homes were under water. now going downstream, we were moving at 16+ mph AT IDLE. throttling up, about 36 MPH at 1950 cruise rpms. From .5 mpg battling the gulf and going upstream on the tombigbee river to nearly making diesel!!
Sad to see so many homes under water.
It was endless...hundreds.
we made a 230 mile run from Mobile bay to Demopolis Yacht Basin. running upstram against the current kicked our butts...and my wallet. I had a 435 gallon fill-up on the trip to Florida in October. that was a record I never cared to beat. hopefully, I'll never get close to 444 gallons...but atleast I know my fuel capacity pretty intimately now.
Back home in the midwest aka Gods country. She's very happy to be back under her covered slip. 843 miles, ~1350 fallons of diesel, 1 log strike but no vibration or shudder, half quart of Rotella in each Caterpillar, one gen oil pressure switch, 1 gallon of Capt Morgan, 1 gallon of vodka for the morning Bloody mary's, atleast 3 bags of microfiber rags, and so on. All in all, fun trip and the boat ran fantastic thru all she faced.
I cant thank my buds who made the trip with me enough. An experienced, knowlegeable crew is very key to trip like this. No way the captain can do it all. We're blessed to live in a great country with great sites to see and great people to meet along the way. Can't wait to get back to the boat tonight and enjoy some sunshine this weekend.
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