22-OCT-2020 Thursday – Newtons Creek, Bandana, KY (~OR mile 955) to Paducah Transit Dock, Paducah, KY (~OR mile 935)    17.7 nautical miles (~20.4 statute miles)

37°05’35.2″N 88°35’52.9″W
37.093100, -88.598013
Elevation: 302 feet
Total Elevation Change: +10 feet

Locks (0)

States (2)
Illinois, Kentucky

Good Morning

Sécurité. Sécurité. Over the VHF radio we were informed that barges were grounded on the Upper Mississippi River between miles 20 to 25. All vessels were requested to stay clear unless they are part of the clearing effort.  Glad we passed through that section yesterday. (See the ox bows in yesterday’s blog.) I imagine its a horrendous back up and mess.

Along the Way

Tearing down the moorings. How did they get the the equipment on top? This will keep them busy for a while. There is about 10 moorings. We’ve heard they tear them down to a certain level then blow them up with dynamite.

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Where do old barges go to die? Run them up the ramp and rip them apart.

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Fort Massac

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I’ll be dammed. Old Lock and Dam 52.

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Paducah City Marina, Paducah, KY

We both bushed our teeth, put on deodorant and changed our clothes before hitting the town.

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Paducah Dike Gate and Wall – Entrance to the city from the marina

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Around town

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National Quilt Museum

It’s not what you’d expect. It’s more like an art museum.

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People who create miniatures are crazy. There is just as much effort in a miniature as there is in a full sized quilt!!!!

Human Rights Stories in Fabric

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Me, I’m still a sucker for the more traditional quilts and some of the artsy.

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(Dale actually did to the quilt museum with me:-)

Along the dike walls

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Outside the dike walls walking back to the marina. The tops of the dock poles are in the back ground. A Paducah resident told me they have had to close the dike doors in the spring for the last 5 years.

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Look how high the floating dock scrape line goes up the dock pole. Dale is the itty bitty green thing in the lower left corner of the picture. He’s 6 feet tall.

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Yup. It’s still Illinois across the river. (We take a hard right turn into Kentucky tomorrow.)

New Neighbors

The Coast Guard came in.

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The guy I was speaking with said there are over 600 buoys on the section of the Ohio River this boat supports. They lost 85% last winter because the water was so high.   Barges don’t see them because under water and just run them down.

Nauti Words

Sécurité – preface to a navigation safety message such as an approaching storm, a navigation light failure, a submerged log in a harbor entrance, military gunnery practice in the area or grounded barges blocking the channel.

Pan-Pan – preface to an international navigation urgency message that does not pose an immediate danger to anyone’s life or to the vessel itself such as a fouled propeller, engine failure or out of fuel; man overboard recovery; or medical assistance needed.

Mayday – preface to an international navigation distress message. It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency.

Floccinaucinihilipilification

To this day, Kentucky’s governors must swear an oath before taking office that they have never fought a duel with deadly weapons.