Lat 38 20 64; Long 90 21 66; Fuel 201 gallons, Engine 371.39, Mile 158.5
We set out this morning at 7:45 for Little River Diversion Canal which is at Mile 49 which means we have about a 110 mile run today. Of course we will have the current with and we can run at 10 to 11 kts which makes it a about a 10 hour day. There is another anchorage at mile 118 but that would make it a short day. We decided for the longer run.
The Mississippi at this point winds quite a bit which makes it interesting as you round a curve and see a big barge coming at you. Fortunately, with AIS you can see around corners notify those barges before you see them and find out which side they want you to pass on. I would recommend anyone who is making this trip to obtain AIS as a safety factor. As we were traveling down the river with the other boats, I would notify them as to which boats were coming up, their speed and name. The barges on the Mississippi are much larger than those on the Illinois. They push a lot of water behind them and the prop wash right behind the boat goes about 6 or 7 feet in the air and causes turbulence in the water about a mile behind them. At times we though we were back on Lake Michigan after immediately passing the tow.
We reached Little River Diversion Canal at about 4:30 and it was a beautiful little anchorage right off the river, but no current. Fern told us that it was a great anchorage but not if there was heavy rain as all the rain form the surrounding area funnels through this canal and causes a very quick increase in its depth and current. Fortunately the day was beautiful and we had no rain.
We all rested after such a long day.
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