Venturing out solo on the Mississippi, and sad start to the day


Tuesday, August 27 2019
Day 17 on the Loop – Alton, IL (3.69 miles)


On Tuesday morning I woke up to find the fire boat gone from its berth across from me.  I vaguely thought I had heard some noise around 5:30 am but was not really awake and the noise from the air conditioning fan had masked it.   I later learned that someone had jumped from the nearby bridge, just outside the marina, that joins Alton to Missouri.  So far, they have not located the person.

Alton Bridge, as seen from Sunny Tug

I spent some of the morning trying to reset the Webasto heater, using the instructions provided by Kenny at the Ranger Tug factory.  Nothing is working and it still flashes a code that the diesel is not igniting.  This is something I really want to get sorted out.  I have also reached out to Webasto to see if there is a technician in the area.

I have written a checklist for departing and arriving and tested that out by getting underway.  I found a few things to be updated and then practiced some docking in the marina.   I then tried backing up in a straight line.  This is hard to do in a single engine boat that has a high bow (which gets caught by the wind) and a very small rudder.  I was not very successful, and really appreciate having a bow and stern thruster to help out.

I then left the marina to give the engine a good run up on the Mississippi and to cruise around for a bit.   When I am on my own I will need to be sure and set up everything (including lunch) so it is easily accessible with minimal time away from the helm.  I can set the autopilot to steer the boat in a straight line for short periods so that will help but of course I am still responsible for keeping a good watch.

My first solo trip outside of the Marina..... All 3.69 Nautical Miles! :)
The day ended on a positive note as John and Susan from Eagle Heart stopped by to invite me to join them going to dinner at Woody's Drive In, a chicken place (that is no longer a drive in).  The company was very good, and the chicken was OK.   Afterwards we went to Walmart to pick up some oil for there boat, and then went back.  I helped them move a water tank back aboard and we ended the evening with a chat and a drink.

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