DAY 3

ON THE ROAD RIVER AGAIN

After a brief pause to figure out the problem with my outboard motor, I’ve been able to continue my Ohio River trip. The problem with my motor turned out to be simple and I could kick myself for not figuring it out on my own. The problem was that the vent in the engine’s gas cap was not working. As gas was used, a vacuum was created preventing gas from entering the carburetor. Apparently this is a recurring problem Honda has had with their newer small outboards. 

In restarting my journey, I’ve decided to complete the second half of the river first by starting near my hometown. Once I finish the second half, I’ll go back and pick up the first half where I left off in Chester, West Virginia.

The Ohio River is 981 miles long. This is mile marker 497.2 which I passed a little after starting out. So, I really do live near the halfway point in the river.

The first community I passed was Aurora, Indiana. I’ve spent a good bit of time there because of relatives on my father’s side of the family. Aurora bills themselves as The City of Spires and has a museum of the same name. In this photo I counted seven of the spires.

Next I passed Rising Star Casino in Rising Sun, Indiana.

I then crossed the river to Rabbit Hash, Kentucky (The Center of the Universe). The last time I visited, the duly elected mayor was a dog. At that time the mayor greeted my in the river because someone was throwing a stick in the water for him to fetch.

The smoke from this stack is an indication of the wind today. The smoke is going straight up because there wasn’t any wind to speak of. I thought I might be sailing maybe 25% of the time, but due to starting this late in the summer I may not be able to sail much at all.

I stopped in Patriot, Indiana to get a drink. Patriot really lives up to its name. There are flags everywhere.

Here I am about to exit Maryland Lock and Dam. After locking through I stopped in Vevay, Indiana. Everybody around here pronounces it veevee.

OKAY......this is crazy! I’m out in the middle of nowhere and a large boat is approaching. They’re going slow and then they motion for me to come toward them. A guy who looks like someone who could have a good time yells, “Hey.....I read about you!” I’m thinking “wow..... what are the chances??? I knew someone had posted a link to the article about me from last Wednesday’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in the Facebook West Wight Potter owners group (that’s the kind of sailboat I have. But I also heard the article had been shared in the “live on” Facebook group and they have 32,000 members. So this guy must have read the article, then recognized my boat as he approached. We talked a little while, then went on our ways.

I made it to Carrollton, Kentucky and the Kentucky River. I tied up for the night about a hundred yards up the Kentucky River right below Point Park. I can step off of my boat onto dry land and about 30 feet up the bank is the park.

I covered 51 miles today.