DAY 8

I started the day with a “Red Sky in Morning, Sailor Take Warning” sunrise, but it turned out to be a clear, hot day with no rain but tons of humidity.

The first landmark of the day was the William Natcher cable stayed style bridge.

As I approached mile 748 the Ohio River narrows from 2833 feet to 1330 feet resulting in a swifter current and undercutting of Hanging Rock. This was the visual highlight of my day and a view you can only get from the river.

In this last picture there were a couple fishing, but I can’t imagine how they got there. The rock hangs over the river and I didn’t see a route to their location.

How do these trees stand up???? It looks like all of the roots are out of the ground!

If you’re in a boat, Owensboro, Kentucky does not want you downtown. Boaters are greeted with a fortress-like wall accessible only by ocean liners. Two miles down river they have a boat ramp and an area to tie up. Their fire boat was doing maneuvers as I approached. I tied up and walked three blocks to a convenience store for ice and drinks.

A bird perched on a log stuck in the river didn’t seem to mind as I passed by.

As I approached three islands, pleasure boaters have multiple options about which branch to follow. With today being Saturday, there were lots of people congregating and recreating at the lower ends of the islands.

I stopped at one of the islands to take a couple of photos. Most are clear with sandy beaches. It’s fine to camp on the islands (except in West Virginia and privately owned islands). 

The lock houses from the old systems of locks and dams are often repurposed for parties, meetings and as the anchor of a local park. Of course some are abandoned and just shells of their former glory.

This was my view as I approached Evansville, Indiana. I decided to stop at a “full service” marina. In order to step off the dock onto my boat I have to stand on the roof of the cabin to get there. The bathrooms are great, but the shower was the worst of my life. It was 90 degrees out and I’m soaked in sweat. To get the light to come on in the shower, the heated air is turned on too. Then the shower is only warm.......no cold! I was sweaty again by the time I tried to dry off. Any clean, dry clothes I put on we’re instantly wet. Yeah.....worst shower of my life.

The marina has a upper and a lower level outdoor restaurants. This is my view from the upper restaurant as a tow passed by in front of the Evansville skyline. Right in front of the towboat you can see an island in the middle of the river. It was made when the Army Corp of Engineers dredged the shipping channel. I didn’t take the second photo of the island, but you can see it is a gathering place for boaters during the day.

I ate a regular meal at the upper level restaurant, then went back later for a giant pretzel. Apparently this is a place to be in Evansville. The young folks are staring to gather. It’s 9:00 and the disk jockey is just now setting up. This may be a hoppin’ night as I sleep on my little sailboat. I walked up to the gang plank of the lower restaurant/bar where most of the younger people were. An attractive 30 somethn’ woman said “go on up”. I told her I was just taking a quick look. She grabbed my arm, led me up the plank and told the officer at the gate, “he’s with me”. Well, I was with her for a minute at least. I took a look around, then headed to my boat.

When I go on my adventures, people ask if I’m afraid something will get stolen. First of all I’m careful and secondly there are bad people everywhere, but most of the time I’ve met great people on the river. The stuff on the dock is from the two personnel watercraft in the background. They unloaded their stuff here four hours ago and nobody has touched it yet.

This is Evansville. I’m at the little blue dot in the lower right. I covered 49 miles today.