The riverboat captain is a storyteller, and Captain Don Sanders will be sharing the stories of his long association with the river — from discovery to a way of love and life. This a part of a long and continuing story.
By Capt. Don Sanders
Special to NKyTribune
Sunday morning, 17 June 2012, found the CLYDE hanging on the one-inch nylon anchor line in the swift current of Andalusia Slough outside Kelly’s Landing Marina at Andalusia, Illinois, a tiny village of fewer than 1,200 souls located less than seven miles downstream from Rock Island.
Limped into Andalusia Slough and blew onto mud bank in a squall.
The previous day had been a nightmare soon after departing Lock 15 when the CLYDE began slowing down despite my efforts to increase the throttle setting from 1,800 to 2,000 rpm. We limped into the slough, expecting the current of the Mississippi River to slacken; instead, the river ran even faster through the compressed backwaters.
Without warning, an intense storm with 50-miles-per-hour winds slammed our paddlewheeler; shoving it onto a mud flat with rapidly falling water threatening to leave the CLYDE grounded there until the next rise in the level of the river. Thankfully, an “angel” in a powerful ski-boat pulled us off the mudflat and into deep water where we dropped the heavy, steel anchor.
Once all was secure and feeling exhausted after the fearful experience, Everett and I fell into our bunks. Except for checking the oil lamps at four in the morning, I slept like a dead man for three more hours until the pleasing aroma wafting from the galley brought me back into the world of the living.
Returning to CLYDE’s logbook:
Ev fixing sausage and eggs for Sunday breakfast.
Sunday, 17 June 2012
On the Hook. Andalusia, IL
Clear, Beautiful, Mild.
Lt. Wind
* Up at 0400- checked lamps – burning bright.
* Went back to sleep – woke at 0700.
* Ev fixing sausage and eggs for Sunday b’fast.
With nothing else to do after finishing Ev’s tasty morning meal with two cups of strong, black coffee; no sugar, I, as recorded in the logbook:
*Bailed BUSTER-the-Skiff and rowed upstream and took pics as the current sailed me swiftly past the CLYDE.
* Extended two starboard fenders (bumpers) to keep BUSTER from riding under the guards (overhang).
* Hitched up transponder wire that BUSTER broke bumping against it.
Bailed BUSTER-the-Skiff and rowed upstream and took pics as the current sailed me swiftly past the CLYDE.
Back aboard the boat, according to the log:
* Traced hydraulic lines from engine/pump to port wheel motor. Bilge with hydraulic fluid/water.
* Port paddlewheel motor hose damaged.
* Fluid on port lines inside of the hull. (An indication of a leak.)
* Will remove hoses and replace them with new.
* Called Capt. Ike Hastings; said he’d “bring hydraulic oil down tomorrow.”
The rest of the enjoyable Sunday afternoon was spent relaxing and resting up for what would surely be a busy time once Captain Ike drove from Dubuque to Andalusia to help us find replacement hoses for the port hydraulic motor.
Then suddenly, like a maddened demon from hell…
1730- Crazy SOB motorboater sideswiped a wave at us and caused our anchor to drag!
LOG
* 1730- Crazy SOB motorboater sideswiped a wave at us and caused our anchor to drag!!
* Dropped down 500 feet (toward stone dike) before I called the harbor owner Chad Kelly who came out and towed us back. (Another of “CLYDE’s Angels”)
* “Please Lord,” I prayed, “let this motorboat maniac get off the river and leave us alone!”
For whatever unprovoked motives, the crazed “pleasure boater” driving the high-powered plastic speedster flushed the CLYDE with an incredible wake with the sole intention of causing us harm. Unbelievably, after completing the damage, the perpetrator brazenly coasted into his slip within Kelly’s Landing where he tied off his boat and disappeared ashore. Luckily for us, it was on a Sunday, and Chad Kelly was at home and not at his regular job many miles from the marina. Further down inside Andalusia Slough, a white line of water breaking over a stone dike beckoned the helpless CLYDE dragging a slipping anchor until Chad arrived and towed boat and crew close to our original anchorage before the maniacal assault.
LOG
Captain Roscoe A. “Ike” Hastings, then an 88-year-old living legend on the entire Mississippi River System, left a family gathering to drive 108 miles to render the CLYDE and crew aid.
* Later, I rigged a shower using the submersible pump. Ev and I much refreshed by its cool water.
Monday, 18 June 2012 – Cap’n Ike to Our Rescue.
Very Windy. Sunny
* A restless night – concerned with correctly removing hoses from hydraulic motor. Called Capt. Ike Hastings- he said he would be here today to take me to a hose store and get hydraulic oil.
* Ike is coming from afar (Dubuque).
* Capt. Ike came and took me to three places looking to have new hoses made before finding a CAT dealer who had the correct fittings.
* Also bought 40 gals CAT hydraulic fluid and one hydraulic filter. $1,141.89!!
(Nothing money couldn’t fix.)
After everything was aboard, and following a short visit, the Captain and his faithful pooch were on the road home. I began reinstalling the new hoses.
Captain Roscoe A. “Ike” Hastings, then an 88-year-old living legend on the entire Mississippi River System, left a family gathering to drive 108 miles to render the CLYDE and crew aid, something dedicated river folk generally do without hesitating. Cap’n Ike was no exception. His traveling companion was Belle, his faithful river dog. Though this was no trip for “Walter,” Ike’s parrot and crew member, the colorful bird is always aboard the PICKETT HASTINGS, the Captain’s sternwheeler, whenever they paddle from Dubuque, down the Mississippi and up the Ohio River and tributaries as far as Brownsville, Pennsylvania on the Monongahela, and Charleston, West “By God” Virginia on the Great Kanawha Rivers.
Ike and I met when he owned the Sternwheeler LILLY BELLE, and I was Senior Captain of the GRAND VICTORIA II casino boat in Rising Sun, Indiana. At first, we only talked on the radio whenever he passed by, as many rivermen do, but eventually, I rode the LILY BELLE with him from Smithland Lock & Dam to Metropolis, Illinois where, at the time, my family and I lived. We also got together at an occasional river festival, and periodically, we updated each other by phone; especially if something special was in the works. As soon as I requested Captain Ike’s assistance at Andalusia, he dropped everything else and came as quickly as he and Belle could get there. Ike patiently drove me from one hydraulic dealer to another until I located the correct hose fittings. The dealers were also helpful if they didn’t have the parts by calling others in their trade until finding a Caterpillar dealer with one last set in stock.
As the CLYDE was too large to fit on any of Kelly’s docks, we appropriated the city float usually reserved for boaters putting their boats into the river. We had no choice but to commandeer a section of the berth until we could eventually get underway.
Once back at the Andalusia shore, Captain Ike and I loaded the BUSTER, and in two trips under oars, ferried the new hoses and eight five-gallon buckets of hydraulic oil out to the CLYDE riding at anchor outside Chad’s marina. After everything was aboard, and following a short visit, the Captain and his faithful pooch were on the road home. I began reinstalling the new hoses while Ev replenished the hydraulic tank with fresh fluid.
LOG
* 1941 – Added 30 gal hydraulic fluid – attached new hoses.
* 1947 – Started engine – Wheel untied.
* Would NOT engage Paddlewheel coming Ahead or Reverse…
*** DEAD IN WATER ***
In desperation, I called Chad again – he and his father soon arrived in their jonboat and towed the CLYDE into the harbor. We were tied off onto the twenty-foot city-owned dock where we desperately hoped to find help locally. As the CLYDE was too large to fit on any of Kelly’s docks, we appropriated the city float usually reserved for boaters putting their boats into the river. We had no choice but to commandeer a section of the berth until we could eventually get underway. We did not tie-off onto the lightweight mooring, itself, but ran our lines ashore and secured them to the “deadmen” anchors buried deep within the riverbank. Without success in getting underway, the CLYDE and crew became curious fixtures in the small, friendly town.
Uptown in Andalusia, IL.
Tue., 19 June 2012
LOG.
Clear, Hot, Beautiful.
* Up at 0700- Breakfast uptown at Andalusia Family Cafe; stopped by “The Little Store” for groceries. Clean and attractive laundromat next door.
* Called Tom Unley, Unley Marine at Ducky’s Lagoon Landing, the next marina downstream related, “sending a mechanic to look at the problem.”
* Called Ed earlier- “Could be the pump or a coupling – check out pumps, etc.”
* 1320 – Patrick, a mechanic from Hunley Marine, here. With Ed (by phone) we found I’d reversed the hoses going to the hydraulic motor.
* Switched hoses – all in AGO (Apparent Good Order)!! $160.00 – Cheap at any price.
Andalusia, IL.
Wed. 20 June 2012
Clear, Windy
LOG.
Without success in getting underway, the CLYDE and crew became curious fixtures in the small, friendly town.
* Up at 0530- Wind down the harbor – Will be a challenge to turn around and get out without banging something.
* Called Chad, Owner, Kelly’s Landing, to seek help getting out. He works till 3 pm. If we’re still here, he will help us. I have complete faith in his boat-handling ability, as he has helped us on other occasions – another one of “CLYDE.’s Angels.”
* Bridle made behind PW (paddlewheel) – the idea is to have Chad tow us astern with me controlling the bow with the thruster. Meanwhile, Ev and I are making small repairs & straightening up around the CLYDE.
* 1110- Ck’d oil (eng) cleaned filter. Left batteries on “Both” overnight – not good. Wind building.
* 1115 – 1130- Started engine – tried thruster… seemed more powerful than it was before.
* 1400- Napping in the kitchen – woke to the sound of “Turkey in the Straw” played on a calliope…damn ice cream truck!
* 1545 – Chad came over in his jonboat with small motor; said “too windy” for his big boat – will wait to later to see what wind is doing.
* 2100 – 2231- Chad helped turn CLYDE head-down – possible storm coming, but should be more to the north.
* In-town, Andalusia – bought 20.2 gal diesel @ 3.899 = $78.92.
Up at 0700- Breakfast uptown at Andalusia Family Cafe; stopped by “The Little Store” for groceries. Clean and attractive laundromat next door.
Ev and I savored an “all you can eat” fish dinner at the familiar Family Cafe near the gas station, and were offered a ride back to the CLYDE by a helpful townsman on a golf cart. Andalusia, with many retirees residing there, is a “golf cart friendly town”… and the small carriages roam freely everywhere. The citizens of Andalusia opened their town for us and made us feel like Honorary Citizens of their cozy, small village. Returning to the boat, we enjoyed our last night there.
Thur. 21 June 2012
First Day of Summer
Cloudy, Showers, Windy – From North
LOG.
* Up at 0500 – Prepared for departure.
* Engine quit as I was coming off the dock – restarted.
* Threaded way thru lines of boats – safely.
* Cleared marina @ 0600.
* Mississippi River, 0605.
* Running easy for a few miles.
Chad came over in his jonboat with small motor; said “too windy” for his big boat – will wait to later to see what wind is doing.
* Lock 16 – Muscatine, Iowa. 0830 – 0840.
* Passed Muscatine, IA – 0850
* 0915 – Converted curtain rod into dipstick for hydraulic tank – couldn’t read – fluid too clear. So I painted 1/2 of rod black -hope it works.
* Before Noon – Passed Keithsburg Bridge, now discontinued and the lift span removed – the one that knocked off the smokestack of the DELTA QUEEN in 1965 when I was working there my first year. Mrs. Letha Greene and her daughters, Jane, and Mary Greene; also Captain Wagner, Master, and Cap’n Doc Hawley, Mate were aboard, too.
* 1430 – Ck’d hydraulic oil: 10 1/2″ Added ten gals; gauge: 13 1/2 – Full is 15.
At Burlington, Iowa.
21 June 2012
LOG.
* 1800 – Landed for the night at Bluff Harbor Marina. Had difficulty landing as I was backing hard without realizing the clutch had slipped astern. Bluff Harbor Marina, located just upstream from the Great River Bridge in Burlington, was a welcome haven.
* Ed sent instructions on how to change out the hydraulic motor tomorrow, as the port hydraulic was dripping fluid and needed repairs. Burlington would prove to be a great place for help.
LOG. Threaded way thru lines of boats – safely. Cleared marina @ 0600. Mississippi River, 0605.
Friday, 22 June 2012
LOG.
* Up at 0600- Coffee & preparation to change hydraulic motors with what was thought a spare in the front bilge.
* BUSTER launched and tied alongside port paddlewheel to catch any parts should I drop something. (Part would fall into the boat instead of lost in the river.)
* Following Ed’s instructions, chain, motor, and small sprocket removed.
* BUT, when after removing the spare motor from front hold – discovered that shaft was one-inch too short!
* Called Ed, again – “…that won’t work… call Eaton dealer.”
Everett saved the day searching his computer when he found a hydraulic business in Burlington that proved to be one of the most crucial “angels” discovered along the entire route.
LOG.
Passed Keithsburg Bridge, now discontinued and the lift span removed – the one that knocked off the smokestack of the DELTA QUEEN in 1965.
* Randy Spears, Brozene Hydraulic Service, arrived at 0930. After a complete exam of the CLYDE’s hydraulic system, he confirmed he could rebuild the port motor. After loading the motor into his car, away we went to his shop.
* For more than five hours, Randy tore down and worked on the motor. When he found the shaft seized, he called Eaton, the motor manufacturer, who told him it would “take 6-8 weeks” to send a new one – my heart sank.
* Then I prayed, “Oh Lord, please make a miracle happen…”
* Just then, Randy sprayed a chemical he had not tried before, into the shaft section…and the shaft loosened!
* Randy spent the next several hours cleaning and re-building the motor with two kits – new O-rings.
* After many hours, the hydraulic motor was ready to carry home.
* Total cost with ten gals of hydraulic oil: $411.00. A bargain at any price!!
Returning to the CLYDE, the log continues…
* Re-installed the motor, sprocket, hoses, and chain – have yet to test it,
* Moved the CLYDE over one slip – used engine and bow-thruster which took out the work of pulling the boat by hand… three men from the marina standing by to help.
* Everett pumped out and flushed blackwater tank – also rinsed it three times.
* Still feel starboard wheel chain too tight, but got this far with it; so won’t mess with it.
Landed for the night at Bluff Harbor Marina. Had difficulty landing as I was backing hard without realizing the clutch had slipped astern. Bluff Harbor Marina, located just upstream from the Great River Bridge in Burlington, was a welcome haven.
Friday 23 June 2012
LOG.
* Marina owner and his men arrived early to help the CLYDE depart the harbor.
* 1715- Departed downbound from Bluff Harbor.
* 0815- One hour; pulled back some… 6 mph.
* 1022- Ft. Madison Highway Bridge. (Mi. 383.9) Several miffed drivers in cars were waiting for the little CLYDE to pass.
* 1041- Ft. Madison, Iowa, “Home of Two Pens- the Iowa State Pen and Parker Pens,” as we always hear it said. But it looks like the Parker factory is half-demolished, although a tall, yellow chimney with PARKER on it, still stands. Huge white things stored on the riverbank are sections of windmills that will be erected somewhere and used to generate electricity.
* Nauvoo City – Looks like the Mormons re-built their temple since last I passed here 20 years ago on the DIAMOND LADY.
* Lake above Lock 19 – Keokuk, IA – Windy with rolling waves, but CLYDE took them well – slack current and headwinds slowed us across the lake. The Upper Mississippi River is miles wide behind the dams but may be too shallow for navigation except in the channel maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers.
Famous Keokuk Lock & Dam. (Lock & Dam 19)
23 June 2012
LOG.
* 1305- Entered lock 19; departed 1355 – 50 minutes wasted waiting for motorboats to enter with us.
* Great experience with 30-foot drop– our first floating pin.
* CLYDE handled well as thirty-some feet of water wet the wall to CLYDE’s port side as we paddled out of Lock 19.
Randy Spears, Brozene Hydraulic Service, arrived at 0930. For more than five hours, Randy tore down and worked on the motor.
Immediately to the starboard side soon after departing Keokuk Lock, the GEO. M. VERITY, a former steam towboat for ARMCO Steel and now a steamboat museum since its retirement in 1960, silently watched as we paddled closer to our destination with each revolution of the wheel. The VERITY towed coal to the ARMCO terminal in the west end of Cincinnati, across from Walt’s Boat Club where I worked and learned many of my early river skills from Walter Hoffmeier during my high school days. It was good seeing an old friend again, which brought back many memories of my youth growing up on the Ohio River.
LOG.
* Below Lock 20, around mile 341, there was a loud noise like something heavy dropped on the boat. Ev, below in the cabin, assumed it was me banging on the floor as a signal to come to the pilothouse.
* With EV steering, I promptly went astern and watched the wheel that was turning okay.
* After much investigation, I found that the drive chain on the port side, the one I removed and reinstalled last night, was binding and then letting go with a loud report. Steering the boat helped, but adding more power started the chain binding, again.
* We have 827 miles to go to “the house,” and won’t be able to make it running on a slow bell.
Operating cautiously, but still not knowing what was causing the chain to bind, the CLYDE landed at the deserted Quincy (IL) Boat Club at 1930 hours. A hand-lettered sign directed me to deposit fifty dollars into a lockbox for one night’s stay.
“What could go wrong tomorrow?” I wondered, before turning in for the night.
(To be continued.)
Ft. Madison Highway Bridge. (Mi. 383.9) Several miffed drivers in cars were waiting for the little CLYDE to pass.
Lake above Lock 19 – Keokuk, IA – Windy with rolling waves, but CLYDE took them well – slack current and headwinds slowed us across the lake.
Great experience with 30-foot drop– our first floating pin.
Immediately to the starboard side soon after departing Keokuk Lock, the GEO. M. VERITY, a former steam towboat for ARMCO Steel and now a steamboat museum since its retirement in 1960.
The CLYDE landed at the deserted Quincy (IL) Boat Club at 1930 hours. A hand-lettered sign directed me to deposit fifty dollars into a lockbox for one night’s stay.
Captain Don Sanders is a river man. He has been a riverboat captain with the Delta Queen Steamboat Company and with Rising Star Casino. He learned to fly an airplane before he learned to drive a “machine” and became a captain in the USAF. He is an adventurer, a historian, and a storyteller. Now, he is a columnist for the NKyTribune and will share his stories of growing up in Covington and his stories of the river. Hang on for the ride — the river never looked so good.
Another great story. Can’t wsit for the next installment to get underway on the trip again!