Arkansas and Mississippi River Cruising!

Рет қаралды 24,324

Жыл бұрын

Cruising Arkansas River to the Mississippi River to bring our Trawler to Mexico! We were the only Trawler; actually only boat on the waters in exception for Tug Boats and Badges.
The Mississippi River is extremely low this year and parts were temporarily closed. Locks were open under reduced hours, one lock was shutting down due to work being done but we managed to make it through just before closure!
In this video, we will bring you along our trip cruising down rivers, going through locks, being put on hold for multiple days and anchoring out on the Mississippi River. We take you with us until we reach the Port Allen Locks!
Our next video will take you with us through the Bayou! I loved the Bayou down Port Allen Canal in comparison!
Be sure to subscribe because we are taking you on our journey all the way to Mexico...and then who knows where we will end up!
Don and Charlyne
- Chardon'eh

Пікірлер: 35

@glaster0 Жыл бұрын

Your comments about seeing no other pleasure boats reminded me of my trip up and down the Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers several years ago. I actually sailed a 30-ft boat up the rivers from Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans to Kerr Reservoir on the Arkansas River in Oklahoma. My mast height was 51'6" and sometimes the bridges were a "hold your breath and pucker up" event to go under. That year going up, 1999, the Mississippi was at record high levels and the impact was huge currents running generally at 6-7 knots. This meant, on a small sailboat with only auxiliary power, that sometimes I was pointing up the river and registering 6 knots over/through the water but my GPS was confirming that I was actually travelling backwards. I would have to turn across the current to break the hold on the boat and side-slip downriver as I picked up speed and power from the wind and then turn slowly up-current to make headway. Generally, I had to sail for the slack-water on the inside of the turns and zig-zag my way to the other side after clearing a point. Talk about seeing no other boats? I have never heard, nor found any record of anyone doing that before or since. And, YES, the ship traffic between New Orleans and Baton Rouge can be horrendous... and quite dangerous, especially during tornadic weather, which I also had. I sailed back down in 2001, with much less drama other than stopping at the marina you began your journey (Little Rock Yacht Club) to replace a broken forestay.

@chardoneh Жыл бұрын

What a great adventure! I can’t believe that journey! I can picture the zig zagging! The Mississippi has a lot of current! And the bridges with your mast! Well…a great experience to share in stories!

@johnmarschalk1977 Ай бұрын

Most pleasure boats on Mississippi are doing the Great Loop coming from Chicago. They turn onto the Ohio south of St Louis and then down the Tennessee to the TimTom waterway and end up in Mobile Bay. Same reason you saw, low water and a huge increase in commercial traffic

@ralphowens4510 Жыл бұрын

Wow, what a challenge to make it through the locks. I didn't realize it was that challenging

@calmingeffects4691 Жыл бұрын

So awesome!

@coletteoconnor3566 11 ай бұрын

Loving following your journey. I live near Little Rock and there are so many beautiful places. The Murray Loch and dam that you went under( I think number 7) Is actually the longest pedestrian and cycling bridge in North America, no vehicles of any kind allowed and it links miles of beautiful trails throughout the area. I’m late watching your videos so you are probably in Mexico now😁I will definitely keep watching .

@chardoneh 11 ай бұрын

Thank you! We truly loved Little Rock. Such beautiful mountains and definitely would visit again! And the people were extremely friendly and helpful. Keep watching and let us know if you would like specific content!

@sams7655 Жыл бұрын

Beach, you better have my money! I love Treasure hunting!

@chardoneh Жыл бұрын

I found such neat items while trying to keep busy during our hold! It was a great opportunity!

@BellsRidesAboardSeaBoss Жыл бұрын

New subscriber here, thanks for sharing this part of the river system. If you are going to stuck somewhere at least its beautiful.

@gabrielaramoscampos4843 10 ай бұрын

Saludos

@alstuckless8642 Жыл бұрын

Great video

@chardoneh Жыл бұрын

Thanks Al. Next one should be out tomorrow!

@stevebusby55 Жыл бұрын

Interesting to watch this, thanks for making the video. Seems strange that the one lock is closed from 7am to 7pm? Crazy that you guys were the only pleasure craft! Safe travels, Gulf of Mexico should be fun! Cheers.

@chardoneh Жыл бұрын

Hi Steve. Yes that one lock was closed for maintenance during the day. Divers were required. Part of me can understand why we were the only Pleasure craft. The Mississippi is not easy to navigate with all the barges and current but some parts were good. So nice to hear from you!

@korbansdad 11 ай бұрын

My dream is to go from the Port of Muskogee to the Mississippi River some day and start the great loop

@rodneyjaynes2485 Жыл бұрын

Love the name of your boat! Clever!. In regards to no pleasure craft, isn't this part of the Great Loop? I have great respect for those sailors on the tugs and barges. They work very hard. I have lived and worked with sailors on the freighters of the Great Lakes, so I know what they are doing.

@chardoneh Жыл бұрын

Thanks Rodney! We did not understand why there were no other pleasure crafts or sailboats. The water levels were very low so perhaps that was a reason? We finally saw our first pleasure craft which we will happily share in our next video!! Working on the Great Lakes must have been a great experience!

@robbert4022 6 ай бұрын

New subscriber here! This is an awesome video and really cool journey! I’m going to take this trip this summer and you are the few vids/info I have found, about how long was the trip, from Little Rock to New Orleans? minus all the set backs? I am going to be leaving from kerr reservoir, west of Little Rock I can’t wait to take my trip!

@chardoneh 6 ай бұрын

Hello. Thanks for supporting us. You will have a wonderful experience! We would suggest a good week with no set backs. Keep us posted!

@RLoose9494 Жыл бұрын

May I ask where do you gather all the information for navigating the river such as Marinas, Fuel, Radio channels, lock procedures and places to stay or anchor out at. Trying to look into doing this trip Thanks

@chardoneh Жыл бұрын

We relied heavily on Navionics. It will show you anchorage places, marinas etc. when clicking on the small icons, you will be able to see peoples comments on that location. As for radio communication, we stayed in 16 approaching locks. They will then respond and ask you to switch to another channel for communicating. As for locks, it’s pretty easy. If you are new to them, let them know and they will greet your boat. You can also see this in our video “Arkansas and Mississippi Cruising”. With barges, be sure to always communicate and ask and upcoming barges which side they would like you on when passing. 1 means starboard, 2 port side. As for fuel, do your research in advance to ensure it is available or that the marinas are still open. We always had a potential back up anchorage or docking plan…in case it was too shallow or too much current. Anchoring in the Mississippi is sketchy in some areas due to overnight traffic and current. Also, it is a good idea to ask locks if there are any work closures. This causes us a little bit of a challenge at one point so stay informed. We also planned our stops before dark to ensure any potential back up would still be in daylight. People in the waters or marinas are extremely accommodating. Communication and research is key. We also used our phone to call places and get more details if need be. (confirming arrivals, fuel, even water depth before arriving since the waters were so low during our journey). I hope this is helpful. Navionics offers many details and information. Keep us posted on your travels. Reach out anytime.

@RLoose9494 11 ай бұрын

Thanks for getting back with me really appreciate the information. We are a year out all we have is a pontoon we are looking for a trailerable 8.5 beam 26’- 32’ with gen and AC as my wife doesn’t do heat real well with LUPUS. So again thank you for the information greatly appreciated

@chardoneh 11 ай бұрын

@@RLoose9494 exciting times ahead. Sincere best wishes to you both. Thank for following.

@davidschrodel6183 Жыл бұрын

My wife and I spend a lot of time in Cozumel. Are you planning on going to Cozumel with the boat? What marina are you going to store it?

@chardoneh Жыл бұрын

Yes we plan to bring our boat to Cozumel and also cruise to Isla Majeres this winter. We will be between marinas and mooring. 😉

@Twelvestonestacking Жыл бұрын

Met you in Morgan City... Weeks crew boat...looking fwd to more vids

@chardoneh Жыл бұрын

Yes. You spoke with Don for a bit! Keep in touch!

@Twelvestonestacking Жыл бұрын

@@chardoneh rgr rgr Did you make it to Mexico yet?

@chardoneh Жыл бұрын

@@Twelvestonestacking not yet. Holding at South Padre Island. Gulf is no co-operating right now. Don says good luck with your boat and keep us posted! Heck, come join the journey!

@Twelvestonestacking Жыл бұрын

@@chardoneh cannot join you guys down there right now! Got five more years of work six actually!