Timeless Yacht

Today didn’t start quite as perfectly as we hoped. Scott on Catty Shack and I spoke at 0445 and he drew the short straw so he took position at the rhr tip of the disarm and called the lock to see if the first light locking might actually materialize. We were basically told to sit tight, there were a few more tows to lock through first but he’d pass on to the morning shift that we were there and hopefully he could get us through in the slot when a smaller down bound toe could tie up and give room for us to get by.

That all worked out about 0930 after the 10 boats who anchored at Angelo Towhead arrived and anchored for a while too. Catty Shack and Anomone expertly organized the fleet, with all going as planned except for my crew miscounted bollards and we stopped short of one 🤣. No matter all the boats on the easier starboard rafted 2 deep while the port (north side boats) filled all 6 port bollards.

We rose up and everyone left in an orderly fashion. With 18 boats all cruising at different speeds heading to different destinations it’s a good thing the Ohio is wide and deep outside the marked channels proving plenty of room to space out.

We traveled about 980 rpms at 7.3-7.4 knots against a gentle current to Paducah arrived just before 1420 after about 25nm. Counting stars and earlier arrivals grabbed lines and got everyone secured. Teamwork makes the dreamwork. A couple boats rafted up. Hint: if you don’t want to anchor, book Paducah City Dock early, or get permission to raft up. The dock fills up. On weekends don’t expect to see any staff. Not sure how to get permission to raft on weekends as no one is around and they don’t answer the phone. The pumpout is also not functioning so plan accordingly. This is a dock, and not really a marina.

The exhaust was still leaking some today so I vacuumed up the water, hosed the bugs off the boat (May flies are hatching) and got a few odds and ends done before (a shower) and heading to Doe’s Eats for dinner.

Doe’s has and interesting history (see the image) and a unique (and delish) way to cook LARGE steaks. A stroll to the post office and back along the water finished off our first evening in Paducah. What a cute town!

Tomorrow we may add some fuel. We haven’t since Hammond and can still make it a couple hundred miles but this is the least expensive fuel since leaving Indiana at about $6.20/gallon 😳

We’ll check out the national quilt museum, town during the day and have a special stop we’ll hopefully share more later. Oh, and install that new hose.

Today was a huge day. Biggest day in terms of mileage, we went 14 miles further than we planned. We completed our run on the Mississippi River and started up the Ohio. We broke 3500 miles since we left home in March.

We saw HUGE tows (35 barges, 12k hp) and lots more traffic now that the river is more open. Not too much debris.

We departed Kaskaskia wall after Catty Shack dropped their lines at 0630, set the RPMs for just 950 and headed down River between 10.5 and 12.5 knots, averaging 11 at rpms that shoukd give us about 7.7 knots. That’s a push of over 3 knots average.

A bit later the wall emptied behind us and headed down river behind Catty Shack and us. After the protection zone at the Chester Bridge demolition site Catty Shack put the coals on, and headed for the Ohio River. The rest of the fleet slowly realed us in.

Breakfast was simple spread of hard freshly boiled eggs, smoked salmon, bagels, berries and mellon, and yogurt.

Our speed with all this current put us at the Angelo Towhead, 103nm down river, a bit before 1600. Not bad for 103nm!

Lunch was homemade mac and cheese, sourdough (not made onboard), green salad and plums for dessert. It’s all about the food!

We were taking to friends on Midnight Rambler who had been waiting for HOURS at Olmstead about their status to get locked up. We thought we might catch them! If not we decided to head up to Mike 973 of the Ohio to anchor, about 7 miles or an hour up the Ohio, past Angelo Towhead. When Midnight Rambker and about 7 other boats were locked through, we were maybe 30nm away. Catty Shack missed it by 7nm (30 min at their speed).

They were told they wouldn’t be locked through today, but they should be locked through first thing in the morning (0530-0600) so we decided to press on for the Olmstead lock and get through early instead of taking a chance and waiting for a long time at the lock forcing a later Paducah arrival. Our arrival with a moderate push up the Ohio was 1745. Enough light to get the hook out and get set with an 1830 sunset.

Soon as that was done Darlene had tuna steaks and swordfish on the grill, spinach sautéeing and backed potatoes nearly ready in the oven.

Dinner, check on our exhaust one more time, shower, daily Facebook post and bed.

A few hints for loopers behind us:

1. Shoe up at Olmstead in a group.
2. One person, the first boat, contact the lock and organize the group.
3. Be patient and respectful.

The commercial traffic has been backed up for days. Only one chamber is open and it’s slow going.

Tomorrow we get to Kentucky. Who is in Paducah?

If you want to join Timeless on an epic adventure we have cabins open from the AGLCA rendezvous in Orange beach for 6 days (1 cabin) and another for Thanksgiving week when we will cross our wake!

Today was a day.

We planned to leave at 0630 but delayed for a few minutes for a little light to show through our tinted windows on this gloomy morning. We departed Grafton Harbor at 0640 and started a slow cruise down the river.

About 0730 we could see about 4 boats or so pull out of Alton. We could then see them holding and waiting for the Melvin (Mel) Price Lock. We reached first to Sweet Pea on the radio but couldn’t really hear them at first. So we reached out to Scott on Catty Shack. About 0740 we found out the lock was going to take about 30 minutes to turn so we increased speed to arrive by 0815. At 0805 Catty Shack texted let us let us know the gate was opening so we hopped up on plane and skadaddled on down at 20+ knots. Katz and Dogs was having a time getting off the wall against the wind and current so we slid in. The further delay by Katz and Dogs allowed Finn, Isla B and Traveler (I think) to catch up bringing our rag tag armada up to 10 boats! Each boat had their own pin with 6 on Stb and 4 on port in the 1200ft long chamber. .

I did my normal engine room check and found a few tablespoons of water outboard of the port stringers. I cleaned it up and though maybe it was from the hard rain, maybe it came in a vent and ran down to the stringers when we went on plane? I cleaned it up and went about the morning.

We departed Mel Price and slowly idled down to Lock 27 at Chain of Rocks. The channel (canal) was closed to tows for dredging but pleasure craft were allowed to proceed. So proceed we did, at nearly idle for the dredge crews and crews working on cranes right north of the lock. They really want a SLOOOOOOW BELL pass. We all entered the lock with Traveler rafting to us due to some missing pins. Everyone else had their own bollard in the 1200 ft long chamber.

Another engine room check showed more water…wtf. Then more on the gear….huh. Oh boy. I found the source pretty quickly. Our exhaust hose had decided it needed some air 🤦🏻‍♀️. Holes in exhaust are only exceed by holes in boats and intakes.

I threw some rubber gasket material on it, wrapped it in rescue tape and a bit of very strong cloth duct tape and out we went. It was leaking some, thankfully “fresh” water, but still making a mess.

Next “stop” St Louis and the Gateway Arch where Catty Shack left their position at the tip of our spear to make sure each boat got pictures under the arch. THANK YOU. Another boat took care of Catty Shack as Sweat Oea sharpened their bow and took position at the front of the fleet.

At 1630 with little fanfare the 10 of us, plus Free of Kids who passed most of us, arrived at Kaskaskia, helped each other get tied up, and rafted. 11 boats in total with room for 3 more. That’s 14 boats on the wall possible. I feel bad I didn’t have much time to socialize, but I had a mission to accomplish.

I headed to the engine room to create a semi permanent and less leaky repair which took all of 15 min. No Leak! Then spent 45 min cleaning up exhaust soot. Ugh. At least we caught it early it could have been worse. Do your engine room checks!

Green Salad, Pork Tebderloin, Rice Pilaf, Sautéed summer squash, sourdough bread was a much needed end to the day. Oh with Pecan Pie à la mode.

Now I lay me down to sleep…103nm tomorrow.

We're honored! We were surprised about the nomination and the support given the other great sponsors that were nominated. Thank you for the recognition, we truly appreciate it! The award makes this year, our gold loop even more special. We can't wait to see everyone in Orange Beach!

Congratulations to Timeless Yacht, AGLCA's 2026 Sponsor of the Year!

This recognition is a testament to how much our members value Timeless Yacht's commitment to the Looper community and their willingness to share their knowledge, experience, and passion for the Great Loop.

Timeless Yacht offers future Loopers a unique opportunity to experience the lifestyle before purchasing their own boat through charter cruises, many of which explore portions of the Great Loop route.

Beyond their charters, the owners bring the Loop to life through daily social media updates, sharing a firsthand look at the adventures, challenges, and realities of Looping. Their candid approach reminds future Loopers that things don't always go according to plan, but preparation, flexibility, and a little experience can make all the difference. They're also generous with their time, regularly engaging with members and answering questions along the way.

And when they're not on the water, you'll often find them at AGLCA events, sharing their expertise and helping members feel more confident as they prepare for their own Great Loop adventures.

Please join us in congratulating Timeless Yacht on being named AGLCA's 2026 Sponsor of the Year! Thank you for all you do to support, educate, and inspire our Looper community!

WARNING: This post has images all about flowers and not boats, boating or the great loop.

Today we finished up getting the boat prepped for guests, and headed out by 0900 by ferry to St Charles, MO (ok, so I guess there is one boat in the post). This tow driver (the ferrry is simply a barge on a hip tow). I picked up the credit card I left in Joliet brought down by Cathy Aull (thank you again).

We then headed to a quick breakfast at First Watch on the way to the Missouri Botanical Gardens. Months ago a looper suggested this excursion and were glad he did. We were allowed to entry on our reciprocal membership from our Naples Botanical Gardens membership. We spent a couple hours wondering around, sitting and contemplating in the beautiful gardens then grabbed a beverage in the Café. As usual Dee did some damage in the gift shop before heading THE arch.

This was an easy stop on our way to the airport to assist our guests back to the boat. It worked out that we were already in St Louis. It was MUCH bigger than I even expected and look forward to passing by on the river tomorrow.

With our guests retrieved we headed to Alton to drop the rental car off, and then on to Grafton for a quick orientation onboard. Then on to docktakes with many of the ~30 other boats at Grafton Harbor. Cheer and merriment all around for most, though at least one boat is sitting hard on the bottom as the water level has dropped. Hopefully they can get out soon.

A quick dinner at the Grafton Oyster Bar, then I filled up the water tanks for this longest run between marinas on the loop, and finally early to bed.

The river is back open, and tows are locking through in secession at Chain of Rocks and on their way to Mel Price where we, and many other boats from Alton and Grafton hope to pass. The next two days will be two of the three longest runs on our loop.