Pittsburgh, PA to Evansville, IN

Total Miles Traveled 2077

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We departed South Side Marina at Pittsburgh August 26^th and traveled 55 miles on the Ohio River to an anchorage at Cluster Island, WV then on the 27^th traveled 39 miles to Wheeling, WV.  Wheeling provides a nice city dock wall to stay overnight and to visit the city. 

One of the main attractions in Wheeling is the suspension bridge, with the longest span of 1010 feet.  It was the largest suspension bridge in the world from 1849 until 1851.  Because this bridge was designed during the horse-and-buggy era, 2-ton weight limits and vehicle restrictions in later years eventually caused the bridge to close to automobile traffic in September 2019.

m/v Best Mate at the riverfront.

On August 28^th we traveled 38 miles to New Martinsville city dock, then 45 miles to the city marina at Marietta, Ohio on the 29^th.  Hurricane Fred made landfall on the Gulf coast and its track was moving inland just below our location.  We didn’t quite make it to Marietta before a thunderstorm moved through, so we anchored along the shoreline to let it pass before continuing to the marina.  Thankfully the prediction for heavy rains and flooding from the hurricane system was not as bad as predicted, but we did see a 6 to 7-foot rise in the river during our stay at the marina. 

The tree floating down the river is not a problem to avoid....

But the stuff that lurks just at or below the surface can ruin your day.  See the one at the lower left photo?

While at the marina, I met a guy that was working on the boat in front of us and found that he works for a John Deere parts and service company at Marietta.  I told him I was having an issue with one of my engines producing belt dust but hadn’t found the problem. I had adjusted the belt tension thinking it may have been slipping.  He gave me his number and said if I ever needed anything to call him.  He sent a text later and wanted to know my engine model and serial numbers, then that afternoon sent several attachments of parts and service notes on my engine model.  What a stroke of luck to happen to meet him.

After staying at Marietta a few days to let the river recede and reduce the amount of debris floating downriver, we continued 92 miles down the Ohio River on September 4th to Point Pleasant, West Virginia averaging 10 to 11 mph—whahoo!  During my engine room checks on the way to Point Pleasant, I found the belt dust problem was getting worse.  When we arrived, I decided to remove everything for a closer inspection and found the idler pully bearing was worn.  This is Saturday of Labor Day Weekend!  I called the guy I had met at Marietta and told him what I had found and the part number I needed.  He called me back and said they had one in stock and he would go to the shop, pick it up, and bring it to me….about a 70 mile trip one way.  I told him I couldn’t ask him to do that, but he said it wouldn’t be a problem and wanted to help us out.  What are the chances of meeting him, having the part in stock, and delivering it to me on a holiday weekend…..slim and none!  I changed the idler pulley and problem solved.  

Although Point Pleasant was the location of the First Battle of the American Revolutionary War, it is most recently known for “The Mothman”, a creature said to foretell of imminent disaster that inhabits an abandoned TNT factory from World War II.  There are supposedly several eyewitnesses to this large flying man with ten-foot wings and glowing red eyes, they have even made a movie about it.  Yes, we went to the Mothman Museum and had the Mothman Burrito at the local Mexican restaurant.

On September 5^th we traveled 44 miles to Huntington, West Virginia and tied to the Harris Waterfront Park wall.  While visiting the town we saw someone about a half block away, jerking, waving his arms, and talking to himself, luckily we arrived at our restaurant before he got any closer so we didn’t have to pass him.  We returned to the boat that evening and sat up on the flybridge watching the boats and a few fishermen at the wall.   

About 4 a.m.  I awoke to a noise that sounded like a log or something floating by bumping the hull.  I got up to make sure something wasn’t wedged between us and the dock and looked out of the window and saw someone sitting on a step about 25 feet from our boat talking on a cell phone.  I figured he was fishing and walked to the back of the boat and peeked out the back door through the curtain, the guy we saw in town earlier that day was on the boat standing at the back door!  I turned on the deck lights and yelled at him to get the hell off our boat.  He said he was just making sure we were okay, so I told him to get off the boat or I was calling the police.  Moni heard me yelling at him and called 911.  Three police cars were there in less than 10 minutes.  One of the officers asked if we were okay and I told him we were okay, the guy was either was on something or had a mental problem.  The officer said probably both.  They talked to both of them and they moved on so they must be locals and they knew them.

There was no way I was going back to bed, so I stayed up preparing to leave at daylight.  I occasionally looked out the windows to see if anyone was around, the dock is well lit so I could see from one end to the other.  Sure enough, I looked out about 5:30 and there were four people on top of the hill from the dock, one of them was the guy that was on the boat.  There was a girl with them, and she was definitely having a good time.  She could not stand still, kept swinging her arms and legs and jerking her head around.  Just like the guy we saw on the boat.  I continued to watch them and about 6 am the guy that was on the boat apparently overdosed on something, there were 6 people up there, they moved him up on a bench, one guy was holding his head up while another was trying to give him chest compressions while he was sitting up.  They were all standing around him staring, like maybe he had passed.  They searched through his pockets and appeared to put something in his mouth.  It was starting to get daylight, he was still unresponsive but must have been breathing, they laid him down on the bench and left.  I kept watching him and every once in awhile his arm or leg would move so he must have been coming out of it.  The mud tracks he left on the boat indicated he went from the dock to our swim platform, then onto the back deck.  If he would have fallen off the swim platform getting on the boat I’m sure he would have drown.  We have been cruising several years and this was the first time we had someone get on the boat. 

On September 6^th we traveled 47 miles to Portsmouth, Ohio and stayed at the Shawnee Boat Club.  They let us use their golf cart to go to town and visit the sites and grab a bite to eat.  The flood wall murals here are one of the best we’ve seen.

On September 7^th we traveled 52 miles to Maysville, Kentucky then 59 miles on the 8^th to Cincinnati Ohio.  When we had the idler pulley fail, I ordered another one so I would have a spare and it arrived here at the marina the same day we did.   On September 9^th “Happy Birthday Nikki”, we traveled 39 miles to Rising Sun, Indiana.  We have covered a lot of river miles since leaving Pittsburgh, so we decided to travel another 51 miles to Madison, IN on the 10^th and take a couple of days off.  Madison is one of our favorite towns along the Ohio River.  We have visited here several times over the years for the Madison Regatta hydroplane races, the Ribberfest BBQ and Blues Festival, and the Fall Festivals.  

We departed Madison on September 12^th and traveled 45 miles to Jeffersonville, Indiana.  We had scheduled a fuel truck delivery on the 13^th and had to replace a generator battery while here.  We were fortunate enough for the local Advance Auto to have the exact battery we needed and one of their employees helped me install it, I physically couldn’t have done it myself.

 Docked at Jeffersonville looking toward Louisville, KY

The fuel delivery was delayed until the afternoon, so we were only able to travel 29 miles to an anchorage at Salt River, near West Point, Kentucky.  This was a new anchorage with very little information, but it turned out to be a great stop with plenty of depth and room to pass under two bridges.  I have been documenting the places we stop for future reference and to share with other boaters.

 We had planned on anchoring on September 14^th but with the possibility of thunderstorms we decided to make a long day of it and travel 88 miles to Rocky Point Marina near the lock at Cannelton, Indiana.  This is a very shallow marina, but Ralph had just enough room for us with 1.3 feet under our boat.  The thunderstorms split and went north and south of us without a drop of rain or wind all night.

We departed the marina and passed through the lock on the 15^th 38 miles to Owensboro, Kentucky at the river front wall.  We awoke to dense fog the morning of the 16^th and had to wait until 8:30 before it lifted.  We traveled 40 miles to the Nu Plaza Marina at Evansville, Indiana.  We will stay here a few days to visit family and friends and to let another weather system pass before continuing down the Ohio River.

Cruising the Ohio River at Daybreak, what an awesome adventure!