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#112393 - 11/13/07 08:07 PM Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn,,, AGAIN
wildman800 Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 11/09/06
Posts: 2846
Loc: La-USA
Saturday morning, I passed 2 canoists on the Mississippi River.

They were 2 young men in 2 green hulled canoes, with their camping gear lashed down from the amidships to bow position, and they were using kayak paddles. They were paddling down the middle of the channel and were dodging to the side of the channel everytime a tow would appear. They were difficult to spot, at first glance during the early (after sunrise) morning hours. I noticed that neither one was wearing a life jacket.

Today I heard a USCG Pon Pon Broadcast (emergency) stating that a green hulled canoe, with camping equipment lashed to it was spotted adrift with no person onboard (POB).

Why is it that I suspect that these two fellows might have gone under the rakes of a large tow that they were too slow to dodge.
Old Man River is less forgiving than Mother Ocean, believe it or not!!

A little known fact for recreational boaters, River buoys are normally set in either 12 (rising) or 14 (falling) feet of water, depending on whether the river is rising or falling. Canoists and other boaters can safely transit outside the buoy line where loaded tows cannot reach them and empty tows may not be able to reach them. In canals, most have a project depth of 9 feet so the recreational boaters are still able to stay outside of the channel and have plenty of water, as well.
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QMC, USCG (Ret)
The best luck is what you make yourself!

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#112396 - 11/13/07 08:44 PM Re: Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn,,, AGAIN [Re: wildman800]
Stu Offline
I am not a P.P.o.W.
Old Hand

Registered: 05/16/05
Posts: 1058
Loc: Finger Lakes of NY State
I always wanted to kayak the Mississippi with a couple of friends, camping our way down river. One does need to stay out of the shipping channels though. A canoe or kayak will not win in a collision with a much larger craft, and they can be hard to see in the water.s well with the canoeists.
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Our most important survival tool is our brain, and for many, that tool is way underused! SBRaider
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#112401 - 11/13/07 09:08 PM Re: Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn,,, AGAIN [Re: Stu]
wildman800 Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 11/09/06
Posts: 2846
Loc: La-USA
I believe that you are referring to the "Universal Law of Gross Tonnage"!
_________________________
QMC, USCG (Ret)
The best luck is what you make yourself!

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#112402 - 11/13/07 09:10 PM Re: Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn,,, AGAIN [Re: Stu]
raydarkhorse Offline
Addict

Registered: 01/27/07
Posts: 510
Loc: on the road 10-11 months out o...
not only should they stay outside the buoys but the current is usually not as strong closer to the edge outside the buoys.
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Depend on yourself, help those who are not able, and teach those that are.

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#112407 - 11/13/07 10:54 PM Re: Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn,,, AGAIN [Re: raydarkhorse]
KenK Offline
"Be Prepared"
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 06/26/04
Posts: 2208
Loc: NE Wisconsin
When in high school my buddy and I used to canoe the Mississippi River north of Dubuque, Iowa out of a place called Findley's Landing. We'd paddle north along the Iowa shoreline, look VERY carefully for barge traffic and then if clear we'd paddle like hell across the river to the Wisconsin side where we'd paddle around the backwaters mostly.

One time we had a barge pass us while on the Iowa side. We headed our bow into the waves, but they were large enough that one wave come way over the bow and swamped us. Luckily we were close enough to the shore that we were able to paddle the swamped canoe to the shore and dump it out before heading off to the Wisconsin side.

Lots of fun!

One of my life-long dreams is to paddle the length of the River from Minnesota to the Gulf.

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#112418 - 11/14/07 12:16 AM Re: Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn,,, AGAIN [Re: wildman800]
Stu Offline
I am not a P.P.o.W.
Old Hand

Registered: 05/16/05
Posts: 1058
Loc: Finger Lakes of NY State
Originally Posted By: wildman800
I believe that you are referring to the "Universal Law of Gross Tonnage"!

Yes I was! smile
_________________________
Our most important survival tool is our brain, and for many, that tool is way underused! SBRaider
Head Cat Herder

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#112420 - 11/14/07 12:32 AM Re: Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn,,, AGAIN [Re: wildman800]
OldBaldGuy Offline
Geezer

Registered: 09/30/01
Posts: 5695
Loc: Former AFB in CA, recouping fr...
Ya gotta pay attention to the lugnut rule, no matter what you might be driving/paddling
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OBG

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