#12
5 AM came & went this final morning on the Mississippi. We all slept in for the first time since Evansville.. This was to be a mixed day of emotions. If you truly love cruising, you will feel a since of regret at leaving the Big River. In spite of all the challenges, I was sad to make the starboard turn when the GPS said it was time to leave the main channel & start looking for the gates of "Old River Lock".
Vicksburg & Natchez, with their beautiful homes on the hills they both had in common, were safe from the sometimes angry, high waters. While passing both towns I imagined old retired river pilots spying on the barge traffic as it made their way up & down the channel. Maybe they felt even sadder than I that they weren't a part of it anymore. Who knows?
We soon saw the lock, a call on channel 13 raised the lock master. We switched (as usual) to channel 14 & received our instructions. The lock was set the wrong direction so we were told to wait at the "bull nose" while he filled the chamber. Wreak #, ??, hell I've lost count by now, but you guessed it.
Zone man did not know what a bull nose was. By the time we had a quick group meeting & decided it must be the big oval pillar that anchored the end of the crash fence into the chamber, ol speedy was well on it @ a fast speed. The boy just NEVER developed a "feel" for a boat! If any of you EVER have as many wreaks as my buddy while learning to pilot a HB, then sell your boat cuz you ain't "getting" it either.
Trying to salvage the approach, I asked him to slow up & we would tie off on the crash fence, Now I don't know WHY, but he turned to port to do this BUT didn't cut speed! We were darn sure going to test out the resilience of the fence! Here we come!
Spreading my feet & bracing for impact, I truly closed my eyes. Ahhh, at the last second possible, he spun the wheel hard to starboard AND (believe this) increased the throttle!! We hit a glancing blow & turned hard. This served to whip my poor skiff, full length, VERY hard into the fence. Whack!!!
I scrambled towards aft to see if I has anything left floating. As I passed the door I was screaming %%$&&!!!**%%$%%.
My wife later told me that Zone man looked @ her and said "He could lose a good friend, using language like that", to which Marybob replied to him "Sink his skiff & YOU could lose your life".
By now we had made a circle in front of the gates. There was a blast & the gates opened. Somehow, I felt as if our reputation had preceded us, but the kind LM said nothing & we descended down to the level of the Atchafalaya River.
It was Noon, the 3rd of July. Already I had experienced anticipation, sadness & regret, anger bordering on temporary insanity, anxioety, and disbelief. It was JUST noon. Sheer panic wouldn't hit until just at sunset.
What a day!
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