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Lake City Marina
A forest of sail boat masts. You can see Jet Lag, Kent's Catalina 38.May 25, 2008 Wabasha, MN to Winona, MN, 37 miles, Crew Brad G.
We had a small thunder shower last night. Glad the wind didn’t change directions since we had 20 miles of open lake (Lake Pepin) to our North. Brad and I raised anchor at 8:00 am and motored to Wabasha, MN. We pumped out (our waste tank) and got some ice. Didn’t see any Grumpy Old Men. The wind was from the South East at 15 knots, but we hoisted a reefed main sail anyway. The sailed added a couple more knots of speed as we motor sailed down Old Man River. We locked through 3 locks during the day with no waiting. Met a large barge coming up River at Fountain City. It was a narrow part of the channel, but we were able to miss him. We arrived at Winona, MN at 3:30 PM and met Megan and her parents and Lucy, Brad and Megan’s wiener dog. We all went out for dinner in Winona. (Lucy wasn’t invited to dinner) There where severe thunder storm and tornado warnings out for this evening. We lucked out and the storms passed North and South of us. We needed
Sunset over Lake Pepin
Another beutiful sunset. a good night’s sleep after a long day.
May 26, 2008 Winona, MN to Trempealeau, WI, 12 miles, Crew Brad, Megan, Annie and Megan.
Megan and her friends, Annie and Megan, joined us for the trip from Winona to Trempealeau. The wind had switched to the North West so we were able to sail the complete distance using only the jib. Who says you can’t sail on the River? The crew cleaned out the beer and wine supply and then jumped ship at the Trempealeau Marina. Fortunately I had invited my sailing buddy Rick to come with me and finish out the trip. We had a great meal at the Trempealeau Hotel before we hit the sack.
May 27, 2008 Trempealeau WI, to Sailing Club at La Crosse, WI , 16 miles, Crew Rick G.
The Trempealeau Marina lies between the River locks and the rail road track. We weren’t bothered by the river boats going through the locks, but those trains blew their whistle when they went by the Marina every couple of hours. We still managed to get a good night’s sleep. I did a quick load of laundry before we headed out. East
Wayne at the Helm
A chilly morning motor sailing out of Lake Pepin. winds of 5-10 knots helped us down the River towards the Dresbach dam and lock. We decided to try to get into Lake Unalaska. We were able to find the channel that goes into the Lake and we where able to sail to the La Crosse Sailing Club harbor. Rick and I know several sailors from this club who visit Lake Petenwell every year. Rick called his old friends, Bud and Pat, who invited us over for rhubarb pie at their home on the shoes of Lake Unalaska. Brad came to our slip at the Sailing Club and gave Rick a ride to Trempealeau to get is car. Then Rick drove us to Tomah so I could pick up the truck and trailer. This Musical Vehicles is getting old! Jim and Claudia from La Crosse Sailing Club joined us for a few beers and sailing stories to end our day.
May 28, 2008 La Crosse, WI to Lansing, IA, 45 miles, Crew Rick G.
It was in the low 40’s last night. Glade we had the electric heater we us. Rick and Wayne set off for the Dresbach lock at 8:30am. Went thru lock with no wait and
Fountain City Lock
Brad handling the lines. then motored under the I 90 bridge. Met another barge coming up stream, then had to ask the Soo Railroad Bridge to open for us. We stopped at the Pettibone Marina in La Crosse to buy ice. I tried to make connection with a Prairie Du Chien marina to find out if we could get lifted out. I didn’t have any luck, but Rick did. When I was on the phone a fellow came over to admire Amber Lee. He was a sailor and happened to live in Prairie Du Chien. He said he had a truck that could pull us out if we wanted to float the boat onto the trailer. With that final puzzle solved we headed down River towards Prairie Du Chien. We motor sailed with the main sail up much of the day since the wind was usually from the South. We did get a couple of hours of sailing when we crossed the Upper Mississippi Wildlife and Fish Refuge. We passed thru the locks at Genoa, WI and ended our day anchoring just North of the Lansing, IA. Bridge. Had a shower with Rick’s potable shower. (Solar heated water bags with a nozzle). Worked great,
The Robin B. Ingram
Rounding the bend at Fountain City and now we are clean and refreshed. Had grilled pork chops for dinner. For entertainment we watched a very large tow go under the bridge, turn make a sharp right turn and go up River.
May 29, 2008 Lansing, IA to Prairie Du Chien, WI, 30miles, Crew Rick G.
This is our last day on the River. We raise anchor at 7:30 AM and begin to motor sail. The weather is rainy with a cold wind from the South. We are dressed for the in-climate weather. The River channel splits at Prairie Du Chien. We take the East channel and then head North and pass a barge loading facility. We finally find the Prairie Du Chien Marina and tie up at the municipal dock at 12:30 PM. We have lunch at The Depot and then begin preparing to pullout. Our Savior who has offered to pull us out shows up at 4:00 PM and Brad shows up with the truck and trailer at 5:00 PM. It begins to rain again with a little lightning and thunder mixed in. The boat comes out without much trouble and we lower our lightning rod (mast) as fast as we can. With
Brad at the Helm
Brad laying a straight course. everything secured and all trailer lights working we head for La Crosse. We have a spectacular lightning show with lots of rain during the trip. (We are glad we are not anchored out tonight.) We drop Brad off in La Crosse and end up spending the night at Harold and Vicki’s in Tomah.
Trip Summary
It’s been a fun trip. I have had the best crew I could wish for. The weather was a little cool, but dry, until the last day. That helped eliminate any bugs and reduced the the number of pleasure boats on the River. We had wind on the River out of the South (not good for sailing south on a river) on 4 days. We were able to sail without the engine running for about half the trip. The rest of the time we used the engine, often with the reefed main sail up. The little 10 HP Westerbeke diesel engine ran perfect. And we didn’t hit any large logs floating down stream or barges coming up stream. And no one fell overboard. A successful and fun trip!
Now we can start planning to do the rest of the Mississippi. Stay tuned!
The New Crew
On our way to Winona. I hope the beer and wine lasts that long. Mississippi Trip Statistics
St Croix River miles traveled 20
Mississippi River miles traveled 178
Total River miles traveled 198
Extra miles on Lake Pepin 10
Extra miles on Lake Unalaska 8
Total miles traveled 216
Gallons of diesel fuel burned 6
Engine hours 32
Hours per gallon 5.33
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Doc Doolittle
non-member comment
Ben there [ kind of ]
I've taken two trips on the Mississippi [ in the 80s']. A 14' Jon boat from Harpers Ferry to The Quad Cities, and an 18' Bowrider from Muscatine to St Louis [ then up the Il river to Peoria]. Great fun camping on the islands, cooking out, swimming and "bathing" in the River. I have actually boated on every pool from Redwing to St Louis, and I can tell you that the stretch you were on is the most beautiful part. I've lived in five different places on the Mississippi, and I am a regular "River Rat". Funny though, I have yet to own a boat myself. The bowrider was my brothers, and the Jon boat was my friends. If you do the rest of the River, be sure to buy the book called "Quimbies"[SP?]. It is a great help for River travel.....Doc