As you see from my signature
line, I sail on the mighty Mississippi. We have an area 2 miles wide and ten miles wide near our marina, with adequate depth and minimal current, behind lock and dam 26 at Alton, IL. Of course we are connected to a thousand miles of river, the upper half of which has varying width and depth controlled by 26 dams on the upper Miss (above St Louis) and six on the Illinois river. Our nearest river level reporting station is at Grafton, IL. Normal pool there is 14 feet, flood stage is 18 feet, current level is 22.6 and projected to hit 31 by Monday the 23rd. The current is awesome, the floating debris is terrible (including 60 foot trees) and the damage to homes and businesses is staggering. Say a prayer for all those who live near this terrible beast, particularly those in Iowa, where some big levees have been breached. Fortunately, my home is 60 feet above the water, and the marina where Ragtime is located is off the main current. The picnic tables we use are tied to a phone pole, and most of the rest of our gear has been moved to the floating docks. We will move our boats to
anchor so we don't tear the docks loose, and wait it out. Thank goodness this only happens every 15-20 years!
BTW, if you want to see photos and river level
charts, I recommend "Riverbills.com"
No sailing this weekend!
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