Welcome to Sail Telesis!

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Week 1:
Sept. 2-11

Thursday, September 2

Moving the boat to launch into the Missouri River was scheduled for Thursday because Kansas will not issue permits for oversize loads on the Friday before a holiday weekend (Labor Day). The boat hauler, Jerry Early, picked up Telesis on her trailer at 1:30 P.M. at Port Perry Services boat yard. She was then hauled the 45 miles to Atchison, Kansas. It was a bit of a shock to follow her in a car at speeds exceeding sixty miles per hour. I’d spent weeks planning my trip at four or six or even eight miles per hour on the water, now we were traveling at ten times that speed. We arrived in Atchison without event and by 3:15 P.M. Telesis was tied safely along side the docks on the Missouri River maintained by the Atchison Yacht Club. I have to admit that I was nervous about how the old sailboat would do in the river current, but she handled it fine. Special thanks to Larry Purcell of Purcell’s Landing and the Atchison Yacht Club for allowing me to tie off at the docks for two nights while I prepared to depart.

Friday, September 3

A number of friends from Perry Yacht Club (PYC) and my family came to Atchison to help with final preparation and provisioning. We built wooden struts to support the mast, added fuel and water and completed numerous other tasks. For fear that I would miss names, I’ll simply say that I greatly appreciated each and every one of them for their help. You know who you are. THANKS!!!! You are very special people.

That evening, we had a bon-voyage dinner and party at the River House restaurant right there on the riverfront. It was a wonderful evening with very special people. Most stayed the night in Atchison at B&Bs, motels or camping in the City Park next to the docks.

One of the things I hadn’t really anticipated was the helpful support we received from the folks in Atchison. Most notable were the friendship of two aged-but-still-excited-about-boats Atchisonians: Jack Windsor and Rod Dierking. The two of them had completed the “loop” of the Eastern United States a few years back. The “loop” is down the rivers as I am doing, around Florida, back up the East Coast, up the Hudson River, across the Great Lakes to Chicago, back onto the Rivers to where you started. WOW, right now they’re in Atchison! Rod invited me to visit him on his boat in Dunedin, FL in October. I really look forward to visiting with him when I have more time.The local newspaper also showed great interest in the trip and spent time with my friends and I. An article is scheduled to print in the Wednesday, September 8 issue. When I see a copy, I’ll relay the content or post it here on the web.

Saturday, September 4, Departure Day!

Several years ago, I read an article about sailors leaving on an extended cruise, sort of the "dos and don’ts." One of the don’ts was, "Do not have a big bon-voyage party the night before your departure." The reason stated was that there are so many last minute details to take care of that the party and celebration wear you out and distract you from all that needs to be done. Well, they were pretty much right. We had originally said we would depart at 10:00 A.M. We were no where near ready, so we moved it to Noon. We still were not ready, so we moved it to 2:00 P.M. Then a big thunderstorm moved in and, unrelated to the weather, the engine gave us a little problem. So

we finally left the dock in Atchison, Kansas, Missouri River mile mark 23, at 3:45 P.M., with rain soaked friends and family on shore waving good-bye while my brother, Stan, had military march music on a boombox and Gary Templeton fired exploding flares into the air. Quite a send off. On board were Nancy, my son Shane and his friend, Fran.

We motored down river in rain - at times quite heavy - and were met just above Leavenworth by our PYC friends Hank Freeman and Marge Conklin aboard the powerboat of their friends, the Runyans. Another couple from PYC, our friends Ron and Arlene Finney drove ahead of us down the river and every 10 miles or so they would be on the riverbank waving to us as we passed. That was quite unexpected. Hank, Marge and the Runyans escorted us down the Missouri River to the entrance of the Platte River at mile mark 391 and guided us through the shallow entrance. We dropped the anchor in the Platte River at 6:45 P.M. Our friends in the powerboat left to trailer their boat and gave Shane and Fran a ride to their car.

After a late start, we had covered 32 miles in three hours and the trip was really off to a good, although wet, start. Nancy and I dropped into our bunk exhausted as soon as it was dark.

Sunday, September 5

During the night we had quite heavy thunderstorms with heavy rain at times. In fact, lighting struck very near Telesis on several occasions, but we were at safe and sheltered anchor in the Platte River. After a slow start and breakfast, I decided to look into the engine problem of the day before. Long story short, it seems Telesis road trip to the launch site stirred all that old junk in the bottom of her fuel tank to the point it clogged fuel filters and carburetor jets. I disassembled and cleaned the carburetor and replaced the filters and she was running well. Over the years I’ve become expert at the maintenance of the Atomic 4 carburetor.

Because my son Shawn had to work Saturday, we wanted to meet and say farewell so we arranged to meet him in Parkville, MO, that afternoon. Nancy and I motored out of the Platte River at about 11:30 A.M. and dropped anchor at 1:45 P.M. near mile mark 389.5 behind a river jetty across from Parkville a trip of about 13 miles. It was sunny and breezy. We untethered our dinghy, an 8-foot Walker Bay with 2 bhp kicker and experienced our first dinghy trip on the Mighty MO. The way the current plays on a small boat is something to experience, but the dinghy did very well. Nancy has began to refer to the little boat as Teletubbie. We met Shawn in Parkville and he transported us to pickup a few last minute items. We had an early supper with him and then ferried ourselves back to Telesis for our first night at anchor on the Missouri River.

Monday, September 6, Labor Day

We awoke to very heavy fog on the river so our plan for an early departure was delayed until the fog lifted. We used the time to begin getting things more organized below. We are coming to realize that for the next several weeks, Telesis will be a motorboat. Therefore, everything doesn’t need to be as secured as if she were sailing. Also, we have a lot more aboard than ever before, so finding places to store it all is a challenge. This is going to take some time.

We departed Parkville at about 9:30 A.M. after adding five gallons of fuel from the deck cans. The weather was again delightful. We motored toward Kansas City, making good time. The boat ran well and handled the river very well, but an inconsistent chirping sound from the engine compartment and the voltage meter readings indicating that the alternator was not functioning gave me cause for concern. We motored through the downtown area of Kansas City and out the east side. The possibility of a bad alternator lead to the decision to hold up in Kansas City (KC) to have it tested, serviced or replaced. Far better here than in the middle of the state. We called our friend Christy Chester cell phone to cell phone. She was in the Independence, MO, area and insisted that she come to meet us so we could use one of her cars to run whatever errands we needed.

We first tried to anchor behind a jetty near Highway 291 and La Benite Park, but the hole behind the jetty was too deep, almost 40 feet. We moved down river to near the Independence City Power Plant just west of Missouri City. Christy had driven in ahead of us and obtained permission from Gary Moore at the plant to use it as a landing place. We anchored behind a Jetty and Nancy and I went ashore. Nancy returned to home with Christy, took a quick shower and returned to the river with the car. While she was gone, the Missouri Water Patrol stopped by the boat and suggested I consider moving Telesis as she was in shallow water and the river was dropping. I don’t think I would have had a problem, but after Nancy returned, we moved down river and finally anchored behind a jetty at mile mark 344. We spent the night there having covered only 34 miles for the day.

Tuesday, September 7

The first order of business was the alternator. I removed it and with the yellow pages Nancy had rought from Christy’s began to call rebuild shops. The nice fellow at Sunshine Alternator in KC, KS, (K.C.K.) seemed to know what to do with the older model I had, so it was to shore by the dinghy, then walk back to the Power Plant to get Christy’s car. We drove to K.C.K. and the Sunshine Alternator serviced the old Motorola unit and declared it had only a minor problem, which he fixed. He was sure it would be fine.

While in K.C.K., we enjoyed Mexican food for lunch, then visited Strausers’s Hardware for a few more last minute items. We stopped by Christy’s office at Boyle Meat Company and she suggested e leave the car in Missouri City and she would pick it up later with a friend. We returned to the Telesis, installed the alternator and were on our way by 2:30 P.M. (for Hank Freeman and Stan Nichols that would be 1430 hours).

At 4:40 P.M. we passed mile mark 323 near Wellington, MO, which means we had completed 100 miles of our journey. At 6:00 P.M. we dropped anchor behind a jetty at mile mark 311 just below Lexington, MO. The alternator was working fine and the boat running very well. It had been a very warm day and we made 34 miles even with the late start. Cocktails and a nice meal on the charcoal grill finished the day.

Wednesday, September 8

We were up early and underway by 8:45 A.M. after having straightened the boat up a bit. This was our first real run on the river. We run the engine at 1750 rpm and are making about 5 knots (6 mph). The river current adds another 2 to 5 mph and we seem to average about 9 mph according to the GPS. Today we motored till 6:15 P.M. an anchored at mile mark 219 between Glasgow and Booneville. So in nine and a half hours we made 92 miles on the river.The forward looking phased array depth sounder is working very well. We can poke the boat into shallow places with some ability to avoid grounding and it is very reassuring when in the river channels. The turbulence of the current does cause some clutter, but you get used to reading the display. We are very glad we have it. Nancy has taken to river navigation very well and we take two-hour watches at the wheel. We are doing well and the barge tows have been minimal.

This night we anchored just below an unnamed island in reduced current. Our first real day of river travel was reality.

Thursday, September 9

We arose fairly early and spent some time on the boat. I washed the topsides with water from the Mighty MO and Nancy cleaned below. I added 10 gallons of fuel from the cans on deck and left the last five-gallon jug as a reserve. We were underway at 9:30 A.M. and the weather is once again great. This was another long day running to make up for lost time earlier in the week. We motored past Jefferson City to the Osage River at mile marker 130 and then about 2 miles up the Osage to anchor. We dropped anchor at 7:00 P.M. another 91/2- hour day making 91 miles total. We met a couple of barges and saw a lot of beautiful country, but otherwise it was uneventful.

I continue to be concerned about the standard alternator’s ability to supply the electrical supply we need. The stock alternator is only rated at 37 amps and has an automotive-style regulator and we are only running at 1750 rpm. With 12 volts running refrigeration, instruments, auto pilot, not to mention recharging my laptop, marine radios and cell phones as well as lights and the water pressure pump at night, it doesn’t seem to keep up. Even running nine hours a day it just does catch back up the house bank of two deep cycle batteries. Once Telesis becomes a sailboat again, I’ll run out of juice. A higher output alternator and smart regulator a in the near future.

Friday, September 10

Our first disappointment due to our delayed schedule earlier in the week. We won’t be able to stop in Hermann, MO, and still make it to Hoppie’s marina on the Mississippi River in time for Nancy to catch her flight out of St. Louis on Monday. Earlier on a return-driving trip from Jacksonville to KC, I had stopped to talk with the owner of K&S Bait and Fish on the riverfront in Hermman and he had invited us to tie alongside his shop to visit Hermann.

We pulled up the hook at 7:30 A.M. and motored on. I called the bait shop on the cell phone and let him know we wouldn’t be stopping, but would pass by close and give him a blast on the horn, which we did. Hermann would have been a great stop, but we’ve visited there several times in the past.

At 1:00 P.M. we pulled along side Olympic Marine and Harbor service in New Haven, MO, at mile mark 81. It is the only on-the-river fuel stop on the Missouri River during our travels. We took on about 36 gallons of gasoline in our tank and deck jugs and filled with 25 gallons of water. Nick Kotakis runs Olympic and says recreational boating on the Missouri is dropping all the time. All the high water and flooding coupled with the lack of facilities has dropped his business by at least half from 300 passing boats a year to just over 125 or so. We are the first sailboat he’s had in 10 years of operation at New Haven. Large powerboats that need lots of fuel arrange for tanker trucks to meet them at some of the bigger towns along the Missouri River. Otherwise you do as we are doing, carry extra fuel on deck. Fortunately we don’t burn a lot.

The local New Haven newspaper came by to take a photo of the only sailboat to stop at Nick’s in ten years and we were invited to stay for the Millers Landing Days celebration over the weekend, but we needed to keep going.

We departed New Haven about 3:00 P.M. and arrived of Washington, MO, mile mark 68. We wanted to anchor near the town and visit some friends that planned to drive over from St. Louis. After bumping aground and two failed attempts to anchor in the very swift current, we gave up the thought of stopping near town. We phoned our friends, Joe and Barbara Penn and canceled our visit. We proceeded down river to mile mark 66 were we slipped behind a nice quiet jetty out of the current and anchored at about 5:00 P.M. Total distance for the day, 64 miles. We were out of ice so we decided to take Teletubbie back up stream to Washington. We got it done, but it was a full hour before the 2 hp kicker could get the 8-foot dinghy 2 miles upstream in that strong current. Of course, it only took about 10 minutes to return. Boy am I glad this is a one-way trip, and it is down stream!

Saturday, September 11

This is our last day on the Missouri River. We were underway at 9:15 A.M. under mostly cloudy skies with mild weather. Another uneventful day motoring in the greater St. Louis area. We viewed some wonderful large homes atop the tall, rocky shoreline and passed through St. Charles without event. At 3:15 P.M. we dropped anchor behind a jetty at about the 1 mile mark in full view of the Mississippi River having covered 65 miles in the six-hour run. We bumped bottom a couple of times while attempting anchoring, then found a little deeper water and set two anchors off the bow in moderate current. We don’t want to wake in the night drifting down the Mississippi River.

A little reflection about our 423 miles on the Missouri River. It is a swift moving river and demands respect, but it is well marked for navigation and the Corp of Engineers charts were very good. Knowing exactly where you are and keeping site of the day marks along shore and the marker buoys was all that one needed to do to have a safe journey. The three most important aids other than charts are binoculars, marine radio and depth sounder. We seldom saw water of less than 12 feet deep and it was mostly 18 to 20 feet or more. Barges are a concern even though we saw only a few, and most communicated with us by radio on channel 13 and would let us know where to best pass safely. Anchoring was not difficult and we took care to be sure we were set well. The only real difficulty was when we tried to anchor in Washington, MO. The water was just too swift and the area too tight, yet I tried to force an anchorage. My fault, not the river’s.

Before the trip I stated that there were dangers traveling the Missouri River but it did not seem dangerous. I still feel that way.

Now, on to the Mississippi River.

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