Belle of Louisville / high water.

I've also seen a local news helicopter flying over the river and it's currently directly over the Jeffboat area, so there may be coverage on the local news tonight. I can't get local stations on the boat (we've got Direct TV and only get New York and LA local stations), but I would imagine they'll have some kind of coverage of the flooding and moving the Belle.

On a related note, the Harrah's casino just below Louisville is closed due to highwater.

It's been a "fun" few weeks dealing with the high water, current and drift...getting off in five more days, hopefully it'll be uneventful until then.

John

Myself and four other crewmembers rode the Belle safely to her new moorings in Nugent sand cove above six mile island. McBride's Glenn R., William Bayer (Mt. Vernon Sand), ACL's James Buky, and Jeffboat crew spent a long day moving us. In the morning several long-time Jeffboat crew worked with McBrides' crane to sever all the drydock's connections and weld extra kevels to the dock--no quick and easy feat! Then we had to be flipped around, tied up on the downriver end of the yard, and shift the James Buky to the other end. Once we were away from the yard, we awaited two barges that were quickly wired to the front of the dock to keep water off the front of the dock. Once Buky started shoving (with a steersman on the Belle roof for guidance) we creeped up the river as the sun set behind. With a clear, star-filled sky we reached the entrance to the cove. The Buky then shoved us to the bank, broke loose, and said their good-byes. The Glenn R.'s crew (with little more light than from headlamps and flashlights) broke the barges loose and took them in-tow. We were left with the William Bayer to deftly guide us into the cove and carefully lay us alongside a crane barge. I was more than impressed by the skill shown from the crew of these boats and the shipyard in handling such an unusual cargo in such potentially dangerous circumstances! These were professionals whose skill showed the pride they take in their work! They certainly put the nerves of the Belle crew at ease! I will try to post a few shots of the day.

BoL transfer

Thanks John and Dan for those reports. I wonder if anyone got any pictures from shore? That must have been an interesting sight, a real floating drydock loaded with a boat! Has Jeffboat had to use this procedure very often?

Thanks, John and Dan, for the photos and reports. When I left the museum yesterday afternoon, I drove along Riverside Drive and the water was getting up pretty close to the roadway. The pilings where the SHOWBOAT MAJESTIC once was moored are barely showing. I had a good view of the BELLE, riding HIGH, in the drydock at Jeffboat. Glad you had a safe trip up to the cove. Heard it was slow goin' in that stiff current! Looking forward to updates and more pictures! Y'all be careful out there!

We did see several people coming out on their porches from the Indiana side, along with a news helicopter hovering around us. This particular drydock sits on one of the lowest walls in the yard, but I doubt they've done this very often. I didn't ask, but I would guess the last time this might have happened was during the '96 flood.

Drove up to Utica this balmy afternoon (70 degrees!) and found our Belle safe and snug in the cove. At Duffy's Landing the river was lapping at Utica Pike, but had no problems getting through and managed to take some unique photos herewith attached.

Several more drydock photos...

Here's a few more shots of our move yesterday. First one shows McBride's crane barge holding the last drydock arm as shipyard crew unhitched it. The second shot gives an up-close-and-personal view of the James Buky before flipping us. The last shot shows us flipped around washing drift out, which took the Glenn R. pushing against the Bayer while Bayer's prop wash dislodged the drift. At one point, the Bayer caught a large tree trunk in one prop and had to shut that engine down to allow the tree to break free.

Capt. John, here's wishing you and ALL river men and women out there safe journeys, especially while that ol' river is on a rambunctious rampage. While sorting through photo files, I came across this image I snapped in the pilothouse of the BELLE during a cruise in October, 2005. Do you know this pilot ?

That guy looks vaguely familiar...

I thought I knew that guy too. You're going to have to get around to more of these river gatherings so your face becomes familiar.