Topic starter
19/07/2015 1:11 pm
Once again the AQ is missing her first July trip on the UMR. High water in St. Louis coming from the swollen Illinois River makes the bridge clearances too low, so she is presumably going from Cape Girardeau to Cincinnati instead. BUT, there is high water on the Ohio too. The BELLE is not going out this weekend due to a high river stage, but I don't know the severity over there. Up here, the river is normal and the AQ would have no problem clearing our bridges. Unfortunately St. Louis is below us! In all my DELTA QUEEN UMR trips in the 1970-80s, about 22 of them, I recall only one high water trip, in 1978, and we made it to St. Paul, did not have to reroute it. I haven't kept track, but it seems to me the AQ has been forced to reroute her first trip almost every year for the last 6 or 7 years....and for those who would say its her height, with being able to telescope or fold everything down, she reduces to 55 ft. and the DQ needed 53'10" I believe, back in my day, and almost 55 with her new hull. So that difference isn't appreciable.
19/07/2015 4:17 pm
In Cincy the Ohio is currently well below flood stage but high for this time of year. It's supposed to start falling this afternoon. Up near Ripley, Ohio Red Oak Creek flash flooded last night and swept away a mobilehome with resulting deaths. It's strange weather for sure here.
And, yes, the AQ is supposed to head over here to the Queen City during the coming week.
19/07/2015 5:49 pm
She shouldn't have any trouble over here, by the time she gets to the first problem bridge...which is at Henderson, I believe.....the river will have fallen quite a bit. I haven't been able to get on my boat for the past week because the river is 4' over the docks where I keep it and because of swift current and heavy drift I've hardly been out on it at all this summer. This has NOT been the summer for river fun!