Eventually, the two sailboats made it into the chamber and southern style was headed in.  We watched as he appeared to enter the lock chamber backwards due to current, wind, and debris (none of which are ideal). At that point, Mike and I were having a hard time figuring out the situation in the lock and there was radio silence, with no response from the vessels in the lock because they were busy keeping their boats and crew safe. Mike was really fighting against increasing wind and current to keep the boat in place while we readjusted our plan. He also needed to consider the amount of debris that had picked up and was coming downriver at us. At one point we spun in a few circles trying to see what was going on and avoid debris.  In my memory it was like the tornado scene in “Wizard of Oz” where everything just flies past the window in a blur.

At one point, we got pushed towards a lock wall which basically went like this:

ME: “We’re 8 feet from this wall. We’re 4 feet. WE’RE 1 FOOT OFF THIS WALL! WE’RE TOUCHING THE WALL. We’re touching the wall!”

And then finally Mike was able to work away from the wall. At that point, still unsure of what was really happening in the chamber, Mike proposed the idea of us backing out and returning to the marina. That was a welcome idea to me, but was also very disappointing to both of us because we felt like heading back meant we would have to wait out the crest of the flood for a good 5 to 7 days. Turning back would have meant staying in the same town for another few days and we were really ready to leave. It also meant we would have a tighter schedule to get to Nashville in time to meet up with Mike’s family. BUT there were just too many unknowns at that point that it didn’t feel safe. We didn’t know how the long 100 mile day to our destination was going to take. We weren’t sure about the amount of debris we would encounter south of St. Louis. We weren’t sure we could handle the strong current mixed with the winds (our boat is like a sail in high winds with the fully enclosed flybridge).  And we weren’t even really sure if we could push our way in to the lock chamber and retain enough control to not bump into the other 3 boats already inside.

So we bailed.

We throttled forward and headed upstream and got away from that craziness. It felt so defeating, but so relieving at the same time. I called Alton marina that was just 2 miles upstream and he said they had room for us. Another huge relief knowing we didn’t have to power 18 miles upstream all the way to Grafton. We had to dodge a tow and all the debris he was pushing as we neared the entrance to the marina. Also  about 3 full sized trees that appeared to be blocking the entrance to the marina. By that time I was more concerned about getting the lines ready to dock at Alton and wondering how we were going to get in to the marina with the heavy winds and currents.

A few loopers who are staying at Alton walked down to hear about our battle wounds for the day and our story confirmed their thoughts that they were sitting tight for the day. Sea Cottage was nice enough to bring over some new movies for the kids, and Mike and I tried to decompress and stay warm on the sundeck watching the current whip logs and debris past the marina.  At one point we saw another boat pass and for a second we thought about heading back out and trying again. But we realized the wind was not our friend, and we knew we had to sit tight. We started mentally preparing to sit in Alton for a week or so until the floodwaters crested and started to recede.

Later that afternoon the Steins from Have Another Day got the courtesy van from Grafton and came to hang out on INNTW. We enjoyed a happy hour on the sundeck while the kids played down in the salon. Deb and Rhett from Twin stopped by and heard about our adventurous morning also. We ended the day heading out to dinner with the Steins and enjoying the kids sitting at one table and the adults still licking our wounds, sitting at another table. We talked about the destruction Hurricane Michael brought to the Panhandle and the fun that awaits us once we get to warmer weather, but ultimately our conversation kept coming back to trying to get off the Mississippi River.  Hanging out with friends was really the only good part of the day.

Heading to bed that night, Mike asked me what we were doing and I told him I thought we were sitting tight for a week.  It wasn’t what we wanted to do, but it was what we thought was best.