Wed Dec. 21. 7:00am

We pushed off the fuel dock at Rocky Point Marina as the sun rose. We are incredibly grateful for the help of the marina staff yesterday in getting parts for the engine repair to get us underway. It will be a long day, 70 miles, to Evansville where a marina awaits to help us in and hunker down for the storm.

First up today and within 2 miles of the marina was Cannelton Lock and Dam. Locking thru is still challenging for me as I try to collar the bollard and secure us the wall. The icy deck didn’t help, “Slick as snot” our friend, Alexander, would accurately describe. I’m pretty sure it’s obvious to the lock master that we are newbies… I missed the first bollard so Mike had to drive to the next. Once secure at the second, it was safest for me to just sit down and scoot around on my bum. The anchor banged into the wall and the stern pushed away so we ended up turned sideways in the lock. When the horn sounded from the lock master signaling all clear to head out, Mike straightened us out and pushed the throttles forward and safely away while I scooted to the door and inside.

Overnight, at about 1am, a fleet of barges must have sped by as we tossed and rocked for a good 20 minutes. Violet was terrified and I was catastrophizing the blizzard had showed up early and we would need to abandon ship within the hour. We were instead greeted with a beautiful sunrise and calm water. All good for the day ahead.