Fri, Sat, Sun...31 Aug, 1 & 2 Sept 2007

It's Labor Day Weekend

 Updated Sun At ...6:30 PM

Updated Sun At 6:45 PM

Our River Picture of the Day ...Monday....  is of some of the boaters in Mason Chute Sunday afternoon..

Updated Sun At 12:45 PM

Our River Picture of the Day ...Sunday....  is of Gabie McGarrah the flamenco guitarist posing with "the Girls" in front of the Rotten Apple Saturday afternoon.  Make sure you catch his act next time your in Grafton.

Updated Sat at 8:00 AM

Our 1st River Picture of the Day ...Saturday....  is of blues artist.....GITLO at Longshot Salloon last night.  He is playing there all weekend....Make sure you stop in and listen to him.

    GITLO

Updated Sat at 8:50 AM

Our 2nd River Picture of the Day ...Saturday....  is of the low water conditions at Alton on Friday.  You can see the boat ramp under the bridge is a long way from the water and the barge on the right is high and dry.

  We called the marina for directions.........and made it in and out of the harbor alright in a large cruiser.  

Our River Picture and e-mail of the Day ...Friday....  is from Tracy of the boat "Never Say Never"

    River Rat Cat

Little Bit

Hi River Bill

Thought there should be a River Rat for Cats, I have seen a few other cats on the river, here is a pic of ours.

 Her name is Little Bit........And it not for her size. 

Thanks.

Tracey
Never Say Never

RiverBill says....Thanks Tracy....Guess we will have to start a River Rat Cat page !  

Yester Year's "River Pic of the Day"  .......  What was the.... Pic On This Day... in years past ? 

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Updated Sun at 6:30PM

The River Picture on the Day In 2006 --Monday--  was a sunset from Pop Dorn.

  Boy you cant beat this, Mississippi River, Island 521, 9-2-06, Sun Set, Rick Dorn's 24 foot Sun Runner,  this is the way to live. 

Pop Dorn

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Updated Sun at 6:30PM

The River Picture on the Day In 2006 --Sunday--  It was an e-mail and picture sent in byCapt'n Glen Sadowski.

Glen wrote in his e-mail in 2006:

 Hi Bill,

Thanks for the nice write up on RiverBills today.

 Here is a photo that I took today on Lake Borgne, near New Orleans. I have arrived to my destination, near New Orleans and will fly home tomorrow.

Glenn

Click here to see pictures of Glen and Greg Sadowski from Aug 30, 2006 on their recent  travels delivering boats. 

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Click on picture to enlarge

Updated Sat at 7:45

The River Picture on the Day In 2005 --Saturday--  It was one of those great river sunsets...... Wow !    I snapped this picture just a bit up-river from Kinder's.  You can see the lower end of Two Branch Island on the right hand side... 

What a sunset !  

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Click on picture to enlarge

The River Picture on the Day In 2005 --Friday--  It was a picture is of  sailboats maneuvering the summer breeze in front of the bluffs along the Great River Road.   The picture was taken by Larry Byrnes from Captain Gary Bowers' boat.   

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Updated Sat at 8:15

Flood Predictions ......

Predications below are from National Weather Service website as of 8:29 PM Tuesday, Aug 28

Winfield has crested an is predicted to go down below flood stage on Saturday 9-01-07

Grafton has crested an is predicted to go down below flood stage on Sunday or Monday 9-03-07

Alton has crested below flood stage.

Click here for current river levels and forecasts

 at Winfield, Grafton and Alton

The river is almost free of debris - come on out !

ITCS Memo 

  UPDATED ILL. RIVER HIGH WATER ADVISORY........

Received the following e-mail from the River Industry Bulletin Board website:

To: riverbill@prodigy.net 
Subject: UPDATED ILL. RIVER HIGH WATER ADVISORY 
Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2007 10:16:23 -0500 
ITCS MEMO # 2595


SECTOR UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER ISSUES THE FOLLOWING SAFETY ADVISORY: 

A.   ZONE 7 (MILES 145.6 - 180.9) ON THE ILR IS IN THE HIGH WATER RECOVERY PHASE OF THE ILR WAP ANNEX. 
B.   ZONES 1, 5, AND 6 (MILES 102.0 - 145.5) ON THE ILR ARE IN THE HIGH WATER WATCH PHASE OF THE ILR WAP ANNEX. 
D.   DOWNSTREAMING OPERATIONS ARE NOT RECOMMENDED FOR VESSELS OPERATING IN THE ZONES IN THE ACTION AND WATCH PHASES UNLESS THE VESSEL IS EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN 75 FEET IN LENGTH AND THE VESSEL HAS A MINIMUM OF 1800 HORSEPOWER. 
E.   ZONES 3 AND 4 (MILES 50.0 - 101.9) ON THE ILR MAY ENTER THE HIGH WATER WATCH PHASE OVER THE NEXT 2 DAYS DUE TO THE HIGH WATER CONDITIONS NORTH OF ZONE 4. 
F.   ALL TOWING VESSELS SHOULD PROCEED AT THE SLOWEST SAFE OPERATIONS SPEED BASED UPON PREVAILING CONDITIONS IN ORDER TO MINIMIZE WAKE DAMAGE. ALL MARINERS SHOULD EXCERISE CAUTION IN ZONE 7(BETWEEN MILES 166.5-178) AND ZONE 6 (BETWEEN MILES 138 - 139.5) ON THE ILR TO PREVENT ANY WAKE DAMAGE TO WATERSIDE STRUCTURES. 
G.   DUE TO HIGH RIVER LEVELS, DRIFT OF DEBRIS MAY BE AN ISSUE WITH NAVIGATION, AND IT MAY DRAG BUOYS OFF STATION AND SEVER BUOYS FROM THEIR MOORINGS. 
H.   ALL MARINERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ENSURE THAT ALL MOORED VESSELS AND BARGES ARE ADEQUATELY SECURED WITH THE ANTICIPATION OF INCREASED VELOCITY AND HIGH WATER. 
I.   COTP UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER REMINDS ALL MARINERS TO USE EXTRA CAUTION AND TO BE ESPECIALLY VIGILANT DURING ALL BRIDGE AND LOCK APPROACHES IN THESE ZONES DUE TO SWIFT CURRENTS. 

Click here to read the ITCS Memo #2595  

Check the ITCS website for most current memos

River' Report ........John Patrico, of Eagles Landing Marina, reported that the river conditions are fine....The floating debris is almost gone.....come on down.

River's Up - No where to go ........Except to the Yacht club

   Sat Sept 1st ....Labor Day Patio Bar Bash...2PM til Midnight 
BBQ.... Ray the DJ
Click here for more info

Fishing Report  ------ The Missouri Department of Conservation has issued this week's Fishing Report.  

Mississippi River (above St. Louis):

81 degrees, high, muddy; all species slow. 

(Report made on 8/30/2007)

Missouri River (below New Haven)

84 degrees, rising, muddy; catfish fair on natural baits; all other species fair. (Report made on 8/30/2007)

Check out the report for the entire state of Missouri

.................go to  http://www.mdc.mo.gov/fish/fishrt/

Updated Sat AT 8:30

RiverBills.com.... Visitor Counts  

We have surpassed last month's all time record visitor count !

     Total unique visitors for July 2007 as of 7-31-07 was......68,856

     Total unique visitors for Aug 2007 as of 8-31-07 is........ 84, 888

We have surpassed the 80,000 visitor mark this month

Thanks everyone for Logging On !

August 31, 1989 in River History ------  
   

St. Louis traded the MacArthur Bridge for the Eads Bridge with the Terminal Railroad Association .

Source: http://bridgehunter.com/mo/st-louis-city/macarthur/

Memorial Celebration for Helen Tully........

Where: Polestar Marina - Belle of the Night
Date: September 15, 2007
Time: 11:00 a.m.

Please join the Tully family, in remembering a beautiful loving woman, Helen Tully. She would love all of her friends and family to gather and have fun and remember.

Thanks!
Jan Schlichting

Palisades Yacht Club........

Bill,

Sunday.......Music by Charles Hillard from 3-6 p.m.

Sunday Night....Music by Heather and the Hollywoods  from 8-11pm see their web page below:
www.heatherandthehollywoods.com

Monday.....Music by "The Last Resort" 2-6pm

Also Barry plans to run Beef Brisket for the Special this weekend!!!

Thanks
Amy

Grafton's Landing Bar and Grill.......

HEY THERE BILL,

WE WILL BE OPEN LABOR DAY MONDAY SEPT 3RD AT 11:00 A.M. AND CLOSING AT 7 P.M.
LIVE MUSIC THIS WEEKEND IS.... TIM SESSION SAT. AT 7 P.M.

LUNCH SPECIAL - CHICKEN PHILLY $7.25
DINNER SPECIAL - ST. LOUIS STYLE RIBS $12.95

NEW HOURS OF OPERATION FOR SEPTEMBER, OCT & NOV
KITCHEN
   FRIDAY 11:OO A.M. - 10:00 P.M.
   SATURDAY 11:00 A.M. - 10:00 P.M.
   SUNDAY 11:00 A.M. - 7:00 P.M.
BAR
   FRIDAY 11:00 A.M. - 11:00 P.M.
   SATURDAY 11:00 A.M. - MIDNIGHT
   SUNDAY 11:00 A.M. - 9:00 P.M.

MARK BACHMAN

Saturday, Sept. 8 

    Great Grafton Pub Crawl .....Grafton's Landing Bar & Grill

GRAFTONS PUB CRAWL AROUND THE WORLD IS SEPTEMBER 8TH

JOIN US AT THE LANDING FOR AUTHENTIC JERK CHICKEN
$2.00 RUM PUNCH $3.00 RED STRIPE BEER
LIVE REGGAE MUSIC BY REDEMPTION 6 P.M. - 10 P.M.

$12.OO PER PERSON INCLUDES T- SHIRT AND TRANSPORTATION TO 9 DIFFERENT BARS IN GRAFTON

PLEASE CALL MARK @ 618-786-4745 FOR MORE DETAILS

MARK BACHMAN

From RiverBill's Message Board.....  

Name:    BeadMule (glmeinershagen@sbcglobal.net) 
Date:     Thu 30 Aug 2007 11:54:18 AM EDT 
Subject: Debris 

As of last night...8/29/07, the river was clean, very little trash

Click here to go to RiverBill's Message Board

Thirstday.. 30 August 2007

The Weekend is almost upon us !

 Updated Thurs at 5:30 PM ..Yacht Club of St Louis Labor Day Patio Bash

Our 1st River Pictures and e-mail of the Day .....  are from Dan and Laura Hamilton of Dan's Boats fame.  They sent us an update of the Hogback 2007 party.

River Bill-

Hogback 2007 was Great!   With the flooding up north the Coast Guard asked us not to bring the group up there- but the party must go on!   Two Rivers Marina said they would make a Hogback Party for us!   Both Jamie and John were great. They had activities planned for our group- about 100 boaters- and even took everyone out on the Party Barge which ended up being a great time on Saturday. We went 8 miles up the Salt River . Dan’s Boats had a Pig Roast on Friday, there were all sorts of contests and a dinner on Saturday Evening. There were great prizes from: Grafton Harbor , Port Charles Marina, Golf Graphics, Captain Jack’s & Bargain Books. On the return trip home we were locked thru with that traveling group of Gypsy’s on that crazy barge of theirs- so here they come! 

Next years commodores are Glen & Julie Morris who hail out of John’s Boat Harbor (I think) and if they hold to tradition it would be Aug 22-23-24, 2008. The motto is “All the way in 08!” So mark your calendars!

Photo courtesy of Steve Bachmann of GR8 XCAPE

Thanks, 

Dan & Laura
Dan's Boats
Your Source for Regal Sport Boats, Cruisers & Yachts!

Our 2nd River Picture and e-mail of the Day .....  are from Dan and Laura Hamilton of Dan's Boats fame.  They sent us an update of the Hogback 2007 party.

Bill - 

   The run to Hogback Island was cut short this year but not short on fun! Two Rivers Marina did a great job hosting us and it made for a good run even with the high water conditions. Laura and Dan Hamilton of Dan's Boats were great commodores! 

Here is a picture from Cutty's Ark! 

THANKS!

Susan 
Cutty's Ark
 

Yester Year's "River Pic of the Day"  .......  What was the.... Pic On This Day... in years past ? 

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Click on picture to enlarge

The River Picture on the Day In 2005 ---- was sent in by Jeri Behnke, who hails out of Two Branch Marina. 

Jeri wrote in her e-mail:

  Thought you would like these pictures form Sunday morning at Hat Island. I believe his name is Jim from Old Monroe. He landed on the beach....hung out for a little while.... and took off. It was really neat.

Jeri

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Flood Predictions ......

Predications below are from National Weather Service website as of 8:29 PM Tuesday, Aug 28

Winfield has crested an is predicted to go down below flood stage on Saturday 9-01-07

Grafton has crested an is predicted to go down below flood stage on Sunday 9-02-07

Alton Is predicted to crest on Thursday, 8-30-07, below flood stage.

Click here for current river levels and forecasts

 at Winfield, Grafton and Alton

Updated Thurs at 5:30 PM

River's Up - No where to go ........Except to the Yacht club

   Sat Sept 1st ....Labor Day Patio Bar Bash...2PM til Midnight 
BBQ.... Ray the DJ
Click here for more info

ITCS Memo # 2594....

Received the following ITCS memo by e-mail from the ITCS web site on Wednesday.  

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Subject: Safety advisory for high water on the UMR 
Date: Wed, 29 Aug 2007 14:54:30 -0500 
ITCS MEMO # 2594


THE FOLLOWING ZONES ARE IN THE HIGH WATER WATCH PHASE OF THE UMR WAP
ANNEX.

ZONES 17 AND 18 (MILES 410.5 - 457.1)
ZONES 20, 21, AND 22 (MILES 301.2 - 364.1) 
ZONES 24 AND 25 (MILES 241.4 - 301.1) 
ZONE 28 (MILES 109.9 - 185.4) 

ALL VESSELS SHOULD PROCEED AT THE SLOWEST SAFE SPEED BASED UPON PREVAILING CONDITIONS IN ORDER TO MINIMIZE WAKE DAMAGE. 

DOWNSTREAMING OPERATIONS ARE NOT RECOMMENDED FOR VESSELS 
OPERATING IN THE ZONES IN THE ACTION AND WATCH PHASES UNLESS THE VESSEL
IS EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN 75 FEET IN LENGTH AND THE VESSEL HAS A
MINIMUM OF 1800 HORSEPOWER. 

DUE TO HIGH RIVER LEVELS, DRIFT OF DEBRIS MAY BE AN ISSUE WITH NAVIGATION, AND IT MAY DRAG BUOYS OFF STATION AND SEVER BUOYS FROM THEIR MOORINGS. ALL MARINERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ENSURE THAT ALL MOORED VESSELS AND BARGES ARE ADEQUATELY SECURED WITH THE ANTICIPATION OF INCREASED VELOCITY AND HIGH WATER. 

COTP UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER REMINDS ALL MARINERS TO USE EXTRA CAUTION AND TO BE ESPECIALLY VIGILANT DURING ALL BRIDGE AND LOCK APPROACHES IN THESE ZONES DUE TO SWIFT CURRENTS. 


REH

Check the ITCS website for most current memos

RiverBills.com.... Visitor Counts  

We have surpassed last month's all time record visitor count !

     Total unique visitors for July 2007 as of 7-31-07 was......68,856

     Total unique visitors for Aug 2007 as of 8-29-07 is........ 79,194

Headed for 80,000 unique visits this month

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We have already surpassed the visitor count for the entire year of 2006 ! 

     Total unique visitors Jan 1- Dec 31, 2006....................352,450 

     Total unique visitors Jan 1 - Aug 29, 2007...................391,224

Could top a "Half Million"  unique visits this year !

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Thanks everyone for Logging On !

Fall Classic Cruise ------ 

It's that time again to look forward to seeing all the beautiful fall colors! The ACBS, Mississippi Valley Chapter will be hosting the 2nd annual Fall Classic Cruise from Grafton Harbor to Alton on Saturday, October 20, 2007.
We will meet at Grafton Harbor at 10:30am for those who wish to have a bite to eat first. The "Cruise" will begin promptly at Noon! We are looking forward to seeing everyone!
All boaters are welcome!
For more information email aelockhart@yahoo.com. 

See you on the river!
Alice Lockhart
ACBS-Mississippi River Chapter

Quincy Classic Boat and Outboard Show  ------  Sept 15 - 16, 2007

Hi Bill:

Want to let everyone know of a great event in Quincy, IL , September 15-16, 2007.

The Quincy Boat Club will host a Classic Boat and Outboard Show that is in conjunction with the Arts/Quincy Riverfest! There will be Arts, Crafts, Entertainment, Food and Water Ski Show! This is a great time and it is a nice ride! There are some great boats attending from the ACBS-Mississippi Valley Chapter attending this year. 

For more info contact aelockhart@yahoo.com. 

See you on the river!
Alice Lockhart

Capt'n Jack's Bar and Grill

   Sunday Evening.......Fried Chicken Dinner Special 

Fried Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Corn

Little John's Motorsports Update ------ Little John sent us the following racing update: 

Hi Bill

Well, we built another engine, and had it ready to race in one week.
Due to, what we thought, were tuning problems, was actually a bad ingnition trigger.
It was probably damaged when the engine exploded.
It was Sun. afternoon before we really got the boat dialed in.
Although we did not do well in the race, I think we held on to our points statous.

Please get the word out, that on the weekend of Sept. 8th &9th there is a race in New Athens Ill.
It is a little over an hour drive from my house at Woodland.
At this race, the association is welcoming anyone with a PWC that wants to race the entire weekend for $25.00
It looks like a lot of fun for many of our local people to see what they can do.
For bragging rights, racers will have time slips and everything.
The only requirements are a life jacket, and helmet.
If interested, please call and leave a message at 636 250 4187, or email to LITTLEJOHNSINC@aol.com

The Family And Team Of Little Johns Motorsports

River Bill says....We wish you and your team the best of luck ....

                         Go show them what your got ...And be safe !  

Little John's Motorsports Website Updated ------ Capt'n Darryll Weil, who hails out of the Yacht Club of St. Louis in the cruiser.....After You ....sent us the following e-mail:

Posted the latest drag boat racing update on www.littlejohnsinc.com

Go to http://www.littlejohnsinc.com/dragboatupdate.htm
to read the latest.
Darryll

Wednesday.. 29 August 2007

Our Pictures and e-mail of the Day .....  are from Justin Hess.  

Bill, 

Thought you might enjoy these. It was bad out this weekend. Tell everyone to be careful. We hit a submerged log just down river from Port Charles about 4 pm on Saturday. We got a tow from Twin Rivers Search and Rescue, what nice guys. The bilge pump had clogged and we were taking on a lot of water. 

Justin Hess
Some Beach

Yester Year's "River Pic of the Day"  .......  What was the.... Pic On This Day... in years past ? 

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Click on picture to enlarge

The River Picture on the Day In 2006 ---- was sent in by Capt'n Darryll Weil, who hails out of Yacht Club of St. Louis in the cruiser "After You" 

Darryll wrote:

Doug, from the boat "Gin Bucket II" sent me some pictures of Tip's latest return to the river.  Some of you may remember Tipper from Woodland Marina and the boat "Tip One".  Well, last year when he was in town, we did sort of an impromptu "Get Your Picture Taken With Tip" at Sharky's Cove.  Because some people questioned all the hoopla surrounding Tip's visits from Florida, Doug and some friends had T-Shirts made saying "It's All About Tip" and surprised Tipper with them while anchored in Two Branch.  Here's a couple of pictures of the occasion from Captain Gin Bucket, I mean Doug.

Enjoy, Darryll

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ITCS Memo # 2593....

Received the following ITCS memo by e-mail from the ITCS web site on Tuesday.  

Item "E" concerns Pool 26

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Subject: SAFETY ADVISORY FOR ILL. AND UPPER MISS RIVER 
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:21:13 -0500 
ITCS MEMO # 2593

SECTOR UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER ISSUES THE FOLLOWING SAFETY ADVISORY: 

A.   ZONE 7 (MM 145.6 - 180.9) ON THE ILR IS IN THE HIGH WATER ACTION PHASE OF THE ILR WAP ANNEX. 
B.   ZONES 5 AND 6 (MILES 102.0 - 145.5) ON THE ILR ARE IN THE HIGH WATER WATCH PHASE OF THE ILR WAP ANNEX. 
C.   ZONES 17 AND 18 (MILES 410.5 - 457.1), ZONES 20, 21, AND 22 (MILES 301.2 - 364.1), AND ZONES 24 AND 25 (MILES 241.4 - 301.1) ARE IN THE HIGH WATER WATCH PHASE OF THE UMR WAP ANNEX. 
D.   DOWNSTREAMING OPERATIONS ARE NOT RECOMMENDED FOR VESSELS OPERATING IN THE ZONES IN THE ACTION AND WATCH PHASES UNLESS THE VESSEL IS EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN 75 FEET IN LENGTH AND THE VESSEL HAS A MINIMUM OF 1800 HORSEPOWER. 
E.   ZONE 1 (MILES 0.0 - 9.9) AND ZONES 3 AND 4 (MILES 50.0 - 101.9) ON THE ILR ARE ANTICIPATED TO ENTER THE HIGH WATER WATCH PHASE OVER THE NEXT 2 DAYS DUE TO THE HIGH WATER CONDITIONS NORTH OF ZONE 4. 
F.   ALL TOWING VESSELS SHOULD PROCEED AT THE SLOWEST SAFE OPERATIONS SPEED BASED UPON PREVAILING CONDITIONS IN ORDER TO MINIMIZE WAKE DAMAGE. 
G.   DUE TO HIGH RIVER LEVELS, DRIFT OF DEBRIS MAY BE AN ISSUE WITH NAVIGATION, AND IT MAY DRAG BUOYS OFF STATION AND SEVER BUOYS FROM THEIR MOORINGS. 
H.    ALL MARINERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ENSURE THAT ALL MOORED VESSELS AND BARGES ARE ADEQUATELY SECURED WITH THE ANTICIPATION OF INCREASED VELOCITY AND HIGH WATER. 
I.    COTP UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER REMINDS ALL MARINERS TO USE EXTRA CAUTION AND TO BE ESPECIALLY VIGILANT DURING ALL BRIDGE AND LOCK APPROACHES IN THESE ZONES DUE TO SWIFT CURRENTS.

Check the ITCS website for most current memos

RiverBills.com.... Visitor Counts  

We have surpassed last month's all time record visitor count !

     Total unique visitors for July 2007 as of 7-31-07 was......68,856

     Total unique visitors for Aug 2007 as of 8-28-07 is........ 75,558

Headed for 80,000 unique visits this month

~~~~~^~~~~~~^~~~~~~^~~~~~~^~~~~

We have already surpassed the visitor count for the entire year of 2006 ! 

     Total unique visitors Jan 1- Dec 31, 2006....................352,450 

     Total unique visitors Jan 1 - Aug 28, 2007...................387,558

Could top a "Half Million"  unique visits this year !

~~~~~^~~~~~~^~~~~~~^~~~~~~^~~~~

Thanks everyone for Logging On !

Palisades Yacht Club Benefit Car Show.......Sunday October 28th

TROPHYS FOR:
  ~ MAYOR’S AWARD
  ~ BEST ENGINE
  ~ BEST PAINT
  ~ BEST OF SHOW

Proceeds go to:  Our Lady Of The Rivers Shrine Children's Cancer Fund

Click here for more information

Fiberglass By Lehman ......  

  If you dream it, I can build it.  If you break it, I can fix it.

  Check out their website at www.fiberglassbylehman.com

New...Yacht Club Of St. Louis Happy Hour Specials ......  

   Wed, Thur, Fri ......4PM - 6PM

        2 for 1 Mixed Drinks

        Crown Valley Wines $3.00 Glass

        Longnecks $2.00.....99 Cent Drafts

....          Click here for more info on Happy Hour Specials

From RiverBill's Message Board.....  

Name:      Mary (marygrogalski@charter.net) 
Date:        Fri 24 Aug 2007 01:16:28 PM EDT 
Subject:    Artificial Palm Trees For Sale

Before I list these on ebay, I thought I would see if anybody locally would be interested in buying one. The palm tree is 7 foot tall, with 4 holographic leaves which have the green rope type lighting outlining them, a yellowish/brown rope light that circles around the trunk of the tree and a stand to set it all in. Great for lighting up a boat dock or swimming pool. I'm selling them for $80. If interested call 314-724-1222 or reply to this message

Click here to go to RiverBill's Message Board

Paddlefest 2007......   Battle of the Paddle, Kayak Race & Skills Challenge

     September 1, 2 and 3,  2007

     Louisiana, Missouri on the Mississippi River

• Kayak Skills Challenge and Races 

• Guided Tours of the Water Trail 

• Skills Clinics and Demonstrations 

• Sunday Awards Dinner at the Crown Valley Port House - Tievoli Hills 

• Outdoor Cooking Demonstrations 

• Camping and Lodging Available

• Tours of Lock & Dam #24 

• Riverfront Boat Displays 

• Saturday Wine & Cheese Social 

• Live Music and Wine Tasting 

• Local Arts & Antique Shops 

• Local B&B Openhouses 

• Paddling Clubs Welcome 

Click here for more information

Tuesday.. 28 August 2007

Updated Tue at 9:20 PM...... 

Visitor Counts, Added ITCS Memo 2593, My River Home Ad ,  Classic Marine Ad

Our Picture and e-mail of the Day .....  is from Island David Diederich.  He has some good information for the Pool 26 boaters.  

Hello Bill:

Unfortunately, we were unable to warn this boater about the low water conditions on the north side of Piasa Island. So here is a warning to everyone else. 

When high water conditions are expected further north, the Corp opens up the Alton dam. This often creates low water conditions closer to the dam. It is entirely possible to have flood conditions in Grafton and low water conditions in Alton.

Several attempts were made to pull the boat off with a rope, but eventually enough boaters jumped in the water and pushed him off. The water depth in the middle of the slough was about 8 inches. Currently, the deeper water is along the Illinois shore, but this can change at any time.

Island Dave

RiverBill says...Thanks for the picture and information Dave ! 

Yester Year's "River Pic of the Day"  .......  What was the.... Pic On This Day... in years past ? 

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Click on picture to enlarge

One of Our River Picture on the Day In 2005 ---- was sent in by Jan WIlliams of "Williams Boat Clean". 

Going To Jamaica Daze 2005

Jan wrote in her e-mail:

Here was our family's solution to the question:

Boat not big enough to haul your friends to Jamaica Daze ?   NO PROBLEM MON !!

Had a great time.

Thanks,

The Williams Family

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Flood Predictions ......

Predications below are from National Weather Service website as of 2:40 PM Monday, Aug 28

Winfield Is predicted to crest at 27 ft on Thurs 8-30-07

Grafton Is predicted to crest at 18.5 ft on Fri 8-31-07 

Alton Is predicted to crest at 19.1 ft on Sat Fri 9-01-07

Click here for current river levels and forecasts

 at Winfield, Grafton and Alton

City of Hannibal Installs 2 of 5 Floodgates .... Crest Prediction Lowered ......  

   According to a news story on nbcactionnews.com, the river city of Hannibal has installed 2 of it's 5 floodgates.  The other three will not be installed unless crest predictions are increase again. 

   The river city's downtown is protected by an earthen levee that has slots built in it where streets pass through.   When the Weather Service lowered the crest prediction last Saturday to 19.8 feet, only on streets at the lowest elevation required the gates to be installed.. 

  Click here to read the news story on nbcactionnews.com

ITCS Memo #2592......   
   Subject: Updated MSU Chicago BNM for ILR High Water 
   Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2007 15:45:26 -0500 

Marine Safety Unit Chicago Issued Safety Advisory Illinois River High Water:

Click here to read the ITCS Memo #2592  

Check the ITCS website for most current memos

Updated Tue At 7:20 PM

ITCS Memo # 2593....

Received the following ITCS memo by e-mail from the ITCS web site on Tuesday.  

Item "E" concerns Pool 26

~~~~^~~~~~~^~~~~~~^~~~~~~^~~~~~~

Subject: SAFETY ADVISORY FOR ILL. AND UPPER MISS RIVER 
Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 14:21:13 -0500 
ITCS MEMO # 2593

SECTOR UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER ISSUES THE FOLLOWING SAFETY ADVISORY: 

A.   ZONE 7 (MM 145.6 - 180.9) ON THE ILR IS IN THE HIGH WATER ACTION PHASE OF THE ILR WAP ANNEX. 
B.   ZONES 5 AND 6 (MILES 102.0 - 145.5) ON THE ILR ARE IN THE HIGH WATER WATCH PHASE OF THE ILR WAP ANNEX. 
C.   ZONES 17 AND 18 (MILES 410.5 - 457.1), ZONES 20, 21, AND 22 (MILES 301.2 - 364.1), AND ZONES 24 AND 25 (MILES 241.4 - 301.1) ARE IN THE HIGH WATER WATCH PHASE OF THE UMR WAP ANNEX. 
D.   DOWNSTREAMING OPERATIONS ARE NOT RECOMMENDED FOR VESSELS OPERATING IN THE ZONES IN THE ACTION AND WATCH PHASES UNLESS THE VESSEL IS EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN 75 FEET IN LENGTH AND THE VESSEL HAS A MINIMUM OF 1800 HORSEPOWER. 
E.   ZONE 1 (MILES 0.0 - 9.9) AND ZONES 3 AND 4 (MILES 50.0 - 101.9) ON THE ILR ARE ANTICIPATED TO ENTER THE HIGH WATER WATCH PHASE OVER THE NEXT 2 DAYS DUE TO THE HIGH WATER CONDITIONS NORTH OF ZONE 4. 
F.   ALL TOWING VESSELS SHOULD PROCEED AT THE SLOWEST SAFE OPERATIONS SPEED BASED UPON PREVAILING CONDITIONS IN ORDER TO MINIMIZE WAKE DAMAGE. 
G.   DUE TO HIGH RIVER LEVELS, DRIFT OF DEBRIS MAY BE AN ISSUE WITH NAVIGATION, AND IT MAY DRAG BUOYS OFF STATION AND SEVER BUOYS FROM THEIR MOORINGS. 
H.    ALL MARINERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ENSURE THAT ALL MOORED VESSELS AND BARGES ARE ADEQUATELY SECURED WITH THE ANTICIPATION OF INCREASED VELOCITY AND HIGH WATER. 
I.    COTP UPPER MISSISSIPPI RIVER REMINDS ALL MARINERS TO USE EXTRA CAUTION AND TO BE ESPECIALLY VIGILANT DURING ALL BRIDGE AND LOCK APPROACHES IN THESE ZONES DUE TO SWIFT CURRENTS.

Check the ITCS website for most current memos

Old River News

   Race For The Rivers....... The was a news story in the St Charles County Journal, dated 23 Aug 2007,  that has some good information about the Race For The Rivers Festival that took place last Saturday on the Missouri River and Frontier Park in St. Charles, Mo

    Click here to read the news article

    Click here to go the "Race For The Rivers" website. 

                    (Added to left column of this page RiverBill's)

A Rotten Apple Update.........