December 27th. and 28th. Wednesday and Thursday

I am writing this from a Super 8 in Gallipolis, Ohio while doing laundry. The guys are on the boat fixing her many ills.

On Tuesday we planned on an earlier start – about 8:30 or 9AM we were pulling anchor with the windless when lo and behold, it died. The Capt. figured out a way to get the monster up using muscle power. That thing has to weigh a ton, but they managed to do it. Sorry I missed capturing it on film. We finally got underway about 11:00AM. Shortly after taking off the unthinkable happened – the one and only generator that was keeping us going died a smoky death. Patrick discovered it – I know it had to scare him to death. Now we were in a mess, no heat, no running water, no lights – no nothin’. It was imperative we find a place to pull in, get parts and effect some repair. After several phone calls – everyone was so very helpful – I called Campbell’s Towing in Henderson, West Va. and was fortunate enough to speak to Mike (our Santa Clause). Most places on the river work on huge commercial vessels (tugs and such). Mike referred us to several but told us if we could not find anything else he would try to help us out. Needless to say – he became our savior. It was after dark when he directed us to his yard. We tied up along the small tug – not sure what her length is- but she is huge. He, (Mike) is head engineer, Wes a deck hand on a 155ft. Tug; his Pilot and engineer, Tanner all got to work – in minutes they had the generator up, but it didn’t last long. She overheated again. Wes drove us to the Super 8. I think was a bit disappointed we were not staying on the boat. He had planned on fixing breakfast for us. It seems they are confined to the boat - two weeks on and one week off.

Wednesday morning (of course everyone jumped in the shower as soon as we got to the motel – slept warm – it was heaven) Lionel had to take another shower – just cause he could- we started hunting down a place to move Achievement (Mike had to call his boss in Pittsburgh for permission prior to our tying up). I was elected to go into City Hall at Point Pleasant, W. Va. to plead our case for tie up to the city’s brand new riverfront docks. I met Mayor Jim Wilson and the Chief of Police. They were most cordial – not a problem they said. The Mayor gave me his number and said to call if we needed anything at all – and they would check on us. From there we visited the Lowe Hotel. It is said to be haunted. What a cool place. Lionel inquired for rooms to move to, so we could be close to the boat once we moved her to the City Docks.

The town of Point Pleasant known for the sightings of the Mothman. It is said that the Silver Bridge that crossed the river to Ohio collapsed back in the 60’s. Prior to the collapse there were several sightings of the Mothman by the townspeople. They believe he was trying to warn them of the impending collapse of the bridge. Some 160 people were killed or injured. Since the collapse of the bridge, he has not been seen. They have a statue of him in the center of town. Of course we had our picture taken with him.

It was getting late in the day, so we hurried back to get Achievement moved before nightfall. Lo and Behold she captured the heart of yet another man - the head engineer Mike. He was waiting when we arrived – and said he would work on her. Wow! What a coup! A real professional at all the systems. He had her boiler up and running last night and offered to stay later and get the pumps going so we could stay on board. What a terrific guy! We wouldn’t let him work any longer last night – so we stayed at the Super 8 again.

Prior to leaving I asked if we could see the inside of one of the tugs. He took us on a tour of the 155 footer. I was so excited I felt like jumping up and down. It is so big. Has 11 cabins (big cabins), huge galley with a walk in pantry, TV room and exercise room. The engine rooms are spotless, the engineer on that tug, Jeff, was apologizing like crazy because there was a little bit of oil on the floor and some handprints. (He also told me that he repairs all the systems on that tug, and if he can’t – Mike does.) I invited him to see our engine room if he wanted to feel good! We got to the pilot house – man is that way up there. These are the tugs that move 15 coal barges up and down the river. They are 3 abreast and 5 long. Mike explained the workings of the engines, generators and controls. I got to direct the big spot light. My gosh – it was great! Reminded me of Mark letting me play sometimes at the Fire Station – you know- blowing the siren, shooting the water hose, going up in the ladder truck. I am so lucky! Mike promised me tonight he would take us on the bigger tug (tied up in front of Achievement) so I could take pictures. In my excitement last night, I forgot my camera in the cabin.

So…. for the past two nights Achievement has been well protected by some pretty big guys, and she now has the absolute best working on her. We are confident we will be setting off tomorrow AM with all systems going. What a treat! What excitement! Wouldn’t have missed this for the world!