GL: Mobile to Chicago

[Writerfred@aol.com]

Chuck:
 
There are two important considerations.
 
Under no circumstances would I suggest you attempt to come up the lower  
Mississippi from New Orleans to Cairo, Illinois.  The only reasonable route  to 
use is the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway from Mobile, then the Tennessee and  
Ohio to reach the Mississippi at Cairo where you would turn upriver toward St.  
Louis and beyond.
 
You didn't give the height of your mast.  If you travel the above  route and 
your mast is more than about 50 feet, get the mast removed  in Mobile and 
trucked to your destination.
 
If you wait until after Memorial Day as you have already planned, you  should 
be able to miss most of the spring runoff.  Current enroute to Cairo  should, 
therefore, be negligible.  On the upper Mississippi, however,  expect a 
current of 4 to 5 mph.  So the roughly 200-mile stretch  of water between Cairo and 
Grafton, Illinois, will be a slow grind. 
 
My best guess is that you had better allow from 4 to 6 weeks for  that trip.
 
Despite that, however, fall would be a delightful time to bring the  boat 
back down south.
 
Contact me off list if you would like to discuss this further.
 
Fred Myers
CruiseGuide Author & Publisher



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