EXPLORER'S ARRIVED IN PITTSBURGH

We will share more later, but here are some photos of the day.  Most importantly, the photo at the top is Explorer at our docks!!  We also did a victory lap on all three rivers before docking.  Above is Explorer on the Allegheny River with the Convention Center on the left (Explorer's Green cousin!) Also link to RiverQuest's homepage for a bunch of info including our press release, WTAE's website for aerial footage of the arrival and an interview with board member Jim Cimino, KDKA for a fun interview with Karl and his daughter, Lydia (who refused to get out of his arms), and the the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's site that has an article and a video from today.  Wow, what a day!  Many thanks to all.

Our welcome Committee on the other side of Emsworth Lock and Dam. (above).

Captain Kim handling lines during our last of 49 locks into Pittsburgh (below).

.

The Mighty Ohio & Dodging Barges

See the Green Dot in the map to your right?? That is us today. Click on the map to see the new Google map of our trip. We have recently passed Owensboro, Kentucky at mile marker 756 on the Ohio River.  The Ohio River mile marker is our count down of river miles to Pittsburgh!

OK, we are not really dodging barges, but boy is there a lot of tow boat and barge traffic on this river. By water is still the cheapest way to ship goods around the world.

Today is Explorer's 6th day of delivery and she made the transition onto the Ohio River yesterday afternoon from a short stint on the Cumberland River and Lake Barkley. Yesterday morning we stopped at Green Turtle Bay Marina in Lake Barkley for fuel and a crew change. Kim Porr, Terrance Stockline and Ross Donaldson got on and Edsel and Billy got off.   Life on the boat takes on a special rhythm for all of us.

Update from the Explorer Crew

Hi, Everyone! Emily Harding here from RiverQuest headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA. I received this update yesterday afternoon from Karl Thomas. Enjoy! 

8/5/08 at 4:15pm: "Greetings from the Explorer delivery crew. We are approaching the end of the third day of our transit to Pittsburgh and despite a hiccup yesterday that set us back a few hours, the vessel is operating well. We are running 24-7 and the vessel is making about 8mph on average. Edsel and Billy are working 6-on/6-off shifts as deckhands to our delivery captains, Joseph and Kim Whitaker. Karl is cooking dinners and helping where he can. Fritz is extensively monitoring the propulsion system. We are in northwestern Mississippi and locked through the Aberdeen Lock on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway at 4:10pm today, at mile marker 357.5. The total trip is about 1,600 miles so we have a little over 1,200 miles to go. ETA in Pgh is still TBD. We still have 30+ more locks to go through and time per lock is a pretty big variable. Keep us in your prayers."

Good-bye Gulf Coast - Hello Pittsburgh!!

At 5:15am ET on August 3rd, 2008, M/V Explorer safely departed Bayou La Batre, Alabama en route to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  

At 1:35pm ET, vessel and crew passed through Mobile, Alabama after passing Dauphin Island and crossing Mobile Bay.

On board are Edsel, Billy and Karl from RiverQuest staff, Captains Kim Whitaker and Joseph - both contracted delivery captains, and Fritz Schukert, a Siemens contractor.

ALL SYSTEMS GO!

I'm Blue and That's Good

[Top: View up shaft opening into the engine room. Angled cylinder is the cutless bearing. Bottom: Blue-fit test of new ZF coupling after machining today. Test passed with >80% contact confirmed.]
I have found that you cannot rush precision machining. J&S is doing their best, but they won't be done with the second of two shaft couplings until tomorrow at noon. Everything moves back 24 hours or so. I have also witnessed blue-fitting two pieces of machined equipment for the first time. This is common in testing gear meshes and shaft fits with couplings and props. For us it's all couplings these days. Departure still hopeful for Saturday. If not, Captain Edsel will not be able to join us for the first leg from Bayou La Batre to Cincinnati, OH (5-6 days) due to his long needed family vacation. He and Billy are flying in tomorrow morning to Gulf Port, MS at 9:30am and I'm picking them up. Regardless of departure dates, we need Edsel for our owner's sea trial since he is the only staff person who drove the boat back before the latest repair and we want to be sure the propulsion system's response time has not been dampened by Siemens.