My daddy worked on the tow boat the Rosedale, that is where we lived. My dad and Charles Strait worked together. Charles and my dad would ride my brother and and myself on there motorcycle. I miss living in Rosedale, MS. Thanks for sharing. Jerry Edwards.
Love the Mississippi, traveling with my husband before he passed away. I have seen the river from top to bottom. Got some pictures of it. My husband was a trucker so I've been all over the States. Thank you Captain Kyle. A lot of places you go to I have been to on land
I don’t know if you’ve ever thought of it this way, but you have an artist’s eye. It really shows when you’re on the river. Best part is, you seem not to try to make art, you just do it naturally. Thanks for creating some beautiful art!
Great video of the river. You've been blessed to have found a damn cool job. Your job is not only cool, but in the years you have done it, the things these boats haul have helped keep this country and it's economy going. With your videos, you have been doing a modern version of what Mark Twain did, document the history of the Mississippi in the times each of you lived. Most of what he did was fiction of course, but in the details of writing his stories, he was describing what river life was like back in those days. Your videos actually show a slice of the reality of what it's like to be part of the crew of these mighty river towboats. Your videos will hopefully continue on to allow those in future generations to see what things were like in this era of river and American history for both regular folks and those who will come to professionally study that history in the future.
Reminds me of pushing large on the Elizabeth Dewy. Only boat I was ever on with WKN. I always wanted a ride on the Mississippi. That way we wasn’t working our ass off running through locks. Glad we had stationary rigging also. That’s a long way to carry everything. Actually we had it really good back then. Even had harbor boats when building and breaking tow.
I know the EZD and most it’s crew very well. Did you ride with Tony or Tim as captain? Jeremy McCannon as mate? I worked for Dave Dewey for years. That’s where I got my start on the deck, in the wheelhouse, and in the office. WKN for life. 👍🏻
See you are back on the river. Sure like your Videos. It reminds me of Chief Engineer Charley Eyer On the old Hortence Ingram in the 70s. He took 8 mm camera with him and Took alot of Film when on the Boat. Then he would put the Film on a big reel. He made shipping boxes of wood and shipped them to me .I showed them and it covered All the Rivers. I wonder what happened to them.
Thanks Capt. This week end The American Melody, the America and the American Countess was in Red Wing.. So many people you couldnt find a place to park. Goood luck
Wonder how many skate/snow-boarders don't realize that operating tons of cargo up and down navigable waterways is, from a physics standpoint, =/~ to how they maneuver their boards on their favorite life playground surface....bouncin' off the twists and turns...then applying a power "kick" to keep in motion??🤔🚢🛹...safe sailing Cap'n Kyle🍻👍
It's been fifty years since I was in a wheelhouse standing watch. Never a heavy- tow pilot I am intrigued with the electronic advances in radar and visual enhacement to the old paper chart books. I have watched you enough to know you are a very skilled pilot. Do you think the advanced electronics have allowed you to build your confidence as you head south on bigger and heavier tows?
It definitely makes my job easier. I was broke in wheelhouse “old school” with paper charts and radar only. We had just started getting GPS when I was steering as cub pilot. It is a great advantage and improvement in navigating the rivers. The problem is that it allows us to do more. The fine line between capabilities and unnecessary risk is still being sorted out. Overall the new technology is very helpful.
These videos have peaked my interest. I'm retiring mil in search of something once I'm done. I grew up in the bayous and water has been a significant part of my life, save for the time spent in deserts. 😂 How does one stumble on this line of work?
