Squall - start

We all enjoyed Southern style BBQ on the boat, courtesy of Joe & Diamond. James read his first journal entry to Joe:
"What was that? Nothing, just the kerosene lantern hitting the ceiling"

At around 4:30 we waved goodbye to them and headed back down the Ohio to meet the Mississippi.

The chop was a lot more vigorous with swells breaking over the bow and sweeping down the length of the deck. As we approached a turn in the river James pointed billowing husks of sand rising up off the distant bank. In seconds the airborne sand turned into a ribbon of yellow.
"Head for the bank, now."
Tenzin wheeled the boat to starboard and headed in.

The whitecaps came racing towards us as though the water had been sprayed by a machine gun. A hefty tree on the bank gave way with a bang. Branches sailed through the air. We had a 2 or 3 minutes at the most before the full brunt of the river squall hit us.