Not Under Command Securitie', Securitie', this is the Motor Vessel Summer School a 46' Motor Yacht, located at mile 123 on the Mississippi River. I am Not Under Command, I have lost power in both engines and I am on the western side of the channel drifting out of control. I sent the boys down into the engine room to inspect for damage. Karyn is getting out the crane controls so we can lift the See-Doo into the water. As the song goes "we were sailing along…" There was a sudden jerk and the sound of ripping metal, then we lurched and the engines stopped. The engine alarms sounded and I turned off the keys. Then it got very quiet, very quickly. We're 40 miles south of St. Louis, MO. There is no real marina for 60+ miles either way. It could be worse, we're not taking on water. We have five sensors in the bilge, we have no holes and we're water tight, so far, The river is running and we're spinning south like a top, out of control @ 4 mph. We were following the Army Corps of Engineers Charts for the Upper Mississippi, we were on the sailing line, we must have gone over a wing dam. Whether it was missing from the charts or we missed it, it doesn't matter now. Wing dams are placed on the sides of the river to direct the water flow from the sides to the middle where the channel normally is. They keep the channel deep and the water quick. They are made from large unforgiving rocks. Going over the dam seems to have taken out the two propellers and damaged or destroyed the rudders. The struts and shafts are most likely twisted too. We need to get control and quickly. "Motor Vessel Summer School this is the towboat Elsie Tyler North bound at mile 116". "Elsie Tyler, Summer School". Yes, Summer School we are closing on you and will be abeam of you in 12 to 15 minutes. I have a tow of 9 barges and I am restricted in maneuverability. I will hold tight to the Eastern channel @ mile 120 until I have you in sight. Elsie Tyler can your render any assistance? No, we are short on crew and our rescue boat is under powered for what you need. I will call and see if I can locate a towboat that is without a tow and nearby, standby Summer School. Summer School standing by. Patti & Karyn are launching the Sea-Doo. Going over the wing dam was bad. But if I hit another stern first or on the beam end, I could drive the under water gear in and through the boat ripping her apart. If I hit bow first it will be noisy but safer. I figure I can take a hit to 45 degrees on either side of the bow and get by. Stern first and I'm going down. 45 degrees on either side of the bow is one quarter of a circle, I feel that I would be safe there, the other three-quarters of the circle would be very dangerous. That's a one in four chance of going over another wing dam and staying afloat. I need better odds. We launch the Sea-Doo and strap her to the side of the big boat. It's not working. We have 60 hp in the Sea-Doo and we're trying to control a 35,000 pound boat. We need another answer fast. (This was my first E-mail of our second year doing the great loop) Well, Now that I have your attention. I'm actually here in Brewertown, NY on the Erie Canal getting ready for our second summer of soing the Great Loop. This is my third night here, I splash the boat tomorrow. I've been bringing the boat back to life after her long winters nap. It's going down to 38 degrees tonight. I hate the cold, My knees are killing me. I turned up the heat in the hotel room twice last night. All is going well, my two boys, ages 13 and 14 fly up tomorrow night. As you can tell from the story, my imagination gets quite vivid when I get near the boat. Lets hope it's not a premonition of things to come. We should be here till the 3d or 4th on the outside. Welcome all to the continuing saga of the Clausen Family on "Summer School" @ www.maxumboat.com James Jim & Patti Clausen along with our 4 children here, we finished the Great Loop in Aug 2002, and now here is the statistics for our Two Year trip. The six of us were out for 132 days. We went to 84 different ports and traveled 6335 miles. We passed through ONE HUNDERED AND FIFTY FOUR DIFFERENT LOCKS, Plus Two Wicket Dams. Laura, Karyn, Jay, Aaron, Patti and James Clausen, www.maxumboat.com Our story along with our port log is on our website, our story has been in The Great Lakes Cruising Clubs "Lifeline" and in Heartland Boating. We live in Orlando Florida and keep the boat in St. Petersburg FL. I would be happy to answer any questions on the loop.