Great Loop Overall Statistics to date:
Average Miles/Day: 47.1
Total Hours Underway: 484.5
Average speed (mph): 7.5
States Transited: 14
Total Days: 165
Travel Days: 76
Locks: 48
Fuel Purchased: 902.5
Miles / Gallon: 3.5
Nights at Extra Days
Marinas: 46 83
Anchor: 19 6
City dock: 3 0
Free Wall: 9 4
Mooring: 0 0
Day 73 Leaving Chicago
After hearing stories about crowds of jetskis, paddleboarders, tour boats and general mayhem on the Chicago River in downtown Chicago, we decided to leave really early so we could be the first ones through the lock from Lake Michigan into the River. Adding to this decision was a gale warning with forecast 35-40mph wind gusts later in the day. We left the marina at 0600 and got to the lock by 0630. We were the only boat there, and went straight through. Downtown Chicago was incredible, with the sun just rising and reflecting off the buildings. Having left so early, we didn't see another moving boat for nearly four hours! It was like we had the whole river to ourselves. We had a 45 minute wait at the Lockport lock partway along and the winds were really howling and swirling down in the bottom of the lock chamber 40ft below the high water level. We arrived at the free bulkhead wall (with power!) in Joliet just in time to tie up and close up the windows and hatches before a strong thunderstorm came through. Good timing, I think.
Day 74 Leaving Joliet
We left Joliet at 0700 with a flotilla of 4 other boats to transit the 3 locks today as a group - this is preferred by the lockmasters since pleasure craft have a lower priority of transiting than commercial traffic. The first lock went smooth with only a 30 minute delay for filling the chamber when we arrived. Later in the day, however, at the second lock, we had to wait for a tow to complete locking before we entered. This required holding position in the river while the lock was readied for us. At the last lock of the day, a barge was half de-coupled and had to finish locking through and then be reassembled before the lock could be filled and made ready for us. This was about a 2 hour delay for us. Instead of trying to hold position in the high winds, we dropped anchor upstream of the lock to wait. This gave us time to put the mast back up since the remaining bridge clearances were not going to be a height problem. We finally got through the lock and tied up at the marina just on the other side by 6:00PM. This was an 11 hour day for us ------ with only about 6 hours of actual travel time! We were looking forward to spending a few days in town.
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Great Loop Travel Days (GLTD):
073: Joliet IL from Chicago IL
074: Ottawa IL from Joliet IL
Map of our Overall Great Loop travel:
GLTD073 Joliet IL (from Chicago IL): We departed the marina at 6:00, now Central Time. Lake Michigan was windy with choppy seas, as the sun rose.
We transited the approximate 4-foot drop of Chicago Harbor Lock at 6:30; we were the only boat. This the first lock we’ve transited that didn't want us to lash lines on cleats AT ALL! Wind and turbulence made it hard for me to hold the bow in by hand alone.
🔷 Boater Tip: Transit Chicago Harbor Lock at dawn for reduced traffic.
Milestone: With entry into this lock, we left Lake Michigan, and we have completed our travel of the 3 Great Lakes on our loop: Lake Erie, Lake Huron, and Lake Michigan.
Now, we will start the long winding journey south that many loopers refer to as the “inland rivers”.
This map shows our tentative travel stops along the river. I built a map (pretty quickly) to help me find the “route” at a glance. I kept getting confused trying the follow the way on a map, with all the creeks and intersecting rivers winding east, west, north, and south. 🤔
As I understand it 😉, we will start on the Illinois, then travel portions of the Mississippi, the Ohio (1 stop, in purple), the Cumberland, the Tennessee, the Tenn-Tom (Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway), and finally the Mobile Rivers, before entering the Gulf of Mexico to head west along the Florida panhandle.
Now, it’s SHOW TIME! Here is a time-lapse video of our cruise through downtown Chicago amid the high-rises.
Some of Chicago’s Iconic Buildings:
St. Regis, c.2020, (wavy blue towers, center of photo) is the third tallest skyscraper in the city. With the St. Regis, architect Jeanne Gang earned the honor of having created the world's tallest structure designed by a woman. The uppermost section of the structure contains unoccupied and open floors, which allow winds to blow through and prevent the rest of the tower from swaying.
The photo below features old, modern, and ultra-contemporary buildings. London Guarantee Building (curved building 2nd from left), Marina City (corncob-looking towers, center), and Trump Tower (far right).
Marina City, c.1968, was the original city-within-a-city development. The complex suddenly made it cool to live downtown and included innovative amenities for the time, such as an on-site grocery store, bowling alley, and marina. The towers’ famous corn cob shapes make them instantly recognizable.
London Guarantee Building, c.1923, is one of four structures that have anchored the Michigan Avenue Bridge since the 1920s. Its design is the epitome of the Beaux-Arts style, filled with classical references like Corinthian columns and Roman figures engraved in the stone façade.
Trump International Hotel & Tower, 2009. The Trump Tower is designed with three setbacks. Each setback points toward an architecturally significant neighbor. The setbacks allow for "communication" with surrounding buildings. At 16 stories, the first is to the east of Trump Tower and corresponds to the height of the Wrigley Building. At 29 stories, the second points both north toward River Plaza and west to Marina City. All the way up at 51 stories, the third setback is west of Trump Tower and relates with Mies' last Chicago project, 330 N. Wabash Ave.
The photo below highlights a couple of older buildings.
Wrigley Building (left), c.1922: Built in the early ’20s, the terra cotta complex, consisting of two buildings: a 30-story south tower connected to a 21-story north tower via an elevated walkway, was Chicago’s first air-conditioned office building. Six different shades of gleaming white terra cotta become brighter as the building rises, and its facade is illuminated at night.
Tribune Tower (right), c.1925: In addition to its notable neo-Gothic design, the structure features fragments from some the world's most famous structures—the Taj Mahal, Great Wall of China, Angkor Wat, and the Great Pyramids—embedded in its exterior. Colonel McCormick, the newspaper's owner, and his cousin, Tribune co-editor and co-publisher Joseph M. Patterson, had escape hatches built into their palatial, wood-paneled offices on the Tower's 24th floor. The one in Patterson's office is still there. You open a hidden door and there's a narrow, winding wood stair leading to the floor above. In the original blueprints, the secret passageways were labeled file rooms.
Ref: https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2000-07-06-0007060218-story.html
By 7:30 CT, we were out of the downtown area and beginning our “downbound” river travel.
🔷 Boater Tip: In addition to transiting the lock, navigating the Chicago River downtown in the early morning with no other moving boats around is a welcome pleasure.
While waiting for an opening of the Chicago Amtrak bridge – the one bridge that is too low for SCOUT to go under (even with just 12.5ft air draft with mast lowered) - we tied briefly to the wall at a Chinatown park to wait.
🌎 Small World: I had a “conversation” with a cute couple that did not speak English. By pointing to me, then himself, then SCOUT…I knew the gentleman was joking that he wanted ME to take HIM with us on SCOUT down the river. We both smiled. 😊
The Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal is very industrial, making for interesting contrast with the Chicago skyline.
By mid-morning, we were on the Illinois River, with more pleasant scenery, …
… interspersed with barge traffic/congestion. No complaints here though; I like having stuff when I need it. 😊
⏱ Commercial Traffic Delay: ~15-minute delay.
The captain of Warrior (one of the tows in the photo) radioed SCOUT and advised to hold up; he had to "put one in the ‘hole’," and he would radio when safe to pass.
A little later, the tow captain radioed, advising it was safe to proceed; "See you on the 1." (In this case -- passing an oncoming vessel, “1 whistle” meant we passed port to port.).
🔷 Boater Tip: Make sure you know the passing “whistle signals” (1 or 2, when approaching or overtaking a vessel); these are used almost exclusively by the tow operators.
SCOUT keeps a laminated cheat sheet at the helm:
Just before entering our 2nd lock for the day, Lockport Lock, wind picked up to 13 mph on the nose. We closed the windows, since the barges around us were loading ash (or something black and dusty).
⏱ Lock Delay: ~90-minutes (45 minutes waiting for the green light to enter the chamber, and another 45 minutes to be lowered 40 feet).
Again, with the strong winds, I was worn out trying to hold SCOUT in place for the down-lock. Ray inserted this picture in order to make one think it was easy!
🔷 Boater Tip:Floating vs. Fixed bollards: Many of the locks on inland rivers offer fixed or floating bollards for holding the boat in place. (The photo of Lisa, above, shows a line lashed around a floating bollard.)
Various guides will indicate what options are offered at each lock so you can have your lines ready. In addition, lock operators will usually advise how they want you to secure. If they don’t advise, ask before entering the chamber.
SCOUT’s floating bollard process:
For floating bollards, SCOUT has 2 lines made up that are much shorter than our dock lines. One end of our bollard line has an eye which we secure through our mid-ship cleat (as we would a dock line).
We threaded a small section of stiff hose over the line, which helps us guide the line over the top of the floating bollard.
We then lash (never fully cleat or tie) the free end of the line to the same mid-ship cleat with a single “S” to hold SCOUT steady during lockage. Notice, in the cleat photo below, no part of the line overlaps another part of the line, so it is not “tied off” or “locked in”.
By holding the line in the same position on the cleat, the floating bollard will move up or down (with the strain from the line).
Fixed bollard handling: With a fixed bollard at the top of a lock, you must manage the line tension as the water level changes -- either release a little bit of line from the cleat for locking down, or tighten the line lashed around the cleat for locking up.
The photos below show a boat with a line lashed around a red fixed bollard at the top of the lock chamber (left), and an “S” lash around the cleat (right) – the way SCOUT “holds” during lockage.
Back under way, a severe weather band was heading our way (expected to cross our path in ~50 minutes), and we were taking some spray over the bow. (The gusts we had felt in the lock were probably from that storm system.)
💲 Free wall: We arrived in Joliet and got tied up to the wall, secured lines, and plugged in the power (also free) by mid-afternoon. We were both starving, so we quickly heated frozen leftover Gluten Free pizza.
We finished pizza, and had showers, just in time for the tornado warnings and a storm to pass.
By the time the storm passed, there were 5 boats tied up on the wall in Joliet, including fellow Great Harbour mv Knot Fast. After the storm passed, Ray made plans to coordinate departure the next day with mv Knot Fast, so that our little group of recreational vessels (or pleasure craft, “PC’s” as the commercial guys call us) transit the locks together (preferred by lock operators).
🔷 Boater Tip: Since commercial traffic and barges have priority in transiting the locks, the lock operators prefer that the “PC’s” travel in groups so that they can be locked through all at once. In addition, they like to have a single appointed communicator over the radio in the group to coordinate the lock activity for the whole group. Making the lock operators as happy as possible is a good thing.
Since we were both exhausted, we retired early – shortly after this beautiful sunset was “painted” after the storm.
GLTD074 Ottawa IL (from Joliet IL): The "Joliet flotilla" of 5 boats departed at 7:00 am.
We arrived at the 1st of 3 locks, the Branson Rd Lock, within 1/2 hour.
⏱ Lock Delay: 1 hour, including a 25-minute wait for the green light to enter the 20-foot down-lock.
Thanks to mv Knot Fast for these awesome before-and-after photos of SCOUT in the lock.
Along the Des Plaines River, I saw a large flock of white pelicans …
… and 2 white swans.
By mid-morning the “Joliet Flotilla” arrived at the 2nd of 3 locks, the Dresden Lock, a 20-foot down-lock, where we waited about 1/2 hour for a northbound tow to finish locking up (with a 2-part load that had to be rebuilt).
Since there were only 2 floating bollards (on theier preferred south wall), the lock operator instructed us to raft up. SCOUT rafted 3-deep with 2 other boats (front), and 2 other boats rafted behind us.
⏱ Lock Delay: 90 minutes total. Almost an hour after arriving at the lock, we got the “green light” to enter, then we spent 30 minutes rafting up and down-locking.
A funny thing happened on the way to Ottawa: The marina called us to confirm our draft & beam. They said they were having trouble finding a place that was over 16ft deep – what?!?!?! (Someone had written draft 16ft instead of beam 16ft! That’s not right! 😊) Oh! They did have room for us, they just needed to move us out of a slip and onto a face dock (side tie).
⏱ Lock Delay: 2.5 hours
At the 3rd (final) lock of the day, the Marseilles (26-foot down-lock), our “Joliet Flotilla” ‘sherpa’ radioed the lock when we were 1/2 hour away and found out we would not get the green light for about 90 minutes, so we all backed down speed from 7 knots to around 5 knots to better time our arrival.
After arriving outside the lock channel, when we then were told that it would be another hour, some of the boats, including SCOUT, set anchors and shut down engines.
An hour after setting anchor, we found out it would be another 30-40 minutes. 🤨 So, SCOUT took the opportunity to raise the mast back to normal position (as we were now past all of the lowest bridges on our route).
About 2 hours after setting the anchor, we finally got the “green light” to enter the lock.
Shortly after exiting the Marseilles Lock, we arrived at the marina. We arrived after hours, so Christie guided our group in, one at a time, and the dock staff caught our lines.
Not to Miss: Marina: 11 hours after departure, SCOUT (the last boat) was docked at Heritage Harbor Marina. There is no laundry, but a courtesy car can be used for a nearby laundromat, groceries, etc.
Marina staff and amenities are great, including a pool, walking trail, and a nightly river briefing with harbormaster Jeremy. We would be here at least 2 nights (resting up from a couple of long days.)
As the forecast for a local heat wave solidified, we decided to extend our stay at this peaceful marina a few nights, rather than swelter on anchor (or run the generator all night for air conditioning).
We thought we had a long day. A couple of nights later, a group of SEVEN boats just started arriving around 6:30 pm. They were part of a flotilla of 13 boats who spent almost 13 hours running the same 3 locks from Joliet IL. 😮
This is one of the first boats, mv Inked Mermaid turning into the fairway at sunset, while harbor master Jeremy readies to catch lines for the next boat, mv Subject to Change (in the channel, near center of photo).
I had a prime “seat” for the action atop our deckhouse.
Not to Miss: Food: There is an awesome restaurant overlooking the marina, the Red Dog Grill. We ate there several times. One day, we had lunch with fellow Great Harbour owners of mv Blue Barnacle, before exchanging boat tours. I was most impressed with the beautiful quilt she made.👍 On our last evening, Red Dog Grill had great live music outside by the tiki bar – “Fiddle Rock” by Casey McGrath.
Not to Miss: Food: I borrowed the courtesy van and drove the crews of 4 of our “Joliet flotilla”, SCOUT, mv Nauti Tradition & mv Varlabania, about 4 miles to The Lone Buffalo (with Tangled Roots Brewing); the farm-to-table food and “Farm-to-Foam” beer was delicious.
“Dockfix”: SCOUT hosted a showing of the movie Captain Ron on the dock, and were joined by the dinner crowd, plus another looper sailing catamaran sv Sand Dollar. Thanks to mv Nauti Tradition who brought their Therma cell to keep the bugs (though few) at bay.
Provisioning: Stores are 3-4 miles from the marina, and it seems there are no safe roads for scootering, so we used the courtesy van for 2 trips to different stores. I was reminded of shuttling youth during my youth counselor days. Wonderful memories! 😊
Chores: I washed a couple of small loads of clothes on SCOUT and cleaned inside the boat, while Ray washed the outside.
Minding the “stores”: We filled water tanks and pumped out holding tank, in preparation for several night on anchor or at free docks.
Route Briefing: Ray attended the complimentary route briefing by dockmaster Jeremy at the marina, discussing down-bound travel, covering the Illinois, Mississippi, and Ohio Rivers – about 1/2 of the inland rivers.
Jeremy provides this service every night. It is very thorough, and every night it is WELL attended.
What’s next? We will continue south on the Illinois and expect to get all the way down to the Mississippi.
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