Logston Tug Service MM 88

Approaching Beardstown, IL

We departed IVY Club after taking on fuel at 845AM.  We were going to stop at a marina at MM 120 but the owner called me to say the water levels were down and he was concerned about the depth of his channel.  He did say it was mud not rock but we decided to keep moving.  As we passed the marina and took a look we are glad we did.

This is the lock and dam of the day.  The "wickets" are up so we have to lock through.  If the water was higher the wickets are lowered and you pass right over the dam, obviating the lockage.  As it was we were allowed to float in the lock so no tie off was necessary.   

 A new sport on the river system, shooting Asian Carp the invasive species wreaking havoc to the estuary.  Note the young man with the bow and the Dad holding the fish with the arrow through it.  When a metal boat moves quickly the Asian carp jump out of the water becoming a good target.  I also saw fisherman wearing helmets to protect themselves from the jumping carp which can weigh up to 90 pounds.

Bryce likes to sit in the Mate's chair but usually on the Mate's lap. 

 Our stop for the evening, Logston Tug Service, no amenities or power but a barge to tie to and shore access for Bryce
We are docking behind the crane barge, the mate is poised for action.  We arrived at 300PM.

 Here we are docked.  Not bad for $1 per foot.  I asked about the cable TV connection and the dockhand howled with laughter.  I walked into town and decided our meal on board was the best bet.  The mate agreed.  Glad we have a generator for power.  

Chef Tell performed flawlessly on the ship's grill. The barge is tied up behind us not moving towards us.  

Now this barge is "fleeting" but luckily the Captain slowed down to not "wake" us.

Peoria, IL MM168

We left at 7 AM for our 75 mile run with one lock to Peoria, IL and the Illinois Valley YC.  the scenery has steadily improved as you can see.  

 OK, right or left at this fork?  Glad I have a chart plotter.  

Thunderstorms were all around on the Sirius Weather screen.  Luckily all but one brief shower eluded us.  This one passed behind us. 

 A "river" lighthouse

The Illinois River had severe flooding twice this year.  I guess this vessel washed ashore during high water. 

Our destination was the Illinois Valley Yacht Club aka IVY.  IH is tied up to the wall in front of the clubhouse.  They had pictures of the flood water up 4 feet in the dining room which is on the second level here.  Can't believe since the flood in June they have repaired all the damage.  The marina is in a protected basin but it is shallow at the entrance, about 4 feet which is what IH needs.  Luckily soft mud so I pushed through.   

Ottawa, IL MM 242

We departed at 830AM after calling the lock which was only 2 miles downstream, he said come on down.  The scenery is becoming more bucolic and less industrial. 

 We were not so lucky at the next and final lock of the day, Marseilles.  Due to some ongoing work repairing flood damage we had to wait 1 1/2 hours before being allowed to enter the chamber.  Oh well, it is boating.  

 There is commercial traffic but the towboats are much smaller than I am used to on the Ohio River. I always call the captain to ask his passing preference, port (called one whistle) or starboard (two whistles).  I need to take a course to understand the drawl.

Grain elevators replace refineries and steel mills.  Railcars and trucks bring the grain from the fields and then it is loaded into silos and then barges for the journey south.  We did pass a nuclear power plant though.

During a midweek day we did see a few fishing boats and these two beached houseboats.  Yes we did slow down to minimize our wake.

We arrived at Heritage Harbor Marina for the night.  A courtesy car was provided as we needed to provision and I needed oil so Walmart here we came.  Nice restaurant at the marina as well.  No rain today for our two locks and 32 miles.  This was one of the nicest stops on the Illinois.

Illinois River MM 273 Harborside Marina

This was our 48th day since leaving Syracuse (Brewerton) NY.  We have traveled 1350 miles. We traveled down the Calumet River until the junction with the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.  Very narrow and industrial.  There is only room for a tow and her barges.  You must always have a plan to duck in between the barges to wait for the tow to pass.  Luckily I only had to do this once.  Also a bridge along the route is the limiting bridge for the entire loop at 19 feet 1 inch.  The river level however was down so I had 19 feet 10 inches.  I needed 19 feet as I measured and remeasured it numerous times.  I went very slowly with Debbie on the bow eyeing our radar.  Luckily no scrape.

We had two locks to pass through and guess what, it rained in the lock.

After Debbie secured the line to the cleat I relieved her as it was raining.  IH is tied to a floating bollard the rises and falls with the water level in the lock.  In our case it fell.  




Our stop for the night was Harborside Marina at MM 273.  Again we were placed on the fuel dock.  No town nearby and since it was Monday the restaurant, which looked very nice, was closed.  We grilled out a nice meal.  Note IH in the background.  The floating homes are individually owned.  Many have boats tied up along side.  Also on shore are very nice homes.  

Illinois River

We departed MI City, IN, at 9AM for our 50 mile trip to a marina on the Illinois River.  Our route took us along the south end of Lake MI towards Chicago.  We elected not to visit downtown Chicago.  Our height of 19 feet precluded us from taking the Chicago river route which was height limited to 17 feet.  We entered the Calumet River at this breakwater.  I must admit I was glad to be off of Lake MI.

This area is very industrial for a number of miles.  Bridge after bridge both highway and railroad.  This one is a RR bridge as it remains open until a train is coming.  A siren goes off and down it comes.

This RR bridge was supposed to be open so I called them on the radio and he said he would open.

Eagle eye Debbie spotted another Island Hopper.  We have seen a few in the last 7 years.

The Illinois River had bad flooding this spring and again early Summer.  Many of the marinas in the cruising guide were damaged and not open.  Others were for small boats with no docks for Island Hopper.

This was one of the better ones but note the sunken vessel in the slip.  We moved on.

We passed this marina and turned around to take a look.  Several large boats which meant it was deep enough for us.  We proceeded slowly and pulled into an empty slip.  No one answered the radio or telephone as it was a Sunday.  A local boater walked out very nicely to take a line from Debbie.  You will see IH at the end of the dock.  In the background is a large mound, a landfill complete with methane flares and seagulls galore.  Luckily we were upwind.  This marina at mile marker 324 was Marine Services.  It has huge buildings for inside heated storage of boats primarily from Chicago I was told.  No restaurant or civilization nearby so we grilled out

Michigan City, IN

What a difference a day makes.  calm leaving St Joe today as we head south 35 miles to Michigan City, a two hour run.

 The municipal marina is very large but almost entirely leased to seasonal boaters.  Transients are assigned slips when locals are traveling.  

 We entered the breakwater at MI City after a rolly passage as the waves were on our beam, not bad but uncomfortable.   

 We missed "our" party on Friday night but we were able to catch up with most of our friends from FL who have homes in MI City area for lunch.  Pictured here with Debbie are Rob, Nora, Carol and Ed.  

 This is Rob and Nora's home which looks right on Lake MI.  

I took a picture of this boat in the Marina as it is identical to one I owned in Cincinnati when I met Debbie in 1990, a 32 foot Marinette built in Louisville, KY.  All aluminum so they last forever if cared for.  

Benton Harbor/St. Joseph, MI

 Our departure was delayed by rainstorms until 10 AM.  We wanted to make Michigan City, IN, 80 miles, for this evening as 4 couples who have condos in our development in FL were having a gathering for us as they all have summer homes there.  

 I thought the plan aggressive! We entered the lake and all was well, so we speeded up to cruising speed.  The seas were predicted to be 2-4 feet, manageable.  Well, not for long as the winds increased so did the seas to 4-6 right on our bow, we were crashing through it.  

We called our hosts and told them the news we had to seek shelter in St Joseph/Benton Harbor, 35 miles short of our goal, a distance of 45 miles.  We said we would try to rent a car there.  We entered the inlet and there were large rollers, so in we surfed.  A boater on our dock saw his coming and took the pictures as we rolled in.  It was supposed to be no wake but I came in at 18 MPH to ride the back of the wave.  When we tied up at the marina Debbie did a damage assessment.  Some items knocked around but a porthole in our cabin had come open during one of the times we buried the bow in a wave so the cabin including our bed,  my clothes and a new apple laptop. were soaked.  The ONLY saving grace, was that it was NOT salt water.  With the work of restoring the cabin we decided to not rent a car to visit our friends.  

 Adjacent to the marina was the St Joe YC.  We called and made a reservation.  When we arrived I showed my St Pete YC card for reciprocity.  It wasn't in their YC book so the manager said sorry.  Luckily the boater that took our pictures walked in for dinner so we were admitted as his guests.  Boaters are a friendly and helpful lot.

 The marina only had a few transient slips so they put us on the fuel dock for the night, worked great.  

 This municipal marina like many in MI is clean and reasonable. Luckily there was a laundry (free) so we did 7 loads of soaked clothes.  The computer was shot.  We dried the mattress in the sun.



Not being a fisherman I wonder why they need so many poles!