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Report From the Heartland

Oct 2, 2024

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Yesterday was a day! But I should start with the night before. Harborside Marina provided a glimpse into midwest summer. It hosted an inner harbor full of weekend liveaboard boats, a riverside "neighborhood" with tiny houseboats, lots of gravel, fire pits, horseshoes, a restaurant, marina buildings, fuel dock, and sadly, a horrific algal bloom. Oh, and wonderful hosts who would do anything for you including opening the fuel dock an hour and a half early in the morning.



Our first day of October started with the bow thrusters quitting as we exited a channel barely a boat-width wide to go to the fuel dock--nada, nothing. And, at a dead idle, you might as well not have a rudder. Somehow we made it out of the channel onto the river where the wind was blowing close to 15 away from the dock We worried that we'd never be able to tie up. But, with skills acquired from years of sailing and help from Trevor, Harborside's mechanic who caught the bow line ably thrown by the Admiral, we made it. Whew, it was hairy. After we fueled up (don't ask what that cost), I started the generator. It's still not clear to me if the extra juice from the gennie or rinsing out of the algal green stuff as we sat in the current at the fuel dock cured them but the thrusters restarted and worked the rest of the day. Double whew. Note that Trevor had already been on the phone with his boss getting ready to haul our boat to repair them had that been needed. They take care of you here!


Now lower down on the river, in fact, having left the DesPlaines and entered the true Illinois River, a higher percentage of natural areas, occasional parks, and even a housing development or two intersperse more with the industrial heritage. Bald eagles, white pelicans (wait, what?), egrets, great blue heron, cormorant, kingfishers and others greeted us. However, plenty of industrial facilities marked the landscape too. And tugs and barges became much more ubiquitous.








Locking through punctuates your day. A mile or two up river from the lock, you get on the VHF radio and call the lock master: "Dresden Lock, this is the motor vessel, Katahdin, down bound. We're about two miles up river from you. What's your status?" Yesterday, on our first two locks, Dresden and Marseilles, the lockmaster came back with something like: "Hi Cap, we've got the chamber full for you and will give you the green light when you get here. Proceed to the third floating bollard on the port side right by the flagpole." Then, you scurry around getting bumpers adjusted, uncoiling a line, getting on life preservers and marriage savers (head sets so you don't scream at each other), oh, and gingerly navigating the boat into the lock and up to the slimy but very scratchy concrete wall. Those first two locks we were the only boat so, as soon as we got securely tied to the floating bollard, we started down. So far in each of the six locks we've navigated, we've typically dropped 30-40 feet.






It's not as easy as it sounds. You're only tied at one point and the wind and current as the lock empties pivot the boat around. With the admiral on one end and the captain on the other, we take turns holding the boat off the wall as down we go!


When we approached the third lock, Starved Rock, we got a very different message: "Cap, we've got a barge train with chemicals and it's going to be at least two hours." Turns out the Lizzie Lane Peus was pushing 10 barges (five rows two abreast). The admiral and I disagree on what took so long but it took about 90 minutes for the Lizzie Lane and her 10 barges to get into the lock, another half hour to make the descent, and 30 more minutes for the lock to refill. We would catch the Lizzie Lane and her tow a mile or so downstream from Starved Rock on a set of dog leg curves and it took another 30-40 minutes at about a half a knot before we could pass her on the one whistle (look up that history if you're interested). The whole experience was a lesson in river life and turned what would have been an early afternoon arrival at Peru Illinois' South Shore Boat Club into a cocktail hour arrival.






Ah, and that arrival proved a challenge as well. South Shore Boat Club (do not think the New York Yacht Club) had assured us that they could accomodate a 41 foot boat which, with swim platform, dinghy davits, anchor pulpit, etc., is about 48' loa (length overall). As we surveyed the riverfront docks (fully exposed to the wake from passing traffic and wind up or down the river, it turned out the longest dock was about 20'. Having no good option, we made it work. Thankfully, it was a calm night with only more barge trains going slowly by.




Peru, itself, or what we saw of it was a lesson in midwest hospitality. Dinner at the Riverfront Bar and Restaurant offered, among other things, "quarter light, quarter dark, half light, half dark" and more. Ribs we wondered with different bbq sauces? No. Turns out quarter light is a fried chicken breast and wing, quarter dark is the leg and thigh, etc. The Riverfront was hoppin'. No surprise since that quarter light with two delicious sides cost a total of $12. That followed the best onion ring appetizer we've ever had (extra). Following our early supper, we walked back to the Boat Club to settle up. After Chicago prices, $30 total including power and water made our tiny slip seem just a little bigger. And, we joined the half dozen or so members for a nightcap (for us--they appeared to be just getting started). Earthy folks, they all loved boats, took a real interest in us, and were more than comfortable being themselves in the face of strangers. Good people enjoying life.

Oct 2, 2024

4 min read

5

49

2

Comments (2)

Martha Hewett
Martha Hewett
2024年10月04日

Boy you're having a lot of adventures. Interesting to learn how to communicate with and go through the locks, and how to communicate with and maneuver around the barges. Interesting industrial and natural scenery and wildlife. Interesting marinas and people. Great fun - something different every minute. Enjoy!

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訪客
2024年10月02日

Chuck, so interested to hear about your trip down the DesPlaines and Illinois River. And overnight in Peru, IL. You're in my home state of Illinois. Enjoy!

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