February 10-27, 2018

We had an amazing week at Marco Island, spent hunting for sea shells at the beach, sharing “docktales” and “docktails” at the fire pit, and laughs around the pool!  We were so blessed to spend such a fun time with our family.  As they packed up to catch a flight home, we pulled away from the dock and headed back out to the Gulf.  We planned to stop on the north side of the island for the night, pick up Rilee from boarding, then head south to the keys!

As we entered the Gulf, there was some great wind, so we raised the sails and were headed north at a nice, relaxing pace.  All of a sudden, the boat heeled violently.  We noticed debris in the water behind us, and felt a vibration in the steering, so we knew something was wrong.  Luckily, there was no water in the bilge and we were still able to steer.  We made it into an anchorage safety where Chad jumped in the cold, dirty bay to assess.  He found ALL of the fiberglass on the right side of the rudder was missing.  It was Saturday, and we would have to wait until Monday morning to find a service yard that could take care of us.  We picked Rilee up anyways, uncertain how this would all play out.

Naples Boat Yard came to the rescue and said they would haul us as soon as we could get there.  We discussed with our insurance, and rather than risking the trip north on the Gulf, they preferred to tow us to avoid any further damage.  Thank goodness we sprung for the unlimited towing option with BoatUS!  Having to watch the tides carefully to enter the shallow creek (seriously y’all, a creek!)  that the boat yard is on, we were towed to Naples the next day.  As soon as we got there, we were hauled out and immediately we saw the damage to the rudder.  The entire right half of our rudder was gone!  We believe what we felt while sailing was the fiberglass and foam peeling off.

Chad had done some research over the weekend, and happened to run across Foss Foam Products of Florida, a small shop in Williston that repairs and manufactures rudders.  He spoke with them and found out they made most of the rudders for Hunter, our sailboat manufacturer.  Apparently Hunter tried making their own rudders, and stopped because they were not good at it.  Unfortunately, our rudder was apparently made by Hunter.  Good news was when Hunter went out of business, Foss Foam got all of the molds from Hunter, including our model.  We took them what was left of our rudder, and it fit perfectly in the mold.  They were going to reuse the stainless steel shaft and refoam it with a higher quality foam and fiberglass combination.  Normally this would take two weeks, but they were going to try to get it done in one week so we could continue on our trip.

In the meantime, Rilee was back in boarding because we were living on the hard (on the ground) in the boat, in the boat yard. To get to the boat required a climb up a 12 foot ladder, which Rilee would not have willingly done multiple times a day.  We rented a car and toured Naples and the surrounding area.  On our drive to and from Williston twice, we got to see some of the forgotten coast we had to bypass on our way south.  We stopped at Crystal River, hoping to see manatees, but saw none!  I guess they were still too cold and hiding out further south.  We also stopped in Aripeka, where Chad did some work several years ago.  We toured the beautiful Naples Botanical Gardens, full of amazing flowers.  We even found a brew fest in nearby Bonita Springs.  We got to meet up with Mick, the first Looper we met our second day on the rivers.  Mick lives in Naples, and took us under his wing on those early days on the river.  We are forever grateful!

After being out of the water over a week, the rudder was done and we were ready to get back in the water.  Again watching tides to get out of the creek, we leave near dusk and settle in for the night at Mick’s marina in Naples.  We head out in the morning, south once again to Marco Island to pick up Rilee.  We are ready to get south!

We leave Marco Island at first light, one stop between us and the keys.  We decided stopping at Everglades City would be a better path, lining us up for arrival at Marathon on Boot Key before dusk, instead of arriving at Key West in dark.  From all the information we had on Everglades City, we prepared with bug spray and screens.  We had to time the tides right to arrive at Everglades City at high tide.  What we didn’t prepare for was the very active airport running perpendicular to the river.  I stood on the bow watching for any planes on approach or depart from the airport.  Our tall mast with a landing or departing plane would have been a bad combination!

As we approached the wall where we would tie up to, the current off the Barron River was very strong, and we had to circle twice before we successfully docked.  Nice show for the porch full of diners!  We spent one night at the historic Rod and Gun Club, where five presidents and various others such as Ernest Hemingway have visited since it opened in 1922.  Walking into the lodge with the beautiful wood work, you feel like you are stepping back in time.  Reading the old newspaper articles on the wall, we quickly get a feel for what Everglades City looked like in the 70’s and 80’s….drugs, drugs, and more drugs.  Apparently there was a huge drug bust that sent 80% of the male population to Federal prison.  After seeing the Everglades and the millions of tiny islands and shallow waters, you can understand how this would be possible.  According to local legend, there are millions of dollars and thousands of pounds of drugs buried in these islands.

We leave the next morning for an anchorage on the edge of the Everglades.  This will allow us to leave at first light, instead of waiting for high tide again.  We try anchoring near Indian Key, though the combination of the wind/current/and tide cause the boat to wrap around the anchor rode (line).  Concerned with it wrapping around the keel, we decide to relocate further in the Everglades where we saw two other boats anchored.  This spot isn’t much better, but it will have to do for the night.  It is VERY buggy, and it’s not mosquitoes that bite, but no-see-ums!  These nasty little creatures are so small you can’t see them.  And they bite.  And it hurts!  I sprayed bug screen on all the screens, hoping they wouldn’t sneak through.

It seemed to work well, until we had to emerge from the cabin in the morning to pull anchor.  I should have worn long pants and long sleeves, ouch!  Now pulling up the anchor is usually my job, and I’d like to say I’ve gotten pretty good at it.  However, we now had two anchors out, one at the bow (front) and one at the stern (back) of the boat.  This was our attempt to keep the boat from twisting around the anchor rode.  It worked, but also made it nearly impossible for Chad to pull up the stern anchor in the morning.  The tide and current had shifted, putting us perpendicular to the current.  One thing we have learned to do is improvise!  So, we ditched the stern anchor after adding a floating buoy.  I pulled up the main anchor, and then took over the helm, while Chad retrieved the floating buoy and attached chain we had previously abandoned.  Whew!  Easy peasy, summer breezy, right?!  Just another day in the life of a boater!

After a quick pit stop for Rilee, we leave the Everglades.  As we watch the sun rise, land slowly disappears.  Keys, here we come!

January 19-February 10, 2018

Rilee and I see Chad and Joel off from Apalachicola, and then we hop in the rental car and head towards Tarpon Springs.  Driving over the bridge as we head out of town, we catch one last view of the boat.  Once we leave Apalachicola and pass Carrabelle, we would not see anything but an occasional gas station for hours.  Eventually we approach Crystal River, and we see a bit of the old Florida everyone talked about.  There were cute scenic stops along the way that looked straight out of the 50’s.  If I had felt better, Rilee and I would have stopped to check some of them out, but instead we drove on.  After a six hour drive, we arrive at our hotel for the night.  Thankful for a warm shower and comfy bed, I settle in for a good night’s rest, hoping it’s not too cold for the guys.  I know the temps are dropping into the 30’s, and hope they have enough warm clothes.

The next morning, weather seems to have finally made a turn for the better.  Rilee and I take our time heading towards the marina, where we will meet the guys.  We are greeted in Tarpon Springs by an amazing harbor host, Herb.  Herb somehow knew we were on the way before we got there, and met us with a map highlighted with all of the city’s attractions, and a box of yummy cinnamon coffee cake.  Tarpon Springs is a cool town full of sponges and Greek food.    We spend the next few days walking around town, and checking out the manatees wintering at Spring Bayou.  This is the first time we’ve seen manatees on this trip, and it was slightly underwhelming.  Hopefully we’ll see more as we get south and it warms up!

We leave Tarpon Springs and head south down the ICW towards Clearwater.  We will be able to take the protected waters of the ICW south to Marco Island, where the Gulf ICW will end.  We find a nice anchorage, where we can take the dinghy to shore and check out Clearwater Beach.  It is very busy compared to the laid back vibe of Tarpon Springs.  We walk around and decide on a nice quiet dinner back on the boat, where we watch an amazing sunset.  The next morning we wake to find we are surrounded by fog.  We wait for the fog to clear, then set off for Gulfport.  Gulfport is another sleepy town, outside of Tampa Bay and St. Petersburg.  We spend a few days checking out the farmers market and the stores and restaurants.

We decide to skip going in to Tampa Bay, as we are trying to get south for a family vacation that is quickly approaching.  We first learned to sail on these waters back in 2012, when we took a course out of St. Petersburg.  We lived aboard a beautiful Catalina for a week, and got to explore the Tampa area.  We decided we had to visit our favorite and first ever anchorage at DeSoto Point, in Bradenton.  Despite a strong wind from the North leaving the anchorage unprotected, we set anchor for the night and took the dingy to shore to explore the park.  Quite different than the buggy, hot, humid visit we had during our last visit, this visit is quite chilly with the wind kicking up quite the surf.  We spend an uncomfortable night at anchor, but we are glad we got to come back in our own boat.  It’s a good opportunity for me to reflect how far I’ve come on my sailing skills, who would have thought Chad would have talked me into selling our home and sailing around America!

The next morning, we awake at sunset and depart the anchorage.  The wind is strong, and we are glad we are able to take the ICW.  However, we quickly find that many others are taking this inside route as well, and not many are very kind about passing without waking you.  We arrive in Venice, and tour the town.  As we are departing the marina in the morning, we are again fighting a strong wind as we wait for the drawbridge to open.  We encounter more of the friendly, courteous Florida boaters.  Chad moved over to the side of the channel to allow them as much room to pass, and unfortunately they don’t do us any favors.  They pass so fast, throwing off a huge wake.  Reacting to the wake and getting a bit too close to the edge of the channel, we quickly find we are aground.

They say there are three kinds of boaters.  There are those who have been aground, those who haven’t yet, and those who lie about it.  Well friends, this was our first grounding, something we had hoped wouldn’t happen, but knew it probably would.  With the wind blowing hard on the side of the boat, the boat heels to the side.  Chad quickly lays out a plan to deploy the anchor to help us get ungrounded.  We move fast, deploy the dinghy, release the anchor and rode (none of this pleases Rilee).  I start to pull the anchor in, and we are again waked by a boat moving too fast near a bridge, but this time the wake is in our favor and the violent rocking actually ungrounded us and bumps us back into the channel.  Anchor up, we quickly maneuver under the bridge and get out of Venice as quickly as possible.

We find an awesome anchorage in a cove off of the ICW, near Placida.  The cove is very protected and peaceful.  We deploy the dinghy to check out nearby Don Pedro Island State Park.  After a dinghy ride through mangrove islands, we arrive at the park dock.  We spend some time walking the trails and beach, and collecting sea shells.  The park and beach are deserted.  It is just the three of us, the setting sun, and the waves gently rolling on the beach.  We make our way back to the boat, and Chad decides he is going to try to get to shore, as there is a Publix in walking distance.

Anchoring out can be amazing, but we have learned how hard it can be sometimes to get to shore.  Cruisers with dogs know this much more than those who don’t.  We have passed up amazing anchorages because they lacked a way to get to safely and/or legally get to shore.  Chad set out on the dinghy to see if one of the homeowners in the cove would allow him to tie the dinghy up to their dock and walk thru their yard to go to Publix, and if we were really lucky, let us bring Rilee back for a night and morning potty stop.  Sometimes I am surprised at how trusting people can be.  Wearing his Michigan hat, Chad happened to meet a fellow Michigander who not only told him we could tie up to her dock and use her yard, but she would drive him to Publix.  It is a good reminder that as the Luke Bryan song goes, “I believe most people are good.”  We’ve found this so many times along the trip, how helpful and trusting so many people are.

Leaving the anchorage in the morning, we enter Charlotte Harbor as the wind kicks up again from the Northeast, and the waves quickly follow.  We had looked forward to sailing this large harbor, but with the wind on our nose, beating into the waves, we will have to sail another day.  We finally arrive at Burnt Store Marina and despite the strong wind Chad will have to back the boat into the narrow slip.  He does an amazing job, and luckily there are lots of extra hands on deck to help catch our lines.  We are happy to spend some time with friends from home, and the previous owners of our first sailboat, Gris Gris.  They show us a good time in Burnt Store as we wait out the strong winds.

With the winds subsiding enough to head out, we make our way to Captiva Island.  Hoping to anchor, we find the anchorages are a bit too shallow for us, especially with these strong winds.  We find the island resort has a marina with room for us, so we tie up to the long dock.  The small barrier islands provide little refuge from the wind and waves, and we spend the next few days and nights pinned against the dock.  With lack of sleep, we take advantage of some relaxing time in the hot tub and at the beach.

Again the winds let up enough for us to get off the dock, and we are now in a hurry to get further south.  We are meeting family in Marco Island at the beginning of February.  With so many great places to stop in the area, we decide on Fort Myers.  Heading into the Caloosahatchee River, we have to pass under two 55 foot bridges.  Our mast with wind gage and antennae is 52ish foot tall, so we are careful to go slow and pass at low tide to allow the most clearance possible.  We arrive at the marina, which is part of the Edison & Ford Winter Estates.  We spent the evening and next morning checking out the historic downtown, as well as the Edison and Ford winter homes.

Had we continued further on the Caloosahatchee River, we could have cut across Florida to the east coast via the Okeechobee Waterway.  Because we were planning to go to the keys, we continued south.  The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway ends, and we are again planning for trips out in the Gulf.  Preparing for our next jump to Marco Island, we stop at Fort Myers Beach, a good place to get an early start the next day.  Fort Myers Beach is much different than the historic Fort Myers.  We spend the evening visiting with vacationing friends from Michigan, and leave early the next morning for Marco Island.

Our chart books are lacking for Marco Island, citing “seek local knowledge.”  We arrive on the north side of the island and follow directions from Active Captain, a great online boater’s forum for local knowledge.  The advice is spot on, and we have no problems.  We get as much advice as we can about the south side of the island, and set out for a nice sail down the coast.  We arrive a bit earlier than the family, and anchor out in a bay on the edge of the Ten Thousand Islands.  We watch the sun begin to set and watch dolphins play in the bay.

What an amazing beginning to a fun week ahead at Marco Island!

January 7-18, 2018

Back in Panama City, we reprovisioned the boat, and waited for the weather to clear.  We get our break, though it’s a bit foggy.  Thankful for radar, we head to the ocean once again, and head for Port St. Joe.  We notice a vessel on radar, and as we approach at a safe distance, we are hailed on the VHF radio.  The mystery boat in the fog is a government Special Ops boat performing a dive mission.  They ask us to give them ¼ mile clearance, as they have two anchors out with 600 feet of scope each as well as divers in the water.  We gladly oblige.  The sun comes out and we have a beautiful day for a sail!  It is very therapeutic to be back on the water, with the sun on your face, and the wind in your hair.  We arrive to Port St. Joe and find a cute little town.  We also run into several loopers who have evidently been here awhile, waiting to make the crossing.  We arrived and were not even tied up to the dock when we were bombarded with a million questions and stories.  It was quite the welcome!

“The crossing” can be a much anticipated and dreaded part of the Great Loop.  It is an open water crossing of the Gulf of Mexico that takes slower boats like us over 24 hours to complete.  Port St. Joe, Apalachicola, and Carrabelle were all full of loopers waiting to make the crossing to the eastern coast of Florida.  This January weather was proving difficult to make the crossing, so many loopers were stacked up in these town, waiting for a good weather break.  Many loopers cross the Gulf of Mexico to Tarpon Springs or Clearwater.  We had hoped to avoid a long crossing for Rilee’s sake (since she refuses to use a potty pad on the boat), and instead hop down the forgotten coast.  After talking to locals and getting more information, we decided most of the northern stops would be too shallow for us, especially with the extreme tides we were experiencing due to the Super Blue Blood Moon.  Instead, we decided to head to Apalachicola and prepare for the shortest crossing possible, to Tarpon Springs.

Finally able to traverse the GIWW again, we head for Apalachicola.  The weather is so cold and dreary, and I am starting to come down with something.  I hold it together until we get to dock, and then I am off to a warm bed, thankful for electricity and heat tonight.  I stayed in bed pretty much for the next several days, snuggled up with Rilee and watching old Friends episodes.  I’ll let Chad take it from here and tell you all about Apalachicola!

Apalachicola was a super cool town on the forgotten coast of Florida!  With Michelle sick, I entrusted second mate Rilee with watching and caring for Michelle’s well-being, Rilee’s first command of the trip.  Michelle was so out of it I am not sure if she noticed the marina we stopped at was an old clam factory (also the nicest one in town)!  I was busy trying to figure out the weather.  It was so cold outside (29 degrees F) that is started to rain inside the boat when I turned on the heat to warm Michelle up.  A couple that was just getting ready to start the loop lent me their pickup truck so I could go to the hardware store and get a dehumidifier, which saved the day!

Next I turned my attention to planning the crossing, which required several difficult days of going to the 4pm happy hour meeting with the other trapped and cold loopers.  Everyone was studying the weather, hoping to get to Tarpon Springs soon.  I was a good sport and enjoyed the oysters, so many oysters!  Joel Craig, a friend from Michigan, happened to be on vacation in Florida, and let me know that if I needed any help crossing the open water of the Gulf he would love to help.  I tried in vain to setup something, but the weather refused to cooperate, as well as the car rental company that wanted Michelle to show up in person to be added on the rental car contract.

Waiting on the weather, I spent the next few days exploring all the cool town had to offer including learning about the inventor of refrigeration (his Museum was closed for renovations).  The Orman House Historic State Park was only $2 to get a guided tour of the haunted house!  I even toured the harbor by dinghy when it warmed up one afternoon.  The harbor is filled with oyster, shrimp, and crab boats offloading their catches to the processing buildings.  This is the “real Florida” I have heard of.

Unexpectedly, the weather window opens for a crossing.  Michelle is still feeling pretty crummy, so thankfully Joel is still on vacation in Florida, and offers to make the crossing after driving six hours to Apalachicola. Two more sailboats have made it to Apalachicola and are leaving on the same morning as us.  Joel and I load his things on the boat, and Michelle and Rilee head to Tarpon Springs in Joel’s rental car.  We head out towards the bay and negotiate the tricky Government Cut Pass to the Gulf of Mexico, saving four hours of additional travel time.

Once we are in the gulf we are forced to motor for the first several hours, as the wind is light.  After 30ish miles the crab pots disappear and we are able to set the auto pilot for Tarpon Springs, while setting the sails as the wind picks up allowing us to motor sail for greater speed as land disappeared to aft.  It is hard to describe the clarity of the sky in such a desolate and remote area.  There was only two boats on 48 mile radar the whole night.  One was a sailboat that had left before us and had no running lights on at all, only visible to our radar.  I made lasagna in the oven to warm us up and then we took shifts to navigate through the night.

It did get cold, down to 34 degrees or so, but the full cockpit enclosure kept us fairly warm.  In the early morning when I was sleeping, Joel had a dozen dolphins off the bow riding along with us.  It was not long after that we first saw land, it was almost sad as this was the end of my first ocean crossing.  Twenty six hours after beginning the crossing, we arrive in Tarpon Springs, and Michelle meets us at dock and helps tie us in.

Celebration is in order for another milestone of the trip completed!

November 24, 2017 – January 6, 2018

Arriving in Mobile, AL was a bit of a milestone for us.  We finished the rivers, and we were now in salt water.  The marina we were at had an air of celebration, as the other loopers were feeling that same breath of relief.  Not that the journey ahead would be easy, but we had a major leg of the trip under our belt.  We had developed a rhythm to our days, though that would all change now.  We were trading the safe, protected river waters for the ocean.  The ocean travel that lies ahead was familiar to some, but terrifying to others.  I think for me, I fell somewhere in between.  Lake Michigan is a force all her own, and I believe she has prepared me well for what lies ahead.

We would sit at Turner Marine for about a week, waiting to have our mast put back on and for weather to clear.  Now December, we began to see our first southern Christmas celebrations in the form of boat parades!  What a fun thing to see!  Everyone was having such a great time!  We took advantage of the courtesy car, and checked out downtown Mobile and the Battleship USS Alabama.  We enjoyed our fellow loopers company, knowing this was the last time we would see many of them.  Our friend Todd was headed for warmer weather in Panama, and several other loopers were heading right to southern Florida, also anxious for warmer weather and their families that awaited them.

Mobile Bay is a shallow body of water, so the wind easily kicked the waves up.  Finally the weather broke, and we were off, sailing across Mobile Bay.  It felt so good to have the sails up again!  I had a brief moment of anxiety as I realized we were now in the ocean.  That quickly subsided when I saw my first dophin.  I have seen dolphins before, but it is truly magical when they swim up next to your boat and play in the wake off of the bow.  I felt like a giddy school kid, in awe of their beauty.  Chad and I rush up to the bow of the bow of the boat, leaving Rilee to man the autopilot.  She was not amused.  This was just the beginning of our dolpin experiences, but a memory I will have forever.  Luckily Rilee didn’t care to look over the side of the boat, as we are quite sure she would have thought they were sea monsters!

We arrive to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway (GIWW), and decide to settle in Gulfshores, AL for the night.  We decide on Lucy Buffet’s marina (she has a brother named Jimmy).  A bit touristy, but we enjoyed the town, and even found Big Beach Brewery, a fun out of the way brewery.  We headed out the next morning, and spend the day on the GIWW.  Finally crossing into the Florida, we are ready for the warmth that lies ahead.  It’s a beautiful day, and we decide to anchor near Fort McRee.  Normally crowded on the weekends, it is empty on Monday, and we love it!  We explore Sand Island, created by dredging the Pensacola land cut.  Rilee has the tiny island to run and sniff and play in the water!  Then we see the crabs.  They are suddenly everywhere.  We yell for Rilee, but she sees them also.  Luckily, most dash back into their holes, except one poor crab.  He either couldn’t make his hole, or decided to fight to the death.  I thought for sure this was ending with a crab claw pinching Rilee’s nose. Instead, Rilee got the best of the poor little crab, and he floated off into the water.

The weather is perfect…finally, this is what we had looked forward to on the trip!  We explore the remains of the old Fort McRee the next morning, before heading out to Pensacola.  A cold front is moving in, creating wind and waves that will trap us for almost a week.  We take advantage and fully explore Pensacola.  It is a town full of history and lucky for us, a brewery!  We’re there in time to see the Christmas parade, and also to see the town shut down from President Trump’s visit.  We get to experience more unseasonably cold weather and even frost on the boat and docks in the morning.  Where did our sunshine and warmth go?

The next leg of our journey will not be on the GIWW, but instead we will have to make a short hop out into the ocean.  Our mast height is 52 feet, and we recently discovered the Gulf portion of the intercoastal waterway has bridges shorter than this (48 feet).  It really came as a surprise, despite all of the planning and reading we have done about the Great Loop.  We have to plan our next move more carefully, since once we leave Pensacola, we cannot cross back out of the ocean until Destin, a full day’s trip for us.  If weather were to change, we would have two choices: head back to Pensacola, or push on to Destin.  We wait for the weather to break, and we have a gorgeous day to make Destin.  I had heard how shallow the water could be in Florida, and this was our first real taste of it.  It was so shallow going into Destin, I could see the bottom the entire way in.  We made it safely inside, and anchor for the night.  We watch another Christmas boat parade as we enjoy dinner in the cockpit.

The morning brings another beautiful day, and we leave Destin and head for Panama City.  Again, we had to make an ocean passage, but the conditions are fantastic.  We arrive at the city marina with plenty of time to explore the old downtown.  Different than Panama City Beach, this side of town is sleepier.  We spend some time deciding on our next moves.  It is now mid-December, and we have begun to look for a place to leave the boat for a trip home to Michigan for Christmas.  We had hoped to get further, but the weather was not cooperating, and lack of car rental facilities along the “forgotten coast” helped us decide on Panama City for the stop.  We find a nice, secure marina and arrange for a longer term stay.

We pack up and settle in for a nice sail across Saint Andrews Bay to the new marina where we will leave the boat.  We notice the Coast Guard coming up fast behind us, and wonder if they will slow down or if we will get waked.  “Oh good, they are slowing down. Oh wait, their lights are on.  Hey Chad, I think they are pulling us over.”  We were boarded for the first time by the Coast Guard, under sail.  Everything went fine, and even Rilee was a good sport about it (thankfully).  It’s now getting late, and we quickly get settled in to our slip at the marina.

While preparing for the trip home, we run into to Paal and Betsy, who we met somewhere on the rivers and traveled with for weeks.  We are so happy to see them, and we are invited to their beautiful condo on the bay.  We’d split ways back in October, and it was such a fun reunion to catch up and swap stories!  We also meet several local boaters who keep their boats at the marina.  We exchange information so we can be in touch while we are gone, giving us added reassurance about leaving our boat floating in the water, and driving 1,000 miles north.

We load up the rental truck and head north, excited to see family and friends, but also apprehensive about leaving our boat so far away.  We make the trip to Michigan in two days, stopping in Franklin, TN on the way.  We arrive in freezing weather (seriously, it was -15 degrees F one morning), and spend the next two weeks visiting with family and friends.  We had a great visit, though time went by so fast and we didn’t get to see everyone we had hoped to.  Sadly, our visit ended with the passing of my aunt, though I am glad we were there to be with our family.  It was a tough farewell after the funeral, but we loaded up the truck once again and headed south.

November 7-24, 2017

We quickly departed the Cumberland River and after a quick pass through Barkley Canal, we were soon on Kentucky Lake/the Tennessee River.  We got to see the beautiful Land Between the Lakes from the water today.  We found a great anchorage in Leatherwood Creek, near Dover, TN and settled in for the night.  The next day, we saw the remnants of the town that was flooded when Kentucky Lake was formed.  Street signs, underwater homes and bridges, and abandoned railroad crossings told the story of the town that used to be. 

We found a sleeply little marina to settle into for the night in Waverly, TN.  We quickly saw that we weren’t the only ones with that idea, and the tiny marina suddenly was overcome with five Looper boats.  We had a fun night of docktails, despite the chilly weather.

Heading out early the next morning, we had a beautiful fall day on the water.  We decided to stop for the night in the cute little town of Clifton, TN.  We walked into town and started to see some promise of the warmth that lied ahead, cactus and palms!  Rilee was very interested in the pokey things. 

We headed out in the morning, and soon started our leg of the trip on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway (called the Tenn-Tom for short).  The Tenn-Tom connects the Tennessee River to the Tombigbee River, and is a canal that was completed in 1985, after over a century of studies and proposals in support of the project.  Over the next 450.4 miles to Mobile, we will lock down 341 feet, requiring us to go through 12 locks!

We arrived in Counce, TN, and planned to stay a few days, and take the courtesy car to Shiloh National Park.  We were humbled to spend Veterans Day at the park, now a National Cemetery, and the site of a bloody Civil War battle in April, 1862.  There is so much history along the rivers, especially Civil War era.  Chad is such a history buff, and loving it.  We even starting watching Ken Burns’ Civil War series from PBS in the evening where WIFI is available, to learn more about the rich history of the land we are traveling through.

After spending hours at the park, we were ready for some good southern food at the Catfish Hotel.  Occupied by Union soldiers during the Battle of Shiloh, the shack served catfish, hushpuppies, and shelter to friends traveling the river.  It became a restaurant in 1938 and has been serving great food by the Hagy family since!

After fully exploring the area, we were off.  We motored past Goat Island, which really does have goats on it!  We decided to check out another marina, to put us closer to our first lock in the morning, and for the electric so we could run the heater.  We just can’t shake the cold!  The next morning, we headed into our first lock for the day, the Jamie Whitten Lock, with an 84 foot drop!  We descended through a total of 4 locks for the day, and decided to anchor in front of the next lock so we could get an early start.  We have to be careful anchoring, since when the dams were built, the trees and stumps were only cut to below water level, leaving a hazard for anchors to snag on.  We used a trip line to help prevent losing our anchor should we become hung up, and luckily we never needed to use it to help retrieve our anchor.

The next day, we descended through another 3 locks, and decided on a marina again for the night for heat and reprovisioning.  We found a really cool antebellum mansion in Waverly, MS that we toured.  The tour guide shared stories of the ghost of a little girl that is reported to wander to stair cases of the large home, where she sadly fell to her death many, many years ago.

The next day, we decided on a shorter day with only 1 lock, and found a great anchorage near the Tom Bevill Lock, with a neat visitors center.  We arrived early in the afternoon, and got to check out the museum and US Snagboat Montgomery, which worked by steam power until 1982 to remove snags (debris) from the rivers.

The next day saw 2 more locks, and another great anchorage.  Morning brought the end of the Tenn-Tom Waterway, and the beginning of our final stretch of the rivers on the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway.  This next stretch is particularly sparse for marinas (in fact this is the last one) and facilities, so we stopped in Demopolis, AL to refuel, re-provision, and get some rest.  On the way in, we pass the beautiful white cliffs of Epes!  The trees covered in Spanish moss and the field of cotton next to the marina really let you know you are in the south!

After a few days we start down the river.  We find our best bet for an anchorage outside of the channel, in the protection of a bridge abutment.  We are one of three sailboats tied together, and we spend a quiet evening chatting over some apple cider and rum, until it gets too cold and we all sneak below to warm up.  The next day, we arrive to well-known Bobby’s Fish Camp.  Chad somehow shoe-horned the boat into a tiny open spot on the dock, I still don’t know how he did it!  The place isn’t well known for its amenities or service.  It’s more of a necessary stop to refuel than anything else, and is nothing more than a dock with electric, and a small restaurant on site that serves catfish and all things fried.  Still a neat stop, and one place all Loopers have as a common stop.  We met an adorable stray dog on the docks that desperately wanted to play with Rilee, but Rilee didn’t think that was a good idea.  We tossed him some glucosamine treats and hoped his bum leg would feel better.

We head out early the next morning, on Thanksgiving, to make our final anchorage before Mobile.  We descend our final lock, and find ourselves in very new territory now.  For the first time, we are in tidal salt water.  This final stretch is also tough to find a good anchorage with depth for our sailboat, and something decent nearby to take the dog potty without getting eaten by an alligator.  We are on alligator watch, but still haven’t seen one, though we know they are there!  It must be too cold for them too!  We settle on an anchorage and on our way in, are greeted by another Looper boat and are invited over for Thanksgiving dinner.  We spent a great night with three other Loopers, sharing stories, food, and drinks.  What a cool way to spend a holiday, if you have to be away from family!

We all pull anchor early the next morning, ready to get to Mobile and civilization!  The promise of the warm Gulf air pushes us on.  Slowly, through the swamp land of Alabama, the skyscrapers of Mobile suddenly appear.  Thankful for a less-busy holiday weekend, we pass through the busy port of Mobile, full of commercial and cruise boat traffic.  We pass by new Navy Destroyers fresh out of the boat yard.  After a nail-biting trip through the skinny (shallow) channel across Mobile Bay, we arrive at Turner Marine where we are reunited with our mast and many other Loopers we have met along the way.

Two months into our trip, this is the end of the road for the rivers, and we are ready to have our mast stepped and we are ready to SAIL!

October 24-November 7, 2017

With the promise of warm, fresh baked goods, we wake early and walk into downtown Paducah to Kirchhoff’s Bakery before leaving town.  We are not disappointed!  We shove off and quickly make the turn onto the Ohio River.  We were warned about the increased current we would be traveling against, and right away we felt it.  Our speed slowed considerably, but we were still making good progress.  Suddenly we hear lots of commotion on the VHF…we’ve lost our engine…I have no power…time to wake the Captain, son!  That doesn’t sound good, but we can’t tell where this is taking place.  Is it behind us or in front of us?  We come around a bend in the curvy Cumberland, and quickly see the situation in front of us.  A tow boat lost power, and its’ barges started to drift across the river, blocking our path.  We hang back to decide our next move.  Luckily two other tow boats that were working down the river came to the rescue and were able to push the barges to the side of the river, and we were able to navigate by.

We finally get to the Barkley Lock and Dam, and are eventually locked through this 57 foot lock.  Darkness has set in, and we have to navigate to Green Turtle Bay Marina in the dark.  Luckily friends guided us to our slip with flashlights, what a help!  We meet up with the other Loopers and decompress over dinner and drinks at the yacht club.  We plan to spend a few days in Grand Rivers, KY, so we settle in and relax a bit.  We make sure we visit Patti’s for dinner, as we have heard about their famous pork chops.  We are not disappointed, the food was delicious!

While in Grand Rivers, KY, we’ve reached a milestone.  We’re now one month into our trip.  Here’s a map to show how far we’ve come!

After a rain delay, we set out on a side trip further down the Cumberland River to Nashville, TN.  Many other Loopers rented a car and drove, but we wanted to do it by boat.  It was a three day trip there, and we got to see the beautiful fall colors of Kentucky and Tennessee.  I must say, it’s not the same as a Michigan fall, but it was beautiful nonetheless.  Our first night we had planned to anchor, but with temperatures dipping into the low thirties, I decide to seek out a marina.  We find a small marina on the charts and call to make sure we can make it in with our 4.5 draft.  We arrive at Bumpus Mills Marina, to find no one is there.  We question if the marina is still in business, as there are some quite abandoned looking boats in the marina, but we tie to the fuel dock and hook up to power to get heat for the night.  I really hoped we didn’t hear banjos in the night!

After an uneventful night, we leave early the next morning and head for Clarksville, TN.  We spend the night in the marina there, and are Nashville bound the next day.  We are treated to see deer swim in front of the boat.  Such beautiful animals!  We finally arrive at our marina, just outside of downtown Nashville.  We settle in and decide to walk to a local brewery for dinner.  TailGate Beer was delicious, and they had so many pumpkin beers on draft!  Have I mentioned I love everything pumpkin yet? J  The next day we Uber in to downtown, and walk the streets of Nashville.  We did an on and off trolley tour, and get to see the Country Music Hall of Fame, Ryman Auditorium, and Music Row.  For all of you American Pickers fans, we even got to see Mike’s Nashville store, Antique Archaeology.  All of the bars and restaurants on Broadway have live country music.

We leave Nashville the next day, and start the three day trip back to Grand Rivers, KY to meet my parents.  They drove down and stayed in a condo at the marina for a few days.  It was great to see them and to visit for a while.  We got to explore Paducah, the Land Between the Lakes National Park, and many of the small towns in the area.  Chad was on a mission for some country ham, and he found some in Cadiz, KY.  We even managed to find a winery!  We took my parents back to Patti’s for an early birthday dinner celebration for my mom.  We all left extremely full!  Despite the rain, we checked out their beautiful Christmas light display.

As my parents headed back to Michigan, Chad and I headed south to Kentucky Lake and the Tennessee River.

October 21-October 24, 2017

Leaving our peaceful anchorage in the Little Diversion Channel, we begin our final stretch on the Mississippi before heading up the Ohio River.

Look at the left hand side of the bottom of the dinghy, that’s the bar I pulled up!

We decided we would anchor just outside the channel in front of the “new” Olmsted Lock and Dam, with permission from the lockmaster.  We will stop here for the night and head out early the next morning to head through a series of three locks and dams (Olmsted, 52, and 53).  The lockmaster directed us to anchor on the Illinois side of the channel, so we analyze the wind, current, and depths and pick a place to drop anchor.  We wait and watch to make sure the anchor is set, and quickly realize it is not.  We traveled today with two other boats, and we notice one seems to be set, but the other is struggling like we are.  We pull the anchor up, and I quickly realize why the anchor didn’t set.  I pulled up a six foot piece of steel with the anchor!  I yell for Chad to come up to the anchor, because I have no idea how I am going to get that off!  I managed to hook the end of the anchor perfectly in a small ring on the top of the bar.  Chad doesn’t believe me at first, and said it’s just a stick.  I insist he comes up front, and when he does, he can’t believe how I did that either!  The lucky part for us also was the long end of the bar was out away from the boat, and did not drag up the boat as I pulled the anchor in!  Chad decides to get in the dinghy to try to pull the bar off the anchor.  I take the helm, and thankfully Chad is able to remove the bar without too much work.

We decide to attempt to reset the anchor, so I drop the anchor again, hoping this time the anchor will hold.  Again we wait and watch, and realize the anchor is still not holding.  We are getting frustrated and notice one of the other boats has moved to the other side of the channel.  We radio the lockmaster and get permission to do the same.  We get ready to pull up the anchor again and gosh darn if I didn’t pull something else up this time!  This time it looked like we were hooked on some thin underwater cable.  Again, Chad believes it to be a stick, and we both can’t believe the luck we are having!  Now, time to get unhooked from the mysterious cable.  I lower the anchor as Chad backs up, and we bring the anchor up again hoping we are free…nope!  Okay, on to Plan B, Chad backs up and the mysterious cable breaks free of the anchor.

We notice the other boats are now on the other side of the channel, and seem to be holding, so we make our way over there and successfully set the anchor this time.  While we are anchoring, I hear the bilge go off.  It keeps going off.  I know this is not good.  Our bilge never goes off, especially since we had a dripless shaft seal installed this summer.  I let Chad know, and he quickly figures out our dripless shaft seal is not only dripping, it is gushing water in.  Not good.  Luckily, a tool kit my dad loaned Chad came to the rescue and stopped the gushing water.  Good enough for now until we can get to the next marina to have a better look and get some wifi to do some investigation.  The anchor is set for the night, and we are very thankful.

The next morning, we wake early so we can make it through the triple set of locks and dams.  The first, the Olmsted Lock and Dam, is not yet completed.  This new lock and dam will replace aging Lock and Dam Number 52 and Lock and Dam Number 53.  According to Wikipedia, the original budget for the new lock and dam was $775 million, but the final cost of the project is already approaching $3 billion, and although the original completion date was set for 1998, more recent projections are 2018!  The delay at Alton we wrote about in Blog 3 was experienced because one of the wickets (a gate in the dam) at Lock and Dam Number 52 was down, literally, and water was gushing through at 15mph.  The Army Corp of Engineers was working hard to have rocks dumped to stop the water flow.  Lock and Dam Number 52 was also closed for eight days in September when the wickets (gates in the dam) were down.  This completely shut down the Ohio River for all commerce, and is a major concern and a good example of America’s aging water infrastructure.

Lock and Dam Number 52

While the Olmstead Lock and Dam is not yet functional, we have to wait for direction from the lockmaster, as we have to take turns to pass through the narrow lock structure while other tow boats come and go as well.  We pass through without much delay and are on to Number 53.  The water is so high due to recent rainfall that the wickets are down, and we literally pass right over the dam structure with guidance from the lockmaster.  What a strange experience to know you are going right over a dam!  The water is so high, the lock is also almost fully underwater.  We finally arrive to the somewhat dreaded Number 52, and without too much delay, we are locked through and on to the new city dock in Paducah, KY for the night.

Loopers at the Paducah, KY dock. We are second from the left. Captain Chad squeezed us in there!

Paducah, KY is one of our favorite small towns we have visited so far.  Our first night, we had dinner at Doe’s with the large group of Loopers.  Chad found a haunted history tour for us to do on a horse drawn carriage, in the rain, at night, just before Halloween.  It was both creepy and cool, and the tour guide was awesome!  We decided to hang around another day to explore the town in daylight.  We spent the day checking out shops, museums, and reading up on the history of the town.  Of course, we even found the Dry Ground Brewing Company for dinner.  The brewery is the site of the former Coca-Cola bottling plant.  From the brewery’s website, “In 1937 the Ohio River flooded Paducah and Luther Carson’s Coca-Cola bottling plant on South 6th street was submerged. Mr. Carson used an empty syrup keg to float out of the second floor window to reach a rescue boat. On the return trip up Broadway, Mr. Carson said, “If I ever reach DRY GROUND, it is there that I will build my new bottling plant.” Plans for construction began immediately following the flood, and in June of 1939 Mr. Carson celebrated the grand opening of his new state-of-the-art facility located 31 blocks from the river upon the DRY GROUND across the street from the Red Cross evacuation site where he had been off-loaded following his rescue.”  We enjoyed the brewery and headed back to the boat.

Tomorrow is a new day, and we will begin our journey on the Cumberland River!

October 8-October 21, 2017

Grafton, Illinois is the self-proclaimed “Keywest of the Midwest.”  We spent several days at Grafton Harbor Marina, enjoying the hot tub and checking out the fun town with many bars, wineries, and cute little antique shops.  The weather was warm and sunny, perfect for checking out wineries!  Our favorite was Aerie’s Winery, since it took us for-ever to walk up a giant hill in 90 degree heat, but we were rewarding with some great drinks and amazing views at the top!  We also found an awesome little store, Knotty By Nature, that had some gorgeous pieces of wood.  Chad found a small piece that he made into a new table for us.  The table that came with the boat is large, and we found we could use the extra space with the three of us living on it.  We also checked out the old haunted Ruebel Hotel.  We were given an impromptu tour, and even got to see the most haunted room, the Captain’s Quarters.  We enjoyed several meals with the company of other Loopers.  We are enjoying camaraderie of this Looper group!  We have found we aren’t the youngest on the Loop, we are in the company of some really cool people in their early twenties all the way to their sixties and seventies, and beyond!

Water rushes past the channel marker, showing the strong current of the river.

We left Grafton and the Illinois River behind, and started down the Mississippi River and headed down to Alton, IL.  We found the current on the Mississippi to be very helpful, though the turbulence at times could be pretty intense.  There was also quite a bit of debris, washed out by the heavy rains y’all were having up North.  By debris I mean trees, tires, you know small things like that.  Captain Chad did an awesome job playing dodge a log on the river, and we only hit a few things submerged below the muddy Mississippi River waters.  Hopefully no harm, no foul, and everything still seems to be working properly!

We were happy to arrive in Alton, IL and even happier to find the Alton Marina also had two hot tubs! Exploring the town, we found Alton was a large city, full of history, ghosts, and murder!  Chad and another Looper, Pat, went on a haunted history tour.  Look for Chad’s special Halloween Edition blog post on his ghost hunt.  Chad and I had planned to do the tour together, but Rilee woke us up with a sore leg.  During the morning she seemed more miserable, so we arranged for a rental call and found a local vet out who take us out-of-towners on a Saturday afternoon.  We were so amazed at the kindness of strangers at the marina.  While I waited out front with Rilee, one local couple offered us to use their truck to get her to the vet.  After X-Rays and an exam, it turns out Rilee’s old knee injury had flared up, and we found out she also has extensive arthritis in that knee.  The vet suggested she would need surgery at some point, but we are able to manage the pain with anti-inflammatory and pain meds.  So while Chad and Pat enjoyed the tour, I doggy-sat Rilee to make sure she was handling the meds ok.

We stayed at Alton a week, trying to wait out repairs on a lock further on the trip on the Ohio River.  While there, we found an organic local brewery, Old Bakery Beer Company.  We loved it so much we filled our growler and even bought some cans to go!  We also had to hit Fast Eddies Bon-Air, a local eatery that is a “must stop” and was featured on The Food Network.  The bar was opened in 1921 by Anheuser Busch as a drinking establishment.  It was sold ten years later, when laws prohibited breweries from owning drinking establishments.  The local band played great music, and we enjoyed the cheap food and fun atmosphere.  We did several historic driving tours of the town, and learned about many of the beautiful homes and their interesting past.  We also learned about Robert Wadlow, Alton’s “Gentle Giant” who grew to be 8 feet, 11.1 inches by the time he was 22 years old!  If you can imagine, he’s even taller than Matt Rogers! 😉

While we had the rental car, we also decided to check out Cahokia Mounds in Collinsville, IL.  These mounds, similar to those we saw in Havana, IL, are believed to be part of a settlement of the Late Woodland Indians.  Constructed around AD 700, the mounds signify ceremonial buildings and residences of the elite.  We were disappointed to find most of the mounds at this site were recreated, as over time, farmers had plowed the surrounding fields and destroyed many of the mounds without understanding what they were.  The largest mound remained untouched though, Monks Mound.  This mound is the largest prehistoric earthen construction in the Americas, containing an estimated 22 million cubic feet of earth, that was all moved by baskets on people’s backs.  It is more than 14 acres, and over 100 feet tall.  We climbed the stairs to the top, and had a beautiful view of downtown St. Louis, MO and the arch!  There are alternate theories on the construction of these mounds, and are apparently covered in an episode of Ancient Aliens.  We still have to check that episode and theory out 😉

Since we were so close, I convinced Chad to drive me to O’Fallon Brewery in Maryland Heights, MO.  O’Fallon has delicious pumpkin beer, and I was SO HAPPY to find they had FIVE pumpkin beers on draft that night!  I of course had to taste them all, and purchase a sampler 12 pack to take with us!  Chad is a good sport supporting my pumpkin addiction every fall.

With the lock repairs finally completed, and Rilee moving around much better, we decided to head on down the river.  We are well stocked with food and water, fuel is filled up, and we are pumped out.  We will be spending the next four nights at anchor, or somewhere with little to no services.  After passing through Mel Price Lock and Dam, we came to the convergence of the Missouri River and Mississippi River.  This created a lot of turbulence and sent the boat all over the river.  Thankfully Captain Chad was at the helm and handled it like a champ.  Soon enough we are at the Chain of Rocks Lock and Dam.  We are having good luck today with getting through locks quickly.  Shortly after, we can see the Arch at St. Louis.  Small at first, it grows larger until we are right in front of it, the sun glistening off the top of the arch.  I remember going to the top as a child, while visiting my mom’s family in St. Louis.  There is nowhere to stop on the river in St. Louis (take a hint St. Louis), so we admire as we cruise by.

There was no question this time where our final destination is for the day.  We had to stop at Hoppie’s Marine Service in Kimmswick, MO.  This was a must stop for several reasons, but most importantly we needed fuel and we needed Fern’s daily river briefing.  Hoppie’s is a bit of a famous stop for Loopers.  Not much of a marina, but the services here are invaluable.  This is the last fuel stop for 107 miles, and the last marina for 227 miles.  Fern and her husband Charles “Hoppie” Hopkins are very knowledgeable about our next stretch of river, and have been guiding Loopers for years.  “Hoppie” may be the last living Mississippi River lamplighter.  The river briefing proved to be as promised.  After dinner in town with several other Loopers we have been traveling with since Alton, we settle in for the night.  It proved to be a rough night, as the wake off of passing barges powering up-river slammed us into the wall we were tied to.  Again, we were thankful for every bumper we had.  Needless to say, no one slept much that night!

Breakfast at the Blue Owl with our new friends Dirk and Pat taking the picture.

The next morning, in serious need of coffee, we went to town to check out the Blue Owl for breakfast.  This is another “must stop” and was also featured on the Food Network as well as the Travel Channel, and we weren’t disappointed!  We couldn’t leave without a giant piece of Levee High Apple Pie!  Stuffed from breakfast, we set off again, heading to the Kaskaskia Lock.  We are not locking through, but we are able to tie up here for the night.  Not much to see or do, but it is a safe place for the night, away from the current of the river and passing tow boats and barges.  We are thankful for a good night’s sleep!

We wake early and push on.  Tonight we will be anchored out near Cape Girardeau, MO.  We find a beautiful anchorage in the Little Diversion Channel.  There is already one sailboat anchored here, and by night’s end, there are six of us nestled into this channel.  We are rafted off of our new friends’ boat, and we wrap up the afternoon learning cribbage, and teaching Pat and Dirk euchre.  We race against the fading daylight to take Rilee to shore for her final potty break for the evening.  We found a beautiful beach the other side of the Mississippi, and Rilee ran around like a puppy, even splashing in the river (which is not like her at all)!  We ended up crossing the Mississippi six times in our dinghy, which was no simple feat, considering the heavy current and debris.  Our 9.9hp propane dinghy motor handled it like a champ, sucking through propane and getting us safely back and forth.

Tomorrow is a new day, and we will leave the muddy Mississippi and begin our journey up the Ohio River.

Just in time for Halloween!  A special edition post by Chad about Alton, Illinois – “one of the most haunted towns in America!”

As we approach Alton, we see what at a glance appears to be graffiti on the beautiful stone cliffs.  What a shame we think!  We move on down the river and arrive at Alton, IL.  Soon after arriving, we stop at the visitor’s center, and begin to learn more about the city that is full of history, ghosts, and murder!

We soon learn that the graffiti we thought we saw is actually a recreation of an Illinois Indian painting of a Piasa Bird (sadly, the original was quarried away in the late 1800’s).  A “Piasa” is a bird that devours man.  Imagine Joliet and Marquette seeing this painting on the Bluffs of the Mississippi River, just south of the Illinois River, as they came upon it in 1673.  What a warning to them!  There is so much history on these rivers, much of it never learned in history class.

Cliffs on the way to Alton

We decided to get tickets for the Haunted Alton walking tour on October 14 as the tickets were all sold out for “Friday the thirteenth.”  Michelle ended up staying back, and I went with another Looper, who was also a history buff.

We started the tour at a mansion that was part of the Underground Railroad, and was turned into a tuberculosis sanatorium and then into apartments.  We got to go into the tunnel that extended under the road and heard stories of runaway slaves.

The Alton Penitentiary, or what was left of it, was creepy.  During the civil war, 6 to 10 inmates died every day.  I took a lot of photos here hoping to find a ghost in the photos, none so far but have a look and see if you can find one!!!!

The tour also included some homes, a Hotel, and a church where the minister committed suicide in the 1930’s…or did he?

September 28-October 8, 2017

Today we started our journey down the river system.  We had hoped to take the Chicago River through downtown Chicago.  To do this would have meant a short trip up the coast on Lake Michigan.  The forecast told us the trip was a no-go, but be we wanted to be sure.  We headed back out towards Lake Michigan, the last we would see her for many months.  We had almost reached the harbor we had entered just a few days before, and we could already tell the waves were intense.  Sadly, we decided to turn back and take the Calumet River instead.  We noticed Rilee’s anxiety as we got closer to the lake, she was definitely relieved we turned back!  We are so glad we left when we did, I think we left with the last bit of good summer weather.  We’ll catch you next time Chicago!

Yesterday our mast came down.  It was not nearly as complicated as I had imagined it to be.  In a matter of minutes, the mast was off and it was being prepped for shipping.  We left our mast behind in Chicago, where it will be shipped to Mobile, Alabama.  To us, our sailboat looks little and naked.  We also quickly learned how often we relied on the mast and stays to steady our feet as we walked along the boat.

We motored on down the Calumet River.  It is very industrial, and we are starting to experience some barge traffic.  Calling the tow boat captains on our VHF radio, we find most to be very friendly and helpful.  In just a matter of a few miles, we are to our first of MANY locks, the Thomas S O’Brien Lock.  We have heard stories of what to expect in these locks, and this was nothing like it.  We pulled right in, were quickly locked through, and on our way again.  Wouldn’t it be nice if they were all this easy!

We reach the junction of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.  A few miles in, we go through the electrical dispersal fish barrier system.  We follow the warnings and put on our life jackets, though not sure what good that would do if we happened to fall in?!?  The barrier is designed to keep Asian Carp out of the Great Lakes.  It seems to be working so far, though after going through, it seems so easy for one or more carp to jump on a boat and hitch a ride over the barrier, falling in on the Great Lakes side.  Signs warn the barges to check for stowaways, so let’s hope this doesn’t happen!  We have seen the videos of the carp jumping like crazy the other side of the barrier…so we wait for it…wait for it…and nothing!  I guess this is a good thing, but I was ready to see some jumping carp!

We continue on the down the river, and reach the Lockport Lock and Dam, where we have a short wait.  There are two other “pleasure boats” or “pleasure craft” as we are all called that go through the lock with us.  As dusk sets in, we continued on down to Joliet, where we would tie up to the downtown free dock for the night.  Thankful for free 30A outlets so we can run the air tonight in this crazy heat!  We introduce ourselves to one of the other boats.  Mick would become our traveling buddy on and off for a good part of our river trip.  Mick is a “Gold Looper” on his second time around the Great Loop!  We are very impressed!

The next morning, we shoved off early.  We had a few hour delay at the Dresden Lock & Dam, so we rafted off with Mick and talked over lunch.  It was a beautiful day, and hey- we really had nowhere in particular to be!  This is a strange concept for me, stopping to enjoy an afternoon chat, to stop and really be present instead of rushing off in my mind to the next task of the day.  We watch cows wander into the river and drink.  We finally get through the lock as dusk is setting in.  We have been warned to be off the rivers at dark, as there is still 24/7 barge activity.  We rush to make a city dock by dark, and as we pull up, we feel the keel tapping the bottom…not good!   So we decide to push on, and after an hour or so in the dark, we reach the Anchor In Marina in Seneca, IL.  The Anchor In isn’t much for a marina, a very rough wall of old concrete stacked high.  Chad and Rilee almost took a dive in the river, and we quickly learned we needed to use the dog ramp!  Regardless, we are happy to have a place to tie to for the night.  After a quick bite to eat at the local pub, we are exhausted!

We wake early, ready to get a start on down the river, to find foggy conditions.  The sun appears and quickly burns the fog off, and we are off down the river.  We found another delay at the Marseilles Lock, so we had another long travel day, though we didn’t make much headway down the river.  We were happy to arrive to Heritage Harbor Marina in Ottawa, IL.  We have heard great things about this place and town, and are looking forward to the marina manager’s daily briefing on the river conditions.  We decide to hang out here for a day or two, as there is much to do.  We spent one day exploring Starved Rock State Park, and another exploring downtown Ottawa. We even found a cool local brewery, Tangled Roots Brewing Company, to enjoy.

The moon over the river at Ottawa, IL.

We set off on down the river, and find another delay at the Starved Rock Lock & Dam.  We are finding these locks to live up to their reputation!  We make it to the Henry Harbor Marina in Henry, IL.  Since the marina is too shallow for us right now, we have to tie to the outside abandoned Henry Lock wall.  This wall is also in very poor condition and we are thankful for every bumper we have!  Henry is a very small town, but we manage to find a grocery store.

The next day we set out to reach the Illinois Valley Yacht (IVY) Club in Peoria, IL.  It is a very hazy day, but we got to see some white pelicans.  We are happy to reach the IVY Club and ready to explore Peoria.  We spend a few days checking out the town.  We found another cool local brewery, Obed and Isaac’s, which was in a beautiful old church.  Chad also got to explore the CAT museum.  We found some really cool people at the IVY Club who were very friendly and helpful with local river knowledge.

After being spoiled a few days at the IVY Club, we prepared for a few nights on the hook (or anchored for you land-lubbers!).  The first day we made it to Havana, IL and anchored behind Quiver Island.  We took the dinghy to shore with the dog and explored the tiny town.  Chad was really excited to see our first mysterious Indian Mound.  On the way back, in the dark, a carp jumped right into our dinghy!  Rilee and I almost jumped into the river!  The second day we made it to Florence, IL where we anchored outside of the channel of the river, behind a bridge.  An even smaller town!

We woke early and pushed on through the rain, eager to reach Grafton, IL.  Grafton is located at the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.  The sun came out, and so did the speedboats!  We fought down the river, getting beat up by all of the wake.  Arriving at Grafton was quite a sight after days at anchor – it was quite the party!  We were energized and ready to hit the town!