Joliet to Starved Rock - Down the Illinois River

Saturday, August 10 2019
Day 2 On the Loop!

We left from the town wall at Joliet (Mile 290), heading down to the Starved Rock Lock, near the town of Ottawa IL (about 33 miles).   We were headed towards our first federal lock, the Brandon Road Lock (mile 286).

Following the advice from Joliet Harbor Host Brenda we called ahead and were advised that they could lock us through.   Shortly after going through the first dam we came to the Dresden Lock and Dam (Mile 271.5).  This locking went a lot smoother than the locking through in Chicago, but boat handling at slow speeds is still a challenge.




The actual process for locking is pretty simple.  You pull into the lock, to a floating bollard that you are directed to, and put a rope around the bollard and float up or down with the water level.
Inside a large lock on the Illinois River


Our next stop was the Marseilles Lock.  The lock is being maintained and admittance for recreational boats is done after 6:00 pm.  We called the lockmaster and were informed we might be able to get through earlier.  We were at the dock early and decided to anchor and try out the new grill on Sunny Tug by grilling some fish.  The grill worked well, and the fish and salad were delicious, and healthy!

Breaking in the new grill with salmon fillets


We wanted to be at our marina (Starved Lock - Mile 233.4)  before it got dark around 8:00 pm, and so poured on the speed (about 12 knots) after leaving the lock.  We got to the marina before dark, which was good since the entrance was narrow.

We went to the bar and had a drink and an order of "Giant Shrooms"  to make up for our healthy dinner.   :)

After that, it was an early night as we had to be up at 4:00 am to catch a 5:00 am opening of the Starved Rock Lock, which is only open limited hours due to repair work. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Please feel free to leave your comments.

Popular posts from this blog

Ipswich Bay To Gloucester via the Annisquam River and Blynman Canal

Image
Sunday, July 28 2019 We left our mooring buoy at Ipswich Bay Yacht Club and since this was a "shakedown cruise" I wanted to try every possible system on board so we decided to try out to anchor at a nice sandy beach across from the moorage field.   We motored out there and then tried to find a good spot to anchor that would not get us fouled on the mooring buoys that were already in place, and that would not have us hit other boats.   Caroline also wanted to try and go for a swim. After several attempts we did manage to get the anchor to hold, but the current was too strong for swimming and I was not happy with our position relative to other boats, so we raised the anchor, but we could say that we had successfully done our first anchoring, even if it was only for five minutes! First Raising of the Anchor on Sunny Tug The portion of the trip in the ocean, through Ipswich Bay, was very pleasant.  Caroline took the opportunity to pilot Sunny Tug for awhi...
Read more

Sunny Tug Returns to Shore, Upgrades and Repairs, and Shipping to Chicago

Image
Friday, August 2, 2019 This is an update on the crazy last couple of days since we returned Sunny Tug to Winter Island Yacht Yard on Tuesday, July 30. I had a list of 18 items that needed to be looked at based on our shakedown cruise.  The two  biggies were the electrical system problems and the AIS (Automatic Identification System) not working. Here is a good write up on the West Marine website of how AIS works . The original plan was that Sunny Tug would be picked up Thursday, August 1 to start the transport to Chicago.   She actually left on Saturday morning, but Roland Hanes, the trucker, thinks he can still get to Chicago on Monday. Roland unloading a new Ranger Tug in preparation for loading Sunny Tug It was a long, and at times crazy, couple of days.   It was good getting to help out with some of the work at the yard, so I could learn a bit more about my boat but it was also tiring.  Thankfully, the heat that we first had when I ar...
Read more

Down the Mississippi to Boston Bar - Our First Night at Anchor

Image
Friday September 20, 2019 Day 35 Kaskaskia Lock to Boston Bar Anchorage (96.66 miles) After a peaceful night on the lock wall at Kaskaskia Lock we had an an early start, travelling with Frank and Cally Rogers-White aboard Jubilee another Ranger 29 Tug.   This would be a very long day as we traveled over 96 miles down to Boston Bar.   Also on the lock wall had been George and Nina Hutcherson aboard the sailing vessel Breathe  and Chris and Bonnie Clayton aboard Mi Toi. Before we left a tow with a couple of barges went through Kaskaskia Lock.   It was fun to be this close to a tow, and to hear the radio traffic from the crew member guiding the tow as he stood on the front of the barge. Tow going through Kaskaskia Lock We had planned to stop at Hoppies Marine, a floating barge with power about 47 miles down river, but Hoppies was full so we had to keep going.  This ended up being a good thing, as another Looper who did stop stop at Hopp...
Read more