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Port #22: We Love Horseshoes…

By on October 5, 2014 in Ocean Breeze
Great Loop II Date: 9/15/2014

Day #46 (Monday): 42 miles (1233 total miles)

Locks: 0 (8 total locks) wickets down in 1 lock

Port #22: Havana, IL (will post pictures when we have better signal)

Morning ritual completed, OB was off the dock and on her way to the Peoria Lock with Roundabout and Andante close behind.  Having looked ahead, we all knew the Peoria Lock was flooded and the wickets were down.  That allowed us to travel midstream down the river past the Peoria Lock without stopping.
As we were passing over the wicket dam, looking at the flooded lock.
The open area on the far right is where the wickets are located.
A wicket dam is a metal dam or a series of metal plates attached individually to a system creating a dam.  During flooding, it can be lowered to the bottom of the river to allow the rushing river water to move by the lock preventing damage from debris and erosion to the lock from the water.  It is both advantageous for us as well as a little frightening with the rapid water.  However, our passage was easy and controlled.

The day started and continued cloudy with periods of rain.  The Asian Carp jumped frequently hitting the back of our boat.  They sounded like logs hitting the bottom.  I was up and looking quite a few times making sure there wasn’t a dead head bobbing behind us in the water.  Dead heads are logs that float vertically and are usually just below the surface of the water making them impossible to see or avoid.

The clouds are pretty in pictures, but it got pretty monotonous seeing every day like this with no sun.
Flooding along the Illinois River
Unloading coal from a barge for the coal fired power plant below
We went under a lot of lift bridges too…mostly railroad.  This bridge operator seemed to have a nice little house to stay in while on duty.

We arrived at Havana, IL in good time and tied up the Nature Center dock, another free dock.  Havana restaurants are known for their famous Horseshoe open faced sandwich.  We made way to Babe’s for a late lunch.

OB at her free dock…the Nature Center in Havana, IL.
The famous Horseshoe…from bottom to top: 2 Texas Toast, 2 hamburgers, fries, cheese sauce, bacon, tomatoes, green onions and probably some stuff I left out.
When we came back to the dock, we were met by Loopers we’ve been in the last ports with.  We mentioned having docktails at Babe’s and set a time for later in the evening..  It was ‘Wing’ night.  The wings were delicious shared with lots of conversation and laughter.

Port #21: Hurry Up to Hold Up…

By on September 24, 2014 in Ocean Breeze
Great Loop II Date: 9/11/2014

Day #42 (Thursday): 79 miles (1190 total miles)

Locks: 1 (8 total locks)

Port #21: Peoria, IL

Early morning departures are the rule especially when locks are involved.  My routine follows:

  • ·         Get up at 4:45 AM, get dressed and ready for the day
  • ·         If we are at a dock, put the already made coffee in the thermos after pouring my travel cup as well as Todd’s and start the second pot.
  • ·         If we don’t have dockside power available (at anchor or a free dock):
o   Start the generator

o   Turn on the heat and warm up the boat (it’s been COLD)

o   Turn on the coffee pot

  • ·         While the first or the second pot is perking, go online to:
o   Check the Lock Queue

o   Check the Lock Status

o   Check the river flood status

o   Check my emails

  • ·         I may or may not set up the crockpot with dinner for that evening.  On this day we planned to anchor so I set the crockpot up with beef vegetable soup.
In the meantime, Todd is up and dressed, checks his emails and the weather.  He sets up his computer with our second navigation program.  I let him know what I’ve found online regarding barges and tows.  The second pot of coffee is done and goes into the thermos.  Headsets go on, lines come off and we are on our way sometimes with Loopers leaving the same day, sometimes ahead of Loopers staying in port.  That’s dependent on conversations and decisions made the night before.

We all monitor VHF radio Channels 16 (Coast Guard Channel & some bridges), 12 & 14 (tows), 13 (some bridges) and 68 (pleasure craft where we can talk to each other).  There’s not a lot of chatter on any of those channels, only essential information is passed along.

There were so many Loopers in Ottawa, 6 of us decided to leave at the crack of dawn.  Three were ‘go fast’ boats and 3 of us were ‘slower’ boats.  We had one lock just 20 miles away at Starve Rock.  No barges were coming or going as far as we could see on the Lock Queue.  When we arrived at the lock, the lockmaster was filling the lock and we ended up tying up to the approach wall.  I’ve found that the early morning lockmasters love a nice cup of hot coffee and this lockmaster was no different.  As soon as all the boats on our side of the lock had lines for the lock down, I had a ‘go cup’ ready.  He grabbed it as he headed around to the other side of the lock to hand lines to the last two boats.  This gesture seems to keep life in the locks very upbeat.

Entering the Starved Rock Lock
Once the lock down was completed, the ‘go fast’ boats were on their way to Peoria, IL.  We planned to go to Henry and anchor, as did two other boats.  This was another cloudy, grey day with periods of drizzle.

The day was filled with more barges, a huge number of white pelican sightings as well as a bald eagle and red tail hawk sighting.  Many of the pictures were of things we had seen on the last Loop.  We made good time so by the time we got to Henry and we decided to go on to Peoria, as did the other two boats.

We were close enough to get this shot of two of the many bald eagles we saw.
We’re never without tows and barges.
The old lock wall in Henry, IL where we tied up in 2010.
This is one of the smaller flocks of white pelicans.
We heard one of the boats ahead of us mention that the Nina and Pinta tall ships were in Peoria Lake on their way to the Municipal Docks where we intended to stay.  The Pinta had hard grounded on a sandbar.  A tug was busy working to free her and did so before we arrived.  Both ships were docked by the time we got to Peoria.

What a nice surprise to have the Nina and the Pinta as dockmates!
Because of the flooding Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, we ended up staying in Peoria over the weekend.  There were no available docks in the ports down river.  Loopers were backed up all the way to Chicago and we were caught in the middle.

We made the best of it by going to the Catepillar Museum and the Riverfront Museum on Friday.  Saturday we went to the huge Farmer’s Market, toured the Nina and Pinta tall ships and watched football.  I got a surprise text from our best friends, Pete and Nancy.  They were on their way to Wisconsin and decided to detour to Peoria to see us.  We had a wonderful Saturday evening and Sunday morning with them, as well.

This is one huge earth mover!
Look at the size of those tires.
Todd was trying to run a simulation with a backhoe.
This is friendship!  We went to breakfast with Pete and Nancy.  Their car looked like our guest room.

Todd got our bikes down Sunday and we had a nice ride through the downtown area.  There were many different metal art sculptures around the Municipal Auditorium and Conference Center.  Past that we got into an older part of town that seemed a little run down.  Our instinct was to turn around and head back to the dock.

Dedication to the underground railroad.
President Lincoln at the top of the statue.
That evening we all celebrated Sue’s birthday (Andante) at Joe’s Crab Shack.  Then it was early to bed followed by another early morning departure.

Port #20: A Looper Convention in Ottawa (IL)…

By on September 14, 2014 in Ocean Breeze
Great Loop II Date: 9/7/2014

Day #38 (Sunday): 45 miles (1111 total miles)

Locks: 3 (7 total locks)

Port #20: Ottawa, IL

When the clock went off at 4:45AM, we were more than happy to arise.  The Joliet wall has not changed from our stay in 2010.  Although the characters in the park seem to be harmless, there is no lighting along the wall.  The larger barges coming by made us consider our vulnerability, as well.  There was comfort in the numbers of boats on the wall with us.  Also at that point in the river, the curve did push the barges to the far side away from us.  All the same, we left with no sorrow.

Todd called ahead to the Brandon Lock and it was empty.  The lockmaster told us to come on down.  As 8 boats began pulling away from the wall, the railroad bridge ahead of us began coming down.  None of us could get under that bridge.  Todd called the bridge and the manager said a train was coming and the bridge would be closed for the next 10 minutes or so.  All 8 boats motored around until the train passed.

Luckily there were no barges coming either immediately up-bound or down-bound to delay us in our first lock of the day.  There were so many boats, we had to raft two by two to fit everyone into the lock.  Once we were out of the lock, OB fell behind fairly quickly.  We motor a lot slower than most for two reasons: it saves diesel so we visit the pump less frequently than others and it allows us to see more along the way as well as avoid debris in the water.  Further, we knew we wouldn’t be left out of the next two locks since the lockmasters call back and forth between locks to let each other know what’s coming in the way of traffic.  They like to keep the pleasure boats together in a group and will hold the lock as long as it takes to get everyone in.

Three boats ahead of us…
there were actually four boats back there…

…and three here make eleven!
There go the boats in front of us…
…and here come the boats behind us getting ready to pass us.
There’s the ever present barges being staged for movement on the river.
More staging.

Part of the adventure is some of the things we see along the way.  It must have been goose hunting season.  The hunting blinds we passed were all habited.  We could see heads peeping out at us as we passed by.  Each blind had a dozen or so goose decoys out.

This was the Taj Mahal of duck-goose blinds along this stretch.  All those ‘birds’ on the right are his decoys.
This was a boat transformed into a blind.  His decoys are sitting to the left and…
…he actually stood up to look at all of us going by.  The arrow is pointing at him.
Just after the hunting blinds were a huge flock of white pelicans.  Their presence in Illinois is an interesting story, because their normal migration route is well west of here.  As the story goes a group of pelicans wound up in the Illinois River Valley a few years ago.  It is thought a storm pushed them off course. Whatever the reason, they have returned in greater numbers each year. Migration is a learned behavior, and apparently the pelicans have learned the route to a warm winter home goes through Illinois!

The bunched up white birds are the white pelicans.  The birds standing by themselves in the back are egrets.
We had three locks to go through.  This was the second of the three, the Dresden Lock.
We continued to have to raft up in the locks.
Leaving the Dresden Lock.
Oncoming tow.  We were advised by the tow captain to pass on the ‘one’ which is his port to our port.  I comes from the formality of the captain blowing his horn once (past on my port side) or twice (pass on my starboard side).

This being Sunday and a beautiful, warm early September day, boaters and jet skiers were out in hoards.  We passed long sand beaches along the river full of boats and folks just having fun.  We well understand the need for weekend fun in the working world.  However the busy waterways made us decide not to travel on the weekends during our last Loop.  We had a big reminder on this weekend day.  Unless pushed by a time constraint or incoming weather, we most likely will not travel on the weekends any more.

Boats and jet skis were flying in every direction!
This particular area on the beach was interesting.  There were at least 3 dozen boats beached along this stretch and a party atmosphere was in full swing.  The sign is below.

This part of the beach had it’s own sign…only about 100 feet from the sign above.
You may have to click on it to get the full message.
This is only part of ‘Trespass Beach’,

Next up we passed an old tow converted to a bar and casino, the Katie Hooper.  It looked better when we passed her in 2010.  We wondered if she might be closed now.

Poor ol’ Katie Hooper…she needs some work now.
Our AIS as well as listening to the other Loopers ahead of us on the VHF radio let know we were coming upon the tow OMAR.  The tow captain was very friendly and sent us all around on ‘the two’ (his port side, our starboard).  We had no problem with OMAR but the ‘go fast’ boats that were out on this Sunday afternoon were running without abandon.  They cut between us and OMAR.  At times it looked as though they were on a collision course with either Ocean Breeze or OMAR!  Tows such as OMAR pushing barges cannot stop.  A few years ago, a Looper boat was caught in the wake of a tow pushing barges and nearly capsized.  So much damage was inflicted on the boat it could not continue the Loop.

Our last lock of the day was another easy in, easy out.  We were so lucky.  Three locks had the potential to make for an extremely long day if barge traffic was heavy.  Our marina for the night was just around the corner from the lock.  We were in early enough for a big group at Docktails.

Leaving the last of our three locks, the Marseilles Lock.
Ahhh….coming into Heritage Harbor, our marina home for the next three days.
Docktails!
Heritage Harbor is very well run and friendly to Loopers.  The owner found us at the free dock in downtown Ottawa during our 2010 Loop.  He took us to the grocery store, brought us back to our boat and helped us unload groceries.  He impressed us so much with his kind gesture, we decided to stay in his marina during this Loop and forgo ‘free’.  All of the Loopers we were on the Joliet wall with elected to come into Heritage Harbor, as well.

A huge weather front was posed to come through Tuesday and Wednesday.  Our 8 boats grew to 12 and finally to 19.  We had a fantastic potluck Monday evening and fun around the marina bar Tuesday evening.  Wednesday the captains were concerned about the large number of boats collected and how many might leave to go downstream Thursday morning.  They called a meeting to collaborate and assess the looming situation especially with few areas for anchoring or docking in the upcoming 75 miles.  In the end, 5 boats planned to anchor, 4 boats planned to make a run for Peoria, IL and a few boats were considering the Henry Lock Wall.  We were among the anchoring group.

Potluck night!
Breakfast of champions…and Loopers.
Interesting sign at the pool.
Yes, it was warm enough to have docktails at the pool…until the front came through!
The Captains meeting.  It really is wonderful how well Loopers work together to try to make the adventure a positive experience for everyone.  No one wants to be left high and dry with no place to anchor or tie up in a busy river.
A fellow Looper included information in her blog about the importance of barges on the rivers.  I thought it good to bring that information forward to my blog.  Thanks go out to Monica on Untide for her research.  She has a fantastic blog going at http://looping-nz-style.blogspot.com.  Her camera eye is absolutely the best.

Monica captured this sign early in the transit through the Illinois River.  It definitely defines the pecking order in locking.
‘A typical barge carries 1500 tons of cargo, which is 15 times greater than a rail car and 60 times greater than one trailer truck. An average river tow on the Upper Mississippi River is 15 barges consisting of 5 barges tied together and moving 3 abreast. The same load would require a train 3 miles long or line of trucks stretching more than 35 miles. In 1995, 321 million tons of cargos were moved on the Mississippi River. Barges carry many different types of goods with coal, petro-chemical products, and grain constituting most common commodities moved.


Why is a towboat called a towboat when it pushes the barges?
The word “tow” comes from the canal age when a draft animal walking along the bank of the canal pulled a barge. As rivermen gained experience with moving barges, they found that, by lashing barges together and pushing them, they could control the barges better and move more of them. The control was especially helpful when navigating the smaller rivers and tight bends in a river.

What is the size of a barge? 
The standard barge is 195 feet long, 35 feet wide, and can be used to a 9-foot draft. Its capacity is 1500 tons. Some of the newer barges today are 290 feet by 50 feet, double the capacity of earlier barges.

What is the size of a towboat?
Towboats range in physical size from about 117 feet long by 30 feet wide to more than 200 feet long and 45 feet wide. They draft anywhere from 6.5 feet to 9.0 feet. The boat’s diesel engine can produce power from a few hundred horsepower to 10,000 horsepower. A few are in excess of that, but not many. The larger boats operated on the Lower Mississippi where the water is free-flowing and wide.

How many barges and towboats are there?
There are approximately 26,000 dry cargo barges, 3,000 tanker barges, and 1,200 towboats operating today.

How many barges are there in a tow?
The average tow has 15 barges, but flotillas can go up to 40 barges, depending on the type of cargo, the river segments being navigated, and the size of the towboat. Smaller tributaries, such as the Alabama River, can support only a four-barge tow because of the meandering nature of the river and varying width of the river itself. In addition, the Alabama’s locks are only 84 feet wide and 600 feet long.

Port #19: Bridging Our Way to Joliet…

By on September 7, 2014 in Ocean Breeze

Great Loop II Date: 9/6/2014Day #37 (Saturday): 36.5 miles (1066 total miles)Locks: 1 (4 total locks)Port #19:  Joliet, ILThe clock rang its happy sound at 4:45AM.  Charlie and I got up, put the first pot of coffee in our thermos and started …

Port#18: Docktails in Dolton…

By on September 5, 2014 in Ocean Breeze
Great Loop II Date: 9/5/2014

Day #36 (Friday): 13.5 miles (1030 total miles)

Locks: 1 (3 total locks)

Port #18:  Dolton, IL

On August 28th a 57 foot tug capsized and sank in the Calumet River just past the 106th Street Bridge in Chicago, IL.  Other than the headlines, who would think it would cause us problems as we prepared to start our trek down the rivers.  Because of Ocean Breeze’s bridge clearance, we chose to take the Cal-Sag Shipping Channel both in 2010 and again during this Loop.  The 106th Street Bridge was part of this route.  Worse yet, we were informed the Army Corps of Engineers responsible for removing the sunk tug planned to close passage through that area for a week.

Todd and I had already decided we wanted to get underway and get to a point where we could pass through the famous Aquatic Nuisance Species Dispersal Barrier (Asian Carp Fish Barrier, for short!) on Saturday or Sunday when it was open.  During our 2010 Loop trip, we traveled down this corridor on Sunday and it was quiet.  No barges were moving, all the plants along the waterway were still and the locks and bridges opened as soon as we arrived.  We knew leaving on a Friday would put us amid a working river but we had to get down stream before the river would be closed.

By Friday, a large group of Loopers had come into Hammond Marina to prepare for their river transit.  A few made the decision to stay in Hammond.  Andante (Sue and Tom) and Sweetwater (Pam and Tim) were ready to make a run for the rivers.

Bye bye Hammond
We met our first barge before we even entered the Calumet River!  Only one barge being moved toward one of the steel plants.  We saw quite a few being moved around and repositioned in the river.
The entrance to the Calumet River.  We’re finally off the lakes…until next summer.
The first bridge we had to wait for…although this one went up fairly quickly and our wait was short.
Believe it or not, we fit under this railroad bridge…and wouldn’t you know a train came over it as soon as we started under it!
At normal pool we would have fit under this bridge.  With the higher water levels in Lake Michigan this year, the clearance was lowered to 17 feet.  We eased up to the bridge but there just was not enough room so we waited with this trawler.
There’s a sunk 57 foot tug at the end of that crane.
This is a pretty big operation to get this tug pulled up and out of the river.
More barges in various stages of loading and unloading along the side of the river.
Scenes like this also populate the river and always catch my eye.
The last freighter we’ll see until we come into the Hudson River…unless we catch them along the East Coast.  That won’t be until next May.

The rivers were busy with small numbers of barges being moved about and positioned for taking on a load or travel.  Some of the bridges were open as we came down the river, others had to be called.  It was very windy and hot, so waiting was not pleasant.

When we reached our only lock of the day (the Thomas O’Brian), the lockmaster was filling the lock and two sailboats were waiting.  A trawler and a small johnboat joined us, as well.  The transit took an hour and the drop was only 3 feet.  We didn’t have to tie to a bollard since the drop was minimal with no turbulence.

Good Ol’ Thomas O’Brien, the first lock of 8 we will go through on our way down the Calumet, Des Plaines and Illinois River System on the way to the Mississippi.

When we’re in the rivers, the scenery seems so remote and rural that we often forget civilization may only be a bridge away.  This is the I-94 bridge that runs north into Chicago, on up the west side of Lake Michigan into Milwaukee then inland into Minnesota!
We arrived at our stop for the day only 13 ½ miles downriver from Lake Michigan.  The trip took us 2 ½ hours, which is not unusual with wait times for lift bridges and locks.  The run positioned us well to transit the Fish Barrier on Saturday morning.  We also had our first Docktails get together with 4 other Looper boats: Andante, Sweetwater, Satisfaction and NancyAnn.


Port #17: Making a Home in Hammond!

By on September 5, 2014 in Ocean Breeze
Great Loop II Date: 8/26/2014

Day #26 {Tuesday): 60 miles (1016 total miles)

Locks: 0 (2 total locks)

Port #17:  Hammond, IN

After an uncomfortable night, I woke up with the clock at 5:30AM.  NOAA’s reports were for afternoon and evening thunderstorms developing southwest of Chicago.  During the last 3 days we had heard severe thunderstorm warnings accompanied by severe weather marine warnings for Chicago and southern Lake Michigan.  Looking at the radar, all looked well with a line of developing storms well south of the Illinois/Indiana border and heading due east.  Lake Michigan was calm with 1 foot or less seas that would be on our stern.  That would make for a nice ride.

Before we left our dock at North Point Marina in Winthrop Harbor, IL.

We cast off our lines at 7:30AM and Todd set course for Hammond, IN south of Chicago.  We had decided our tour of Chicago during the last Loop was good enough for us.  Another determining factor was Todd had received a call from the VA Outpatient Center in Columbus, Ohio for a long awaited appointment.  This appointment would determine his hearing loss related to his service in the Air Force from poor ear protection while working in the loud missile launch bays.  Hammond would be a good place to stay, rent a car, and travel to Columbus, Ohio for the appointment.

Our trip from Winthrop Harbor to just north of Chicago was unremarkable.  The following seas had been comfortable, although the day had become overcast and dismal.  We were busy killing biting flies that continued to try to make a meal of us.

By 11:30AM it was evident a big storm had developed and was heading east.  It looked like it would hit us.  Todd opted to put OB up on plane and try to outrun the storm.  His strategy and some help from God worked.  The storm blew up directly behind us.  The skies were menicing, there was plenty of lightening and thunder behind us and there was plenty of rain.  It did look like it would overtake as at some point but never did.  The winds were very strong but were also on our stern along with growing choppy waves.  At one point we felt we were surfing 3 foot with an occasional 4 foot wave.  However, with them on our stern, the ride was never uncomfortable.  Part of that comfort was due to the excellent driving abilities of Otto (our autopilot).  We did dawn our life vests and put Charlie in his.  He immediately went to his safe place and hid.

The Chicago skyline did appear and is just under those clouds on the right.  The black dots on the windshield are flies!
Charlie’s safe place…our master stateroom in the front of the boat under the pilothouse where we are stationed.  He’s in his life vest.

We passed the Chicago skyline around 1PM.  It had just begun to reappear from under the dense clouds.  So far we’ve not gotten a good skyline shot of Chicago in either Loop.  Chicago was incased in heavy haze when we approached in 2010.

Todd slowed OB to a crawl just after passing Chicago.  There was another big storm to our south that had developed southwest of Joliet and worked its way northeast into our path.  It took us another 1 ½ hours to get to Hammond but we didn’t get a drop of rain out of that storm.

There goes that storm to the south of us.

Hammond Marina is a large facility that sits right behind the Horseshoe Casino.  Our dock was a good long walk from the main office and not quite as far to the casino.  Since I hadn’t fixed anything for dinner, we decided to go to the casino.  We went to the buffet and enjoyed excellent food from many cultures: Asian, Latin, Italian as well as American cusiene were available.  Todd and I left totally satisfied.

The Hammond Marina.  OB is waaaaaaaaay back in the very back of the picture!  It was a 1 mile walk from OB to the marina office and back to OB.  Excellent exercise.
Since we filled up at the buffet our first night, we stuck with one of our favorite meals the second night…wine, cheese, beef stick and crackers.
Another beautiful sunset…after a rainy afternoon, of course.
We enjoyed meeting and reuniting with many Loopers during our stay.  Akasha with Rosemary and Clark came in soon after we did.  They flew back to their home in Ft. Worth the next morning for a short break and to keep some appointments.  Blue Moon and El Nido came in that same evening.  We had just met them in Leland, MI.  DeDe with Diane and Henry as well as Fruitcakes with Julie and Andy had come in with this group.  All of them had crossed from Michigan and outwitted the storms.

Thursday afternoon we finally caught up with this group of Loopers.  We decided to go to the casino, have some cocktails and try our hand at gambling.  I’ve never had much experience with casino games but decided it would be fun.  Besides, the mention of food will get me to go most anywhere!

First we ate at the Asian restaurant inside the casino.  Again we had a delicious meal.  After dinner, we went to the video poker bar in the middle of the casino floor.  We ordered after dinner cocktails and tried our luck with Blackjack and Poker.  I stuck with Blackjack and managed to lose $4.10.

We took our cocktails out into the casino and Todd and I chose to try the slots.  Within 20 minutes I won back my $4.10 and added another $10.70 in winnings to it.  With that, I was content to stop and head back to the boat.

This was a huge casino with multiple floors.  This was just a small section of the main floor.  The lights and sounds always amaze me.
Friday was a catch up day on the boat.  We had gotten a mail drop from our mail collection company.  More storms rolled in and it made it a good day for inside work (laundry, sorting mail, etc.).  King drop by (from Blue Moon) and more plans were hatched for another trip to the casino for cocktails and gambling.

Todd picked up a rental car from Enterprise Saturday.  We restocked our supplies for the upcoming river trip.  Saturday night we did go back to the casino with King and Sharon.  I lost that night but still came out with $15.70 of the $20 I played.  I doubt I will ever become a high stakes gambler.
Sunday we prepared the boat to stay in place for the few days we would travel to Columbus, Ohio.  We both remarked how different it was to be in a car fighting traffic compared to being on the water fighting waves and wakes.  We decided we preferred the latter.

Sunday afternoon we had a wonderful visit from one of our Aquaholic couples who winter in Cape Coral as we do.  Linda and Bob have a home in St. Charles, IL just west of Chicago.  Bob knows the area well from his business.  After a brief introduction to Ocean Breeze, we went to a good Mexican restaurant south of the marina in Whiting, IL.  We talked and laughed and had a most enjoyable afternoon and evening.

Monday Todd and I packed, closed up the boat and went to Columbus.  Tuesday, Todd had an appointment at the VA Outpatient Center.  He was tested in the audiology department in follow up from his claim regarding exposure during his service in the Air Force.  That evening, we went to the birthday party of a dear friend and had a marvelous time with our boating buddies that all live in Columbus.

You just never know what you are going to run into on the roads!  This did look like a flying saucer.  I was completely round and could only go about 55mph.  I’d love to see it at night with all the lights going around the outside of it!
Coming into Ohio….
…with a fairly quick turn around going back to OB.
Wednesday morning we were back on the road early to get back to Ocean Breeze and return the rental car.  In the process, Charlie tripped me on the way from the car to the dock in his excitement to get to some grass for his duties.  I fell flat on my back and experienced another round of excruciating pain in my right shoulder.  I spent the rest of the day icing the shoulder and popping ibuprofen and Tylenol Extra Strength.  By evening the pain was well reduced which was a big relief.

Thursday presented itself with a day of wind and storms so we delayed at Hammond one more day.  By then we were getting anxious to be underway.  We spent the day checking blogs and Army Corps sites online concerning the locks and the Asian Carp Fish Barrier.  Many Loopers had already made it past this bottleneck in the Ca—Sag Shipping Channel however most have chosen to transit the area on Sundays while the barrier is open and work is halted for the weekend.  By Thursday evening, we had decided Friday was our day to drop the lines and leave Hammond for the rivers.

Port #16: No Point at North Point…

By on August 29, 2014 in Ocean Breeze
Great Loop II Date: 8/25/2014

Day #25 {Monday): 46 miles (956 total miles)

Locks: 0 (2 total locks)

Port #16:  Winthrop Harbor, IL

The clock was set for 4:45AM.  I woke up at 4:25AM and reset it for 5:30AM.  I couldn’t get back to sleep so I got up, got dressed and set up the crockpot with a pork roast, potatoes and carrots.

The weather looked overcast with rain developing all around us.  The seas were supposed to be 1 foot or less.  Todd and I readied the boat and were out of the dock by 7:30AM.  Once we passed all the break walls, we were in very confused seas with closer to 2 foot waves and they seemed to be building.  We decided to turn around and go back to the dock and wait out the incoming storms.

Storms to the North of McKinley Marina.
Storms south of McKinley Marina.
Charlie doesn’t like storms…he went into full panic panting mode.

By 11AM all the fun was past, the winds seemed to have calmed and we headed out to Lake Michigan once again.  The seas were nearly calm..

Lake Michigan settled down nicely after the storms passed.
Charlie, our barometer, demonstrated the settled seas.

We were in and out of rain for most of our trip to North Point Marina at Winthrop Harbor.  Todd had called the marina office on Sunday and again the morning before we left.  There was a recording advising us the marina office was closed Saturdays through Mondays…period.  The recording did say ‘In case of emergency, call Security at…. or hail them on Ch.9′.  I mentioned Security might make dock assignments on.  Todd called back, got the Security phone number and called.  Security said indeed they would make a dock assignment for us when we arrived.

An hour before our arrival, Todd called Security at the marina….no answer.  As we got closer, he hailed them on Ch.68, the channel he thought they had told him to call when we got to the harbor.   No answer.  He called Ch.9.  No answer.  He called on the phone again and finally someone answered.  By then we were entering the harbor in increasingly windy conditions with an incoming storm.

We asked for directions to the dock and what side our lines should be on in order to tie OB to the dock.  The Security fellow stammered and basically had no clue.  We started down the row of our dock assignment and noticed the docks were for smaller boats.  With the direction and speed of the wind, Todd was not going to be able to easily turn OB around to get out of a bad situation.  He hailed Security, asked for a dock for larger boats and he began backing OB back down the long approach we had just come through.  Security came back with a new dock assignment.

We went to the newly assigned dock which indeed was on a longer dock however there was another large boat in the adjoining well.  With the wind direction and speed, we would again be in a bad situation so we proceeded down the row of docks until we found 4 or 5 empty ones we could maneuver into.

As Todd was backing into one of these docks, the huge center post was dead center on our swim platform.  I was already prepared with the boat hook to fend us off of anything we were sure to hit.  I pushed the pole against the post and my right shoulder stuck me with intense pain.  It was the shoulder I had injured last summer and had extensive surgery to repair it.  Now I was going about my line work moaning and trying to help Todd with our sad situation!

Ultimately Todd got us into the empty dock, I was able to get a line around a cleat from our mid-cleat.  Todd scurried down the stern ladder and secured the stern cleat.  He called Security to tell them our situation and asked if we could stay in the dock.  They said they were on their way.

Moments later they rumbled up in their Security car.  They said we couldn’t stay in the dock.  We both looked at them like they were speaking a foreign language.  Apparently the dock belonged to someone who was out on a boating vacation.  We told them we were only there for overnight.  Nope, that wasn’t going to work.  We all finally agreed on the T-head at the end of the dock.  It would make for easier docking and no one belonged to that particular dock.  They registered us right there on the spot and promptly left.  Todd and I just looked at each other.  Great…two big sturdy guys didn’t offer any help and just left us to our own.

Lines off, back on board, a shoulder that hurt with every movement, dark imposing clouds moving in quickly and the wind picking up even more made me a very unhappy customer.  With a deep breath, I retrieved the lines, did what I could to push us off the dock with the boat hook and away we went to the T-head.

We now had a stiff wind out of the west.  Todd put OB’s nose to the wind, brought us up to the T-head, I finally lassoed a dock cleat from the bow, Todd jumped off and got the center cleat secured and I got the stern.  We made quick work of securing OB properly, Todd got the water and electric set up and we waited for the storm that eventually passed us to the north and south.

A fine fellow, Wayne, had helplessly watched all of the proceedings and came over in his dinghy to make sure we were okay.  He asked if there was anything he could do to make us more comfortable.  Todd needed to go West Marine before they closed to pick up an inverter he had put on hold.  Wayne quickly agreed to take him there.  Todd and I both decided Wayne was our angel for the day.
North Point Marina is a huge marina with 1500 slips.  They advertise themselves as the largest marina in the Great Lakes.  Only half the slips were filled and it is obvious the marina is bigger than the income to help maintain it.  Further, with a security team left to tend the docks without full knowledge of what they are doing (other than keeping the bad guys out and the good guys in) puts transients in a difficult situation.

Early morning pictures of North Point Marina in Winthrop Harbor, IL.
Can you see OB?  Me neither…she’s at the very end of the dock.
 Our stop in North Point was a basic stop much like a motel or a RV stop on the way to somewhere else.  Unfortunately it caused great frustration, inflamed an old repaired injury and left a bad taste in our mouth.

Home of the Braves…I Mean Brewers!

By on August 27, 2014 in Ocean Breeze
Great Loop II Date: 8/23/2014

Day #23 {Saturday): 77 miles (910 total miles)

Locks: 0 (2 total locks)

Port #15:  Milwaukee, WI

I was up again at 4:45AM to get Charlie and myself ready for an early start.  Todd was up shortly thereafter.  We left Manitowoc Marina at 7:30AM in grey, overcast skies with light fog.  We had no problem with dead recogning however it’s always nice to know we have good back up with our electronics.

Manitowoc Harbor Light as we left Manitowoc.
Looking south as we left Manitowoc.
Nothing to see but the horizon.

The one nice thing about fog is the seas are usually very calm and quiet.  We had some rollers on our forward port quarter beam but nothing bothersome.  We had to door in the pilothouse open with a nice breeze coming through and Charlie had picked out his happy spot for the morning.

Charlie was sound asleep with his nose out the pilothouse door.

By noon the fog was thickening and by 3PM we couldn’t see our hand in front of our face…so to speak.  I quit working on the blog and pictures that would be going into it.  Todd and I both we posted at watch.  We could see two tugs and a sailboat on our AIS.  We began sounding our horn every 1 ½ to 2 minutes to alert anyone that didn’t have radar that we were in the area.  When we got the sailboat within ½ mile, Todd radioed him to let him know our position and progress.  We could see him move to the starboard side on the radar (as well as AIS) and out of our path.  I went up on the bridge but couldn’t see him even at a quarter mile.  He sounded his air horn and I could hear him falling behind us.

The tug Captain obviously saw us on radar and talked to the other tug Captain about the two crazy sail boaters out in this mess.  He didn’t know we weren’t a sailboat…surprise, surprise!

What we saw….
…what our radar and GPS mapping program saw.  All that orange on the radar was land, the dots behind us (left and right) were the tug and the sailboat, the red X in the middle of the screen was our current position and the red X in the white box was our target for the Autopilot.  On the left is the map…the little black boat is OB.  It was clear to see the entrance to the harbor, the marina and the dock on the map, not so much with the naked eye.

Coming into the breakwall and the marina was another intense effort for us.  Todd and I put on our headsets, I stepped outside the door.  He told me which side the wall would appear on first.  I’d respond when I could see it.  He’d tell me when he could see it.  Then we went about looking for the next wall.  We both were very thankful for the detail on our charting system.  Indeed it did show us exactly where we expected to be as we entered the marina.  Todd called into the marina office on the VHF radio.  They knew how frustrated we were as we tried to make out the fuel dock however they were of little help.  Finally I spotted an attendant on the fuel dock, the wind had picked up and it had started to rain and we literally blew into the dock.  It scared the attendant.  There was no harm, no foul and all was well with the world once again.

By the time we had taken on fuel, pumped out and checked in, the rain had rinsed out the fog (so to speak), the wind stopped and we progressed to our dock with little fanfare.

A fellow we had met in Key West by way of another good friend of ours lives in Milwaukee.  Hap’s dock was on the same dock we were assigned to.  He came down with his two dogs (Dory and Shamu) and a Yorkie he was dogsitting (Cooper).  Hap was the host of hosts to us.  He took us through downtown Milwaukee that evening on his boat, gave us a grand river tour and took us to a great pub for dinner.  We got back to the marina just before another rainstorm hit.  The rain on the bow lulled us to sleep.

Hap and Cooper
Dory trying to figure out Charlie.

McKinley Marina in the sunset.
OB at her dock.
The Milwaukee skyline from the shipping channel.
The Art Museum…
…those ‘wings’ are made of separate veins that close into each of the angled windows.  We didn’t see them closed until the last evening and it was too far away for me to get a good picture.  It looks like a white teepee when the veins are down.
The shipping channel markers.  We couldn’t see those when we came in, however we came in an opening closer to the marina.  There are actually three openings into one huge bay that is formed by the breakwall.
Our Lake Erie friends will remember the Dennis Sullivan.  It participated in the Battle of Lake Erie September 2013.  It was constructed and resides in Milwaukee.
The home of the Milwaukee Brewers.

The Ale House
Sunday, Hap took us to West Marine and another marine store in a failed attempt to find a replacement Inverter for our dying 400 Watt inverter that powers our computers underway.  We went back to the marina and walked over to the best vintage car show we’ve ever attended.  There were cars from the very early 1900s right up to the latest 2014 Corvette Stingray.  The cars were grouped by age and class into display circles.  We had so much fun spending the afternoon looking at these beautiful cars.

Hap came back to the marina with his sister and brother in law (Cindy and Gary) and two friends (Pam and Jay).  We showed them through the boat and had fun telling them about our adventures.  Afterward, Hap took Gary, Cindy, Todd and me to another great little brew pub (The Horny Goat…referring to the goats horns!) on the river for dinner.  Jay and Pam met us there.  We all had a fantastic time telling stories, discovering how small our world really is and laughing the evening away.

Our evening at the Horny Goat.

Milwaukee was a great stop and Hap was a most wonderful ombudsman for his city.  I got a note from my traveling nurse girlfriend, Nancy, that we had just missed her by three weeks.  Her next assignment is in Milwaukee.  She’s been assigned to a hospital in Wisconsin before (I can’t remember if it was Green Bay or Milwaukee).  I certainly understand why she’s coming back.  The folks in Wisconsin and especially Milwaukee are so genuinely nice.  It was a pleasure to be with everyone of them.

Port #14: Submarine Duty…

By on August 25, 2014 in Ocean Breeze
Great Loop II Date: 8/21/2014

Day #21 (Thursday):  74 miles (833 total miles)

Locks: 0 (2 total locks)

Port #14:  Manitowoc, WI

After a quiet night at anchor, the stars were spectacular when I got up at 4:45AM.  There was a sliver of moon left in this lunar cycle.  I brewed the coffee, wrote the blog for the anchorage and enjoyed a beautiful sunrise.

The day began clear but fog rolled in from the lake just as we were getting ready to leave.  When I brought up the anchor, it was embedded in sea grass and weeds from the lake floor.  It took Todd and I the better part of a half an hour to clear the anchor.  By the time we were done, the fog was dissipating.

Sunrise…looking good for departure!
However, this started rolling in from the opening to Lake Michigan.

OB plied out on a nearly smooth lake.  The waves that were there were taking us squarely on the stern so the ride was non-descript.  Todd set a course to cross Lake Michigan and come into Manitowoc, WI.

Looking back at the channel leading into Portage Lake.  Such a beautiful start to the day.

Since this was going to be a ‘nothing to see, nothing to take pictures of…’ day, I went about boat cleaning.  I do the same things in the boat, I do in the house but the boat is always moving.  By the time we hit the midway point on Lake Michigan, the waves became more confused and rolling under a calm surface.  Luckily I was done with the boatwork.

 
Pretty much what we’d be seeing the rest of the day.
Last look at Michigan…pretty with the mist in the hills. 

The clouds began to build above us…still kind of pretty with the rays of sun coming down through them.
Crossing the shipping channel, Todd had to divert Auto to let this freighter get by.
That blip on the right screen is the freighter after we passed him.
The clouds began to build in front of us.
This is what our screen looks like as we travel while Auto drives for us.  The black line (where the black arrow is pointing) is the course Todd set.  The yellow line (at the yellow arrow) is how Auto corrects us back and forth to stay on course.  We don’t feel very much while Auto works.  The blue box is around OB.  The red triangle is AIS showing the freighter and his direction.  The circles are showing the depth on Lake Michigan.
It’s easier to see the depths we were traveling on the Navionics program.
We saw this fellow from Norway anchored in Portage Lake.  If you enlarge the picture, you’ll see some of the weeds from the lake on his anchor.  Mine was way worse!
We traveled through a thunderstorm about an hour out from Manitowoc.  Charlie went into his panic panting cycle when he realized he heard thunder.  Luckily it quit before we came to the channel leading into the Manitowoc River.  We heard the Badger announce its departure from the channel as it took a heading to Ludington.  I was able to catch a picture of her as she left.

Thinking I might get a little wet when we get to Manitowoc and I start handling lines and fenders.
The Badger on her way to Ludington.  She’s so big she carries semi-trucks in her belly.

Docking at Manitowoc Marina was easy because it was dead calm.  In wind it could be a challenge.  There are no uprights (poles) on the docks to throw a line around; just big cleats.  I did get a lucky throw and hooked a cleat from our mid-ship.

OB’s dock was about a quarter mile from the marina office.  Todd and I have decided not to complain about walking.  We both need the exercise and it feels good.  Charlie doesn’t mind it either.

I made chili for dinner.  After dinner we walked downtown in both directions, first south over the drawbridge, then north.  Manitowoc is a cute little town with many pubs, a few restaurants, some shops and a few empty store fronts.  We see empty store fronts in many of these little towns, much the same as we saw in 2010.  We guessed then it was due to the fall in the economy and have the same belief today, although there seem to be fewer vacated buildings.

Friday we planned a day layover in Manitowoc to tour the Maritime Museum advertised to be one of the best in the United States.  It ended up a good thing as the fog rolled in during the night and thickened to the point of hazardous travel by 11AM.  We could not see 50 feet ahead of us.

Looking off OB’s bow at 8AM.
Looking off OB’s stern at 8AM.
Looking off OB’s bow at 11AM.

Looking off OB’s stern at 11AM.  Notice how the sailboats on the moorings disappeared in the fog?
That’s the Badger on the other side of the river.  When I took the picture, the fog was so thick I didn’t know if I had her in my view finder or not!
We had some problems with our oil sending gage as we crossed the lake.  Todd scheduled a mechanic to check it out along with some oil splatter around the turbo charger and AirSep on the port engine.  The mechanic came first thing in the morning, deemed OB healthy enough to travel to Cape Coral where we can have the turbo charger rebuilt, the AirSep thoroughly cleaned and a new sending unit installed.  Until then the daily oil checks will do.

Once the mechanic was gone, I finished a load of laundry and Todd did some other chores.  Afterwards, we went to the Harborside Restaurant and Pub for lunch.  It was a cute little supper club set in a 30’s motif with pictures of the Rat Pack all around.  The food was great and we both said we’d be back for dinner if we stayed another day.

The museum was nearly across the street.  First we toured the WWII Gato Class Submarine USS Cobia (245).  Manitowoc shipbuilders built 28 submarines after Pearl Harbor turning out one every 8 months.  The Cobia was not built in Manitowoc but was brought here to be maintained as part of the museum.  The Navy and shipbuilders continue to keep her in working order.  Three of her four engines are revved up every Memorial Day.  The fourth engine is maintained but has windows inserted so the insides can be viewed by people taking the tour.

Looking from the stern forward on the Cobia.
The broom in the capstan is a Navy tradition when the sub comes into port.  It means it made a ‘clean sweep’ of the enemy.
Looking forward on the deck.  The deck is covered with teak wood.  When it is damaged, it won’t float to the surface and give up the position of the sub.  The decks are painted black because the subs surface at night.  Again, it won’t give up the position of the ship.  The sonar for the sub is the t-shaped piece of the equipment on the right.

We started the tour at the forward part of the submarine and worked our way all the way through to the stern section.

The forward torpedo bay and tubes.
In the forward bay, the non-commissioned officers actually slept on top of the torpedoes.  The docent told us, the sub did not have air conditioning so the temperatures usually ranged around 90*.  There was no laundry facilities onboard.  The sailors worked in their skivvies and kept their uniforms under the mattress of their bunk to keep them clean until shore leave.
The officers mess.
Captain’s quarters.
The ‘bridge’ is amidship in the below decks.
The enlisted mess.  The docent told us because the duty on the submarine was so difficult because of the environment and the long times in enclosed spaces, the food was the best the Navy provided any of the ships.
The enlisted mess.  It actually seated 24 sailors at a time…three on each side of the four tables.
The passageway leading aft from the enlisted mess.
The enlisted quarters.  There were so many bunks in this room, it was shocking.  They were two rows deep and three bunks high on this side with only about a foot of room to pass between the row of bunks.  There was another row on the other side in the same arrangement.  The bunks were shared by two to three men….one slept while the other worked and the third was on down time.
Enlisted locker.
Enlisted latrine.  The docent told us because of the slow desalination process for water and the fact that the mess got most of the 1000 gallons a day, the sailors only had one minute to shower…AND they had to shower with their skivvies on in order to wash them.  They were allowed to shower once a week.  The sailors usually didn’t shower because the one clean one would smell all the dirty ones for the rest of the week.  The submarines got the nickname ‘pig boats’ because of the stench.  The docent also mentioned that when they went to shore smelling as they did, the girls would look for them because they had more money to spend.
The engine room.  Temperatures ranged upward of 120* when the engines were running.  When the sub submerged, they ran on battery power to keep them stealth.

We went through the museum which is one of the best in the nation and affiliated with the Smithsonian Institute.  There were many models of freighters and other ships built at the Manitowoc Shipyards from the time it opened in 1902 until it closed in 1968.  There were many different kinds of engines on display as well as a walk through time dedicated to the fishing industry and shipbuilding in the Great Lakes.  They even had a wall dedicated to the Great Loop!

It took us almost 5 hours to tour the museum with the USS Cobia tour only taking about 30 minutes of that time.  We went back to the boat where I handcrafted a tomato, basil, garlic pizza…not quite the quality of Carmine Street in Cape Coral but it will have to do until November.  After dinner we met our Looper neighbors on Pier Pressure, Pam and Eric.  They had come in around noon just as we were leaving for lunch and the museum.  We shared experiences and gained knowledge from each other.  We’re going to have a nice group in the rivers in a week or so.

By the time Pam and Eric left, the fog that had enveloped our day had lifted giving us hope to be able to leave the next morning.

Port #13: The Great Escape!

By on August 21, 2014 in Ocean Breeze
Great Loop II Date: 8/20/2014

Day #20 (Wednesday): 67 miles (760 total miles)

Locks: 0 (2 total locks)

Port #13:  Portage Lake (anchorage) Onekama north of Manistee, MI

Somehow the weather as it turns out and the forecast is not coming up equal.  The day was supposed to dawn calm.  It didn’t.  I woke up at 4:45AM feeling the boat rocking in the dock and hearing the burgee flapping on the bow pulpit.  I went up to the pilothouse to check the flag at the marina office.  It was flapping pretty good too…out of the southeast.  I went online and saw much the same at the NOAA, Weather and Wind Passage websites.  I immediately went into a funk.

Todd got up, checked everything out and announced there was fog.  Great…my frown grew deeper.  I got dressed and headed up to the marina office, mainly to experience the weather.  I couldn’t hear the waves beating the beach next door.  That was good.  The wind didn’t feel that stiff.  That was good too.  However there was dense fog with mist.  I decided that wasn’t bad since we have radar, GPS and AIS.  We can see just about anything that’s out there…except fish nets.

When I got back to the boat, I looked at Todd and said, ”Let’s go to breakfast.”  Todd agreed that was a good idea.  It would let the day lighten up so we could see what our situation was and make a decision.

After breakfast at the Early Bird, we walked back to the marina.  The wind was dying down, we could see at least a couple of miles and the fog was lifting.  It was time to get out of Leland!

Leaving Leland, the fog was lifting somewhat and the dunes were visable.
The shipping channel marker was a little hard to make out!  We could see it on the GPS Chartplotter and with our binoculars.
The Sleeping Bear Dunes…prettier on a clear day.
Sleeping Bear Point…the fog was coming back in.

Most of the day was spent in thickening fog, some increase in waves and surrounded by water…not much of a view.  I should have cleaned the boat but decided to play games instead.  Todd and I traded manning the watch…’Auto’ was driving as he normally does.

This is what we saw…fog and calm water.
This is what Auto saw…Chartplotter on the right, radar on the left.  Nothing on the radar except dust!

Todd plots a course, embeds it in our GPS mapping program and lets our autopilot take over from there.  It makes for a much better ride.  We both get through the day with less fatigue, although traveling does seem to make us tired no matter what.

The fog lifted around 3PM…and we celebrated.

We were nearing Manistee, MI when Todd said we were passing Portage Lake (north of Manistee).  I said Blue Moon was planning on anchoring there.  Todd looked over the charts for Portage Lake and asked if I’d like to anchor.  Well of course!  I checked out Active Captain and the Waterway Guide and both gave us good reports and the areas of the lake best for anchoring.  Todd changed course direction and the entrance to Portage Lake appeared to the east.

Todd guided OB into the northeast bay of the lake.  The anchor took well and we had a wonderful evening floating in a quiet wooded area.

Another beautiful anchorage.
Time for an appetizer dinner with wine…and fudge for dessert.
And, of course, another glorious sunset on a peaceful setting.