Chicago to Kentucky Lake

For those of our followers who fear we are still in Hammond Indiana, let me bring you up to speed on the last few weeks of Season 2.

First, coming through the heart of Chicago on your own vessel is AMAZING!  Cruising under bridges we have walked over while visiting the Windy City was really special.  Once out of the city, we had to navigate the locks on the Illinois River that had been closed for repairs for several weeks during the summer.  The first, Lockport, was backed up with barge traffic.  After our 5-hour wait to lock through, it was very dark and we had 3 miles to get to our destination, Joliet.  Another pleasure craft in the lock with us, Mick aboard Phantom, had been here previously and knew the way.  We blindly followed and tied up at the free wall.

Since Mick has made this Loop before, he wanted to guide us downriver.  So, Phantom joined our little flotilla, Stealaway, Alittle Loopy and Clearwater, to navigate the remaining locks on the Illinois.  Several of these locks followed suit with 3-5 hour waits to lock through.  The worst locking experience by far was Starved Rock Lock.  Following our now normal pattern, Phantom entered the lock first and tied off to a floating bollard on the lock wall.  We cruised up beside her to raft alongside.  Between me missing the bow line throw to Mick and the wind catching our stern, we ended up broadside against the gates at the front of the lock! The winds were so strong, we were pinned; we could not power off.  It took Paul in his dinghy and lots of lines and lock hands to get us off the gate and rafted to Phantom so we could lock down.  No damage done (other than a bruised ego).  The rest of the day was no better: cold, wet, and white capping, spray over the dodger and wind pushing the side curtains, rain, and waves into the cockpit.  Very miserable 74-mile journey to Illinois Valley Yacht Club (IVY). 

While at IVY, we toured the Caterpillar Visitor Center in Peoria.  Very cool museum with lots of equipment to climb on and simulators to try out (I believe I will keep my day job!)  During our stay in Alton, we spent a day in St. Louis visiting the Gateway Arch & Museum and the Anheuser Busch brewery with Paul, Dale & Jan.  Both very educational and fun tours.  Most evenings, the crew of the four boats dined together, either at a marina or aboard one of the vessels.  We all pitched in or took turns preparing meals.  We greatly enjoyed the group; Mick was even nice enough to toss us an extension cord so we could have heat while at anchor!  While we didn’t get to visit any baseball parks this year, we did watch some of the World Series aboard Phantom (Go Nat’s!)

The Illinois River empties into the Mississippi River.  The mighty Mississippi was running so fast we covered over 200 miles in just 2 days, our speed approaching 15 mph at times!  (See separate blog post) We turned up the Ohio, immediately knocking our speed to 4.6 mph: like stepping on the brakes!  This is where we bid farewell to Mick as he proceeded down the Mississippi to New Orleans.  Stealaway, Alittle Loopy and Clearwater continued up the Ohio to Paducah, Kentucky. 

Paducah has a transient dock with fuel, but no creature comforts like bathrooms, showers, or laundry. The weather was wet, cold, and miserable while in Paducah, so we took in some museums including the River Center, train museum, National Quilt museum and the floodwall with murals depicting the history of the city.  The transient dock was packed with boats rafted to each other, all awaiting a weather window to continue their journey.  Halloween was particularly cold, we even had snow flurries! 

The morning of November 1st, we were greeted by heavy fog and 27-degree temps.Our dock lines were frozen to the cleats!Six boats left the dock together, Alittle Loopy out front with her radar.It took about 2 hours for the fog to burn off.This was our last travel day of Season 2, our destination:

Lake Michigan-South

The longer one waits for the weather to improve, the wider the parameters spread on the “go, no go” scale.  After 9 days in Ludington, the forecast of 15 mph wind and two-foot waves looked very doable.  As always, the wind and waves exceeded the forecast models, not to mention the rain.  Donning full foul weather gear, we traveled 8 ½ hours to Muskegon with wind, rain, waves and cold air breaking into the cockpit.  Lake Michigan is living up to its reputation once again.

The following morning, we traveled 45 miles on a much calmer Lake Michigan to an anchorage in Saugatuck.  Upon entering the inlet, the sun came out and the temperature rose about 10-15 degrees.  It was as if we had sailed across some imaginary timeline back into summer.

October has arrived and we are still well north of Chicago.  We got word last night that Bev’s dad has been hospitalized for dehydration and trouble swallowing, so we decided on a short run to South Haven where we could rent a car and head to Kentucky if needed.  The wind was strong on our nose, so the waves were big and knocked our speed down which resulted in taking 3 ½ hours to make the 20-mile run.

By the following morning, the wind had created such large waves that the water had risen above the docks and the power had to be turned off.  With the forecast calling for high winds and waves for several days, we paid for a week’s mooring, rented a car and headed to Kentucky.

At the end of our week, Bev decided to stay in Kentucky to help with her dad.  He is home but needs 24-hour care.  I traveled back to South Haven and prepared to move the boat to Hammond, Indiana and get the masts down in preparation for travel through Chicago.  With good weather and one overnight stop in New Buffalo, Michigan, I pulled into Hammond Marina mid-afternoon.  This is a huge marina with more than 1,000 slips and a full casino on premise.

With Bev’s dad improving, she caught a ride on the Megabus to Chicago where we visited with our friend Georgia (who was Bev’s roommate on the sailing trip we met on 20 years ago) and our niece, Morgan, who lives in Chicago.

Hammond Marina is being winterized, so all water to docks and restrooms are being shut off.  With the Illinois River locks re-opening on the 13th, we decided a departure from Hammond on the 18th was in order.  So, with a fully re-provisioned galley, full fuel tanks and empty holding tank, we prepared to run south and try to distance ourselves from Jack Frost!

Lake Michigan-North

Eighteen days since we left Mackinac Island and we’re approximately 150 miles down the Michigan coast.  We’ve spent more time sitting in marina’s studying wind and wave forecasts than we have spent on the water.  At this rate, we’ll make Chicago (instead of Kentucky) by the end of October.

We have been traveling with Loopers Alittle Loopy, Saltaire, Adagio, Valentine, Vitamin Sea, Alcyone and Whiskey Business (all large power boats) until Tuesday.  All headed out except Alittle Loopy (our 31’ Ranger Tug buddy boat) and us.  Waves were running 3-5 feet on the beam; Stealaway’s cockpit is about 2 ft from the water, so it would have been a rocky and wet ride for sure (have we mentioned how cold the water is here??)  Heard that evening from Adagio, a slower Trawler, that we made the right decision to stay; they were pretty beat up.

We have made stops on Michigan’s western shore at Harbor Springs, Charlevoix (lovely town, awesome marina – 4 days there), Leland, Frankfort, Arcadia Lake and now 9 days in Ludington.  The coastline has been beautiful with high sand dunes and Caribbean-like turquoise water.  It truly is like being on the ocean – only worse with short intervals between waves.

We have made the best of our unexpected vacation in Ludington.  Along with 6 other Loopers, we boarded the S.S. Badger and crossed Lake Michigan 60-miles to Manitowoc, Wisconsin and back.  Very cool 410 ft long, 1953 coal-powered car ferry, last one in operation in the U.S.  We had a Mexican potluck in the boater lounge with 21 Loopers in attendance.  Awesome food, margaritas and conversation.  We hiked in Ludington State Park to the Big Sable Point Lighthouse, circa 1867, and climbed the 100-foot spiral staircase to the top.

After 9 days in Ludington, we know our favorite breakfast, lunch and dinner restaurants.  We have been to Walmart twice to provision.  We have washed the sheets twice in the same laundry room.  We have even gotten our flu shots!  The next step is to open a P.O. Box for mail delivery here☹.