The Start of the Inland Rivers

 TRAVEL DAY 120 - Hammond, IN to Dolton, IL

October 9, 2023

2.42 Hours/ 12.9 Miles

    It's been said, Tell God your plans and he will laugh. The same might be said for anyone on this adventure. Our original plan was to go through the locks on October 6th. The AGLCA informed the Loopers that all the flotillas were delayed 5 days. Great, 5 more days in the Hammond refugee camp. There is not much close by, so not the best place to be waylaid, but with over 75 boats stacked up, it's not the worst. A hard pill to swallow but that is certainly a component of this trip: Semper Gumby  

 

Hammond Sunrise

    Illinois, our 13th state. We were glad our time in Indiana was through as we pulled out of Hammond Marina with some trepidation about what we knew would test our patience skills. We were receiving reports from the boats ahead of us and had a good idea of what we were going to experience.

 

Flotilla #6 on the move at daybreak

    Our flotilla leader instructed us to shove off at 7 am. We dropped lines at 6:45 am and pulled out with the 7 others. The remainder of our Flotilla was leaving Hammond the next day and would meet us at tomorrow’s stop, Joliet. As soon as we cleared the breakwater, the waves were an easy 4'. The period between the waves was at least 5 seconds so it was not unbearable. Also, the swell was coming to our starboard bow, making this a fairly easy ride. Not long, we were behind the breakwater at the Calumet River and the waves settled down to about 2'. Once in the Calumet Inlet, we could see the remainder of Flotilla #5 waiting at the bridge. This caused somewhat of a backup. Pau Hana didn't need to wait for the 19.1' 92nd Street Bridge to open, but we opted for now to stay with our flotilla. In fact, none of the subsequent 13 bridges were too low for the Camano and we pushed past the other boats.

  

Bridge 1

    At the Thomas J. O'brien Lock, we moved to the outer edge of the pool to allow the tail end of Flotilla 5 to enter the lock, then our flotilla entered. These locks are massive and we had no trouble getting our 16 boats, 5 or so from Flotilla 5 as well as some not associated with our groups in and tied up. With all the boats on the walls of the lock, the Lockmaster requested that Pau Hana float in the middle, and we did. With only a 3' drop, we only needed to "hold station" for about 12 minutes. I was thankful the wind was light. When the doors opened and the horn sounded, we were the first to exit. We slowly motored down the Calumet River around the corner to Marine Services Corp., our marina for the night.

  

Learning a new (old) game

    There is basically nothing here for us but the companionship of our flotilla. We met later in the afternoon to plan what tomorrow's transit to the Joliet Wall would look like.

 

Hammond, IN to Dolton, IL

TRAVEL DAY 121 - Dolton to Joliet

October 10, 2023

5.18 Hours/ 37.1 Miles

    Day 2 of the mass exodus from Chicago started at daybreak. Today would be a longer run from our marina at Marine Services Corp to the Joliet "free" wall. Pau Hana led the pack. The crew cranked AC/DC Back in Black as we pulled out of the basin and into the Little Calumet River.

"Rollin down the river"

    Our goal today was to make Joliet and land at the free wall. This would be our staging point for the 3 locks that had been out of commission for 5 months. This portion of the river system continues to be industrial and not pretty at all. We passed under 48 bridges in our 37 mile trek this day. 

  

Bridges, bridges and more bridges

    Being the lead boat, as tows came in range, my job was to contact the tow operator to ask his preference as to how our group of boats should pass, then relay the instructions to the rest of the flotilla. Once I located a tow on my AIS system using VHF channel 13, I called the operator by name "Prosperity, Prosperity, Prosperity, this is downbound recreational vessel Pau Hana". Many times they would reply they had already seen us on their system and give me a passing side preference, either on the "1" or the "2". On a downbound pass where vessels are meeting, "1" means our port side to their port side, while a "2" indicates our starboard to their starboard. If overtaking, "1" is our port to their starboard & "2" is our starboard to their port. It can be a little confusing at first but the best way to explain and remember is this way. Using a watch, the tow is the 12 on the face. If a "1" pass is requested, we move to the right or the 1 on the watch, 2 is the 11 (see the photos for a better idea). Before electronics and radios, horn  or whistle blasts were used, 1 toot or 2.

   

Meeting

   

Overtaking

    At about mile marker (mm) 296.4 near Romeoville, we approached the electronic fish barrier. This device installed by the US Army Corps of Engineers lays on the river bed and sends direct current pulses across the canal. The electric grid is in place to keep the invasive species Asian Carp from getting to the Great Lakes. Falling in the water here, could mean getting electrocuted. Our flotilla was more concerned that the electrical pulses would interfere with some of the more sensitive electronics onboard, as reports of some vessels with "fly-by-wire" controls were immobilized at that location. For us, only our compass made a weird rotation as we passed over.

    

Illinois River Electric Fish Barrier

    At a little over 5 hours we reached the Joliet wall and began to tie up. The remainder of our 16 boat flotilla which left Chicago that morning was scheduled to join us in a few hours, meaning we would have to raft boats together.

   

Flotilla 6 - Rafted on the Joliet Wall

Dolton, IL to Joliet

TRAVEL DAY 122 - Joliet to Heritage Harbor

October 11, 2023

7.38 Hours/ 45.3 Miles

    Today is the day we have both looked forward to & dreaded. A long day going though the 3 newly opened locks. Branden Road, Dresden Island & Marseilles locks. We shoved off the Joliet wall early as the very first bridge would not open during rush hour. Although Pau Hana could clear the bridge (little boat wins again) some of the other larger boats could not. Once we got to Branden Road Lock, we hovered in the cool misty water waiting for the green light to move in.

  

Branden Road Lock Pool

    

    The flotilla waited about 40 minutes and then was ushered into the lock. With 16 boats, the larger boats went first and secured the floating bollards, while the other smaller boats rafted & tied onto them. The locks here have floating bollards spread pretty far apart as they are set up for more commercial traffic. One technique is to have a specially rigged line with a stiff hoop on it to lasso the bollard and hold or tie it midship while the water in the lock chamber is drained. A sharp knife should be handy in case the bollard sticks and the line needs to be quickly parted.

      

Rafted in Branden Road Lock

Locking down

     

Floating Bollard & Hoop

    Our first lock went exceptionally well. It was reported that some flotillas were split up at our second lock, Dresden Island. Fortunately all 16 boats were brought in together. Another lock down. We motored down the river to our 3rd and final lock of the day, hoping to get to our marina before dark.  At Marseilles, the last lock, we were informed that they were bringing through a very large double tow. This meant that the tug would split the entire tow up, put half of the barges in, raise them up, and when the chamber was relowered, would bring the second half in. Once out, the entire tow had to be put back together again. This normally took about 3 hours. With about 2 hours left in the operation, we anchored, waiting a call from the lockmaster. In the pouring rain, the call came and we moved into the lock. I let the crew stay inside while I held the lines and we were lowered. Once out of the lock, we still had some daylight left and all made our transit into Heritage Harbor Marina. 

  

"Let's head south out of this cold!"

    This was one of the most well organized marinas we have been to. The staff got all 16 boats in and tied up in a short period of time. Elated and exhausted, we all went to the Red Dog restaurant for a meal and a briefing from the marina manager about what to expect down the river from here to Paducah, KY.

   

Flotilla 6 celebrates

Joliet to Ottawa