Mike and Patty's Great Loop Adventure 2018-2019

Joliet City Dock in Joliet, IL to Heritage Harbor Marina in Ottawa, IL

Day #66: Up at 5:00 A.M. cloudy and raining. We prepared the boat for departure. At 6:10 A.M. Mike called the Brandon Lock & Dam he was told to call back in 30 minutes as there is a tug/barge in the lock with another on it's way to the lock. Mike communicated this to the other 4 boats. This is what we call "sitting on the blue line" it's the waiting game. At least today we are tied up with power which makes it a little more comfortable for the captain and crew. Mike called the lockmaster at 6:40 A.M. he was told that we should be at the Rock Island Railroad Bridge at 8:30 A.M. when they open as they are hoping that they will be able to lock us through the Brandon Lock. At 8:20 A.M. Mike called the Brandon Lock they told us to go ahead and come to the lock. At 8:30 A.M. we were one of 6 boats underway ("TxAu", "BayTripper", "Recess", "Change of Pace" and a Searay (not loopers)) Mike is calling bridges, tugs and locks for the group. At 9:00 A.M. we were in the Brandon Road Lock after we cleared the Rock Island and McDonough Street drawbridge. As I snagged the bollard in the lock my headphone radio fell into the water never to be seen again. We cleared the Brandon Road Lock (Lock #3) at 9:50 A.M. (lowered 34 feet) At 10:30 A.M. our starboard engine hot exhaust started alarming. Water is still being discharged out the port engine but at a reduced rate. At 11:15 A.M. phoned Dresden Lock and we were told that there would be a 2 hour wait. We were all going to anchor but the lockmaster made it sound like the wait was going to be less than 2 hours as they were working on the lock. Mike was planning on shutting down the starboard engine in the lock to check our strainers for debris. At 12:00 P.M. "TxAu" offered for us to raft while we were waiting for the lock. Mike cleared both strainers as they were both badly clogged with seagrass from when we were at the Joliet wall. At 12:50 P.M. we were secure in the Dresden Lock we rafted off to "TxAu" as there were not enough bollards. We cleared the Dresden Lock at 1:10 P.M. (lowered 22 feet) (Lock #4).

At 2:30 P.M. I went down to get lunch could barely open the refrigerator door as ice was blocking the freezer door (needs to be defrosted) cheese, cracker and carrots for lunch. Throughout the day we had sprinkles to moderate rain. At 3:55 P.M. we arrived at the Marseilles Lock. At 4:10 P.M. we entered the lock with a tug "Steve Golding" and 5 Looper boats. At 5:00 P.M. we cleared the lock after being dropped 24 feet (we have been dropped a total of 124.5 feet from Lake Michigan) (Lock #5). As we left the lock there were two more large tug/barges waiting for the lock. We would have been well after dark getting in the lock if they would not have let us lock through. The rain heavy at this time as we headed to Heritage Harbor Marina. "TxAu" said goodbye as they were headed to a free wall in downtown Ottawa. At 5:30 P.M. we were secured at C-16, no power Mike finally ran cord to a different power pole that worked. Mike and I were both drenched. After registering in the office Mike and I decided that we were just going to change and headed to dinner and that the boat could be dealt with later. I received a text from "TxAu" that they were heading to Heritage Harbor as the free wall in downtown Ottawa didn't have power. We asked TxAu" to join us for dinner. We had a great meal with great new friends. At 9:00 P.M. was lights out. Today we traveled 46.4 miles (total of 716 miles for the trip).