Not Impulsive makes the turn into Midway Marina at mm393.8 with the guidance of the Midway owner/dockmaster on VHF68.

Pass south keeping the green markers to port to avoid these tree stumps.

Above, Radian Journey also got talked-in just before Not Impulsive.

Shellerina decided to exercise her anchor light and drop the hook along with three other cruisers just a little bit south in the Fulton Anchorage mm393.1 (Aka Fulton Recreation Area… it sports a busy launch ramp and hiking trails).

This nice anchorage’s entrance from the river is well marked with small red and green buoys, between which is plenty of water.

The long wood pier is what you’ll see first; the channel markers show up soon thereafter, just south of a pair of appropriately colored day markers on the main river. (That pier is seen below from our anchor; Midway Marina is in the distant background.)

Above, Hobie Gal out of Mobile AL exits our anchorage this morning, splitting the small red and green markers to avoid the mess just south of us.

As seen below, she then headed NORTH; she was not flying an AGLCA burgee but she may looping. As you know, some Loopers do The Loop clockwise, aka “backwards”.

Shellerina does not go very fast backwards, so we chose the more common counter-clockwise route along with most other loopers!

(From mm449.7 Grand Harbor Marina.)

Fulton (MS) Anchorage – Fulton Rec. Area mm 391.2 on the Tenn-Tom. (59 miles+3 Locks.) Ambitious.

Plan B: Montgomery Lock&Dam (south side). mm406

Plan C: Bay Springs Visitor Center Anchorage mm412.1

I guess we’ll miss the football games!

The “mile marker” system here on Western Rivers uses statute miles instead of nautical miles. I learned this week that many mariners set their “units” on chart-plotters to statute miles because so many references are to “sm” instead of “nm”. I wish I knew that before I started all my fuel logs and running calculations along the way!

For this section of our trip, the mile marker “zero” is in downtown Mobile AL. So, tonight we are 449.7 statute “river miles” from downtown Mobile, very close to entering the Gulf of Mexico. That is 8-12 days away.

ADDENDUM (Sunday night)

We successfully made it to Fulton MS Anchorage mm391.2 at 5:30pm, just before sunset.

Well marked channel, 3 other boats anchored here tonight.

Three locks / 50 miles. Lost about 90 minutes at the last lock: Rankin L&D mm398. But we have been beating all the average wait times!

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Ray & Diane on the bridge of Radian Journey in-chamber at Rankin Lock as the sun gets low in the sky.

(AND both of our NFL teams won today… without our help!)

See the yellow circle above?

34° 59.738′ N

88° 12.004′ W

This point in the middle can only be reached by boat, and we crossed it today at 4:31pm (CT). It is the 3-way intersection of TN, MS, and AL. We went near it last week on the way to the www.greatloop.org Fall Rendezvous conference.

The lime green line shows our path for tomorrow and next weekend until we reach Mobile AL and the Gulf of Mexico.

Some have had to wait FOUR HOURS or more to get through this troublesome lock. We got instant service both up river last Thursday, and down river this morning!

Pictured below a partial list of today’s fleet: Dawg Haus 3 rafted with SLO Dancer. Long Recess rafted with Now or Never. Remedy was behind Shellerina. ((The rest of the boat names will follow!))

93 feet of lift! Impressive.

Also in the lock and time lapse from today’s fleet: Silver Linings, Toscana, Varlabania, Cheryl Ann, Side Piece, and Lolli Pop.

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Below, Shelly demonstrates a floating bollard in the Wheeler Lock just an hour earlier than Wilson Lock this morning.

Under a near full moon at sun-up, some of the fleet leaves Joe Wheeler State Park – AGLCA Fall Rendezvous 2021

We look more bunched up on the AIS-equipped chart plotter.

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Above, five Loopers are seen on AIS waiting for their turn to lock through the Wheeler Lock.

Radian Journey

Bucket List

Wine & Roses

The Wright Choice

Flying Colors

Below, three Tugs await their turn along with their barges… this commercial traffic takes a lot longer to lock through, AND they have priority over PC-s, pleasure craft.

Crown Jewel

Sandy Point

Addi Belle (actually in the lock)

Below, the venue for the Fall Rendezvous can be seen on the right with dozens of us having already arrived. The lock and tugs are in the middle, and the five Loopers are on the left.

These screen shots are taken from our iPad Pro using the AquaMap app, connected to our Em-Trak B924 AIS transponder via its WiFi connector.

ADDENDUM

About 4 hours later, the PC-s are let out of the Wheeler Lock! Radian Journey leads the way.

Next the whole crowd comes out!

Tug Sandy Point waits on the right wall with her barges, to go into the chamber for the ride down.

Above… minutes later, the Looper “PC-s” arrive at Joe Wheeler State Park for the AGLCA Fall Rendezvous conference! ((Monday night I learned that the two tan colored Loopers that do not have boat names showing on AIS were Side Piece and Remedy. I had not toggled them ‘on’ as “friends” earlier in the day inside my app, because they were not yet waiting with the other five. Evidently, the boat names only appear for “friends” in the AquaMap app.))

At the dock, after they secured, Ray & Diane of Radian Journey tell us that the prior Wilson Lock passage was a “breeze” for them.

So, the reputedly troublesome Wilson Lock was the easier (faster) of the two, for this flock… at least for them, at least for today.

In the end, it is just another day on The Great Loop!

Above, what humans and our smart phone sees, and what our Wyze CAM v3 sees, as shown on the phone on the “dashboard” on the lower left.

Look at the lights on shore and dark skyline above the tree line and compare it to what we can see with the camera-fed smartphone on the dash.

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Below is a close up of what we were seeing on our phone (or tablet!)

(Un retouched pic from the CAM’s memory.)

OK… now:

Below is a video of us underway that same night showing what we could see after dark with the help of our cams. Note our friend, Rusty’s, spotlight pointing at the trees ahead of them. Make no mistake, it was dark by this time.

We could see more!

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These inexpensive Wyze CAM v3 cameras are very helpful underway at night.

This is a great safety enhancement… (+waterproof), and its not a lot of money! <$40 each

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We could have anchored out. But we also had an unresolved fresh water pressure “issue” that cropped up underway during the day today. So, we decided to poke-in a little further using ALL of our ‘tools’, (e.g. cams+chart-plotter+depth sounders) to “see what we could see”.

We ultimately were able to secure in a slip at an non-illuminated marina dock.

The Wyse v3 CAMs absolutely helped to give us more safe options underway. We have one mounted forward, and one aft that run in any light conditions 24×7. We have ours set to non-infrared! They give full color from available light.

No problem for us, Kulana and Shellerina late today.

Instant service. (Thanks for the pic Rusty Conway!)

93 foot lift! Biggest lift yet for us in a single chamber I believe.

Shelly is making friends with floating bollards now!

Kulana in the Wilson lock today.

Going Up!

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We are on our way to the Looper’s conference, aka “Fall Rendezvous”!

We are looking at these two places to drop anchor just before getting to Florence AL. It puts us within VHF radio range and AIS (Automatic Identification System) distance of the Wilson Lock’s traffic. That lock has been experiencing delays due to mechanical difficulties.

The closer proximity will help us coordinate with the Lock-master… we hope.

A special “Thank You” to Tom & Bonnie Bayer of Nex Adventure for sharing all their local intel, cruising tips, and the fresh Basil leaves from their on-board herb “terrarium.”

I think I need to coin a new word for a “floating greenhouse.” I’ll start looking up my Latin roots.

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Once we got here…

We talked to the skipper of Shangrila about his choice of anchorage for the night. I could tell that he has anchored here many times in the past by the sounds of his confident description of his choice. He was somewhat out of the current below Buck Island at mile 249, shown below.

As it turns out, when I called the Lock-master of Wilson Lock, he basically promised instant service this late afternoon and evening, as all the commercial tows had passed for the day!

The Admiral said, “Let’s go for it!” So we did… knowing there were many anchorages to pick from in Wilson Lake once we got past this troublesome lock.

Pickwick Landing State Park Marina. No reservations, first come first serve.

Transient’s and rental pontoon boat dock. (They have many more than shown here.)

Office as seen from the dock.

Below is the 200 foot fuel dock!

If you need a place to tie up late in the day, you’ll probably find room here. But no shore power hook ups (at the gas dock). Pump out works, but fuel stops at 4:00pm in the off season.

Bathrooms are clean, but no showers nearby.

This landslide appears on the left descending bank near one of these twists and turns in the Tennessee River, as seen yesterday on our passage to the Pickwick Lock & Dam.

We followed Elenor Grace to the dam where we waited our turn to lock through.

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This is the sign not to miss (heading south) just north of St Louis on the Mississippi River!

Unfortunately, the crew of White Widower recently followed the main river and took a right here. (Believed to be Oct 5). A few miles later they hard grounded on the “Chain of Rocks” as shown in this remarkable drone video:

Youtube.com/watch?v=rDhDqHSLvRU

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Above: where the left should have been taken down the canal.

Below: you can see the canal, and red “X” shows where the 44 ft Hunter sailboat went aground having missed the canal entrance upstream.

This man-made “Chain of Rocks Canal” gives all boats access to a safe way down the Mississippi. At the south end of the canal is Lock 27 in Granite City IL.

We safely transited there on September 20. Click on link:

Shellerina on Chain of Rocks Canal Sept 20

As for the less fortunate White Widower, at least there were no injuries. The rescue was performed by St Louis Fire Department. The incident happened last week (Oct 5, we believe.)

Local news report with more video: https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/boaters-rescued-after-vessel-stuck-on-chain-of-rocks/

Addendum October 13, 2021:

Local scuttlebutt is that the sailboat has still not been recovered. The cost to remove it may exceed its salvage value. If the environmental impact of leaving it is not too severe, perhaps no one will endure the costs (and risks) to have it removed.

Unrecovered shipwrecks have occurred for millennia. Might this be the latest? Time will tell.

The fact that this one happened in shallow waters so close to an urban center makes this one more intriguing to be sure.

While the crew of White Widower is not a part of the Looper community, we all feel a mixture of both relief for the safe rescue of the crew and remorse for the mishap of fellow mariners.

Did I neglect to mention live entertainment at Clifton Marina tonight?

Https://www.cherryavenuemusic.com/

I LOVE when there is a fiddle in the band!

Big thanks to Marcy and Bryan of Elenor Grace for helping us celebrate, and to Jim Antonacci of Spinning Dreams for recommending Clifton Marina!!!

Mile Marker 158 on the Tennessee River, one day’s passage (50sm) north of Pickwick Lock and Dam.

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Three trees dancing…

A few big downpours came thru after we secured. Covered slip was an asset!

We look to be about halfway between the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico already! Time flies.

We have lost count of how many states we have been to on our Loop. But we can add Tennessee to the list as we made Paris Landing at sunset… just in time to meet this welcoming committee!

Left to right: Sue Steven and Craig Blasingame of Nest, Bob Hansen, Marcy Holmes, Diane Hansen, Bryan Holmes, and Pat & Bill Langston of Uno Mas. (The Holmes crew Elenor Grace, the Hansens, Soulmate.)

Also in-port this evening is Michael Allinger of Gratitude, Stephen & Barbara Clausen of What a Day.

Uno Mas had a successful first day on their Loop today!

For them AND us, it was a pretty darn perfect cruising day.

While we all chose Paris Landing (known for its great fuel prices), we also saw many other cruisers taking advantage of the great scenic anchorages on Tennessee Lake and the Land Between the Lakes

The I-79 Bridge marks the entrance to this protected harbor and state park marina. There must be campers nearby too, as Shelly loved the smell of wood smoke campfires!

Tuesday’s Addendum:

Steve & Ann Seltzer of New Adventure fueled up and will stay the night; today was day 3 on their Loop. We met them last week at Green Turtle Bay, plus we were in the same breakout pod during the virtual Spring Rendezvous.

Derive just pulled in … right before the rain started to come down in earnest. A younger couple, both still working… Kirk and Jenna. Out of Tampa, they like their Buccaneers! We showed them our Buccaneers burgee (seen below)! Their Loop started in April and will finish in November. Internet service is a key criteria for them as they choose in which ports to stay and which to bypass.

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BTW: TNT Pizza delivers to the dock here at Paris Landing State Park: 731-407-7491

Good ZA! (Double roni).

Here’s what’s left of it tonight, after we had our fill. Fortunately this “flat” staple fits well into a crowded fridge! (But, it won’t last long there.)

We love our mail forwarding service by St Brendan’s Isle.

We get an email any day that mail arrives. We can choose to 1) discard-recycle 2) open and scan so we can see the contents, or 3) save it for a future bundle to be sent to a marina where we will be.

The problem is the USPS is not coming through for us. “Priority Mail” is failing us miserably. We are held up in-port today waiting for a package of mail that St Brendan’s Isle sent last Monday! It is overdue by several days. Finally I ended up driving the marina’s courtesy van 15 miles to a post office where it had been mis-delivered to, so we could pick it up there and be on our way.

.Louis DeJoy

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Receiving mail and packages has, by far, been the most difficult challege of this Looper trip.

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Here is a picture of Shelly’s mother, Nora, taken 3 years ago by budding photographer (our son) Nick.

This picture captures the spirit of a great woman, a boating (and clamming) enthusiast, an inspiration to us all. Would that we all radiate such beauty when we are in our mid 80-s.

“Floating Bollards” are a part of some lock structures that enables the vessel to secure itself to the bollard, and it will actually go up or down with the water level. We are still getting used to them, as we only started seeing them south of Chicago.

Getting to this Barkley Lock took all day, as we are still bucking a strong current.

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Walking distance from the boat:

Lisa (above) Loren and Ray (below) at Barrel & Bond… getting some firsthand education on Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Impressive staff… very knowledgeable.

So… Ray & Shell were able to take in ALL of the sites on the map above, except the Quilt Museum.

The historic murals on the flood walls were worth taking in.

We’ll hit the Quilts next time thru. All the other sites we got to!

Paducah: A noteworthy port!

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Are you a Caterpillar owner! Boyd’s CAT parts dealership is 1 mile away. They had my next two oil filters in stock.

Boston Bar to Paducah KY

This shows our Boston Bar arrival near power cat, Nine Lives. We pushed off at sun-up the next morning.

These pics show our exit from the Mississippi River to the Ohio River at Cairo Point. Instead of a healthy 2.5K current to help us, we now had just as much current now against us! This adds time and fuel to the equation.

This particular morning, time was our more valuable resource. We were up with the sun to make Paducah KY early, as I had some work to do in the afternoon. Plus there was a BLASTING ZONE coming up at 10:00a.m. which meant all traffic on the Ohio River would be stopped for an undetermined number of hours. We had to get to and through the blasting zone before they closed the river!

So we sped up to see if we could make it. I knew it would be close.

Here you can see the brand new Olmsted Lock. We got here at 9:45a.m. Just 15 minutes before the river closure. This lock was the down river limit of the 2.5 mile no traffic blasting zone.

So, I radio’d the Olmsted Lockmaster and asked him WHO was the authority (Coast Guard, Army Corps, etc.) for me to ask for permission to proceed. He answered, “You’re speakin’ to him!”

So, I asked if I could continue upstream, or if I should hang back. He said to go ahead. His instructions were to go slow near the cranes and work boats, as “those guys are handling dynamite.”

((The wickets were down, so we didn’t have to go through the lock. What are wickets? Wickets ))

Here you can see the “Diver Down” flags on one of the barges preparing the explosives. These guys are in the process of doing underwater demolition of the old Olmsted Lock & Dam so it is not a hazard to future river traffic.

A few hours later we arrived in Paducah KY. Adam is a young but great Dockmaster BTW!

This city dock was rebuilt for transients like us, to welcome our business to this very nice town. The old marina was washed out by a flood. From the looks if it, this one is engineered to be here a long time!

Loopers assembled at Broussards for dinner! Thanks to Mike Hayes of Windshift for remembering to take this pic, and sharing it!!!

Top to bottom:

Ray & Diane of Radian Journey

Loren & Lisa of Irrational Exuberance

Mike & Ginny of Last Laugh

Mike & Jeanne of Windshift

Graham & Larry of Knotsofast

Ray & Shelly of Shellerina

No one was disappointed with their meal!

This is a great port in which to get re-provisioned.

After a week on the hook, we were able to take on fresh water, re-fuel, and restock the ship’s store with other essentials. For example, they have a great Farmers Market on Saturday mornings very close by the dock. It was great fun to go and trade for some of their fresh harvest and goodies. They even had live music AND a hot dog stand with the local’s gourmet twist to this versatile comestible.

Last but not least, Paducah has one of the most effective machines for pump out as we’ve ever experienced… I guess they are famous now for many things, all good.

(Mile 8 means we are 8.0 statute river-miles to the convergence of the Ohio River… south of that, the Mississippi numbering changes to miles from New Orleans LA, (NOLA).

But we will head UP the Ohio River instead, sometime tomorrow.

Message from Sabbatical.

Sabbatical reports 5 feet

Shellerina sees 7 feet

Nine Lives reported 8 or 9 feet.

Everyone is happy here. +Room for more.

I-57 is a bit noisy though.

With guidance from Lauren Steen of Irrational Exuberance, we made safe anchor in “Diversion” at mile 48.7 last night after dark, 8:30pm.

It’s safely out of the 2.5+ knots of current one would not like to anchor against on the Mississippi.

Our Plan A was to anchor tucked inside of one of many wing dams we saw well before dark. That didn’t go so well (soft grounding – no apparent damage).

Since we could see (on Nebo) a friend already secured inside Diversion, we knew we could lean on them for guidance coming into this common anchorage, also known as Hubble Creek on some charts.

Stick to the middle, we have 6 feet beneath us.

A near full moon lit things up well!

Irrational Exuberance this morning

We are a bit closer to the right side than I’d like, but still plenty of water.

Some video early this morning of a tug passing, apparently with something actually in-tow (abnormal!)

Putting in a few hours early this morning…

Some current through here too.

The Kaskaskia Lock and Dam (mile 117.5 … easy to miss on left descending bank) is a popular 2nd night’s stop after Hoppies, south of Alton/Grafton/St Louis. Plenty of water, and from the looks of it, this should be a good anchorage as well. ((You don’t have to go through this lock, you simply tie up and peel off this ‘free wall’ in the a.m.))

Get permission from Lockmaster on VHF-14. Set up your fenders to port, keep to the right, to tie up on the non-lock side of this wall.

Most will be tempted to tie up to the nice hand railings. But don’t! Loopers have been asked not to. Figure out how to use the available cleats.

Late-in-day Addendum:

Full House here; looking South:

My Way a Tiara with Dave and daughter, Shelly.

War Eagle a Mainship 34 with talented photographer, DeeDee and husband Jon Hinson.

Last Laugh a Mainship Pilot with Mike & Ginny Smith

Irrational Exuberance a Mainship 390 with Lauren & Lisa Steen

Sakedo a Monk 36 with Captain Kurt & Mary Eylands.

Shellerina a Mainship 390 with Shelly and Ray Sirois

KnotSoFast a de-masted sailboat rig with Graham Mowry and friend/crew “Larry”. As pictured at the top of this post, these guys arrived just ahead of us today and then helped us with our lines (Thanks guys!).

K-Bear a 50 footer late arrival who had to anchor out.

So 7+1 here tonight (wall+anchor).

FYI, there is not enough water depth on the wall for Loopers north of the last piling. So, we recommend anchoring or rafting up if the wall is full in this popular spot. If 50-foot K-Bear can anchor out, most of us can too.

There is no shore power or city water here, but “What do you want for nothin’ … your money back?!” <wink>

A great secure & protected place in a section of the loop where these characteristics are very hard to find.

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For decades, a famous stop (mile 158.4, right descending bank) for Loopers on the Mississippi River; Hoppies has been a family-owned “last place” to take on fuel before a few days on the hook before Paducah KY.

“Deb” like her parents before her, gives a nightly “Briefing” with local guidance and river conditions. (By her own admission, lots of Deb’s intel is second-hand. But she generously shares info that she has for the safe passage of all customers.)

Strong cleats are not a problem here.

Doubling up / rafting is common here if “OK” with the captain who tied up first with advanced reservations.

With few options for many miles, it is a nice thing to do if asked by late/comers.

Took a long weekend, and headed south with several Loopers early this morning.

We each took turns taking pictures of each other with the Gateway Arch as a background!

Thanks “DeeDee” of War Eagle for this gr8 picture of Shellerina!

Five of us left Alton at sun-up. We went through the Congressman Mel Price Lock without delay. But we waited for 3-4 hours at Lock 27 “Chain of Rocks” lock, just north of St Louis IL, “PC-s” or “pleasure craft” are last in the priority queue for locking. Dredges, government vessels, commercial tugs and tows go before they try to fit us “PC-s” into queue.

Radian Journey, Last Laugh, Irish Hurricane, Shellerina, and Sakado were part of this early group who waited for hours. It seemed like they were enjoying making us wait. I finally asked permission to drop anchor in the lock approach area, (granted).

Another hour or two passed.

But then, finally, the POSSE showed up!

Look at all these “PC-s” coming down the Chain of Rocks canal towards us!!!

Within minutes, of seeing all these PC-s, the L-27 Lockmaster announced on VHF-14 that we’d finally get to go into the chamber to head down river!!!

Was this large group that influential?!?! Sure seemed like it to this crew!

We’ve also heard that a change of gender helps. If we let our Admirals handle the lockmaster communications on VHF-14, perhaps we’ll get better cared for???!

Shellerina seen in the “Chain of Locks” canal.

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Fast Eddies … you gotta go and experience this famous place.

Their homemade Bratwurst was the best! Big Elwood (well marinated steak kabob) was also noteworthy.

No kids. Cash only.

Here’s a double selfie.

But Ray wasn’t smiling, so here’s a second (overall not as good a pic).

Hardware stores, West Marine, Harbor Freight, groceries… it was our first time renting a car since we began our Loop. What an empowering feeling to actually get to go out and get stuff we need, and go places we want to go.

The Arch was great, and a nice meal at nearby Ruth’s Chris steakhouse was super.

We have come to the end of the Illinois River and are now on the mighty Mississippi! The Missouri River also converges near here.

Several great marinas compete for Looper’s business here. At least two have covered docks (something new to us), clean showers, restrooms that all work! (Take nothing for granted!) The two we stayed at have dock and buildings designed to float up during periods of flood waters and down at low times like now. Even the swimming pools are integrated in with this floating-facility-system!

Here are some pics of Grafton Harbor Marina and Alton Marina. Notice the very long/high pilings, they enable the whole facility to go up with the floodwaters.

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Terry, Linda, Karen, Marcy, Sonny, Brant, Diane, Ray, Mark, and Ray… poolside docktails!

After a stretch of river where we were close to nature and “on the hook” each night, we really appreciate a bit of civilization too. The staff and management at both Grafton Harbor Marina and Alton Marina are great. They really appreciate the business of both the season-long customers AND the transient Loopers like us.

This week these marinas both showed their appreciation with live music parties, fireworks, and all the trimmings.

We are glad we stayed at both.

Above: the grand finale fireworks!

As seen from Shellerina on the Mississippi River late Wednesday.

One of Ray’s most meaningful and inspiring places on the planet is The Lodge at La Vista in Godfrey IL. This wood and stone structure looks west from high on the bluffs right on the edge of the Mississippi River.

Almost forty years ago, Ray spent countless hours writing, reading, observing sunsets, severe weather, wildlife, stars, and large tows on the Mississippi River below, from this venue.

Sr. Maxine Pohlmann SSND gave Shelly and I an updated tour of The Lodge and the grounds at this special retreat and Novitiate for the Oblates of Mary Immaculate.

Sister Max is the Director of the La Vista Ecological Learning Center also on these grounds. (FMI: https://www.lavistaelc.org/about-us

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https://www.lavistaelc.org/ecological-learning-center

About 36 years ago, Ray and 20 other young men lived on these grounds for a full year as “novices” in preparation for a life in the ministry. Several persevered, like Father Jack Lau OMI, who returned here as a Novitiate STAFF member a few years ago!

Ideally, our Great Loop adventure would have happened while Jack was still here! But he got us in touch with Sister Max, who loves this place as much as Jack and I, and she did a great job getting my endearing memories refreshed! It was also a special visit for Shelly as she knows my time with the Oblates was a big part of my life for 3 years before she and I met, married, started our family with Nick, and now, of course, are on our new life afloat!

Above, Sister Max shows off the spectacular view from La Vista… Just 24 hours earlier, Shellerina passed on this river below en route to Alton Marina from points north.

Below, she and Shelly pause for a pic on the long (newly paved!) road in.

After our tour of La Vista, it was time for us to give Sister Max a tour of our home, the Shellerina!

Thank you Sister Max for your ministry and for a memorable few hours at this very special place on the Mississippi River.

When trying to take off from our anchorage in behind Bar Island, we found our anchor was snagged very badly on an old sunken waterlogged tree! The tree was about 20 feet long, and its root ball was intact. There was actually a second log as well, which we were able to clear ourselves. But the larger was only cleared with the assistance of Mike Worsley of Islena and his outboard-equipped dinghy.

The whole ordeal held both boats up for an hour. Fortunately, that delay did not cost us additional delays at the LaGrange Lock just 6 miles downstream. Steaming down to that lock, another submerged log hit our running gear even though we had 12 feet of water beneath us inside the marked channel. Thank goodness there was no evidence of damage or vibration!

Other Loopers that day were not so fortunate; Knot Fast detected a bad vibration after a similar “hit” below the lock and had to shut one engine down. Fortunately, she is a twin screw, and was able to make Port Charles under her own power later that day.

Knot Fast status Sat 9/18:

Anchored together at mile marker 86 (Bar Is, Illinois River) “Mimi” called at 3:00 inviting us to docktails aboard Islena, a power cat 40 by Endevour. We arranged for an Uber dinghy pick up at 4:00pm. Captn Mike was prompt. Janthina’s crew was also to join us. These three boats had shared more than one anchorage together without any ceremonious meet & card exchange. So Mimi knew it was time to fix that!

Below, Shelly and Ray of Shellerina, Deb & Mac of Janthina, Mike and Mimi of Islena assemble aboard Islena for the end of a successful cruising day. Janthinia & Shellerina as seen from our host vessel at the golden hour … before Uber-ing back.

(Front to back / South to North, best as we can tell from knowing the boats + AIS and Nebo.)

Shellerina,

Janthina,

Irish Hurricane,

Islena,

Kittywake

To our west is a nature preserve. To our east, what once was a RR to Barge COAL yard (or vice versa) now appears to be a multi-mode RR to barge (or vice versa) transfer facility for wind turbine blades.

Jeremy Fowler, native to these waters. Someone whom everyone around here knows. His reputation precedes him, even for those of us from away.

Jeremy’s nightly “Looper Briefings” are a must-see for anyone heading south on these inland rivers. He is generous with his incredible first-hand knowledge (and subtle humor) for all things coming up for the rest of us.

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Below is Jeremy’s boat!

Obviously, he sometimes works strange hours on top of keeping his marina staff productive & happy and, of course, keeping all of us marina customers more than satisfied!

For example:

Late last night Jeremy was working on freeing a hard-grounded sailboat well into the wee hours of this morning. That was his finish to a busy Labor Day weekend.

I know this because this afternoon I met the grateful captain of that lucky sailboat that finally got pulled off. (Like Jeremy, he hadn’t gotten much sleep!)

SO, after that…

Did Jeremy come in late this Tuesday a.m. after Labor Day?

No! I was in the office ten minutes after it was open for business. He personally took my request for a courtesy vehicle … bright and early; and he was running on all cylinders.

It won’t take you long when you visit Heritage Harbor Marina to see that this guy makes this place go… he has a calm competence.

I actually noticed even before I entered the harbor.

(One can pick up a lot even over the VHF radio!)

“That must have been that Jeremy-guy I’ve heard about,” is exactly what I thought before my arrival. Sure enough, it was.

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“Thank You, Jeremy, for your dedication to Loopers from everywhere, and ALL boaters from anywhere.”

The Lockport (IL) Lock & Dam is impressive. Two miles from the town of Lockport, it helps boats like us who are traversing south an average of 39 vertical feet to the lower water levels of the waterway which will bring us from Chicago eventually to the Mississippi River.

Shellerina, the lower gate is submerged so we could all enter the chamber.

Ranger Tug, Sea Moor comes into the chamber and rafts up with us. (Lower gate is still submerged.)

Minutes later, the submerged lower gate comes up from below. Then, water drains out of the 600×110 foot chamber; the emptying process takes 15 minutes.

Then we all exit!

Looking forward we see Shelly preparing the boat to get underway to exit the lock chamber, about 40 feet lower than we were before.

Friends Mark and Karen aboard Kay Dee, pass a sign ahead of us warning of a fish barrier which is designed to prevent any fish from entering the Great Lakes from points south including the Mississippi River. One species of particular concern is the ‘Invasive Carp’

Here is the sign that follows where the actual “electric fence” begins.

Here is where it ends… maybe a half mile later.

FMI:

https://www.foodandwine.com/news/asian-carp-seafood-new-name

Wildrevelation.com/how-to-catch-asian-carp-four-fun-fishing-methods/

blog.nature.org/science/2019/10/30/the-carp-show-an-inside-look-at-the-jumping-fish-invasion/

Tashe & Sebastien of Kittiwake

Ray & Diane Parrish of Radian Journey

Karen & Mark Semone of Kay Dee

Robin & Joe Kunstlebun of Sea Moor

Ray & Shelly Sirois of Shellerina

… taking advantage of a free wall with shore power, a popular Looper stop first day off of Lake Michigan.

We had a 90 minute wait at Lockport for some in this group.

Everyone’s pre-calibrated measuring tapes worked well before braving the low bridges along today’s 7.5 hour passage.

Bridge clearance… only inches!!!

This video shows us passing the lowest bridge all week… about 17 feet, leaving Joliet IL.

Our small stainless steel whip antenna, mounted to the left of the the radar actually rubbed the bridge (no damage). The white cube atop the radar is the camera that this video was taken from.

(This bridge can open if need be.)

The lowest fixed span bridge (that cannot open) on the entire Great Loop is in Lemont IL at mile 300.6 on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. It’s vertical clearance is 19.6 feet above the normal water level.

Ray & Diane aboard Radian Journey easily clear the 19.6′ of this infamous bridge, (shown above).

Below, Mark & Karen on Kay Dee clear it as well as a train passes overhead.

There are two rivers from Lake Michigan one can take to access the Inland River-ways. One is right through the middle of downtown Chicago, which we took as shown below.

This route requires the ability to clear the DuSable Bridge at Michigan Avenue 18.7 feet, which we cleared (as shown in the video below) by taking down some antennas and other things. Shellerina passing under Franklin St bridge in Chicago.

Boats which cannot clear that 18.7′ DuSable Bridge need to take the alternative, the Calumet-Sag Canal south of downtown Chicago. But that does not get them a pass to avoid the 19.6 foot RR bridge at mile 300.6 further downstream! Every Looper has to go under that one.

On this topic of low bridges, see our June 9 post about the Western Erie Canal: Shellerina.com/2021/06/09/low-bridges/

Not exactly. Sometimes we seem to have the worst luck getting deliveries to marinas!

The latest, a replacement amateur radio from HamRadio.com, aka HRO, was not deliverable two days in a row… long story. So I finally told them I would go to them (UPS) and pick it up. It was going to be $35 each way with Uber or Lyft. So, Shelly suggested one of the self-serve rental bikes here on the lakefront walkway.

I found the lakeshore, parks, and main roadways like (E-W) Roosevelt Road had bike lanes (or big sidewalks). It was a pretty safe 6-mile round trip, $16!

It has been 20 years or so since riding a bike … with Nick.

Ray got to meet three other Loop couples tonight:

• Peter & Sandy Kurtis of Tipsy Turtle

• Karen & Mark Semone of Kay Dee

• Diane & Ray Parrish of Radian Journey

All of us were staying at DuSable Harbor Marina; thanks to Peter and Sandy for hosting this gathering!

Shellerina before she entered this port’s very large breakwater… north entrance shown below.

In Chicago we stayed at DuSable Harbor Marina, right near everything!

The lakeside walkway next to where we tied up was a popular walking, biking, and jogging route. To the north it joined the riverwalk west along the Chicago River. I’ve been to Chicago many times, but never saw these parts!

This is the lowest bridge we need to go under when we leave. The DuSable bridge at Michigan Ave.

So, who was this harbor and bridge named after?

The founder of Chicago: Jean Baptiste Pointe DuSable.

This bust of him, and this plaque is placed near the bridge bearing his name.

Also in that neighborhood…

Wrigley Building

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Then, Wednesday night we met up with friends Zach Lavoie and GF Hannah for a nice dinner up on the fly bridge. Here are the four of us with Shellerina in the background. Thanks to Michelle, a passer-by for taking the gr8 pic. (She was a cool chick with obvious talent.)The fireworks were a nice touch which we added for our dinner guests!

Zack and Ray on the fly bridge in front of the Chicago skyline.

There are lots of flowers all over this town.

The Architectural Boat Tour is THE thing that everyone rants and raves about. So, of course, we did that too.

We enjoyed Chicago very much!

We push off tomorrow.

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This post will collect a variety (non-chronological) of marina-at-night pics.

Well, it was a woman eating octopus, as the case may be.

Another great evening with Looper friends out to dinner at Tolucas Mexican cantina in Waukegan.

Shelly is getting revenge against all these Great Lakes Aranes (spiders) by feasting on one of their 8-legged cousins of the sea.

Arriving Waukegan IL Friday August 27, 2021 11:00am for an afternoon full of business calls!

Saturday August 28, 2021

Waukegan is the Potawatomie word for “fort” or “trading post”. Formerly it was known as Little Fort, IL. In 1949, the residents renamed their growing city to this more respectable and interesting name!

It is the county seat for Lake County IL, and is the 5th largest city on this western shore of Lake Michigan.

This marina is huge, clean, and run by F3. They do not have discounts for Loopers [yet] like other F3 run marinas do!? (What’s up with that?!) But GM Joe Seidelmann did give Shelly a golf cart shuttle ride back to the dock last night after an impressive hospitality BBQ nearby to the marina. The vent with live music, free BBQ food, and a couple of complementary cocktails were timed perfectly for our OUR stay at this great marina. Thank You Joe!!! (Shelly uses a cane, so he spared her the long walk back to the marina.) At least 100 people showed up to this hospitality event.

I am NOT a fan of Dockwa, which they use here at Waukegan. But on balance, this marina definitely get a thumbs up from us.

“Waukegan Harbor Marina is perfectly situated to cut the distance in half from the premium “must-stay” Reefpoint Marina in Racine to Chicago.”

If it were up to me, I would bundle “packages” for transients who are traversing Lake Michigan’s western side. Make it easy to make both of these F3-managed marinas a “no-brainer” for every cruiser’s itinerary!

Reefpoint Marina has a great sailor’s lounge which provided A/C for this group’s last marina in Wisconsin before hitting Illinois and the river system south.

Carey & Nancy Cook of Tug Lee Loo

Hal & Wendy Gilpin of Patriot

Marilyn & Jim Antonacci of Spinning Dreams III

Vanessa & Barry Ellis of Dawg Haus III

Patty McRery & Gene Rutkowski of Galene

Shelly & Ray Sirois of Shellerina

Once again I left a dock tails session with several pages of my notebook filled with ink articulating cruising tips for the upcoming Illinois River to the Mississippi River.

(Lots in this post: Maine trip, Dole-Anderson wedding, Shellerina’s Rock, Hurricane Henri, family and friends, and more!)

We went from Buffalo NY to Dunkirk NY back on June 20. So why is our Navionics showing our current position way back there between those ports … plus, Navionics shows us heading EAST?!?!

The SPEED over ground of 499.4 knots might be a good hint!

This was our Navionics position taken from from American Airlines flight #1540 Thursday.

We flew back to PWM and drove back to Harrison Maine for a long weekend and a wedding celebration for Britta and Jake!

Above, Maid of Honor, Sarah Klein, did a great job with her toast!

Below, mother of the bride, Tammy Anderson was a great hostess for this happy day!

Host and father of the bride, Ernie Anderson, with Stacey Worster of Worster’s Marine Center.

Sarah, Maid of Honor, with mother, Linda Klein at the reception.

Special thanks to my brother Russ Sirois for taking the two half days or more to deliver us a car for the weekend!

Thanks also to our hostess for the 3 nights! Linda Klein of http://www.hillsidecabins.us

Linda also brought me out to the famous Shellerina’s Rock for a swim, which is where we tied up countless times years ago.

FMI:

https://shellerina.com/2019/08/11/meantime-back-in-maine/

A nice Sunday Brunch at Sea Squall restaurant fit the schedule before flying back to Chicago ORD.

Jeanne, Marty, and Lindsay Patrizi drove up from NH; locals Steve Sirois and Nicole Albert joined us and Kim Sirois shuttled husband Russ from Edgecomb so he could take our Prius back to into storage again!

A great family gathering squeezed into our long weekend.

From the plane, as we approached Chicago ORD, we could see our boat in Racine WI!

Once we finally arrived back at Reefpoint Marina in Racine, we found beautiful weather, all systems normal. Like any trip, it felt good to be back onboard our home!

No signs of Hurricane Henri here! Plus, Desiree, Nick, Bobby, and others back on Long Island report the storm was a non-damaging one for all of them!

Reefpoint Marina. Racine.

This is the best price we’ve paid for diesel fuel this year! (Even edging out Ess-Kay Yards).

This F3 managed, mega-marina in Racine WI also has a very generous dockage discount for Loopers! Need assistance? Ask Carrie Neubacker, the general manager! “She is great,” as we were told by other Loopers even weeks before getting here. We found this to be true! She IS helpful, hospitable especially to Loopers, and on top of her game.

The large dock “field” includes two shower and rest room facilities out amidst the dock network.

https://reefpointmarina.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ReefPointMarina-Slip-Map.pdf

They are investing lots to improve the WiFi network this year too.

Bonus!

We did our 200-hour engine oil change yesterday. Carrie informed me that this marina will dispose of our waste oil on-premises at no charge! You can’t beat that. Her staff brought back our containers and everything.

Our boat loved it’s two week stay at Reefpoint Marina.