Friday - September 17, 2010

We left Chicago about 9, lamenting that there was still a lot to see and do in the city. I think we agreed that we will come back again. We moved our boat to the first lock of the Chicago river – a lot bigger than the Trent Severn locks. As we will learn each of the locks has a different way of locking through – either holding onto a rope supplied by us, using a bollard or using a rope supplied by the lock master. Anyway we locked through and entered the Chicago river for a trip through downtown Chicago. While we had done it before on a cruise boat , there was something different and more exciting doing it on your own boat – floating through the big buildings along the river. As we left centre of Chicago, the terrain becoame more industrialized and there was a lot of industry and along the way.
One of the tings we had to be careful of was the 57 or so bridges that were along the Chicago river waterway. Many did not have clearance for the mast on our boat, so we had to lower the mast before departing. It was relatively easy sicne all we had to do was undo 40 bolts and then lower the mast to the upper deck. This gave us a maximum height of around 13 feet – nore than enough clearance for the bridges. Many of the bridges will go up, but you have to arrange in advance for the movement. In addition there is a fixed bridge along the way with a clearance of around 17.1 feet Since my mast is at 18.6 feet, we wouldn’t fit unless the mast was lowered.
As I mentioned before the river was increasingly industrialized as we went south of Chicago and barges with tows behind them became more frequent. It should be noted that these tows were not just pushing 1 barge but several in length and sometimes in width. It is very interesting to watch the tow captains controlling these huge transports. Of course they always have the right of way – might is right! The barge captains are usually quite helpful telling you which side they want you to pass on or whether you should pull out of the way. The AIS system that I had installed earlier in the year has shown itself to be very useful, letting me know way in advance of the approach of one of these tows – commercial boats have to have AIS. It describes the tow and its size and a number of other identifying items.
We had to go through the electric barrier along the Chicago Sanitary Canal which last year caused some consternation for Loopers since they had to be towed with engines off through the barrier. The barrier has been set up to prevent Asian Carp from moving upstream to Lake Michigan. Asian Carp are an invasive species brought in to North America by fish farmers in Mississippi to control algae. Since being brought in, however they have moved up river and now are close to the Great Lakes. The fear is that if they get in the Great Lakes, they will alter the environment for other aquatic species. The suggestion has been to close the Chicago Sanitary Canal which of course will affect a lot of commercial traffic and cost a lot of money. Several states have launched lawsuits to close the canal but no decision has been handed down. I personally doubt it will be closed because of the cost in jobs, however a solution will be reached. Passing through the barrier this year was easy. Announce to the Coast Guard you entering and leaving the fish barrier and then go through.
Our first lock was at Lockport, where we learned about bollards. They are basically floating tubes in a tunnel along the lock wall. You tie your boat to the bollards and as the water goes down so does the bollard and your boat. Easy.
The river after Lockport was still industrialized but less so and actually in some places was rather pretty and quiet. We tied to wall at Lockport where met some new Loopers as well as our previous traveling companions from Serendipity and Q’s End – N II Wishin, Sea Estate, Spring Moon (Canadians) and Quizote. We all joined in happy hour and retired to our respective boats.