Days Events:

Had to put the radar array down - I had it put on a hinge before we began the Loop - so that our air draft [height above the water] would be reduced from 19'2" [to top of anchor light on the radar array] to only 15'6", allowing us to get under all 107 of the Illinois/Chicago River bridges, except for two drawbridges, which have closed heights <16'; the critical limiting height is a fixed [does not open] RR bridge at m.320 at 17'6"; having our hinged array enables us to go through Chicago. And only having to request an opening for 2 bridges makes for a smoother journey. Once we get to Ottawa's Heritage Harbor marina at m.242 [Chicago Harbor is m.327], we'll put the array back in place, since the remaining bridges have clearances over 21'.

From the Desk of the Admiral:

Hi. We are slacking off in format this evening. Kinda tired. We are back in the rivers and now it's starting to feel like we getting close to home. Mixed emotions for both of us.

Today was a long day for us. We didn't tie up until 6:30. Left later than usual to see what the wind was doing. The boat traffic in Chicago was not busy, mainly slow moving tour boats. But after merging with the Calumet there was endless industry, the shores were lined with barges including many barge harbors and continuous no wake zones. Fortunately not many tows and none were large. We had a couple of short stretches where we zoomed along at 9mph! Boat travel is neither efficient nor speedy. We could have driven here in 50min. and used 2gal of gas!😂😂 We also would have missed the experience of passing under 60 bridges! A memorable day.

Goodnight.

PS: Our good friends Janice and Wayne are safely back at home. The nearby fires have been contained.

Comments:

Ernie R  •  22 Jul, 2021 - Nice there was not much traffic! Did not see burgee on bow rail?