Category: Chicago

October 1-2, 2017 Sunday & Monday

Sunday: We played all day yesterday, but no playing today, it was a day for planning, running errands, and working on Andiamo as we prepared for the last six-hundred-fifty-miles of our adventure. Checking the weather we saw that there is a small craft advisory in effect from 8:45 AM today until 10:00 PM tomorrow for Lake Michigan. We are so happy that we will be entering the Chicago River tomorrow.

Mon: From Lakeshore Drive which runs along Lake Michigan with miles of bike paths and urban beaches on one side and amazing skyscrapers on the other, to the 24.5-acre Millennium Park, which is a premier outdoor venue, to the Chicago River that runs right through the city’s center and plays host to many of its significant buildings, Chicago is without a doubt one of the principal cities in the United States. Google the best architecture cities of the United States and I don’t think that you will find a list that does not include Chicago. We loved Chicago, but it was time to leave.

As we left DuSable Marina for the Chicago Harbor Lock, one mile away, waves were 6-8 feet on the lake and 4-5 feet behind the breakwater soon we would be totally off Lake Michigan. As we turned west towards the lock a 5-foot wave hit the starboard side of Andiamo, a cabinet flew open, spilled its contents, and one small bowl was broken. Not much damage and we were finally off of Lake Michigan and headed south on the Chicago River to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal at MM 321.7. This 20-mile long canal, completed in 1900, was constructed to connect the Chicago River with the Des Plains River and was the first step in constructing a navigable waterway from Chicago to the Mississippi. It took another 39 years and seven locks before that happened.

Between Chicago and Joliet we went down two locks, the Chicago Harbor Lock at mm 327.20 – 4 feet and Lockport at mm 289.10 – 40 feet We went under 60 bridges, of which, only the Amtrak RR Bridge at mm 323.50 had to be opened for us, a twenty-five-minute wait as three trains passed during rush hour. Lockport is the end of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and where we entered the Des Plains River.

Tonight we are tied to the Joliet Pubic Wall, just across the river from Harrods Casino. We were alone until about 8:30 pm when Looper Boats m/v Wandering Star (Pat & Dirk), and Now Playing (Chris, Jen, & Emily ) arrived after being delayed at Lockport Lock for about three hours, they all had a very long day, we were lucky.

Chicago River Cruise Part 1

Chicago River Cruise Part 2

 

 

 

September 30, 2017  Saturday

What a fun day, Chicago is such an exciting town and the day was so beautiful that we spent all of our time outside. We cruised Navy Pier, watched sailing lessons, enjoyed the Chicago Match Cup, visited Maggie Daley Park & Millennium Park and just enjoyed the sunshine.

September 29, 2017

Today was the shortest travel day of our adventure, 5.3 nautical miles, but it also had the most wave action. The forecast was for a small craft warning at 1:00 pm but when we left Belmont Marina at 9:00 am the seas were already 5-6 feet and the wind was from the northeast instead of the north. We usually cruise around 6 knots but we more than doubled that. Fortunately, we only had two miles to go before we were able to tuck in behind the breakwater as we made our way to DuSable Marina.

We are now less than one mile from the Chicago Lock, our first lock since Erie Canal. If all goes well, we will leave here on Sunday and start down the Chicago River. In many of the locks we have been through we have been the only ones in the lock, I’m sure that won’t be true in the Chicago Lock, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, “The Chicago Lock is fourth in the nation in terms of commercial lock usage and second in the nation in terms of recreational lock usage. On a busy day, 50-100 vessels can be locked at once. On average, the lock cycles 12,000 times annually. The lock sees an average of 711,902 commercial passenger one-way trips and 41,071 non-cargo vessel one-way trips (based on 2000 through 2010 data). In 2012, there were 10,480 lockages through the chamber – serving over 47,000 commercial, recreational, and government vessels; nearly 700,000 passengers; and 200,000 tons of commercial cargo.”

We are essentially off of Lake Michigan, the marina is behind the breakwater which is what we take to the Chicago Lock. We have loved all of our stops along the way, it is just that winter is approaching and it is time to head south.  Currently, on Lake Michigan, the waves are 7 feet with a forecast of 8-9 feet for the next twelve hours.