October 3-4, 2017 Tuesday & Wednesday
Tue: We were up early this morning hoping to make it to Heritage Harbor Marina in Ottawa a mere three locks and 46-miles away. With a delay of 40-minutes at the Brandon Lock mm 286 – 34 feet and almost 2 hours and 30 minutes at the Dresden Lock mm 271.5 – 20 feet we knew we would not make it before dark and opted for Spring Brook Marina at Marseilles. What causes the delays? Government and commercial vessels have first priority and depending on the size of a tow & barge it can take hours to lock though, they have to disconnect barges, make multiple transfers, and then reconnect on the other side of the lock.
We miss the clear water of the lakes but are enjoying observing life along the rivers, lots of birds today. At mm 273.0 the Des Plaines and Kankakee Rivers join to form the Illinois River, which we will travel on until we reach the Mississippi River at Grafton.
Wed: We tried for about an hour to call Marseilles Lock for a status report but no one was answering the phone. We finally gave up and started down the river, when we finally connected with the lockmaster we were told that the lock was down for repairs and would not be open before 6:00 pm. Knowing that the waiting tugs would have first priority we decided to return to Spring Brook Marina with plans to arrive at the lock very early tomorrow. With rain most of the day we spent a lazy day on the boat and visiting with Steve and Pam on Sweet Stuff, a 42 foot Grand Banks Trawler. They are just transiting from their life-on-land to being full-time boat dwellers.
