Sept 7, Joliet, IL

Today we left Chicago by going down the Chicago River, right through downtown Chicago, and cleared all the low bridges as we hoped we would. We begin the 1300 mile trip from Chicago to Mobile, Alabama. The elevation of Lake Michigan is 577 feet above sea level, so we will be going down through a series of locks that will drop us the whole 577 feet to sea level at the Gulf of Mexico in Mobile. Amazing!

We travelled about 40 miles and ended up just past Joliet, Illinois on the Illinois River. It was an eventful day. Water temperature in Lake Michigan is 70 degrees and the air is 72. It has been beautiful summer weather in Chicago all week. We started by taking our mast down and reducing KOKOMO II's overall height from 21'8" to 16'6" so we could go under the low bridges which do not open.

Leaving DuSable Marina in Chicago and going past the Field Museum

Navy Pier

Entering the lock that leads to the Chicago River.
And through downtown.

Linda on the bow as we cruise the Chicago River.
Trump Tower in center.

Going through downtown was a real treat! And exciting from a boating standpoint. We went under lots of low bridges. Most of the bridges are 17'6"to 20 feet with two a 17 feet. We are 16'6" so we made it and have some room to spare. It is a spectacular sight to cruise right through downtown so we think it is worth the extra effort and the bit of anxiety. We left downtown by late morning and began cruising through the more industrial part of the Chicago River. In all, we went under 65 bridges and transited two locks that dropped us 2' and 40'.

Our most interesting event today was to have to be towed through a one mile stretch of the river which has been 'electrified' to keep the Asian Carp from passing from the Illinois River into Lake Michigan. Carp are an invasive species and may 'crowd out' the salmon, perch and whitefish. To keep the carp from entering Lake Michigan the Army Corps of Engineers has installed electric cables under the water to put a pretty strong charge in the water to keep all fish from transiting the river in either direction. Then the Army Corps began to worry about the affect this might have on the boats that transit this waterway. They decided the strong electric current might somehow damage the boats and/or be dangerous to people on the boats. Sooo... about the middle of August, they decided that no boats may go through this area on their own. Period.

This river is the only way for us to get to Florida unless we go back through the Erie Canal and back down the East Coast. So we and all the 'Loopers' have a problem.

The Army Corps determined that boats could transit the 'fish barrier' with help, under the following conditions. Every boat must request and be given clearance to transit from the Coast Guard. Permission will be granted only if the boat will be towed through by a special tug (that has been especially 'grounded') and only after they have disconnected their batteries and turned off all systems. All persons must be aboard the tug. Doesn't sound too bad, except the towing company charges $600 for the short tow no matter how big or small the boat.

We have been reading about this on the 'Loopers' website since the middle of August, and hoped that the Corps would do some testing and modify or eliminate the restrictions on the transit. But by the time we needed to transit the area, the policy is still in effect. Army Corps says testing has recently been done but they are not releasing the results.

So we find the tug (Artco company tug BUSTER WHITE), wait for our turn, pay the money, tie up to the tug, disconnect all systems, get aboard the BUSTER WHITE, get towed about one mile, get back aboard our boat, hook up the systems again, cast off from the tug and go on our way. Coast Guard was enforcing the no transit zone and would impose a $30,000 fine for violators. Bummer. Had some pictures of the whole 'fish barrier' thing but they seem to be lost in the computer for now.

We continued downstream and passed through Joliet and did not find a suitable spot to tie up for the evening. We ended up going further and finally ended up at the Dresden Lock, where they told us we would have to wait for a commercial tow to clear before we could go through, so we tied off to a steel boat (that was tied to a barge) along the shore just up from the lock as darkness closed in.

We do not want to be moving after dark. So we need to find a place to tie up for the night. We find a spot where we are tied to a rusting steel hulled workboat, which is tied to a rusting tugboat, which is tied to an old barge, which is tied to the shore. But we are secure and move on at first light.

All in all, an interesting day. We definitely feel we are on our way back to Florida.