Into the Rivers

"Never insult an alligator until after you have crossed the river" - Cordell Hull

I was looking for clever and inspirational quote about rivers to start this blog when I came across this one.  It has nothing to do with my post but I liked it better than the relevant ones.

This week we traded in our sailboat for a really slow motor boat (top speed 5.5 knots)

But the good news is that our air draft is now only 13 feet which means we don't have to wait for many bridges to open.  Reg says that we now also have a nice dance floor on the fore deck, we have just lost the mast to hang the disco light on!

We had the mast taken down at Crowley's Yacht Yard (great service, b.t.w.) on the Calumet River, and then headed north for one more night before hitting the rivers.  After staying on the wall at the noisy industrial boat yard we decided to stay at the 31st Street Harbor which is next to a great beach and then Uber into downtown for one last great Chicago meal.

Boys have been boys since time immemorial

Posting this mostly so I can remember the name
if we are ever back in Chicago.  The best meal of the trip
so far.  Thanks for the recommendation, Leanne.

Now we are in the rivers we are on a different trip everyday.  First up, we went right through downtown Chicago.

Chicago to Joliet was a tour of industrial Illinois. The first section is called the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal which means exactly what you think it means.  It was constructed to flush all the waste from Chicago (sewage, slaughterhouse waste) to the Des Plaines river and ultimately to the Gulf instead of Lake Michigan which is where the Chicago drinking water intake is located. Apparently Missouri applied for an injunction to stop it but the Chicago folks started the water flow ahead of schedule in January 1900 so it would be too late for an injunction to be issued. The water in this section smells terrible and is augmented by numerous sewer outfalls, many of which I don't think would pass muster back home given how foamy the water is.

Further down the canal we entered a section that one of our guidebooks calls "The twelve miles of hell". The canal narrows and is full of commercial barges being pushed by boats which are confusingly called tows.  Luckily we have an Automated Identification System (AIS) which is a VHF system showing the position, heading, speed, destination, and name of all commercial vessels.  We can see where they are going and we can hail them on the radio if we need instructions from them regarding which side we should pass them on, etc.  We were able to use this information to see barges coming around corners so we could tuck into spaces and let them pass us safely.

One of the many barges.  The tow pushing it has a pilot
house that can be raised an lowered.  Raised so it can
see over its load and lowered to go under bridges.

Adding to all the fun was the Chicago Electric Fish Barrier.  You need to wear a life jacket through this section (if you fall off the current will paralyze you and cause you to drown without a life jacket) and you have to pass through one at a time.  It all sounds nerve wracking but it is very straightforward.

After a night tied up to the free wall in Joliet (free including the 30-amp electrical hookup!), we entered yet another type of river - a pretty one!

Floating homes on the Des Plaines River

One of many duck blinds

As I type this update we are anchored in the Kankakee River where it joins the Des Plaines River to form the Illinois.  We weren't sure where to anchor in this river and our cruising guide didn't have much information. When we were meandering around checking depth, 2 different locals radioed us and offered to lead us to the good anchorage which we wouldn't have found on our own.  One even offered to pick up groceries for us as they were going into town later in the afternoon.

The past few days have had record breaking heat so we are glad to be anchored off the main river in a place where we can jump in the water every hour or so to cool off.