June 15, 2007

June 15, 2007 - People who have done this cruise in a small boat like we have been doing on Shorty will know what I am talking about. The last few days of experiences we have had on the Great Loop Cruise will be some of the most memorable. As you know I am doing this on a 26 foot boat. If you have read stories in the past about Georgian Bay, The North Channel of Lake Huron, Straits of Mackinac and the Manitou Passage you know that they can be some of the most treacherous of waters and to tackle them in this size boat you expect that it will be a rough ride to say the least. As you know, if you have been reading the blog that we have some of the most phenomenal weather to tackle these bodies of water. Well this morning after listening to the weather on the NOAA weather channel we knew that our perfect weather window was closing out possibly by later this afternoon or evening. We got up at six AM and were under way by six thirty. We came out of the breakwater at South Haven, Michigan and once again there was our perfect weather. With this in mind and the waypoint set for Chicago Navy Pier we left on our journey not knowing for sure if we would make it before the winds might hit and hoping that if they did they would be on our backside. The distance from South Haven to Chicago, Illinois is about seventy to seventy-five miles as the crow flies. Off we went and I want to tell you that if you have never seen the horizon disappear behind you on a trip of this nature and then trust your compass heading to get you where you are going then you have not lived. After one hour this morning South Haven’s shoreline started to disappear and then we were alone in the middle of Lake Michigan for the next hour and a half in the boat and with one hour to go on the lake we could faintly make out the city of Chicago which appeared in the deep haze and fog of this super cold lake. Then as time passed slowly we began to see the shoreline clearer and clearer but out cameras could not focus through the haze and we had to wait until we got almost there. But to see the sun shining on the glass and steel buildings above the haze and fog was one of the most spectacular things amongst the many events such as that on this trip. I will never forget that sight as long as I live. And true to its name the closer we got to Navy Pier the more the wind picked up on the lake as if to greet us in its true fashion and also why it is known as the windy city. Then we were at the Chicago river lock in downtown Chicago and waited a bit for the gate to open and drop us one foot down to the Chicago River. Then going through the downtown area of skyscrapers on the water was another super experience for the day. We saw the buildings and the bridges you read about in the news, State Street, Wabash Avenue and others and the old towers which raise all those bridges for taller boats to go under but for Shorty it was a piece of cake. He fits under everything with ten feet of clearance or better. Then the next part of the trip took us through the Illinois Waterway and the industrial area of the city and it was neat seeing all of the companies named and that have docks on the waterway and are household names, refineries, chemical companies, grain, sand and many others. Then you go through a section where the canal is made up of old limestone blocks and is actually at housetop height and you can look over the top and then understand why flooding does so much damage to the homes and businesses below you. We dropped about 50 feet down today going through three locks on the river and are going to be going through a fourth early tomorrow morning at Dresden, Illinois. There are commercial tows everywhere along the river with barges, tugs and other water related stuff. The towboats here are the largest we have seen and look to be seventy feet or better in length but very impressive in how they manage the power that they possess to move things and how very quietly they approach and go around you when you meet them. The buoy system is a little bit different now that we are going downstream again. The locks are huge and we feel like a pea in them in comparison to their size. Tonight we are tied up in Big Basin Marina tucked in off of the waterway and also where we could top off our fuel tanks for tomorrow’s run. Places to buy fuel are now much scarcer than they were most of the trip and we are going to have to be careful to conserve so we can meet the longer distances of the trip. Tomorrow will be another adventure as we go around new curves and river bends and see more new water and things we have not seen before.