We headed out of Chicago, to the Joliet seawall and three days through the Chicago Locks, on schedule. It seemed as though Flotilla number 7, our assigned flotilla which consisted of 16 boats, was Lucky Flotilla number 7 as we did not have to wait for a single lock, bridge, marina, barge, or anything else the Illinois River sent our way, and we even got through with the AGLCA fastest time on record.

There is a spot along the river where, in an attempt to keep the Asian Carp from getting up into the Great Lakes, there is an electric fence, an area of about 100 yards of electrified water. It was reported that in an earlier flotilla three boats suffered damage to their electronics, one of which had to be towed to a marina for some extensive repairs. So when we traveled through that area we shut off all our electronics. Luckily we are hydraulic drive so driving through was not an issue for us. I can see 100 yards and was pretty sure I didn’t need my navigation system immediately…

These Asian Carp are huge, some about the size of a small to medium sized dog and the vibration from the boat engines cause them to get dizzy and they jump into the air to get away from it. They have been known to jump in boats and actually injure people. We were startled a few times by them jumping next to us and several even slammed into the sides of our boat, and one even smacked into the bottom of the Lottie boat, our dinghy, with a loud thud; no dents in Lottie though. They are just crazy to watch, and unfortunately not catchable on pics either.

One of the stops was at the Illinois Valley Yacht (IVY) Club where we were caught in a horrendous rain storm as we were walking from the restaurant back to the boat, which was a long circuitous route…of course. We were totally soaked completely through to our skin. We had to improvise to get our clothes dry. Even with the help of the sunshine on the deck, it still took about 4 days for our shoes to dry out.

After the 4 days spent together in a tight flotilla many boats cut off and went on their own way as there was nothing specifically set up this far down the rivers to necessitate the flotilla remain together. We were one of those boats so travel slowed down as we made our way to St. Louis, Missouri and we took the next three days anchoring in little hidey holes along the river. It was so peaceful and quiet and we had three great nights with just the four of us and nature. Every once in a while there was the quiet, dull drone of the tugs as they pushed barges past us up the river.

We finally made it to Grafton, Illinois, where we stayed for 3 nights to accomplish some of the essentials (pump out, laundry, groceries, water tank fill up). Grafton is the oldest city in this part of Illinois and is located at the intersection of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. It started in the 1850’s with the local stone quarries, boat building and commercial fishing. Today it is mostly a tourist area with the main street lined with shops, bars and great restaurants. The city is at the center of the regions bald eagle watching area and proudly calls itself The Winter home of The Bald Eagle.

While we were there they had the Witches on the Water celebration which was huge with a lot of people dressing up and all having a good time. Local shops, bars and restaurants featured all kinds of witch’s brew and fare. That was pretty fun. We didn’t even know it was happening before we got there, and we took part in the celebration.

When we left Grafton we headed up the Mississippi to our next and final stop with Bruce and Diane, Alton Illinois. But before Alton, we popped across the river to Woodland Marina, where they were reportedly selling fuel at $3.99 a gallon, a $400.00 savings for us for the 100 or so gallons we needed, so of course we went there. Getting in and out of the marina was a little shallow, but we did fine…until heading out, I was in 13 feet of water and in the channel and with nothing visible in the water, when there was a huge thud and three loud thumps. I throttled back immediately, although I wasn’t going that fast anyways as we had just started out. After some diagnosing, a huge shimmy, shutter was found on the starboard engine when going above idle speed. OH EXCELLENT!! There was no way we were going to make it to Alton, and even if we did there was nothing they could do as they are not a mechanical marina. But as fate would have it, really if there was such thing as fate, it wouldn’t have happened at all…we were pretty close to Port Charles Marina, the only fix-it along the river for many, many miles and several states, with a lift big enough to lift our boat and people to do any kind of work. Sooooo, we limped into Port Charles Marina, on one engine, and that was managed well thanks to my training captains who ran me through one engine problems at times while I was learning this boat driving thing. Although my head was still a mess, not knowing what the heck happened and HOW! Apparently the luck left us when Flotilla 7 broke up…Jeez!

Best guess by all is that I hit the edge of an unmarked wing dam. A wing dam is a man made barrier that, unlike conventional dams only extends partway into a river. They force water into a fast moving center channel to reduce the rate of sediment while slowing water flow near the riverbanks.

We sat in Port Charles for 4 days before we could be pulled out of the water, at which time we rented a car and did the St. Louis tourist stuff, which included a trip to the Arch and a tour of Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales. We have all been on brewery tours so thought the Clydesdale Tour would be different. They are just gorgeous, and huge! Interestingly, the horses are all given short names to make it easier for the driver to give commands to the horses during a performance. And they all do know their names.

We had to say goodbye to Bruce and Diane on Saturday October 21st. We had such a fun and laughable time over the past 2 1/2 weeks with them on board AND they were such a great help in getting through the Chicago Locks and down the Illinois River. They are moving back to California so I have no doubt that we will be catching up with them and Susan and Kevin on our next trip out west. All our guests this season, Leslie, Vince, Susan, Kevin, Bruce and Diane have been such a treat for us to share boating and going to places we would never have gone to from the land side. I am so thankful for every one of you and am very happy you were able to join us for some of the journey.

Welp, on the 4th day it was pull our boat out and assess the damage time. And it is not good.

The starboard prop is broken and needs to be sent out for repair and the port is going in too, cuz you can’t just do one…But the prop guy was put on notice as we were limping in to the marina, so he is expecting the props so that should only take about a week. The real problem is that the strut, the thing that holds the drive shaft, which holds the propellers, to the boat is bent. Now that is quite a feat as it is a huge, heavy piece of forged brass that apparently took quite a hit. Until they get it all torn apart, we don’t know if the drive shaft is also bent. Bad news, as if there needs to be more, is that the strut has to be manufactured…which could take up to 4 weeks or longer. Even worse news is that the weather is now getting too cold to travel, so if we can’t get back in the water and on our way by the first of December at the very latest, we are out for the winter…again.

If we are able to travel soon, our side trips up the rivers are off the table and just getting to Florida will be the plan. If we have to wait until next season, we should be able to get back in the water March or April and we will then take our time doing the planned river trips.

So for now we are in working our way back to Florida. We have some business in Memphis to attend to and we are stopping in Big Canoe, Georgia to visit with Mary for a few days along the way.

Check back in a few weeks for the update. Love to all, Gina and Mike