Rolling, rolling on the River

A ship being loaded with coal on the Cal Sag



I-80 Bridge in Joliet.  We have traveled over this bridge many times, but this is the first trip under it.

Friday, Aug. 31^st we left the Hammond Marina to begin our journey South.  The weather was sunny, hot and humid.  Just what we ordered for our 1^st day.  The first leg of this trip is through a very industrial section south of Chicago, so there are a lot of ships, tug and barge traffic.  THEY rule the river…watch out and pay very close attention because they are huge!  Our first adventure, at least for me, was the lock and dam systems all along the Cal Sag and Illinois River.  The lock at Lockport, IL. has a 41 ft. drop….yikes!  You must tie up the boat, push away from the walls and just hope you don’t bump into the sides of the lock on your way down!  Yep, we made it but I am sure glad our friend, Bill Sellar is along as crew.  He is an experienced sailor and knows all the tricks of the trade.  We spent the night in Joliet, IL right downtown and left at 7:10 this A.M.  Sailing is never smooth…the remains of the hurricane are hitting here, so we have been under our canvas as it rains.  The reason I have spare time to add to the blog, is because we have been waiting for at least an hour and a half for a huge set of barges and tug go through the next lock.  We will always play “second fiddle” to commercial traffic.  So it goes for sailors.  Back to you soon with more tales of the river J