9/15/14: We were able to stay at the Illinois Valley Yacht Club aka IVEY Club while the current weather/river crisis unfolded. Flooding on the Illinois River and Upper Mississippi River made it impossible for Loopers to proceed southward. As of today we have received the all go for tomorrow 9/16.

Morning Sky From IVEY Club

The IVEY Club staff and members went out of their way to make us feel like we are members of their club. On Friday night one of the club members gave us the keys to her car and gave us unrestricted use of it over the weekend. On Sunday the club had a rib cook-off and we were treated to BBQ ribs, corn chowder, chicken, etc. all for free. 

The restaurant across the street "No Wake Zone" is a locals hangout & has great food. The locals welcomed us with open arms and we quickly felt like a local.

9/12/14: Ottawa, Il to Peoria, Il.  – 64NM. Our departure time this morning was coordinated with the next Lockmaster. Coordination paid off. We arrived at the Lock and almost immediately got to go in. Three other Loopers;  Blue Moon, As the Crow Flies, & Pura Vida locked through with us.

As of today the Mississippi River is at flood stage so no Loopers can go south. So the marinas south of us are all booked & some over booked. We have a marina to stay at tonight & hope they will let us stay until we can go south.

9/8/14: Joliet, Il – Ottawa, Il – 40 NM to Heritage Harbor Marina. We did 3 locks today and all went fairly quick.  Our arrival at Heritage Marina upped the count of Looper boats to 20. 

Along the way we saw some beautiful birds.

American Eagle

This is a GREAT MARINA. The staff is excellent, restaurant onsite, & free loaner vehicles (no time limit). During our stay here we were able to reprovision, get haircuts, etc. Perhaps the best of all….. BREAKFAST AT CRACKER BARREL…..ahhhhhh.

The weather (are you picking up on the bad weather theme) kept us at the dock. In anticipation of 20 Looper boats all leaving the following day, we had a Loopers meeting. Fifteen boats decided to leave out, with 11 going to Peoria and 4 anchoring out. We decided to wait another day before we headed out.

9/7/14: Hammond  Marina – Joliet, Il – 43 NM. There has been lots of chatter about work on the Cal Sag Channel regarding the 106 Bridge, a sunken Tug, & the fish barrier. We didn’t encounter any workers or problems so were glad we picked a Sunday to leave Hammond Marina & enter the Cal Sag Channel. Some Loopers behind us experienced delays of 2 or more hours.

ELECTRIC FISH BARRIER

LARGE TUGS ON THE CALUMET

We went through two locks between Lake Michigan and Joliet, Il. The longest wait we had was 1 hour at the last lock. The previous day, Endeavor had to wait 5+ hours at the last lock. Thanking God for a quick lock day.

Waiting At Lock Wall with other Loopers

Miss Hadley Locking 

The locks on the Illinois River have “bollards” to tie up to. Wrap one line around the bollard as the water goes down so does the bollard. Much easier than all the previous locks we have encountered.

Bollard

We spent a quiet night with 9 other Looper boats at the free Joliet City wall (free electric).

9/6/14:  We spent 4 days at the Hammond Marina (next to the Casino) just south of the Calumet Sag Channel on Lake Michigan. The weather turned bad for a couple of days delaying our departure until 9/7/14.

We decided to take the Calumet Sag Channel & not go through downtown Chicago. John on Endeavor left Hammond Marina a couple of days early, went to Chicago and took the Chicago Sanitary & Ship Canal. We will meet up in Joliet, Il.

9/3/14: We left South Haven before 7:00 am headed to Chicago, Il. A long day 69NM and about 10 ½ hours of open water but the water was calm. We seized the good weather window opportunity which closes later today. Tomorrow the winds will howl once again making it impossible to travel on Lake Michigan.

The water was clam enough for Russ to grill out and pass food over to our two buddy boats, Miss Hadley & Endeavor.  This is Endeavor pulling along side for lunch deliver. 

TRIP STATS: Between 4/2/14 & 9/3/14:

·         Been on the loop  for 151 days

·         Went through 12 States & 1 Country (Canada)

·         Traveled 2332 Nautical Miles /2684 Statute Miles

·         Successfully locked through 72 Locks

9/2/14: Grand Haven to South Haven (45NM). The day started off with 2-4 ft. wave and calmed down to about 1-2 ft a couple of hours before South Haven.  We were ready to get to a calm harbor. We met 3 other Looper boats, one of which we had already met before in Delaware City.

Entrance to South Haven

Beach View South Harbor

8/31/14: We threw off the dock lines leaving Ludington behind with Grand Haven, Michigan (62 NM & 9 hours) as our next stop. Most of us Loopers like to stay in port during the weekends and holidays since the waterways are so crowded. But with the small weather windows on Lake Michigan we were forced to travel on a holiday. Boy were we surprised when we rounded the corner into Grand Haven. The number of boats inside this little channel was pretty amazing.

While we were at dock a Report with the Grand Haven Tribune interviewed us for a new article. Excited to see the story.

We got the last two spots at the Grand Haven Municipal Marina.  The winds picked up later in the evening & throughout the next day making the stay very uncomfortable. We would only recommend this marina in good weather. They do however have an amazing water light show across the river from the marina. Next to the marina is grand stand seating where people sit to enjoy the nightly show. 

8/28/14: We have been at Ludington Municipal Marina for 3 days. We had one day that would have been good to cross to the Wisconsin side however the days following that, about 6 days, showed bad weather. We would have been held up at the marina on that side. So we decided to stay on the Michigan side and ride out the bad weather forecast for Thursday, Friday, & Saturday. The weather is predicting winds as high as 40Knots. Lets hope this is one of the times the weather forecast is wrong.

Barb & Ross on Attitude Changer arrived for one night. Looper pot luck was great.

Ludington is a nice town. It is home to the S.S. Badger a 410’ Steamship. It is the largest car ferry to travel on the Great Lakes. The ship accommodates 620 passengers & up to 180 vehicles.

8/26/14:  We left Frankford & the fog rolled in. About 2 hours of nagivating using radar. Not fun but turned out well. We made it successfully to Ludington, Michigan.

Michigan has beautiful sunsets.

8/25/14: After leaving Leland we had a quick 24 NM trip to Frankfort, Michigan on 8/23. This port offers good restaurants, a grocery store, & shopping. We are waiting on a weather window to either continue south or cross to the Wisconsin side of Lake Michigan. This morning a large line of thunderstorms came through & left behind high winds. The weather looks good tomorrow for a crossing.

Three Days of Smooth Water On Lake Michigan

8/22/14:  It was a quick 31 NM today to Leland, Michigan. The town is home to village style shops. Another good day on the water.

Twelve Stones at Leland Municipal Dock

Village Type Shops

A Dam In the Middle of The City 

The Dam makes a canal of sorts.

More Shops

8/22/14: Left Charlevoix this morning and the Lord provided a flat morning run. The weather may take a turn for the worse later, but this morning its beautiful.

Morning Sunrise

8/21/14: Well waiting on good weather certainly paid off.  Lake Michigan was flat and beautiful.  

We went 50 NM to Charlevoix City Marina. Charlevoix is known for its Hobbit style houses. When we arrived we were greeted by Limelight. We hadn’t seen them since Virginia. Of course we had a dock-tail party where we exchanged stories about our adventures. Limelight is only about a day away from crossing her wake.

Hobbit House Charlevoix, MI

Lighthouse at Charlevoix Entrance

Dock-tails with Loopers

John & Steve

8/20/14:  We had planned on leaving Mackinaw, Michigan yesterday but the wind was too bad. Then around 4pm fog rolled in and continued through the night and all through today. Normally from the slip we can see the Mackinaw Bridge, but haven’t been able to see it since yesterday around 4pm.

Some have left the marina and ventured out but we decided to wait this latest weather event out. From the dock we can hear the fog horns of the big barges but they are hidden by the fog. No way do we want to get out with them in these conditions.

The weather is still a mystery for tomorrow.

I (Elaine) have never been this cold in August in my entire life.