Port #20: A Looper Convention in Ottawa (IL)...

Great Loop II Date: 9/7/2014

Day #38 (Sunday): 45 miles (1111 total miles)

Locks: 3 (7 total locks)

Port #20: Ottawa, IL

When the clock went off at 4:45AM, we were more than happy to arise.  The Joliet wall has not changed from our stay in 2010.  Although the characters in the park seem to be harmless, there is no lighting along the wall.  The larger barges coming by made us consider our vulnerability, as well.  There was comfort in the numbers of boats on the wall with us.  Also at that point in the river, the curve did push the barges to the far side away from us.  All the same, we left with no sorrow.

Todd called ahead to the Brandon Lock and it was empty.  The lockmaster told us to come on down.  As 8 boats began pulling away from the wall, the railroad bridge ahead of us began coming down.  None of us could get under that bridge.  Todd called the bridge and the manager said a train was coming and the bridge would be closed for the next 10 minutes or so.  All 8 boats motored around until the train passed.

Luckily there were no barges coming either immediately up-bound or down-bound to delay us in our first lock of the day.  There were so many boats, we had to raft two by two to fit everyone into the lock.  Once we were out of the lock, OB fell behind fairly quickly.  We motor a lot slower than most for two reasons: it saves diesel so we visit the pump less frequently than others and it allows us to see more along the way as well as avoid debris in the water.  Further, we knew we wouldn’t be left out of the next two locks since the lockmasters call back and forth between locks to let each other know what’s coming in the way of traffic.  They like to keep the pleasure boats together in a group and will hold the lock as long as it takes to get everyone in.

Three boats ahead of us...

there were actually four boats back there...

...and three here make eleven!

There go the boats in front of us...

...and here come the boats behind us getting ready to pass us.

There's the ever present barges being staged for movement on the river.

More staging.

Part of the adventure is some of the things we see along the way.  It must have been goose hunting season.  The hunting blinds we passed were all habited.  We could see heads peeping out at us as we passed by.  Each blind had a dozen or so goose decoys out.

This was the Taj Mahal of duck-goose blinds along this stretch.  All those 'birds' on the right are his decoys.

This was a boat transformed into a blind.  His decoys are sitting to the left and...

...he actually stood up to look at all of us going by.  The arrow is pointing at him.

Just after the hunting blinds were a huge flock of white pelicans.  Their presence in Illinois is an interesting story, because their normal migration route is well west of here.  As the story goes a group of pelicans wound up in the Illinois River Valley a few years ago.  It is thought a storm pushed them off course. Whatever the reason, they have returned in greater numbers each year. Migration is a learned behavior, and apparently the pelicans have learned the route to a warm winter home goes through Illinois!

The bunched up white birds are the white pelicans.  The birds standing by themselves in the back are egrets.

We had three locks to go through.  This was the second of the three, the Dresden Lock.

We continued to have to raft up in the locks.

Leaving the Dresden Lock.

Oncoming tow.  We were advised by the tow captain to pass on the 'one' which is his port to our port.  I comes from the formality of the captain blowing his horn once (past on my port side) or twice (pass on my starboard side).

This being Sunday and a beautiful, warm early September day, boaters and jet skiers were out in hoards.  We passed long sand beaches along the river full of boats and folks just having fun.  We well understand the need for weekend fun in the working world.  However the busy waterways made us decide not to travel on the weekends during our last Loop.  We had a big reminder on this weekend day.  Unless pushed by a time constraint or incoming weather, we most likely will not travel on the weekends any more.

Boats and jet skis were flying in every direction!

This particular area on the beach was interesting.  There were at least 3 dozen boats beached along this stretch and a party atmosphere was in full swing.  The sign is below.

This part of the beach had it's own sign...only about 100 feet from the sign above.

You may have to click on it to get the full message.

This is only part of 'Trespass Beach',

Next up we passed an old tow converted to a bar and casino, the Katie Hooper.  It looked better when we passed her in 2010.  We wondered if she might be closed now.

Poor ol' Katie Hooper...she needs some work now.

Our AIS as well as listening to the other Loopers ahead of us on the VHF radio let know we were coming upon the tow OMAR.  The tow captain was very friendly and sent us all around on ‘the two’ (his port side, our starboard).  We had no problem with OMAR but the ‘go fast’ boats that were out on this Sunday afternoon were running without abandon.  They cut between us and OMAR.  At times it looked as though they were on a collision course with either Ocean Breeze or OMAR!  Tows such as OMAR pushing barges cannot stop.  A few years ago, a Looper boat was caught in the wake of a tow pushing barges and nearly capsized.  So much damage was inflicted on the boat it could not continue the Loop.

Our last lock of the day was another easy in, easy out.  We were so lucky.  Three locks had the potential to make for an extremely long day if barge traffic was heavy.  Our marina for the night was just around the corner from the lock.  We were in early enough for a big group at Docktails.

Leaving the last of our three locks, the Marseilles Lock.

Ahhh....coming into Heritage Harbor, our marina home for the next three days.

Docktails!

Heritage Harbor is very well run and friendly to Loopers.  The owner found us at the free dock in downtown Ottawa during our 2010 Loop.  He took us to the grocery store, brought us back to our boat and helped us unload groceries.  He impressed us so much with his kind gesture, we decided to stay in his marina during this Loop and forgo ‘free’.  All of the Loopers we were on the Joliet wall with elected to come into Heritage Harbor, as well.

A huge weather front was posed to come through Tuesday and Wednesday.  Our 8 boats grew to 12 and finally to 19.  We had a fantastic potluck Monday evening and fun around the marina bar Tuesday evening.  Wednesday the captains were concerned about the large number of boats collected and how many might leave to go downstream Thursday morning.  They called a meeting to collaborate and assess the looming situation especially with few areas for anchoring or docking in the upcoming 75 miles.  In the end, 5 boats planned to anchor, 4 boats planned to make a run for Peoria, IL and a few boats were considering the Henry Lock Wall.  We were among the anchoring group.

Potluck night!

Breakfast of champions...and Loopers.

Interesting sign at the pool.

Yes, it was warm enough to have docktails at the pool...until the front came through!

The Captains meeting.  It really is wonderful how well Loopers work together to try to make the adventure a positive experience for everyone.  No one wants to be left high and dry with no place to anchor or tie up in a busy river.

A fellow Looper included information in her blog about the importance of barges on the rivers.  I thought it good to bring that information forward to my blog.  Thanks go out to Monica on Untide for her research.  She has a fantastic blog going at http://looping-nz-style.blogspot.com.  Her camera eye is absolutely the best.

Monica captured this sign early in the transit through the Illinois River.  It definitely defines the pecking order in locking.

‘A typical barge carries 1500 tons of cargo, which is 15 times greater than a rail car and 60 times greater than one trailer truck. An average river tow on the Upper Mississippi River is 15 barges consisting of 5 barges tied together and moving 3 abreast. The same load would require a train 3 miles long or line of trucks stretching more than 35 miles. In 1995, 321 million tons of cargos were moved on the Mississippi River. Barges carry many different types of goods with coal, petro-chemical products, and grain constituting most common commodities moved.

Why is a towboat called a towboat when it pushes the barges?
The word "tow" comes from the canal age when a draft animal walking along the bank of the canal pulled a barge. As rivermen gained experience with moving barges, they found that, by lashing barges together and pushing them, they could control the barges better and move more of them. The control was especially helpful when navigating the smaller rivers and tight bends in a river.

What is the size of a barge? 
The standard barge is 195 feet long, 35 feet wide, and can be used to a 9-foot draft. Its capacity is 1500 tons. Some of the newer barges today are 290 feet by 50 feet, double the capacity of earlier barges.

What is the size of a towboat?
Towboats range in physical size from about 117 feet long by 30 feet wide to more than 200 feet long and 45 feet wide. They draft anywhere from 6.5 feet to 9.0 feet. The boat's diesel engine can produce power from a few hundred horsepower to 10,000 horsepower. A few are in excess of that, but not many. The larger boats operated on the Lower Mississippi where the water is free-flowing and wide.

How many barges and towboats are there?
There are approximately 26,000 dry cargo barges, 3,000 tanker barges, and 1,200 towboats operating today.

How many barges are there in a tow?
The average tow has 15 barges, but flotillas can go up to 40 barges, depending on the type of cargo, the river segments being navigated, and the size of the towboat. Smaller tributaries, such as the Alabama River, can support only a four-barge tow because of the meandering nature of the river and varying width of the river itself. In addition, the Alabama's locks are only 84 feet wide and 600 feet long.