Day 363, "on the loop", 10/7/2023

*Links included in this blog*

After 18 days in St. Louis, catching up with home chores, reconnecting with Grampy and meeting with friends, we returned to the boat on Tuesday, October 3rd. We were so busy at home, we didn't take any pictures, oops!

Tuesday, October 3rd: Returned to Hammond, Indiana (the boat) just in time to celebrate Craig's (Permanent Vacation) 6oth birthday. Hammond, Indiana is one of a few marina's where Loopers held up, waiting on the locks to open.

Pictures taken at docktails.

Pic 3: The Birthday Guy, Craig!

When we originally arrived in Hammond, IN, there were less than 30 looper boats. Most loopers, similar to us, used the time to go back to their "dirt" homes. While we were gone, several additional Loopers arrived. It was a great reunion! We reconnected with boats we haven't seen for many months; such as: Bama Breeze, Lucky Chicklett and Permanent Vacation.

We crossed the "gulf" with Permanent Vacation so we are forever "bonded" with them!

Boats we saw at Hammond; but, didn't see the crew: Carribean Dream (met @ Coco Village, FL), High Five (met @ Deltaville), Ramble On III (met @ Little Current, Canada)

As boaters arrived at Hammond Marina, flotilla captains started meeting over docktails, discussing the game plan for their journey as it related to their flotilla.

Wednesday, October 4th: Once word got out that the "closed" locks were up and running, several loopers decided to try their luck at foregoing the locks without assistance from the AGLCA or a flotilla Captain. Not saying this was a good idea or not; however, we heard there were some long waits for the locks. We called this group Flotilla -0- (ZERO) - LOL.

Arabella was named the "lead boat and captain" for Flotilla 1, their group decided to leave Hammond and hold up at Marine Services (another marina where loopers were staged and waiting on the locks) which was closer to the Joliet wall. By doing this, it cut down 2 hours of travel time to the lock and provide a better chance for early lockage.

The first mates from Bama Breeze, Long Gone 2, Permanent Vacation and Summer Place all met Arabella to say farewell and wish them safe travels. We all showed up in our "Loopin' Ain't for Sissy's" shirts. While wishing them well, we discovered their flotilla of 16 had become 4 (due to the above statement of some folks changing their plans to travel "on their own").

Long Gone 2 reached out to the AGLCA (Kim) and led the effort to get us moved to flotilla 1. Since Arabella (Capel) had already left Hammond, IN (the original plan for flotilla 1). The AGLCA worked to replace the open spots on flotilla 1. The replacement boats were identified and most of us were still at the Hammond marina.

Arabella asked Joel to lead the new members of flotilla 1 to the Joliet wall where he and 3 other boats would be waiting (making flotilla 1 a group of 12).

The new flotilla 1 group: Arabella, Bonny Days, Dove, Fun Quest, Gemini, Indigo Seas, Long Gone 2, Magic, My Happiness, Spartina, Summer Place and Timeless.

Thursday, October 5: As requested, Joel led the 9 boats to the Joliet wall. We left Hammond, Indiana at 8am (in the rain). The group of 9 were: Bonny Days, Fun Quest, Gemini, Indigo Seas, Long Gone 2, Magic, My Happiness, Spartina and Summer Place (Us). We traveled through multiple bridges on this leg of the loop. Most of those bridges had to be lifted. There was a lot of coordination going on. Fun Quest was staged at Michigan City and cruised at a fast pace to catch the larger group for the first bridge. Joel and I worked to meet all the new members of flotilla 1 (the night before departure) but we missed one, Magic - not sure how he got the message; but, he was ready to go when the group was departing Hammond.

Pic 1: Taken right before pulling off the dock

Pic 2: It's hard to see; but, there are 8 boats (in a line), Flotilla 1

We arrived at the Lockport Lock & Dam at approximately 2pm (ish). Capel notified the lock master of our intentions who in turn told us to wait at the nearby wall.

Remember Barge traffic takes priority.... Well, we waited approximately 3 hours for 3 barges to pass through the lock. The turn around time was almost an hour per barge.

After a long day, we arrived and stayed on the "free" Joliet Wall. We had hoped to see our friend Amanda Preis (she lives nearby; but, it was Quinn's birthday and we didn't arrive at the wall until 6pm, it was starting to get dark out - ugh)!

Pictures below are views from the Joliet wall:

Friday, October 6: First off, happy birthday to my niece, Natalie. She turned 17 years old today... where does the time go?! Speaking of time, we have only been back on the boat 4 days and it seems like we never left. We have accomplished so much, including two VERY long days of traveling. Today was an exhausting and hard travel day. It was challenging to travel in a fleet of 12 (I can't imagine a fleet of 16 which some flotillas will have). Side note (and reminder), we were originally scheduled in flotilla 4, to depart Hammond on Oct 8 but requested to get moved up to travel with our buddy boats Arabella, Long Gone 2 and Spartina.

Being part of Flotilla 1, we felt we were paving the way for the flotillas traveling behind us. Arabella (Capel) did a fabulous job leading our group. His role was to call ahead to bridges, lock masters and barges (as needed) and herd us boats through the first 6 locks. Once Capel made contact, he would relay the message to the flotilla. This prevents multiple calls. Capel would also provide our lock assignments. This is NO easy task! Can you imagine advising 12 people over a radio?!

As you can imagine, traveling with multiple boats has its challenges, I shared a few below:

In MY opinion, the challenges were; there are various levels of boating expertise as well as a new loopers. My Happiness, 2 wks and Timeless only a few days into their loop; however, both very familiar with their boats and did a good job traveling in a pack of boats. Another challenge is radio communication. Some people do not like to talk on the radios (when learning the ropes of the loop). I get it, personally, I don't like to talk on the radio either :-).

Radios are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. We have 3 radios (this is not necessary; but, we find it helpful). This allows us to monitor several different channels:

Channel 14 (and sometimes 13): Barge traffic / Bridge traffic (unless otherwise noted in travel guides).

Channel 16: The common channel for waterway travel and traffic, think of this as an emergency channel, monitored by the coast guard.

Channel 71, 72 or 73: a channel selected for boats traveling together (we typically select one of these 3 channels and change out depending on other radio traffic).

Some loopers only have 1 radio (so you probably see where I am going with this). Side note: you can do the trip with only one radio, you just change the radio to the appropriate channel as needed.

In OUR opinion, this is our thoughts on the radio:

This is not a big problem when traveling alone or with one - two other boats; however, when traveling in groups and having one radio you must change between radio channels. The first and MAIN need is to (typically) monitor 16. "16" is the MAIN channel that all waterway traffic communicates on.

Channel 16 is used to communicate accidents, hazards, or to hail other waterway vessels. If contact is made on channel 16 (you reach out to someone or someone reaches out to you), radio etiquette is suggest and/or ask to move the conversation to another channel (this prevents your conversation happening on that main channel).

Mind you, conversations do take place on 16 and if your conversation is too lengthy, the coast guard will call you out and ask you to get "off" the channel.

Barge and Lock Master channels are generally Channel: 13 / 14 or 12. Let me tell you, if you are traveling in places where you are in heavy commercial traffic, you BETTER be on their dedicated channels. These barge captains are working and they don't like us small "plastic toys" in their waterways! And they make NO excuses about it! Yes, they see us as plastic toys.

Another situation: if you do not have multiple radios, it is possible to miss information being shared on the respective group channel. Those with multiple radios like us, make the mistake of communicating on the wrong radio (meaning you may be communicating on one of the working channels (the barge traffic channel, etc). We are guilty of this!

Side note: Barge traffic, especially in Chicago and New York (or any high volume commercial traffic for that matter), are not too friendly with the pleasure crafts (loopers). Keep in mind, they are there to do a job and feel we are in their way... Passing barges can be overwhelming; we are like a tiny object in a pool of these MASSIVE machines!

After a long day of travel (we arrived around 6pm) and once docked and secured we checked in at the office. Jeremy at Heritage Harbor did a "chart briefing" from his location down to Green Turtle Bay Marina. This briefing included the following:

Water Levels (this time of year, water gets shallow)
Anchorages (some have challenges and can only take so many boats)
Marinas (called out marinas that are no longer operational due to cold season)
Barges / Tows (discussed communication etiquette, reminded us how to pass barges and things to be mindful of when passing a barge)

The briefing ended around 8pm (ish). Everyone was exhausted and most had not ate (since lunch). Heritage Harbor had a restaurant called "RED DOG," they were kind enough to remain open for us to enjoy a good dinner before heading to bed. Side note: the day was stressful, so many of us had a "much needed drink" or two! I slept well.

The day was stressful because we traveled 7 hours. It was rainy, cold, and just when we arrived (just before dark) at the marina, the winds picked up. We had a couple of barge passings that could have gone a bit smoother. We were READY to call it a day!

We were not here long enough to take pictures; however, from what we could tell the marina was nice and the amenities appeared to be in great shape.

Saturday, September 7: Technically, the flotilla could now part ways; however, we 12 boats needed to work together to get through the first lock of the day. (working together prevents multiple calls to the lock master), Capel was kind enough to commit to lead us through the lock; however, as you can imagine, a few boats (about 4 - 5) left Heritage Marina before the larger group left and didn't communicate. No one was saying you had to communicate with the larger group, it's just courtesy. In the end, it actually worked out better for the larger group (us), we didn't get bunched up or feel crowded.

Pic 1: There are three lines of boats, 4 wide. The 2nd lines (from wall), Gemini, Magic, My Happiness (the 4th boat from wall, not sure who that was)

Pic 2: The Lock gate (closed)

Pic 3: Timeless holding his line, notice the white lines (they will soon be so dirty). These lines are provided by the lock. This was one of the locks that closed for repairs (hence the white ropes).

Pic 4: Look closely, that boat was preparing to "raft" to My Happiness

Side note: Lock masters monitor various tracking tools and know what is coming / going on this river system. They then schedule their lock openings accordingly. Plus, Capel our fearless flotilla leader had already called the lock and notified them, 6+ boats would be approaching. Because we didn't know the earlier boats intentions, we didn't include them (assuming they called the lock master themselves).

Lock masters, monitored AIS (Automatic IdentificationSystem) Not sure when the earlier boats left (about 4 or 5 boats); but, regardless, they ended up having to wait on us.

Once through the lock, most boats moved ahead and made a long ride (70 miles) to their next stop, Peroria, IL. Five boats (Arabella, Spartina, Summer Place, Long Gone 2 and My Happiness) traveled to Henry's.

Another boat in the flotilla stopped at Henry's too! One traveling "on their own" which is fine; however, this sometimes causes hiccups! For example: 5 of us made reservations and received docking instructions which included the order to enter the marina to dock (sometimes this is based on size, who needs pump outs or fuel, etc).

The loner boat traveling just a bit in front of us never communicated their intentions so we assumed they were headed to Peroria with the other boats.

Boat Etiquette would have been to communicate to at least "one" of the boats you are traveling with (or have been traveling with). With that said, the fellow boater did not make a reservation. This caused a bit of confusion and delayed our entry to the wall channel. It may have confused the Henry's staff too since Fern specifically asked us to enter as she called us in (one at the time). Henry's only had 2 staff members and they needed to assist us (grab our lines) since the walls are fairly high and boaters are not able to jump off the boat due to the rocky ledge. When changes occur, IT ALWAYS WORKS OUT! Captains are already busy doing so many things, it just adds an extra layer of stress when there are unexpected changes to resolve at the last minute (when it could have been prevented).

Photos: Compliments of Henry Harbor Marina - We are 2nd boat from right.

We may get to see our son when we arrive in Alton! Most of you know, I call him our VIP. We may have some other VIP's joining for the last leg of our trip, stay tuned! Until next week, safe travels!

Random Information & Miscellaneous Stuff:

Bald Eagle sighting:

Using the binoculars, I had a great view of this eagle. It was incredible, too bad these pictures do not do this bird justice!

Tree Line was so pretty, took a few pictures.

Barge Traffic:

This is a working area and was pretty interesting to see it from the waterway. The first picture are cars that have been flattened. The other pics look like a lot of metal.

Random Lock Pictures:

Pic 1: Back of lock (gate closed)

Pic 2: Timeless holding boat to wall (has 3 boats rafted to him)

Pic 3: 4 boats rafted: 1 holds a white line to the wall and the other boats pull up and tie off (it takes about 15 / 20 minutes for us to get organized in the lock). The first 3 boats (typically the largest of the fleet) go in single file line and tie to wall (one behind the other); then, the next 3 boats go in single file and tie to a boat (the process continues until there are 4 boats wide, in a row).

Lock master provides directions on how to load the lock. In picture one, they had us line up on the right side, we had 3 rows of 4 boats, rafted together (all on the port/ left side).

In picture 2 they had us line up on both the left & right side. Here we had a row of 3 on each side and then another row of 3 behind this group.