Scott here

Well, if finally feels like we are actually doing the Great Loop to me! Our first day of the IL River is done. We left at 7:57 am and met up with 7 other Loopers just outside of Hammond Marina then had one more join our flotilla just inside the River. The day started off raining and a little foggy on the lake, but we were only on the lake for a couple of miles and close to shore so that was not a big deal.

We kept ourselves in the middle of the pack as best as possible, since we didn’t really know what we were doing with the locks. The first lock was pretty easy and Rita did an excellent job. I say that because she was outside holding the line getting soaked while I was in the helm staying dry. I did feel guilty! She also rocked it when we had to raft up waiting for a lock, raft in our 2nd lock and when we docked on the Joliet Wall. (As I type this, I am thinking she did most of the hard work and all I did was drive the boat!)

Otherwise, the day was actually pretty boring. Nothing of excitement, the three minutes of terror as we docked in Joliet. The second lock kept us waiting for about 3 hours while barges were coming through. Total pain the butt, but I get it. Thankfully, the lock master let us lock through even though another barge was a couple of miles away. The 9 boats had a plan before going into the lock, then it turned to a sh!*t show as the lock master had a plan of his own. We rafted to another boat and were good. Rafting is good, as we just tie up to the boat and let them do all the work holding us to the wall. Our boat is 42′ and we are the small boat in the group!

Oh yea, docking was hell in Joliet. So many waves from the number of boats just made it very difficult. It was not fun at all. Plenty of help on the wall, but very stressful.

Anyway, let’s see how our plan went.

Plan v actual
Date: October 5, 2023
Route name in Aqua Maps: TD: 10/05/23 (Hammond to Joliet)
Nebo Link: Click here
Crew: Captain Scott, 1st Mate Rita, & K9 Jazzy
Start at: 8:00 am, yep, left at 7:57 am
End at: 7:00 pm – nope. Arrived at 7:56 pm
Total Time: 10:00 hours (6:54 travel time, 4 bridges, 2 locks) Close, 10:15
Distance: 48.4 miles close enough at 49.6
Fuel Plan: 62 gallons Didn’t fill up, so we will fill up in Ottawa tomorrow
Planned Stop: Joliet City Dock (Free wall) Yep