Another early start to the day throwing lines from the Joliet wall at 6:15 a.m. in order to get a bridge opening. Although it was was warm-52*- it was rainy, damp day. Today we completed 3 locks, the most in a day in our trip down the Illinois river. Eight hours later we arrived at Heritage Harbor. This part of Ottawa looks like a beautiful area having several hiking trails and interesting sites. Sadly, we have been asked to continue down the river daily so that the flotillas coming behind us will have a place to stay on their journey down the Illinois.

Shortly after our arrival we were all asked to attend a briefing meeting (2+ hours) regarding how we should progress down the river. There are several challenges including the locks, barges, tugs and dredging machinery that we will need to be aware of and understand. Additionally we must consider the weather, current, level of the river and how and where to anchor as there are several areas that are not safe to anchor in given the low level of the Illinois River. One example was a rule of thumb about rain. For every inch of rain that falls one is advised to wait a day before traveling. EX: 2 inches of rain wait 2 days before traveling. The rationale is that when they experience heavy rains a great deal of flotsam and jetsam travel down the river and can cause a great deal of damage to boats. We have heard of a few boaters that have hit logs and have suffered some damage to their drive shafts. Not a position to be in here as the availability of marinas and haul outs are limited. Hoping for a safe trip down the river and can’t wait to get to Grafton, the first city we will see in about 5-6 days, weather dependent.

Our trip today.