Cruising with Gary & Annie

5 OCTOBER 2021

We’ve spent an extra few days in marinas at Grafton and Alton, Illinois, for a variety of reasons. We’re resting a bit after cruising the entire Illinois River from Chicago (about 200 miles) and are now just south of its confluence with the Mississippi River. Tomorrow we’ll start our journey of about 200 miles down the Mississippi until we turn east on the Ohio River as we head to Paducah, Kentucky.

Looking back on the last several days, it’s occurred to me that some of you may wonder what we do when we’re not cruising. We do lots of the things we might be doing at home…reading, napping, cuddling, sleeping, grocery shopping, cleaning, paying bills, contacting family and friends, checking emails, etc.  But there are quite a few things that are a bit different traveling by boat.

There’s a lot that goes into planning the next few stops along the way—at marinas and/or finding a safe place to anchor. Checking the weather is something we do often as we anticipate what lies ahead and make decisions about right timing. We are also looking at both electronic and paper charts and guides, frequently consulting with fellow “Loopers” and sometimes attending briefings by harbormasters to get tips, suggestions and advice about various stops and options coming up. At the last two marinas (in Grafton and here in Alton), there’s been a “docktail party” every night at 5:30 where Loopers socialize and map out the next few days. Those leaving the next morning coordinate who is contacting the lockmaster (if there’s a lock coming up to arrange locking) and relaying that to others (via VHF radio).

 

There is also a lot of maintenance and minor (sometimes major) repairs that are done while in port. We need to check the oil and coolant levels frequently (which I got to do this morning—see photo above—note dipstick in hand!), wash the decks and outside steps with a special cleaner that is skid-proof, and wash the transom (back of the boat where the name is) where soot from the diesel engines gathers. This morning I practiced using a special hook that might be needed at future dockings when there isn’t anyone to help us. It’s the First Mate’s job to get the line around a cleat or piling so the Captain can bring the boat up alongside the wall, pier or slip more easily.

We both enjoy being creative and while stopped we often get out our camera (G) or iPhone (A), especially when there’s a sunset or a special architectural feature like the New Clark Highway Bridge (below) that we see from the Alton Marina. It crosses the Mississippi River and connects Illinois with Missouri and nearby St. Louis.

When we’re docked, I love to cut out images and words (from travel brochures, magazines, etc.)  and incorporate them into my “art journaling.” This is my way of capturing the highlights and special moments we want to remember about our adventures. The art journals I’ve done for our 3 Sprinter Van camping trips continue to bring joy every time we look at them. It’s like reliving each trip all over again.

When I asked Gary if he could think of anything else we might mention in this blog, he said, “Don’t forget Boat Yoga!”  It’s amazing how many activities on a boat require twisting, bending and turning from standing, sitting or laying down (and then getting back up again!). Everyone summarizes all the contortions necessary when working on a boat by calling it “Boat Yoga!” Here’s an example, as I got back out of the engine compartment and rolled on my back so Gary could put the hinged door back down. [Note: In order to lift this hatch, we have to put the coffee table up on the sofa and the stools up on the eating bar above the galley (kitchen).]

AND, all of this is part of “the dance” as we continue to enjoy this amazing adventure with lots of amazing people. Our next report will probably come from Paducah, KY where we’ll spend a couple of nights taking a few deep breaths after making the run down the Mississippi and up the Ohio. Meanwhile, we’ll keep dancing and hope you will too!

4 OCTOBER 2021

Here’s a fun story about the trip we made from Beardstown to Grafton, Illinois several days ago. We’d been cruising with 4 other couples for several days and enjoying each other at two different marinas, but realized we had to wait for some fuel to be delivered to the Logsdon Tug Company before we headed south. The others took off (reluctantly, but with our good wishes), anchored that night at Willow Island before heading to Grafton, making the 88-mile trip in the customary two days of cruising. We ended up having to stay in Beardstown a second night and really missed being with our Looper buddies—they were beginning to feel like our boating “family” and everyone else felt that way too.

The next morning, the winds had died way down, the Illinois River was very smooth, the bald eagles were soaring overhead and Captain Gary got a look in his eye that said, “Let’s go for it Let’s catch up with our friends in Grafton!”

So off we went, taking our awesome boat from its usual cruising speed of 9.2 knots (about 10mph) up to 25 knots. It’s as if she could hardly wait to finally show her stuff. {We had gone that fast on Lake Michigan several times because Caterpillar diesel engines are built to go hard and fast, and we knew she was capable of going over 35 knots (done at her sea trial before we bought her).}

We had a blast! We slowed respectfully when passing a barge or a fisherman, but otherwise, we were zipping along and loving every minute. The biggest difference we noticed at this speed was that the buoys (channel markers) were going by faster and faster.

When going downstream, the buoys on the left side of the channel are red, cone-shaped on the top and are called “nuns.” The buoys on the right side of the channel are green, are square on the top and are called “cans.” Sometimes we’d see just one buoy, some times two, and, on the curves there were several in a row that were the same, guiding us away from obstacles or shallower waters. So, as we zipped down the river, I was helping Gary identify each channel marker and started saying “Nun! Nun! Nun!” And then “Can! Can! Can!” And after several wide curves, I sung out to Gary that “S.L.O. Dancer was doing the Can Can!”  Wish you could have seen us grinning.

Our buddies were in Grafton by 11am that morning and couldn’t believe their eyes when S.L.O. Dancer appeared at the Grafton fuel dock at noon. It took everyone else 2 days to go those 88 miles and we did it in FOUR hours!

We later discovered we were the talk of the Looper community that day. No one could believe what we did! (Keep in mind that many Loop boats can go no faster than 7-8 knots and few can get over 15.)  We don’t plan to do that very often, but it is nice to know we can go faster if necessary (or for fun!).  That night all of us went to dinner and, as an acknowledgement of our speed run, dear friends Karen and Greg presented “The Captain of Grafton” with a very tacky and adorable pirates’s treasure chest bank to begin saving for his next fuel bill! A good time was had by all and we enjoyed several nights in both Grafton and Alton with all these wonderful people!

We still grin every time we think about those exhilarating four hours and will be ever grateful that S.L.O. Dancer can do the Can Can!

FROM THE BRIDGE

3 OCTOBER 2021

Our month long tour of Lake Michigan is over and I think Annie has captured the feeling tone of that part of the adventure well.  Lake Michigan is the second largest fresh water lake in the world and truly an inland sea.  We saw all the faces of what the locals call The Big Lake.  And because we have no real schedule we can stay in port any day we find less than perfect.

Most of you know that my Grandson Eldon helped me move the boat from Grafton, Illinois to Grand Haven, Michigan in May.  After some repair items were resolved, Annie and I started our circumnavigation of The Big Lake.  We traveled north up the Michigan coast to Mackinac Island, and that is the official starting place of our America’s Great Loop adventure.  We then traveled down the Wisconsin side of the lake to Chicago where the river portion starts.

Here is the Lake portion by the numbers:
States 3
Cities, Towns and Villages   22

MICHIGAN:
Spring Lake
Muskegon
Manistee
Frankfort
Leland
Charlevoix
Mackinac Island
Beaver Island
Escanaba
Menominee

WISCONSIN:
Washington Island
Egg Harbor
Sturgeon Bay
Kewaunee
Manitowoc
Sheboygan
Port Washington
Milwaukee
Kenosha

ILLINOIS
Waukegan
Chicago

,In our 30 days on the Big Lake we traveled 665 miles, we were under way for 76 hours for an average of 8.75 miles per hour.  Seeing the world at that speed takes a little getting used to, but seeing the world around you more deeply is indeed the gift of traveling America’s Great Loop.

Many writers demean Lake Michigan with terms like “Lake Washing Machine.” It is certainly an inland sea to be taken seriously, but we had only 5 days that weather caused us to stay in port.  We found it a beautiful place to boat, with interesting towns and people filled with Midwestern hospitality.

It is now on to the Great River System, with river names like Illinois, Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee, all the way down to Mobile, Alabama.

Here are a few images from the trip through downtown Chicago on the river.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2021

In a nutshell, RIVER CRUISING IS AWESOME! After dining overlooking the Chicago River prior to our leaving Lake Michigan, I was a bit concerned about cruising through downtown Chicago as we watched all the tug boats, tour boats, speed boats, kayaks and stand-up paddleboarders weaving their way up and down this narrow channel on a Thursday afternoon. However, I am very happy to report that the very next morning as we started down this beautiful stretch of the “Sanitation and Ship Canal,” we were the only boat cruising down the river! It was amazing, delightful, peaceful and beautiful!

As the Chicago River became the Illinois River, we started seeing some of the barge and towboat operations and an amazing variety of industrial factories, cranes and other huge machines, loading docks, etc. It was fascinating.

We have now cruised over 200 miles since leaving Chicago, with just 88 miles to go until the Illinois River joins the Mississippi near Grafton, IL (where we bought the boat and will stay for 4 nights). 

Here are some of the reasons we love River Cruising:

1. The waters are very calm most of the time, with a current of 1 mph….very soothing and relatively stress-free….not much “fetch” to think about! Whew!

2. The lockmasters are very friendly and helpful as we tie up around the “floating bollards” that allow our boat to stay in place as the water is let out (we are going down river). 

3. Most of the towboat captains are equally friendly and helpful as we ask permission to pass them via VHF radio and make sure we pass on the side that they request. These professionals are the real experts on the river and I am in awe of the way they push and maneuver 3-6-9-12 barges at a time. 

4. I continue to appreciate Gary’s boating knowledge and expertise, and am grateful as well for all that he is teaching me. I’ve now been able to “captain” our boat down the river on 3 different occasions while Gary takes his afternoon nap.

This means I’m also very grateful for well-placed channel markers and well-dredged channels (thank you U.S. Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers!), as well as the printed and electronic guides we have along with us. It makes it all pretty easy!

5. There are lots of small towns, campgrounds and recreation areas scattered along the river’s edge, as well as barge facilities, but mostly we see trees, trees, trees and birds, birds and more birds…flycatchers, white pelicans, egrets, herons and lots and lots of EAGLES! They soar over the river (and over us) and swoop down to catch a fish. Wow!

6. We have now anchored out behind two different islands that are deep enough and sheltered from the river traffic (mostly barges that run 24/7). It is so much easier than I thought it would be…and very, very peaceful. Both times we’ve anchored with other “Looper” boats.  

7. We’ve also stopped at 2 beautiful marinas—Heritage Harbor in Ottawa, IL

and the Illinois Valley Yacht & Canoe Club (aka The IVY Club) in Peoria—and this is where we’ve met and are really getting to know other boaters who are on this same America’s Great Loop adventure. For the last 80 miles, we’ve traveled in what I call “boat parades”—groups of 4-8 boats, one behind the other—from having gone through a lock together. (Lockmasters prefer to lock through several “pleasure craft” at a time, which means we sometimes have to wait while a barge goes through—up to 3 hours so far—so we end up parading out of there and going on our way together.}

7. Which bring me to one of the greatest joys of being a Looper—the people!!!

Everyone is so friendly, so helpful, so fun, so down-to-earth. Regardless of boating experience, size or class of boat, background, hometown, age, etc., we are making friends with some wonderful people and everyone is willing to help everyone else (“that’s what boaters do!”). AND, one couple just introduced us to the official Loopers’ Toast (an Irish proverb):

            There are good ships and wood ships, ships that sail the sea,

            But the BEST SHIPS ARE FRIENDSHIPS, may they always be!  Amen!

The next part of our trip will create some more adventures. We plan to cruise about 200 miles down the Mississippi River from Grafton/Alton, IL to Cairo (sounds like Karo syrup) and the mouth of the Ohio River (which will take us over to the Tennessee River). The current is faster, the tugs are bigger & longer and there aren’t as many opportunities to stop for fuel and provisions, but we are preparing ourselves well for that and will have 4 nights in Grafton before we start this next leg. Stay tuned!

We’re doing great….continuing to dance…and loving this…S…L…O…pace!

Blessings to everyone who is cruising along with us. Big hugs from both of us!

LAKE MICHIGAN’S SCENERY, SUNSETS AND BIRDS

16 SEPTEMBER 2021 – CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

We have now circumnavigated Lake Michigan—up the eastern shore, across the north, and down the western shore—and are having a grand time. The scenery and
sunsets have been quite memorable and we continue to see beauty everywhere
we go. Here are a few examples:

Most of the birds we’ve seen are familiar to us—seagulls, cormorants, pelicans, Canada geese, mallard ducks–but the other day, while walking along the waterfront to the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc (and a fascinating tour of a WWII submarine), we came across a very large bird standing on rocks at the harbor’s edge, just 20’ away. I took what I thought was a very good photograph of it…and then Gary (with his exquisite photographer’s eye) took one from a different angle. Here we share with you our find of a young Great Blue Heron.

Cruising continues to go very well. Since our departure on August 13, we’ve had
just five days on Lake Michigan’s rough and tumbling “washing machine” waters.
The rest of the time it has been quite smooth, bringing us great joy. (We don’t
leave the harbor if the winds are more than 15 knots and the waves are more
than 3 feet high; we’ve changed our schedule twice so far because of weather.)

We are loving this whole experience and are now enjoying Chicago—a very
beautiful and vibrant city. Tomorrow we start river cruising—down the Chicago
and Illinois Rivers toward the Mississippi—but we will always remember the friendly people and the natural beauty of Lake Michigan. We hope you enjoy cruising with us.

From the Bridge:

0935hrs

7 September 2021

We extended our marina stay in Sheboygan WI because the forecast was well beyond our safety limits and we have found that although the boat is really seaworthy and handles well in wind and wave, the Captain and First Mate have a much lower tolerance.  We awoke this morning to heavy air, an eerie morning with dense red sunlight on the eastern horizon.  Checked all the moorings and told Annie to close all the windows and hatches, “We were in for a good one!”

They do Thunder Storms here in the mid-west unlike what we see on the west coast.  They are awesome to behold and at the same time a little scarry.  Really glad that our current travel schedule is “not a schedule at all.”  So today we will hunker down, do some laundry and write this blog. 

Hope you enjoy the short video clip taken from the bridge of S.L.O. Dancer.

https://videopress.com/v/sZ00eBHa?resizeToParent=true&preloadContent=metadata

28 AUGUST 2021 ESCANABA, MI (On the Upper Peninsula aka The U.P.)
We’ve learned a lot since beginning our cruising journey on August 3 and
officially beginning America’s Great Loop on August 23 from Mackinac Island.

1. “Island Time” occurs in many places including Mackinac Island, where we
   enjoyed hundreds of live butterflies at The Butterfly House and thought we’d be
   late to rent our own horse and carriage. But the message was, “No worries!
   Everyone’s on Island Time.” Ahhh….it’s all about S.L.O.-ing down. We love it!
2. Boaters help each other! We’ve now docked in 10 marinas and we’ve had
   help arriving and leaving each one. At first we were quite surprised when two
   boaters nearby helped us load the boxes we’d shipped from home onto our boat.
   Our new boating friend Reed explained with a shrug and a smile, “That’s what
   boaters do!” And so it is!
3. There is more than one definition of “FETCH.” Lake Michigan is about 307
   miles long and roughly 100 miles wide. The greater the distance the wind moves
   across the water, the greater the “fetch.” When we crossed the northern part of
   the Lake, from Beaver Island, MI to Washington Island, WI (85 miles), we had
   quite the rock, roll and pitch adventure as the fetch from the south (having
   crossed about 200 miles of lake water) met the fetch from the west (crossing
   about 50 miles) creating what Michiganders call “the washing machine” effect.
   We did fine and the boat is very seaworthy, but I think I’d rather play fetch with
   our next door neighbor’s dog!
4. Always keep one hand for the boat! Even during smooth cruising (which has
   been most of the time so far), a sudden roll or lurching can happen from a seen
   or unseen boat’s wake. It can really toss you around. Fortunately there are sturdy
   handholds and rails throughout the boat, inside and out.
5. Being thankful is an important practice. I am so grateful for Gary’s boating,
   chart reading and other navigation skills, together with the way he is teaching me
   to be the best “first mate” possible. I’m getting pretty good at working the lines
   when we arrive and leave a dock as well as wielding the very heavy 50’ power
   cord. I’m very grateful for my strong legs and arms! We are also extremely
   grateful for the latest versions of our “Navionics” and “Boat Beacon” apps that
   allow us to see other boats nearby plus every light, channel marker, underwater
   rock and other hazards to avoid. We are also oh so grateful we have both air
   conditioning (it’s been quite warm and humid) and autopilot. Some boats we
   considered did not. This allows us to take turns at the helm, where one of us is
   always on watch and the other can snooze a bit nearby. We are deeply grateful for each other and are happy to report we are dancing along very well together! Yay!
   
   Tomorrow we’ll head down the Wisconsin and Illinois (west) side of Lake Michigan, with planned stops in Menominee (2 nights), Egg Harbor (1), SturgeonBay (2), Kewaunee, Manitowoc (2), Sheboygan, Port Washington (2), Milwaukee, Kenosha, Wi plus Waukegan and Chicago, IL (2). The S.L.O. dance continues!

18 AUG 2021   LELAND, MICHIGAN

FROM THE FIRST MATE (aka Annie)

We arrived at Spring Lake, MI (west of Grand Rapids, near Grand Haven) on August 3, where our boat had been “on the hard” since early June for various survey repairs, maintenance and some upgrading. We’d planned to take a few days to get things in order, but lots of rain, lightening and some monstrous thunderstorms delayed us, so we had plenty of time to get everything in its place and settle in. We finally left on Friday the 13^th (always a lucky day for us since my birthday, my grandson Ty’s birthday and Gary’s 2 children’s birthdays are all on the 13^th!).

AND, our 41’ boat is amazing! I had never seen it before. [Gary and grandson Eldon did the “shakedown/training” cruise in late May from Grafton, IL where we bought the boat (just north of St. Louis), taking it up the Illinois River through Chicago to Spring Lake.] I was excited to see the boat and quickly became ecstatic at how spacious it is—lots of living spaces, roomy sleep spaces and plenty of storage. The galley is fabulous and easy to work in. The whole boat is in beautiful condition inside and out for a 1995 Cruisers 395 and the décor is inviting and comfortable.

Even better, the boat handles beautifully in both the rough (1 day) and calm waters of Lake Michigan, which locals call “The Big Lake.” Best of all, we both LOVE being on the water and find it both exhilarating and soothing while fully enjoying the… S…L…O…pace. The boat can go up to 35 knots (at 25 gal. per hour per engine), which is nice in an emergency, but its best cruising speed is around 8.8 knots (about 10 mph), using just 2.5 gal. per hour per engine. Not only is this much easier on our pocketbooks, but it gives us time to really take in all the beauty as we cruise along. We’ve even seen a few monarch butterflies fly by!

The eastern shore of Lake Michigan is amazing, with dense green forests growing right down to sand dunes and shorelines, charming houses tucked in among the trees and friendly marinas right off the Lake that often lead up rivers to small inland lakes. There are also lots of lighthouses, which we also enjoy. Pictured here is the Little Point Sable Light, located between Muskegon (1^s night) and Manistee (2 nights)—a  sweet, restored Victorian port with a beautiful River Walk.

We are now in Leland, MI on the northeastern shore of the Lake en route to one of our favorite places—Mackinac Island (at the top of the Michigan “mitten” and the northwest corner of Lake Huron, pronounced “Mackinaw”). That’s where we plan to officially start our America’s Great Loop adventure. So from there we’ll head west across the top of Lake Michigan and travel down the western shores of Wisconsin and Illinois. When we get to Chicago, we’ll start river cruising down the Illinois River to the Mississippi and beyond. We look forward to all of it—one day, one port at a time—as we continue our S.L.O. dance. Thanks for dancing with us!

P.S. Most of our blog posts will be much shorter, but we wanted to share a bit more with you about our journey & its beginnings! We are already loving it all!

1 AUG 2021   SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA

CAPTAIN’S LOG

Welcome to our Blog. Blogging is a new experience for us so it will be a work in progress about two people on the front end of a learning curve called boating.  The tag line for the America’s Great Loop Cruisers Association (aka AGLCA) is “The Adventure of a Lifetime,” and I’m sure two people ages 78 (G) & 81 (A), going 6,000 miles in a full year on our own, will be full of Joy and Challenges.  Our various Sprinter van trips over the last three years have shown us that we are really happy traveling “the road less traveled” and that being together in a small space 24/7 can be a real joy. The writing will be mostly from Annie, and I will contribute the images and hopefully some videos so you can travel along with us. The Blog is interactive, so if you have questions, comments or topic ideas, please send them along. For now,

LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN!

FROM THE FIRST MATE

After nine months of research, boat shopping, planning, training, getting our home ready for year-long tenants and continuous list-making (!!!), we are off on our most exciting adventure ever—cruising over 6,000 miles through the inland waterways of the eastern United States called “America’s Great Loop.” We’ll be traveling in our own boat, just the two of us, on a 41’ Cruiser that we have named “S.L.O. Dancer.”

S.L.O. stands for San Luis Obispo, CA, which is just 12 miles east of our small hometown of Los Osos on the Central Coast, overlooking Morro Bay, Morro Rock and the Pacific Ocean.

Why “Dancer?” Many years ago we heard the lyrics to a song that we’ve never forgotten:

                        Life’s a dance, you learn as you go

                        Sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow.

                        Don’t worry ‘bout what you don’t know.

                        Life’s dance, you learn as you go.

Our life IS a dance that we continue to enjoy. And never before have the words to the third line been more meaningful. Countless hours of preparation will certainly benefit us, but we don’t pretend to know everything. In fact, early in this cruising dance Gary said, “I’m not sure I even know what I don’t know!”

We continue to learn, continue to plan, continue to brush up on our boating and navigation skills, and will simply take each day one day at a time, doing our best to enjoy the boat, the cruise, the journey and each other. One thing we know for sure is that it’s not about the destination…THE JOY IS IN THE JOURNEY!

And so it is!