RIVER SYSTEM: DAY 92: Joliet to Ottawa/Buffalo Rocks

Joliet to Ottawa: 8.3 mph; 54 miles; 9:00 hours

Great Loop Navigation Notes by Captain Alan Lloyd is a reference tool you should have handy at the captain’s bridge for the entire river system. It is full of Captain-like information.

The Illinois River is very quiet and beautiful. The trees are already changing colors and it isn’t even the end of September. The King Fisher is back and I'm ignoring him.

LOCKS: 

Brandon Road Lock 34’
At 6:00am our designated Looper called the lock and asked when would be a good time for 10 Pleasure Crafts, PCs, to lock through. We were told that, if we could be there at 6:30 AM, we could lock now - so we left the Joliet Wall. I am sure that was a sight to see. Once we arrived, we needed to wait a few minutes for the green light and horn to signal when it was safe to approach.

HOW TO WAIT: You just idle in place; seriously, I needed to write that. The Sofia Chong (not the vessel's real name and NOT a Looper) didn’t understand this and weaved around cutting close to other boats. Sofia Chong will be a problem. Don't be like Sofia Chong.

The Lock Master decides who will lock first, which side to lock on, and when boats will tie up to one another. You really need to listen, you might have to switch your bumpers last minute - might as well smile while you’re doing it. We were lucky and ended up alone with a port side lock. It was a slow fill.

LOCKING REVIEW: Bumpers out, wear gloves, open tied line at mid-cleat, hold the other end of the line in one hand, lasso the bollard, and use the boat hook to push off the wall. The Lock Masters are there to show you exactly where to lock. If you need a back line, they have one for you to use and release.

Remain locked to the wall until the doors are completely open and the Lock Master has sounded the horn. Boats will depart the lock much like church, from the front of the lock, alternating slowly one side, then the other. This is done for safety reasons.

THE ENTERTAINMENT BEGINS

Sofia Chong felt she needed to be first out of lock ; much like an elementary child needs to be first in line. Once the horn blew, she unlocked and powered out of the lock leaving a wake - they have no idea Lock Masters call one another. The Lock Master was not amused.

Dresden Lock 22’

The procedure for locking is the same every time.

The Lock Master understood our little Navy and how many boats to expect. The Sofia Chong was first to arrive ahead of everyone else and remained idle outside the lock until we arrived. I’m wondering if the captain even has a clue that this is a gentle warning. 

The Lock Master told Sofia Chong to continue to wait and lock when directed. Eight boats were locked before her. Once she was locked on as the very last boat, LegaSea was directed to tie up to her.

Jim approached slowly with great caution, I went to the bow and hailed the attention of a ‘crew member’ to catch my line, waited a millisecond, then directed ‘said crew’ to tie me on. He did as directed with my line over the Sofia Chong boat railing. I ran to the stern and no one was there. I yelled to the ‘crew member’ relaxing on the sofa, “would you mind helping me tie to your boat?” While remaining seated, and mid-text, he told me he had no idea what to do - is he trying to call out my teacher-voice? Encouragingly, I replied, “Why don't you come on over here and I’ll show you how to help me,” I threw the line, directed him to wrap the line around his cleat and throw it back; hell if I’m gonna to be mercy-tied to Sofia Chong. Running back to the bow, I  adjusted lines so I could release - our boat line remained over the Sophia Chong boat railing - some things I just can’t fix. 

By the Lock Master’s design, he had strategically placed Sofia Chong to be the last boat out of the Lock. She wasn’t done with the entertainment and getting feisty. 

Following us out of the lock, she powered past us too close, without hailing, and seriously waked our boat - things went flying everywhere. She waked my coffee? MY COFFEE THAT REQUIRES ME TO TURN ON THE GENERATOR?! DOES SHE ACTUALLY NEED MY TEACHER VOICE TO FULFILL HER DAY!?! Game on wench. She just went from ‘the entertainment’ to The Show.

Marseilles Lock 24’

Everyone was told the Lock was having a "mechanical problem" - maybe, not so sure that the actual problem was the lock. The first boat arrived and locked on then waited 45 minutes to an hour before the rest of us arrived. LegaSea was the last to lock on.

Once everyone was inside the Lock, the Lock Master approached and explained there was a 'mechanical issue' and he didn’t know how long it would take to fix but assured us it would be quick. With some small talk, and discussion on how pizza could be delivered in a worse case scenario, we were good waiting. I asked who the first boat was and what do you know, it was the Sofia Chong! I told the Lock Master, “Good! She waked my coffee this morning!” He gave me a smile and walked away; remember, Lock Masters talk to one another …

LegaSea waited 10 minutes before the 'electrical/mechanical problem' was miraculously fixed; however, it was the perfect amount of time to brew Sofia Chong into a full on Karen-Tizzy. The lock was a fast fill and before the doors began to open, Chong dropped her lines and voices were raised - she was floating dangerously close to another boat. The gate doors were half way open and Chong powers out of the lock leaving her wake - unbelievably stupid. The lock horn blasted her, then another boat horn off at her, the radio comes to life and more voices are raised, and Chong pauses just outside the lock. Boats are leaving the lock as Chong is being schooled by the Lock Master. Chong, now in full Karen mode, charges forward again and cuts close to the boats ahead of us waking them all. Again, the VHS sounded off with colorful adjectives assessing Chong’s poor decisions.

On our way, several boats, plus Chong, pulled into the marina north of Ottawa. I can only guess The Show would continue through the night - glad to see her go. We decided to move on; not really marina people and the river can be beautiful.

Guess which one is the Sophia Chong

FINALLY Ottawa
The FREE dock in Ottawa is 110’ long located just before the I-23/I-71 bridge with electric/water. Because of the restrictive length, you need a back up plan. When we arrived, there was a 40’ and a 46’ docked leaving no space for LegaSea - oh well. There are small finger docks available as well - without power or water (from what I could see). 

The wall across the river, just past the bridge, is under reconstruction and unavailable at this time - September 2021.

Buffalo Rocks: ANCHORAGE

The Navigational Notes suggested going another 9 miles south, passing a little island, and anchoring outside Buffalo Rocks. It’s a beautiful anchorage. We held anchor through a wicked thunderstorm and never budged. Using our hotspot, we had a strong wifi - yeah for us!

THINGS TO REMEMBER

NEVER be the entertainment and NEVER EVER become The Show - people will blog about you. I shortened Sofia Chong to Chong because one name covers The Show. We are on a river, so chances are high that we will cross paths in the future.

CHONG UPDATE: We were on the East side of Florida, when we overheard some Loopers talking about what happened with Sophia Chong. They had incorrect information naming a Looper boat as Chong. I had to interrupt them and set the story straight - the boat they were confusing would never behave with such disregard. But how funny that the story made it all the way here.

USING NEBO: We were able to contact the two Loopers on the Ottawa Free Wall, a little late because of poor internet service, but we found out the vessels were willing to let us tie up to them. Isn’t that the boater spirit?! Thanks for the offer Good Fortune!