Day 4 - Threading the needle at the Starved Rock lock

Day 4 - Miles traveled 46, fuel purchased 91 gallons, fuel cost $278.00, average fuel burn 1.6 miles per gallon since we fueled up in Hammond.Our day started out with a flurry of boat cleaning activities, filling the water tanks, fueling and pump out. We departed Heritage Harbor Marina at 10:30 am. We called the Starved Rock lock master by phone to determine the waiting time at the lock. After several busy signals we decided to depart. A few miles down bound we passed a tow also going down bound. We gave him the courtesy of not trying to pass him while going under a bridge. Knowing that commercial traffic gets priority locking through we sped up. The tow was going 3.5 mph and we were going 30 mph. We arrived at the lock with enough time ahead of the down bound tow to be green lighted through within 15 minutes. We had also arrived with just enough time ahead of an up bound tow. That is how we threaded the needle.We arrived in Henry, Illinois around 2:30 pm and tied up at the Henry Marina. The marina has a controlling depth of 3.5' so we tied up to the rock wall of the old Henry lock. Its slogan, "Best Town in Illinois by a Dam Site," is derived from the lock and dam built in 1870 at a cost of $400,000 and was only used for one year. Now the lock wall is home to transient Loopers.Home town hero - Captain John P. Cromwell was born in Henry, Illinois and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for actions "above and beyond the call of duty" during World War II. Cromwell chose to sacrifice his own life to safeguard the lives of others in combat that took place in November 1943.  Cromwell died to protect information about ULTRA, the code-name given to the highly classified intelligence. Navy cryptologists had diciphered the Japanese naval code, and senior officers were reading decrypted enemy messages. Cromwell was privy to this highly classified intelligence, and he feared if he was captured and interrogated, that he might give up information about ULTRA and Galvanic; had the Japanese known their code was compromised, the Japanese would have changed their code, causing more deaths. After significant damage from depth charges, he chose to go down with his submarine after allowing his crew to abandon ship.Dinner at the Henry marina bar/restaurant was like a scene out of the movie Deliverance. This is a genuine river town and all that implies. We were the only ones eating.  Tomorrow we cruise to Peoria and visit with one of Andy's friends.The view along this part of the Illinois a River does not change very much.Changing Latitudes on the Old Henry Lock wall. We do have an electric hook up.The crew on the old Henry Lock wallMemorial to Captain Cromwell in the Henry town park