Day 7 - The Key West of the Midwest

Miles cruised 121, fuel purchased $424, gallons 148, dockage $58 per day X 2 days.

Saturday night we walked to downtown Havana for dinner at a local restaurant. It was a large downtown area with half or more of the storefronts empty.

Two of our Looper pals (Sea Ray – The Bucket List and Azumit – Good Day) were up and out at 6:30 am to try to reach the Lagrange lock before they raised the wicket dam. The Grand Banks – Suano departed at 7:30 am and we departed at 8:00 am. We quickly caught up the trawler who was cruising at 11 mph (top speed) and pushing a wall of water in front. He did not look very efficient.

We arrived at the Lagrange lock at 10 am. The wickets were up so we had to wait to lock through. It was only a three foot drop. We learned a lot about tow boats locking through on this occasion. A set of barges came out of the lock without the tow boat. The lock was too short to fit the tow and all the barges together. The lock master pulled the barges forward using a tug which is a small locomotive on tracks next to the lock wall. We could not fit past the barges so we had to wait for the lock go down empty and pick up the remaining barges and the tow boat. Then then all the barges were strung together with cables and finally moved out of the lock. The lock master asked if we wanted to float or tie to the wall. We chose to float in the middle of the lock for the short ride down. As we exited the Lagrange lock there was a huge tow waiting to enter. It will take 3 – 4 trips to lock it through. As we were heading down river we heard the trawler Suano call the lock to determine if the wickets were up or down. They will be waiting for quite a while for their turn to lock through.

Cruising on the river is as flat if not flatter than riding in a car on the highway. The water is dead calm and our boat glides along at 30 mph. We slow down for all fishing boats and working tows because we throw off a huge wake. Every time we speed up we can hear those turbo diesels whine. We are heading to Grafton, Illinois which is on the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. Grafton proclaims to be the Key West of the Midwest. We shall see.

We arrived in Grafton at 4:00 pm and pulled into the fuel dock to fuel up and pump out. We are now docked on the end of a covered dock just past the fuel dock. Once again we caught up with several Loopers, some we have not seen since Joliet. We are at mile marker 0 on the Illinois River and will head on to the mighty Mississippi on Tuesday. We will travel 62 miles to Hoppies marina, which will be the last place to fuel up for over 200 miles until we go up the Ohio River to the Cumberland River and stop at Green Turtle Bay.

With 7 days and 333 miles behind us we are at the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. We are are at mile marker 0 on the Illinois and mile marker 220 on the upper Mississippi.

Looper boats at the Grafton Marina. There are at least 7 of us here today.

Our new Looper friends on The Bucket List. They have a winter home on Stock Island in Key West.

This is a quiz. Is anything missing on this boat. Look up.

Our new favorite mixologist. Rachel is displaying a Captain Morgan fireball. Piasa Winery and Pub – Grafton, Illinois