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Wandering Fool You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself, any direction you choose. Dr. Suess

10/17/2026

I saw some boats have windshield wipers. Mine works pretty good!

Chicago to the Gulf Part 210/16/26 Bar island anchorage to Dark chute anchorage. The day started great! Lots of movement...
10/17/2026

Chicago to the Gulf Part 2
10/16/26 Bar island anchorage to Dark chute anchorage.
The day started great! Lots of movement due to 30+ mph wind, however our anchor held! We went through one lock and kept our RPM’s low since we are having some sort of engine problem. Probably a fuel/fuel filter issue. We called around and spoke to 3 different mechanics and found one to help look at it. YAY!
We passed several barges today. I saw a beautiful formation of birds flying south but I couldn’t take a picture because I had to hold the line in the lock.

Chicago to the Gulf part 210/15/26 Havana to Bar Island After the stressful ending to yesterday we decided on an easier...
10/15/2026

Chicago to the Gulf part 2
10/15/26 Havana to Bar Island
After the stressful ending to yesterday we decided on an easier day. We are adjusting our expectations to feel more comfortable. We want to get the boat south before freezing temperatures, but we don’t want to travel in the dark. We went pretty slow today and stopped early. Despite the rain and overcast skies, it was a beautiful day. One of the biggest reasons we stopped earlier is because there is not another place to anchor while it’s still daylight. A more problematic issue is when we passed a tug boat yesterday afternoon, there was a lot of churning water with strong currents. We were near the edge of the channel. Immediately, after going through that section, we started experiencing some power loss. The engine never died, it would just lose power and come back. It was very unnerving. We are not in an area where we can get a Marina mechanic to check it out.  I noticed when I tried to throttle up today I heard some of the same sluggish power loss. No issues going slow, so that is the plan! It was so nice to use our electronic navigation and depth finder to stay in the marked area where we could anchor safely. There are three other boats anchored in the same area.
Since we’re stopping early, Tom is working on the plumbing leak we found at the end of last trip. 

Chicago to the Gulf Part 210/14/26 Chillicothe to HavanaFrom our sailing lessons in January, “the most dangerous thing o...
10/15/2026

Chicago to the Gulf Part 2
10/14/26 Chillicothe to Havana
From our sailing lessons in January, “the most dangerous thing on Boat is a schedule.”
Every time we put together a plan, we can’t allow for how much the weather will impact us. How long will it take to get through a lock? The water level is too low. We can do the mileage calculations. We can do the fuel calculations. But even that is dependent on the river flow and wind. We hopped in a rental car at 5am. We were packed the previous night. We drove to Chillicothe IL and unloaded our provisions. Hopped back in the car to return it to the Peoria airport, where we took a Lyft back to the marina. Plans going well!! We started down the Illinois river and made great time getting to the marina just before dark. It was an overcast day. We called the marina earlier in the day to confirm availability, and if they had deep enough water to accommodate us. They said we were good. Just as we turned to go into the entrance of the Marina, we got stuck. We are blocking the entire entrance channel.  We were hoping for an easy uneventful day. I called the Marina to let them know we had a problem. She said we could just stay there for the night nobody was leaving. 😂 I called our Tow insurance and nobody in the area. We had to find our own tow and get reimbursed. So frustrating! After many attempts, we were able to get Free from the mud. YAY! It was fully dark by then.  BOO! Thankfully there was another nearby Anchorage off the main channel. It wasn’t ideal, but it was better than nothing. The next Anchorage was an hour and a half down the river.  Anchoring for a larger boat is not something to take lightly. The Anchorage channel was very narrow and we did not want to ground the boat again. We were very lucky to get it out of the mud earlier. With our wing shaped keel it’s nearly impossible. Regardless, a series of going forward, dropping the anchor, then motoring in reverse to avoid all the chain dropping in one pile. Letting out the appropriate amount of chain for the depth of the water. Then setting the anchor. I was so glad when we were done. It was dark and I was tired.

10/15/2026

Chicago to the Gulf Part 1 9/30/26-10/4/26
10/4/26
After more phone calls and looking at the maps, we realize we can’t make it far enough to leave our boat in another Marina. We have to leave it at the current place. It looks pretty rundown, but they have electricity and water. The owner is very nice. After troubleshooting head, not flushing, we realize that when they did the pump out, it never emptied the tank. Because the Marina where you were staying, didn’t have a pump out, we had to motor one hour down to Peoria for a pump out and motor back. That was a bit frustrating. But it was a nice day with nice weather. We use the rest of the day to work on some other things that weren’t working properly. Unfortunately, while working on some other things, we realized we had a new problem. The connections to the hot water tank was leaking a lot. Tom disconnected the pipes and we’re taking them home to make a new one. 

Chicago to the Gulf Part 1 9/30/26-10/4/2610/3/26Wow. A good nights sleep goes a long way.  I woke up feeling great thi...
10/15/2026

Chicago to the Gulf Part 1 9/30/26-10/4/26
10/3/26
Wow. A good nights sleep goes a long way.  I woke up feeling great this morning. We left the marina pretty early. There were 3 other trawlers and captain Ron was following us. The trawlers didn’t want to go as fast, so they were left behind. We went through more locks today. There’s more natural shoreline rather than businesses. I did notice we left the Marina in the morning, we had a little bit of trouble flushing the head. I decided to worry about it later, but I let Tom know. 

Chicago to the Gulf Part 1 9/30/26-10/4/2610/2 of this trip started out rough. Getting off the wall of the marina and ar...
10/15/2026

Chicago to the Gulf Part 1 9/30/26-10/4/26
10/2 of this trip started out rough. Getting off the wall of the marina and around to the fuel dock was a challenge with the current. Just before untying 4 trawlers went by pretty fast. The boat rocked pretty hard and Captain Ron was at the fuel dock. He was knocked off his boat into the water. It was pretty scary. But he was ok. After fueling he headed down River. He called us later and asked if we saw his hat floating in the water. Sure enough there it was! We ended the day pulling in a very nice marina. We had cocktails and listened to an update on the river conditions. Definitely an improvement over yesterday and the rough morning start.

Chicago to the Gulf Part 1 9/30/26-10/4/26I hesitate to share because it was such a mixed trip of great and not so great...
10/15/2026

Chicago to the Gulf Part 1 9/30/26-10/4/26
I hesitate to share because it was such a mixed trip of great and not so great things. But that is part of the journey. I have this unexplained anxiousness about this trip. It’s not because everything is so new. Every experience is different. I think it’s the fact that I’m not used to listening to the motor run constantly. We didn’t get to leave the dock Wednesday because after a few phone calls, we realized we couldn’t just get diesel wherever. Our draft is almost 5’. Not everyone sells diesel. Even though they sell diesel, may not have enough water depth for us to get to their fuel dock. We had a route planned and the fuel stops planned. But then after about 10 phone calls, we had a new plan. We were starting out on Thursday. It was rainy anyway. Thursday was our first experience with locks. Thankfully, they walked us through the process. A gentleman named Captain Ron was also in the First lock with us. It was also his first time. Definitely easier than what I thought it would be.  Despite having to go through three locks, the day went well. We are going to get to our Marina where we were able to tie up at the fuel dock. They sold diesel and there was enough depth at the fuel deck for us, but not regular slips.  However when we arrived, it was raining pretty hard and because it had been overcast all day, it was dark. There was a boat tied up in the exact spot where we were supposed to be staying. We had to tie up in another location. We were not able to hook up to water or electricity. The gentleman in our spot helped tie us up. It was pretty frustrating. They had no reservation. They just took the spot. 😢

Day 9 Bay City to Chicago Trip New Buffalo Municipal Marina to ChicagoAnother sunrise start. This is supposed to be an e...
09/25/2026

Day 9 Bay City to Chicago Trip
New Buffalo Municipal Marina to Chicago
Another sunrise start. This is supposed to be an easier day based upon the wind and direction. However, once we were out on the water, it definitely was not an easier day. It was supposed to be 2 to 3’ waves. It was definitely more than that. It was really odd because the wind was coming from one direction, but the waves were coming from another.  What was supposed to be a straight course over to Chicago ended up being zigzagging to be a little bit more comfortable while riding the waves. So nervous going through bridges! It was our first time to call out for a bridge to be opened so we could pass. Not once but two bridges! We had to wait for a giant barge to get through the first bridge before we could pass. But we made it! Our first voyage section completed. The mast will come off in Chicago, so we can take it through the river system to the gulf. We are basically being considered Loopers, even though we are unintentionally doing half the loop this year. Who knows? I think we will finish it sometime in the future. But our next goal is to get it far enough south before freezing temps, then on to Mobile AL.
53 miles 7 hours.

Day 8 Bay City to Chicago Trip Grand Haven to New Buffalo Another great day sunrise to sunset. We were worried we weren...
09/25/2026

Day 8 Bay City to Chicago Trip
Grand Haven to New Buffalo
Another great day sunrise to sunset. We were worried we weren’t going to make it to New Buffalo, but we were able to get there right as the sun was setting. It felt like a long day. But it was beautiful. Some great folks helped us into the slip because let’s face it. We are still learning.
❤️ 95 miles 11 hours.

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