Havana, IL to Grafton, IL, a 121 mile day!!

We left Tall Timbers Marina in Havana, IL at 6:05 AM, thirty minutes before sunrise. We had tried to leave at 5:30 but there was just not enough light to find our way out of the marina.

We knew this was going to be the longest day of our trip so far, if we went the whole way to Grafton, IL. The river was approaching flood stage and there were no real good places to stop and anchor and absolutely no marinas that would accommodate our size boat. 

Since we had one lock to transit and no idea how long it would take to get through it (based on prior experience it could be as long as three hours), we had plan A, plan B and plan C.

IF there was no problem with weather....

IF there was no mechanical problem with the boat...

IF there was no delay at the lock.....

IF there was no problem with traffic on the river...

Plan A: We decided to run faster than normal and go the 121 miles to Grafton.

If any of the  "IF's" happened...

Go to Plan B: Tie to a barge at Logston Tug Services for the night. The barge company was forty miles downriver. 

If that didn't work out...

Go to Plan C: Tie to the dock at Mel's Illinois Riverdock Restaurant 100 miles downriver.

Luckily, we stayed with Plan A because none of the "IF's" occurred. 

We did have a little fog rise up on the river shortly after sunrise. We passed a tow coming upriver and he saw us on radar. He could not see us visually until almost on top of us, because the fog was about thirty feet thick and laying right on top of the water. We saw him coming with our AIS system and could see the top of his tow boat sticking above the fog. After calling him on the VHF Radio, we passed without incident. Luckily the fog burned off as soon as the sun got a little higher in the sky.

We knew 121 miles would make for a very long day on the water. So we raised our RPM speed from our typical 1200 to 1600 RPM, which gave us an average speed of right at 12 mph....and a fairly large wake!!

River flooding has changed our travel schedule. This is a short term game changer for us. But the folks who live along the Illinois River plan for water level change, when they build their homes. 

The one and only lock we had to transit this day was the LeGrange lock. We could tell we were having a good day on the water, because the lock master had the gates open for us as we approached. We were the only traffic and he allowed us to "float free" instead of tying up to the wall. Since it was only about a four foot drop, we were in and out of the lock in five minutes!!! A record time!

Below are the bluffs along the Illinois River as we approach our destination, Grafton, IL.

After a long day on the water and 121 miles under our keel, it was a beautiful sight to see the moon rise over the Illinois River, while sitting on the Sundeck in Grafton Marina.