Friday, July 15
This is where we stayed the night in Saugatuck. In addition to their motel, they had a dock right on the River in the midst of all the tourist activity. It was a good place to overnight.
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| Goldfish were traumatized by Warren...see them huddled together? We left them in peace after the photo opp |
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| We left Saugatuck Harbor at 7:11am. This can be a difficult harbor to negotiate in bad weather but we had fair seas |
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| Lake Freighter, Missaggi, crossed our path at 4:18pm, otherwise we had Lake Michigan to ourselves |
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| Spotted the Chicago Skyline in the distance at about 3:00pm |
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| Wilson St. Crib cleared at 6:04pm |
Our crossing of Lake Michigan was very calm and uneventful and it was great to see Chicago from the water. We docked at Belmont Harbor at 7pm after a crossing of 80.9 nautical miles. That is our longest passage so far out of the sight of land.
After docking, I jumped ship and went to visit my God-daughter, Molly and her husband Bryan who have a cute house near Wrigley Field. My sisters, Linda and Mary, drove down from Minnesota and are going to join us on the Belle for a couple of days. Bryan is competing in the Chicago-Mackinac Sailing Race and we are going to watch the start aboard 'The Belle'.
Next Day...Saturday, July 16
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| Vayu, with Bryan aboard, is the boat with the yellow spinnaker...they had a great start |
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| All the dots on the radar screen are hundreds of sailboat competitors and spectator boats |
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| Coast Guard cutter Mackinac, earlier in the day it was on station at the starting line |
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| Pretty sight...tourist sailboat |
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| Attractions at Navy Pier |
We all had a great day on the water and at the dock. The next day Molly picked up Mary O'Donnell (who was on a layover in Chicago) and they were able to join us for another day of fun and relaxation.
Chicago seems to do a really good job of maximizing their lakeshore. There were lots of parks, attractions, marinas and people enjoying themselves everywhere you looked.
Monday, July 18
Mary Ashby and Linda O'Donnell are joining us for the trip up the Chicago River through The Loop. We departed Belmont Harbor at 6:44am and had cleared the Chicago Lock by 7:35am.
It was amazing to go under all the bridges at rush hour with people streaming off to work...some waved at us and some didn't even notice. The bridges came hot and heavy and I didn't have time to get many pictures but Mary was busy snapping so I hope to add some of hers to this blog at a later date.
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| Looking back at Downtown |
Mary had to get back to MN for work so we dropped her off at 18th Street. Then we continued up the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. There was an electronic fish barrier to prevent the intrusion of Asian Carp into Lake Michigan...never experienced anything like that before.
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| Warren was agitated about this electronic thing so we covered his eyes |
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| Volunteers monitoring the fish barrier | |
The Canal was very tight and there was lots of commercial traffic...I liked the name of this tug boat.
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| The Des Plaines River |
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| Linda enjoying the scenery of the Illinois River |
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| Some homes along the Illinois |
We negotiated several locks and finally arrived at Starved Rock Marina near Ottawa, Illinois. This is where we are going to keep the Belle for a few weeks while we go to Minnesota for a visit with family. We are anxious to see friends and family again but it is a little disconcerting to leave your home behind. Warren is in charge until we return after the Labor Day Holiday.
Signing off for now but will be back soon!!!
Love to all,
Christie
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