Officially River Rats

Finally – October 18, we can enter the Illinois River system and go through the locks, to make our way to the Ohio River and to Kentucky Lake. We are now officially River Rats, joining the Asian carps who are affectionately called “river dolphins.” More on their fate later.

As mentioned before, the Loopers are grouped into “flotillas” of 12 to 16 boats. Sunshine was originally in Flotilla 16, which meant she would exit the locks on October 16. October 1 was the first day of the locks opening, so Flotilla 1 was scheduled for that day. After October 1 a flotilla would launch every day until all Looper boats are through the locks.

As luck would have it, the lock departure date for all flotillas was pushed out twice. The first delay of four days was because the commercial barges needed to go through, and the engineers wanted to ensure the locks were working properly. The second delay of two days was because of weather. Who could have predicted these delays?

We did get a break though. We were able to move Sunshine from Flotilla 16 to Flotilla 12, pushing our date up four days. Flotilla 12 left Hammond for the Illinois River and the locks early morning Thursday, October 18.

En Route to Joliet – First Day through the Locks

We have 18 boats in our Flotilla. Our Flotilla Leader, John Parks, communicates to the group via a Zoom meeting the Wednesday night before our departure. We are impressed by his organization. He sends everyone a PowerPoint presentation with instructions complete with diagrams. Someone expressed “it’s like a military operation!”

The first day we have 48 miles of travel with two locks – O’Brien and Lockport. At 8 mph, that’s about 8.5 hours of travel, with an hour at each lock.

No More Leisurely Mornings

We leave Hammond at 7 a.m. It’s still dark.

The early morning departures to make the lock openings are brutal for us. While in Chicago we grew accustomed to sleeping in, enjoying leisurely mornings of no commitments. Those days are over.

Above is our “running order.” You’ll notice the smaller boats in the back. We get lined up – kind of – in the channel just after Hammond Marina. We stay together via the radio. Once we approach the lock, John our Leader communicates with the Lockmaster to determine what order we will go into the lock. See below the various options. 

In the first lock, it is difficult for Captain Pat to get close to the wall, so we can loop our line around one of the hanging poles to secure our boat to the wall. He finally makes it and we manage to get secured to the wall.

One Down, One to Go

We survived the first lock. Now on to the second lock – Lockport. We try to stay together in our “running order” enroute to the next lock. It’s difficult as the boats go at different speeds. Captain Pat gets frustrated and is not able to slow down to the other boats’ speed. Sunshine does not run her rpms efficiently at lower speeds.

Lots of Radio Chatter

While cruising and the Admiral is driving the boat, the Captain can usually take a nap or read, rest. That’s not the case while driving between the locks. The radio is going constantly, with someone from the group of 18 giving a notice about a barge ahead or logs and debris on port or starboard side, or a bald eagle in the trees. The nice thing about being in the back of the pack, you get plenty of notice of obstructions in the river.

You get to know the boats from the repetition of the boat names and the voices of the captains. There’s a Texan accent on Unsuscribed (three men from Texas aboard) and Miracle has a vigilant female Captain who keeps others abreast of what’s happening in the waters. We even have a two-star General in our flotilla – their boat is aptly named General Fun!

It’s usually a male voice on the radio so it’s a pleasant change to hear a female one. Our Flotilla Leader, John Parks, is often on the radio giving orders. His wife Carmen will sometimes take the lead on the radio.

The Asian Carp

One thing that I’ve had nightmares about is the presence of the Asian Carp on the Illinois River. The term “Asian carp” refers to two species of invasive fish introduced from Asia. The “bighead” carp and the silver carp. These carp are native to China. The carp can be 150 pounds and are known to jump into boats, even knocking boaters into the water!

If a carp jumps into Sunshine – the Admiral will have a heart attack and the Captain will be boating solo. Illinois boaters refer to the carp as “river dolphins” because they jump out of the water like dolphins.

Story of the Asian Carp

They were originally imported into the southern United States in the 1970s to provide an inexpensive, fast-growing addition to fresh fish markets. They also served to help keep aquaculture facilities clean. By 1980 the carp were found in natural waters in the Mississippi River Basin. As they moved north through the Basin, they have overwhelmed the Mississippi and Illinois River systems where Asian carp now make up more than 95% of the biomass in some areas.

An adult Asian carp can eat up to 40% of its body weight every day. They are a threat to endangered species and to the water ecosystem. Silver carp can now be found in 12 states. Bighead and silver carp are currently in the Illinois River, which is connected to the Great Lakes on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal.

The leading edge of Asian carp are thought to be ten miles downriver of the Brandon Road lock. Near the lock is an electrical barrier located along the river. The barrier doesn’t electrocute the fish but repels them when they encounter the strong electrical field. Due to these efforts, the carp population in the Illinois River has dropped by 68%.

The Lock at Lockport

As we approach the lock the lockmaster announces there are fewer “pins” on the walls. These are where a boat can attach itself on the wall. The larger boats go into the lock, with the smaller boats rafting up. As a boat enters the lock, it will radio a boat and ask permission to raft aside it.

We are rafted up with Leland Tug on our port and Surf Rider on our starboard. Poor Surf Rider is pounding into the wall. Captain Pat goes over to Surf Rider to help its captain, Brian, keep the boat off the wall as much as possible.

I look at the back of the boat and realize the water from the closed gate is splashing into the boat. That’s how close we are to the back wall.

I shut our door for no more leakage. Finally, the lock doors open and we can one by one exit the lock. You can imagine how long it takes 18 boats to exit the lock.

Can We Go a Little Faster?

Now we are journeying to Joliet to tie up along the city wall, at no charge. Lucky Chicklet texts the group, asking if we can pick up the pace. Stryker answers with an affirmative. Captain Pat jumps all over this! Ditto, he says. He is ready to get this show on the road. Let’s go.

We arrive Joliet around 4:30 and are exhausted. We remember to turn our boat upstream at the wall. The smaller boats raft up to the larger ones. We end up by Lucky Chicklet, a 42-foot Sabre. The owners are from Manchester, New Hampshire. The boat behind them is Paradise – and it is from Mesa, Arizona. Small world.

Here are more photos from our stay in Hammond and our first day on the locks: