Way down upon the Chicago River, surrounded by skyscrapers, Chicago was yet another of our Great Loop highlights! Day 1 featured downtown skyscrapers, 61 bridges and 2 locks… the 2nd day included the 3 most infamous locks reportedly on The Great Loop accompanied by extra bridges and barge traffic just for fun…. Sharing it with some of our favorite people = priceless! … all adds up to two days of unforgettable experiences!
If you’re curious about the time lapse video, it’s GoPro Hero 5, settings Time Lapse VIDEO 2 Seconds, Superwide View. We also got a GoPro “Jaws” to mount it on the boat, and a GoPro Portable Power Pack to extend the battery life (although we haven’t used it much).
“That Bridge” – the bridge every Looper fears… 17 feet in Chicago caused a bit of work before the day began… the top enclosure had to come down, as well as the radar mast, flag pole, VHF antennas & motor hoist. Now “topless” and 13 feet and 3 inches overall, we’re ready to go! Before …
All too soon the Chicago Magnificent Mile (Chicago River version) turned industrial and we were into an entirely new experience transitioning to barges and tug/tow boats with humongous 2 and 3 wide barges. But before we leave the Magnificent Mile, a few more photos – it was just too good to only have on video.
At the end of the day, we tied up to the Joliet Free Wall in Bicentennial Park. Free even included electricity. Optimystique had a “crew change” – my brother Jeff & sister-in-law Tammy got off after enjoying our “thru Chicago” day and David’s cousins Ron & Connie and our next door neighbors at the lake, Rusty and Sandie, joined us for reportedly “the worst three locks on the river system”, Joliet to Ottawa.
We had the Luck of the Irish (thanks Jerry on Tanuki!) because although we were delayed several times, we finished the day in daylight at Heritage Harbor Marina in Ottawa, Illinois – a mere 45 miles from the Joliet Free Wall.
Lest you think that 8 hours is a long time to transit 45 miles, other Loopers in the marina got in the day before … at 2:30 IN THE MORNING! I was prepared with a grilled turkey loin dinner for six, just in case we “got stuck”, but luckily we didn’t need it. Whew! Glad to have that behind us, but it was QUITE the experience. Again, hours of boredom, tinged with moments of exhilaration and sheer terror…. A few more photos….
We MADE IT! What a great two days. Couldn’t have been better sharing it with some of our favorite people! Loopers – if you get a chance, share these days! It’s an unforgettable experience and one that you will never be able to describe adequately to anyone that wasn’t there. 🙂
The next step is to complete our transformation to a river boat, put the canvas enclosure and radar mast (plus all the rest) back up & head south! See you next week! Cheers! Do you have experiences cruising through Chicago? Please leave a comment and share! Cheers! Jan
Love the Go Pro time lapse video. For “that bridge”, you say you have to clear it at 17′ but all the Great Loop articles say that bridge’s clearance is 19’1″. Did the rivers swell 2′ and that’s why it’s 17′ or was it just a typo? How much clearance does Optimystique require with everything folded down?
Hi Steven! There are TWO different Great Loop routes through Chicago. Downtown Chicago includes the Chicago River that joins the Ship Channel and ultimately the CalSag Canal. The downtown route is the route with a 17′ bridge. If your boat can’t clear a 17′ bridge, the alternate route is the CalSag Canal which bypasses Chicago downtown but has a 19′ bridge. If you can’t clear either a 17′ bridge or a 19′ bridge, the Great Loop becomes the Great U-Turn because you cannot continue south on the rivers. Does that make more sense? I guess I didn’t explain it very well because I’ve had similar comments several times. Optimystique is 16’6″ with the radar mast down, 19’8″ (we always assume 20′) with the radar mast up. “Topless” we were 13’3″ which allowed unobstructed views of downtown as well as no worries about clearance on “THAT” bridge. I will confess that after we got through the last of the lowest bridges, we put the bimini back up because the sun was blazing and HOT (blessings!). Cheers! Jan
Hi Jan,
I live near Milwaukee, WI, and Lake Michigan. My boyfriend and I are learning to sail and hope to one day not too far in the future sail the ICW and to the Caribbean. I am also interested in the Great Loop since it is in our backyard so to speak. If we are traveling via the river system I am assuming we would have to step our mast if That Bridge is not a lift bridge. Is this correct? I suppose we could travel out via the Great Lakes but I was looking forward to the intricacies of the rivers and locks. I also hope to be able to circumnavigate the world and would like the lock experience in the States before going thru Panama. Rachel
P.S. Love your insight and real-world experience. You are an inspiration to another single mother. Cheers!
Do you need 2 people on board to go through a lock ?
Hi Kenneth! We know several single-handers that are doing the Loop, so I guess the answer is no, you don’t need 2 people. Not sure if that’s the same on all the lock systems, some have different requirements, but the ones we’ve done have had singlehanders. Cheers! Jan