Tall Timbers and Logston Tug

Monday, September 08, 2014

We were headed with TA TA from Peoria to the only lock of the day, about a half hour away when we were hailed by Takes Two, another great loop boat that we hadn’t encountered yet. They were tied up to a restaurant dock and invited us to join them as we waited for the lock to clear. The dock was a bit rickety, but they caught us and we had a good visit with Sheri and Gerald, then locked through and were all on our way again.

It was a beautiful morning on the Illinois River - flock of birds in distance
are white pelicans
 

It was exciting to see bald eagles along the way
 

Serenity, Lucky Lucky and TA TA at Tall Timbers Marina
 

Tall Timbers Marina was small but well done with nice touches. They were pretty much winding down for the season. We walked into the town of Havana, not much there but some buildings from a better era - we did find the dollar store and a hardware.

Reddish ring around the full moon portends rain tomorrow
 

 Captain’s Log September 8, 2014

Departed: Peoria Town Dock 7:00
Engine hours: 5.2 hrs.
Actual hours: 5 hr. 55 min.
Nautical miles covered: 42.30
Arrived: Tall Timbers Marina, Havana, Ill.  12:55
30 min delay at Peoria Lock, was able to tie up and shut down, very nice cruise down. Only 3’ under boat as we came into harbor.
Wx: cool temps, light wind, clear skies

 Tuesday and Wednesday, September 9 & 10, 2014

We woke up to rain and were watching the weather carefully on Tuesday morning because thunder storms were going through and we wanted to wait for a good weather window. The two captains, John and Roger, decided to leave around 10 a.m., thinking that the worst had passed.

We did encounter rain almost all along the way but a lot of it was light and the wind wasn’t blowing, even though we could see occasional lightning and hear thunder. About two hours into our trip our radio sounded a flood warning and we saw that small streams entering the river were roiling the water with mud and debris. Motor vessel If, a 44' Grand Banks loop boat, passed us along the way with grandfather Tom and grandson Tim on board. When we got to Logston Tug Service, If was already tied up in a snug spot in between some barges. The spot left was on the outside of the barge so we tied up. The rain had stopped and we went for a walk with Roger and Mary around town; not much activity there.

Glad to be tied up, from left, Tom, from MV IF, Roger, Mary and John
 

 

Tied up to a barge with a crane and a tug
 

Mary and Kathy flanking our mascot, Christopher, in front of
the huge clam shovel - MV IF is in back on left
 

This gives you a hint of the debris floating down the river from the
thunderstorms - the water was flowing from under the RR bridge
pushing logs and branches past us
 

When we got back from our walk we realized that debris and logs were piling up around TA TA, tied up in front of us and pointed into the current, and we knew we would have to move. After talking to the crew on IF, we moved over next to them and rafted up, with Serenity in the middle and TA TA on the outside. This worked much better but it rained all night - make that poured all night! Roger still had to get up at 2 a.m.and clear a big log from the front of his boat. When tows went through we got rocked with their wake – not a very restful sleep for anyone.We were glad to see that all was fine at daylight. After breakfast, the crew on If decided that they needed to leave to stay on schedule so we all untied, they got off and we tucked back into the spot with TA TA tied up to us again. More rain was coming, here and especially down river, but tomorrow looks like a much better day, the current should be stronger and we plan to leave early on our way to Grafton, IL.

We are at the local library to use their Wi-Fi and there are still a couple of photos to put on for today. Next internet will be in Grafton where I will update. 
Captain’s Log: September 9, 2014

Departed: Tall Timbers Marina, Havana, IL 10:30 a.m.
Engine hours: 4 hr. – 32.74 nautical miles
Actual hours: 4 hr.  
Arrived: Logston Tug, Beardstown, IL 2:30.
Wx: rain & T. storms – not violent, creeks are rising, no issues enroute – did avoid debris. Tied up on barge, then moved alongside IF at Logston Tug Services. Forecast is T. storms next 36 hours