25 Sep 17

Since there are 3 locks on the day’s route, we were up even earlier; the alarm went off at 06:00 and we leapt into action. A call to the master of the Brandon Road Lock, just two miles down the river, indicated that he was locking through a tow at the time and we would not be able to get in for another hour. So, we lingered over breakfast and idled down to the lock and were straight into the lock at 07:25. As soon as the sun got up, it was hot and there was no wind other than what we made on our own at 7 knots of boat speed. As we were passing Harborside Marina about 09:30, a quick phone call determined that not only did they have diesel, but they also had enough water depth at the fuel dock for us to get in. So, we filled up with diesel and fresh water; big relief, as now we have enough of both to make it to Grafton, IL. Another mile down the river we encountered the Dresden Lock. The lockmaster advised that he was locking up a tow at the time, but we would be going down as soon as he was finished - we were thinking 45 minutes to an hour. What he did not say was that this was a double-length tow, which took 4 hours to lock through. We finally got through the lock at 14:25 (total delay of 4 hours) and were now in a quandary: our planned destination of Ottawa was still 30 miles away, with an ETA of 18:30 (sunset at 18:45), not allowing any time for getting through the Marseilles Lock. We tried to get into the Sugar Island anchorage (4 stars on Active Captain), but with the river so low, I could not find a way into the anchorage that was far enough off the main river channel to be comfortable. All of the other anchorages and marinas we passed were too shallow with the river being 3 - 4 ft lower than normal. So, we had no choice but to carry on. The Marseilles Lock loomed into view at 18:00, but they were locking through a down-bound double, so we had to wait another 1.5 hours. We finally cleared the lock at 19:52, and it was pitch dark. Nearly all of the channel markers are unlit, although they do have reflectors on the top, so they were fairly easy to pick out with the spotlight. I kept my eyes glued to the depth-sounder and chart-plotter and stayed on the magenta line while the Admiral spotted channel markers. Fortunately, we met only one unbound tow during the four mile run to Ottawa. We crept into the Ottawa Town Dock (free, including electrical power, which was nice as it is still unseasonably hot) with 6.5 feet of water at 20:30, worn out. 13.5 hours total and 10 hours of engine time to do 42 miles; not a good day. After a calming G&T and a quick meal, we had a quick rinse and went to bed. I did manage to say awake long enough to watch the Astros spank the Texas Rangers 11-2, always a good feeling.

41-20.778’N, 088-50.441’W; Log = 42.0, Sum (2017) = 2222.6 N-m

26 Sep 17

We were so tired from yesterday’s long travel day, that we slept in till nearly 10:00 and decided to hang out in Ottawa for a day. After breakfast, we walked up to the IGA grocery store and did a medium size shop; the IGA offered us a free ride back to the boat, so we loaded up on heavy stuff like drinking water, tonic water and alcohol. We were back on the boat in time for lunch. The afternoon was spent doing a few loads of laundry at the local laundromat and catching up on things requiring WiFi; happily, the local brewhouse - The Lone Buffalo - has free WiFi, so we spent half the afternoon there - the air-conditioning was nice as well. Dinner aboard. We watched the Astros crush the Rangers 14-2.