September 17: Mud, Mosquitoes & Misery-And the Kindness of Strangers
After we left Peoria, we cruised down the Illinois River thinking that our worries were over. Our destination was an anchorage behind Quiver Island. Despite a long wait at the Peoria Lock (almost 3 hours), the trip was uneventful until we approached the anchorage. We turned at the red buoy to leave the channel and enter behind Quiver Island but came to a screeching stop! We were grounded in 3.5 feet of mud. As the river bottom is mainly soft mud, Peter tried backing off to get into deeper water-to no avail. We were well and truly stuck.
We hailed a small boat that was passing by but they did not have the horse power to pull us out. Unfortunately, we overheated the engine in the attempt to back off and we had to turn the engine off.
Help arrived from the nearby Marina in the form of a much more powerful boat but they were also not able to pull us off. They informed us that the river is down 5 feet. These kind locals offered to contact a tow boat to help us. True to their word, they called us back to inform us that a Tow (tug boats) would be heading out to help us around 7:00 p.m.
We saw their bright spotlights heading towards us. We braved the hordes of mosquitoes that had descended on us while we caught their towing lines. Even considering the power that their huge engines have, it took a great effort for the Tow to pull us out of the mud and into deeper water.
Well, we were out of the mud but still did not have any propulsion. Our rescuers from the marina headed out to raft to our boat and push us into the anchorage area. There were already two boats in the anchorage and one of them offered to raft with us. Once we were safely rafted to our second set of kindly strangers, we asked our rescuers what the towing fee would be. After consulting with the Tow Captain, they informed us that there would be no charge. We were so grateful for their collective kindness that we did give the Tow Captain and the marina rescuers a monetary token of our appreciation.
We spent the next few hours cleaning out the water filter and the bilge. The water filter was packed solid with mud. After a through cleaning, we were able to start the engine and retired to bed. Now we only had to deal with the horde of mosquitoes that had invaded the boat.
September 18: Just when we thought it was safe to go out in the water! After a restless night spent beating mosquitoes off, we headed back into the main channel to continue our journey down the Illinois. The engine sounded fine and we were hopeful that our travails were at an end.
About 2 miles out of the anchorage at Quiver Island, we heard and felt an enormous thud. Peter immediately slowed down and went into neutral to determine what had happened. Looking back, we saw a huge log rise to the surface behind us. It sunk again almost immediately. We had hit a submerged log! Peter slowly raised the speed to ascertain if we had sustained any damage to the propeller. As soon as we increased the RPMs, we noticed a vibration-a clear indication that the log most certainly had hit the propeller and not just the hull. We did not have many options. We are in the middle of nowhere and the nearest marina with any service capabilities is over a 100 miles away.
There was another Looper boat, Confetti, just ahead of us and they radioed and offered assistance. Their normal cruising speed is rather slow so we elected to limp behind them to the next stop at Beardstown which is about 32 miles down river. We spent the night tied up to a floating barge at Beardstown.
Even though the river is down right now, these houses along the riverbank show how high the water can go during spring floods or heavy rains.
September 19: Beardstown to Hardin: We were informed that the La Grange Lock was open and waiting for any pleasure craft. So we quickly departed and headed off at our top speed of 5 knots to try and make the Lock with the other Loopers. Pleasure craft like us are considered a low priority in terms of the Lock queue. Commercial vessels are given preference and there is a lot of commercial traffic on this river.
This is the last lock on the Illinois and we were able to reach the lock in time and lock down. We teamed up with Confetti again and followed them at slow speed to our next stop at Hardin.
We tied up to the Riverdock Restaurant along with Confetti and Oceanus. The restaurant offers a standard $25 docking fee at their dock. We were finally able to meet our friends on Confetti. All three Looper couples elected to head into the restaurant for dinner.
September 20: Hardin to St. Charles, MO: After contacting Boat US Towing, we made arrangements to go to Bloch Marine Services in St. Charles, MO to have the boat hauled and inspected for damage. We left the Illinois River at Grafton and headed up the Mississippi River for a couple of miles to St. Charles. The current in the Mississippi is so strong that it makes going up river quite a challenge. We were relieved that our journey would only be a few miles against the current.
On arrival, the boat was hauled promptly and there was no visible damage to the propeller. However, visual inspection alone can not determine damage so the propeller was removed and taken for a specialized propeller test.
September 21: Still on the hard! Bloch Marine put us at the head of the queue for the repairs and the job was completed by early afternoon. After a test run on the river, we were satisfied that that problem had been fixed and prepared to leave for Alton Marina.
We left the channel and rejoined the Mississippi for the short 18 mile run to Alton. With the current in our favor now, we hoped to make the trip in less than two hours. Of course, the best laid plans of mice and men...Peter checked the temperature on the stuffing box (which houses the shaft) and it was 180 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature is normally under 100 degrees F. Action stations: we reduced the speed to idle and with the Admiral at the helm, Peter proceeded to adjust the tightness of the fitting. Fortunately, he has had to do this before. Although the stuffing box is in an awkward location, twenty minutes later he had completed the task and we gingerly increased our speed. Peter monitored the temperature continually and all was well for the rest of the trip to Alton. Needless to say, we were relieved to arrive at the marina and have a stiff drink.
September 21-23 Alton Marina We spent 3 nights at this great marina. After doing a number of overdue boat chores, we even managed to relax and explore the small town of Alton.
Downtown Alton
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