North Star on the Great Loop Journey: Alton Illinois

Preparing for the trip

Captain Jerry has been making the final preparations to North Star, our 32 foot Cape Island down east trawler. We are anxious to leave our landlubber lives behind and begin our long awaited journey around the Great Circle. Join us as we travel 10, 000 kilometers: through the historic Trent Severn Waterway; the pristine waters of Georgian Bay; the North Channel of lake Huron; and hop from beach to beach on lake Michigan. We will visit Chicago and begin our trek along the rivers: Illinois; upper Mississippi; Ohio; Cumberland: Tennessee; Tenn-Tom Waterway and the Black Warrior. We will have transited through 68 locks at this juncture. We have chosen the inner route from Mobile Alabama to Tarpon Springs Florida and the shorter Ocheechobee Waterway to reach the East coast of Florida. We will skip over to the Bahamas to wait out the winter before heading North on the Atlantic Inter Coastal Waterway.
The 10 years of researching and planning are finally at an end and we invite you to come along on our adventure.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Alton Illinois

We are making our way down the river system and anchored at Grand Island on Friday night (N39 09.163" and W090 36.992"). We were not able to get Internet access at this remote location. The carp have no trouble finding us, they keep jumping at our boat. We had 3 land on the back deck. Each time the captain must start the wash down pump and clean off the slime and blood. Other loopers do not have this problem.
We left this peaceful anchorage to go to the Riverdock Restaurant on the Illinois river. There are no services at the dock but the food is exceptional.. Very tender brisket, prime rib and smoked pork. There are a variety of sides to choose from and all are very good. The owner brings samples to the table. We had dinner with our Australian friends and folks from Maryland. It was very enjoyable.
This morning we had to wait for the fog to clear before we could get underway. Luckily we have completed transiting the Illinois River locks and are now on the Mississippi river. The Mississippi is much wider with more spectacular white cliffs and less industrial operations.
We are staying at the Alton Marina for the next two nights. We hope to ride the long bicycle trails and visit the Lewis and Clarke Interpretive Center. I feel like Huck Finn. We need to reprovision before we set out to anchor for a few days.
There is a pool here and it is hot so I am off to the pool.