After 2,000 Miles, One Night in Havana

Day 116  | Peoria to Havana |  5.3 Hours  |  38 Miles  |  1 Lock

Just after 7:00 we left the Peoria city dock and joined up with Parrot Bay, Bay Tripper and Felix. They had spent the previous evening just upriver at the Illinois Valley Yacht Club. There was a hint of fog on the Illinois River, but it quickly burned off. The warm lighting of the early morning even made the Peoria industrial area look good. The railroad lift bridge was in the open position and we cruised underneath, through its reflection, without delay.

A half hour after getting underway, we arrived at the the Peoria Lock and loaded right in. We tied up using provided lines and were gently lowered eight feet. During our 20 minute stay in the chamber, I got to meet the lockmaster's dog, Max, and Barry chatted with an Army Corps of Engineers surveyor who was out checking on water levels. We exited the lock and headed on our way, passing enough tugs and tows along the way to keep us alert. This tug was pushing 15 barges, the largest configuration we've seen. It was a sunny day and highs reached the mid-80s. I grabbed a quick nap on fiberglass beach as we made our way to Havana.  

As we neared the town, we spotted American Queen moored along the river bank. Riverboats were constructed so that they can pull right up to the shore and drop the gangplank for passengers to exit. Our three travel companions pulled into Tall Timbers Marina for the evening. We couldn't get in there with our five-foot draft so we ducked in behind Quiver Island and found a perfect anchorage in 10 feet of water. The heron on the shore pilings checked us out while we settled in. As we recorded our trip numbers in the log, we noticed that today we passed the 2,000-nautical mile mark on our Great Loop journey.

I took advantage of the down time to knock out the first 100 pages of a new book while catching a few late-season rays on the bow. We both took naps trying to catch up from a few restless nights in Peoria. At 5:00 the steam whistles from American Queen sounded and then the steam calliope began to play. It was a unique treat to hear the vintage sounds from just beyond the tree line.

Tonight we're enjoying being alone in the middle of nowhere. It has been almost a month since we last spent an evening on the hook. Tomorrow we'll move down the river another 40 miles or so. Depending on how the day goes we may pass through the final lock on the Illinois River.