Cruising Down the River

Each fall our crew takes Speakeasy from its mooring in Monroe Harbor, through the Chicago Lock, and down the Chicago River to Canal Street Marina. This fall we had a beautiful day—sunny and warm. I was greeted by a sunrise while on the tender to pick up Speakeasy at her mooring in Monroe Harbor. Tender Captain Mayre bid me a safe trip and pleasant off season as I stepped onto Speakeasy's deck. 

Twenty minutes later, I had the mooring bridal and ball (can) cover aboard the swim platform and was headed to the pier at Columbia Yacht Club. After a quick wash of the cover, I began taking down the foresail when my crew arrived to assist. It was 8 am and we were scheduled to cross beneath the Lake Shore Drive lift bridge at 9, but first, we had to enter the Chicago Lock. The Lock divides the Lake Michigan-Huron basin from the Chicago River and, ultimately, the Mississippi River. 

Sunrise on the increasingly empty Monroe Harbor.

The river has amazing views of Chicago architecture including Jeanne Gang's Aqua building [http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aqua_(skyscraper)]—the first skyscraper to have balconies that are safe for residents from wind gusts. 

Skyscrapers along the Chicago River including one designed by Jeanne Gang in the background. 

A new feature of the river cruise this season was a barge that partially sank in the middle of the South Branch. During our trip, salvage barges were on either side of the troubled barge. Boat traffic had to line up single file to pass near the east bank. 

Barges on the South Branch, one of them sunken.  

Helper barge on South Branch. 

Broken and sunken barge on South Branch. 

The last sloop around the barges on the South Branch.

Speakeasy was first in line at Canal Street Marina to be hauled out. Straps were place beneath her to hoist her up out of the river and over to land. Once overs land, Speakwasy was power washed and set on a trailer. 

Speakeasy getting a wash down at the Canal Street Marina. 

The trailer was pushed into place near other boats for the winter. Shortly thereafter, I prepared her for a cold winter by changing oil, conditioning fuel, and winterizing the engine and water systems. 

Speakeasy's winter resting place at Canal Street Marina. 

Boating on the Saône in France

We got an opportunity to join friends, Virgina and Jack, on their live-aboard canal boat in France. Not knowing what to expect, we packed as if we were about to sail on Lake Michigan for a week with layers of quick drying clothes. We didn't bring charts or knowledge of canal boating. This was to be an adventure.

We drove to Chalon-sur-Saône from Geneva because our train was not running due to a strike in France. I was impressed by the well-maintained roads, great traffic signage, and speed-limit adherence. Once we got to Chalone, we off-loaded our gear and dropped off the car--I hoped we would return by train.

Our hosts fed us lunch from the soup pot on the four-burner stove in the galley of Jolie Catherine and then we shoved off. The view of the ancient buildings on the shore was a real treat. Wide eyed, I didn't want to return to the warm cabin even though the temperature was under 50F. The cabin was roomy on this boat, built locally for river and canal travel. In warmer weather the top would crank back to expose the cockpit, which is also the salon and galley. There were ample berths forward and aft, each with a head and shower. We were in paradise.

A few kilometers down river, we entered a lock--our first of many, but the only one we would enter on the Saône. This lock was made for commercial river barges and had plenty of room for Jolie Catherine. This was an opportunity for Beth and I to show Virginia and Jack our knowledge of line tending in locks. After all, we were experienced with the Chicago lock that we'd taken Speakeasy through just a few days before.

Once we were through the lock, our next treat was seeing the village of Tournus, which features a 11th century abbey with a tower visible for several kilometers along the river. Here, we dined aboard, drank local Bourgogne wine, and slept like logs. The next day was to be a real canal adventure for us.

The morning was cold, windy, and foggy. Virginia had an exciting day planned, but Jack thought the weather was too iffy. After clearing the breakfast dishes and enjoying another cafe, Virginia convinced Jack that we should go. Beth and I didn't know where we were going, but were excited to shove off.

In a few minutes, we were heading to shore--or what looked like it. Instead, we were approaching the mouth of the Seille, a smaller river than the Saône with it's own locks and scenery--many birds, fisherman, and cows. The first lock was just around a bend at La Truchère. This lock was much smaller than the one we went through the day before. It was also self service and a boat was beginning to lock through from above heading to the Saône. Since I'd not done this before, I watched carefully as a Swiss family operated the gates and paddles. In a few minutes, Beth and I were "experts" at locking on the Seille.

Chicago Light

South Shore Yacht Club at First Light

Chicago Light

We left Milwaukee at first light to avoid a approach storm and to get to Monroe Harbor, Chicago before dark. The Lake was glass when we left. We were in fog at the Racine Shoal. Radar told us that the light was a few yards off starboard and a fishing boat a few yards of port. We only saw the light when the fog lifted.

Light rain followed the fog and wind and waves picked up. The wind was on our nose and kept increasing from 10-20 knots. By the time we reached the Chicago Light, the wind was 20-30 knots.

We didn't know how bad the storms were behind us. The Milwaukee area had inches of rain and tornadoes. We, however, were safely at harbor where we dined one last time on Speakeasy before going ashore.

Wifi everywhere but not a drop

Each public and private marina has had wifi on our cruise, but each of them has been problematic. Leland was over used by boaters and their friends and family. Their strategy to reduce use was to limit the distance that it would carry. The marina suggested that users come to the lounge to use wifi. I think that was a good strategy, but Speakeasy has a wifi extender (TheWirie) that usually allows us to access the Internet from the cockpit or salon even in a crowded harbor filled with masts. Not so in Leland. The signal strenghth was good, but it would not hold a connection for more than a few moments. Was this a protocol issue, strength, bandwidth, or something else.
As a test, I took the PowerBook to the lounge to upgrade Safari. Which I couldn't do in Leland or Pentwater where I had tried. The software downloaded without a glitch. Later in the evening Beth and I returned to blog and check weather for an early departure. The wifi was working but it suddenly disappeared. In the early morning, however, I could check the weather from Speakeasy using the extender. So, I'm not certain, but I suspect heavy usage is to blame for most of my wifi problems.
The Wirie folks are very responsive to my email queries. They suggested that it might be mast interference or too many access points on the same channel. On Beaver island, there are several open wifi spots near the harbor and even more private ones. With many fewer boaters vying for the bandwidth, but many more local users, I could get better performance before noon.
In many harbors, I've gotten better performance without TheWirie than with it. In Menominee, MI, for instance, I could not keep TheWirie active for more than a few seconds without a disconnection. Without TheWirie, I had a stable connection. I suspect software.

Mark Gillingham
Harbor-to-Harbor www.loftnet.com

Independence Day: Monroe Harbor to South Haven

Our cruising fleet of Columbia Yacht Club has taken to gathering for a yearly night sail to South Haven for the long Independence Day weekend. We set sail about 9:30 on the evening of July 1 and had a delightful sail in light winds and flat water. About 10 boats sailed that night and about that many joined us later for a sizable presence in a small town.

South Haven is a great harbor and village with many galleries, shops, and restaurants. On this weekend, there was a farmers market, art fair, parade, and fireworks. Our cruising fleet added a picnic and a group dinner at the South Haven Yacht Club.

Speakeasy: Cold, Snow, Ice

I hate to see the boats on the hard in the winter. It's been especially icy on top of a couple feet of snow that has come and gone. I was worried that Speakeasy's cover would not like being propped up by a 2X4 instead of the mast, which is basking in the warmth of the heated yard shed.

Not much was wrong when Beth and I checked Speakeasy at the Canal Street Yacht Yard. There was some ice damming on the starboard quarter, but it was easily removed. The batteries looked good. Some ice had built-up in the lowest part of the bilge, which I must drain when it warms.

The 2010 season gets started tonight at the Columbia Yacht Club Chili Cook Off. Next week is Strictly Sail. I'm starting to get excited about a new season.

Boost WiFi signal strength

From Small Dog Electronics

Boost Wireless Network Strength and Speed: Quicky Jr. II By Matt Klein

Many of us live and work in areas with many available wireless networks, or cannot get a full strength signal from our networks for whatever reason. While AirPort reception on modern desktop and portable Macs is excellent, and getting better with each generation, sometimes we just need better reception.

There are solutions that include disassembling your computer and stringing an antenna through the Express Card slot or performing other modifications, but my favorite tool for this job is the QuickerTek Quicky Jr. II.

This little antenna simply plugs into any available USB port and gives you up to three times the range than you?d get with the built-in wireless hardware. A stronger signal means faster transfer speeds, lower latency, and a more satisfying user experience?particularly if you use Time Machine to back up wirelessly, or stream uncompressed audio to an AirPort Express (like I do every day).

The AirPort signal strength menu bar item has five ?bars,? and indicates signal strength logarithmically. So, if all the bars are black, you have a signal ten times more powerful than when only four bars are black. You can imagine then just how much signal strength matters for speed. Our customers report also that using the Quicky Jr II in areas congested with wireless networks helps your speeds regardless of signal strength.

Quicky comes with easy to install software, and is compatible with Mac OS X Tiger, Leopard, and Snow Leopard. It supports 802.11 b, g, and n, and all encryption types except WPA Enterprise."

Also, Radio Labs has a product that claims a few miles of signal strength. One plugs a whip antenna into the USB slot of a computer. The antenna can be up to 30 feet from the Windows, OS X, or Linux computer.

Shift forward

I was raised in Wisconsin where the motto is "forward" and forward is where we found Speakeasy's gear when the shift level popped off as we left the Chicago Lock and headed toward Lake Shore Drive bridge on the Chicago River. The last time we lost gear shifting capability was returning a charter in Road Town, Tortolla, BVI. In that case, we were stuck in neutral and drifted safely to raft on a catamaran.

On the River, we were in little danger. The throttle worked and there was plenty of space in the basin to avoid other craft. The Skipper fetched the tool box and we sought the vice grips. Of course, the grips were safely stored in my tool box at home, rather than on Speakeasy, so I made do with regular pliers until the Skipper talked vice grips out of a fellow sailor's tool box. Let it be noted that in order to move the gear shaft from reverse through neutral to forward requires no more than a 5-inch vice grip. Any longer and the handles of the wrench get caught in the spokes of the wheel.

Hove To Picnic

Every year the armed services presents their air and water craft on the Chicago waterfront. It's a dazzling display of flight--I've never been close enough to see the water part of the show. Since we live in the flight pattern of the show, we get a week of window-rattling jet fly-overs. To get away from the noise and vibration, one can go to sea.

We set sail from Monroe Harbor to get some comfort from the heat, but it was also a better way to get away from the noise and see the air show. At about 3 miles, we were beyond the close-in craft getting a close look and within the racers in the Verve, which were out about 5 miles. Here, we hove to and got out our picnic (thanks to Susan for this picnic tip). Surrounded by lots of traffic, but in no traffic pattern, we enjoyed lunch and the air show. What a surprise.

Repairs after the sail

After over a month on Lake Michigan, Speakeasy is dirty and needs repair. The cleaning is the usual tidying, washing, and waxing. There are a couple of broken parts that need attention: the boom vang and the head plunger.

Speakeasy has many Garhauer parts including the boom vang. Garhauer gets high marks from sailors for quality, durability, and cost. However, the boom vang fitting to the mast sheared in half a couple of days before we came back home to Chicago. I made a temporary repair with lines so that the boom vang would not harm us, the boat, or itself, but it was useless as a vang.

I wrote to Garhauer, which wrote back immediately with a part. I sent a photo of the broken part just to make sure and got an immediate varification. That's good service. The part will arrive in a couple days.

I'm not sure what is wrong with the head, but the stool no longer holds any water--it drains out. I think this is due to a faulty valve in the plunger. The result is that we often have stinky air in the head coming directly from the holding tank. I've got a new plunger, but don't relish the task ahead.

Market Day in Grand Haven

Last summer when we were fortunate enough to stay in Grand Haven it was Market Day. The farmers market is on public riverfront property near a museum and the fish cleaning station. I assumed that we missed the Saturday market this year because we pulled in on Tuesday afternoon. Last year we were out of pie (and other things) and our case was similar. To my surprise. We Discovered that Wednesday is also Market Day. We were in luck--an early morning stroll through the farmers' stalls before heading off to Saugatuck.

The produce was piled high with vegetables, peaches, blueberries, cherries, and apples. Also, the lady that had pie last year had a cherry pie waiting for me. Yum.