Sailing the Chicago River
This past weekend Steven and I took a trip to Chicago. It’s always great to see relatives again, and a trip like this gets even more fun when a sailing excursion is involved! First, the boat needs to be gotten ready, of course! Steven and I helped my cousin get the boat ship-shape, and managed to temporarily lose a bottle of sunscreen in the process (yes, it floated!).
During the winter months, my cousin’s sailboat resides in a marina… up the Chicago river. So, the first boat trip of the year involves a day-long trip down the river…. under 18th St, Roosevelt Rd., Harrison St., Van Buren, Jackson, Adams…. ok you get the idea…. more than 20 bridges needing to open, culminating with the Lakeshore Dr. bridge, and finally through the locks to Lake Michigan.
And as we got closer to downtown Chicago:
Our trip took about 6-7 hours, and that was with marvelous coordination of the bridges opening (last year, my cousin said the trip went much more slowly). It’s interesting to temporarily moor a sailboat on the side of the river… at some places you stop and there are people dining on a restaurant patio… at other places (like the Opera house), there is no mooring allowed. Add in the Chicago tour boats, the occasional barge, and kayakers, and you’ll get a feel for the experience. Oh, and there’s not just one sailboat making this trip — more like 15!
Most of the bridges require manual labor to allow them to open. A city worker climbs down to the underbelly of the bridge, and turns a wheel until the mechanism is unlocked. …then they move to the next bridge and repeat the process after lowering the bridge again.
I don’t recall which street this was we passed under, but I loved way the bridge seems to dwarf the Sears tower…
And of course, the sailboat mast… appearing with some of the Chicago Skyline. I love the juxtaposition in this image:
Finally — it never hurts to include a self portrait. Boredom? Nope! Just plain old creativity… while we were waiting for a bridge to open. Don’t worry, I did put the camera down below deck while helping sail the boat… wouldn’t want that to fall overboard!!!
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