Henry to Peoria Heights, IL

October 19-20: Henry Harbor and beyond in a cold-induced stupor.

(continued from Ottawa to Henry, IL)

We arrived at Henry Harbor just after 3 PM, but after lunch, I slept the afternoon away. I had a full range of flu-like symptoms: runny nose, sneezing, aches, and fatigue. I had some cold medicine with me and wasted no time taking some. I’m a true believer that there are only two things that can beat the common cold: rest and time. You can’t get rest without cold meds to fight the symptoms, so I have no qualms about taking whatever I have to get me the rest I need.

When Janet said she was going to walk to a store and asked what I needed, I put in an order for orange juice and more cold meds. Then I fell back to sleep.

Afternoon in Henry

I honestly don’t remember much of that day. I don’t think I got off the boat even once. I know that La Principessa joined us, but only because I see it in the photo I took the next morning. And is that Nine Lives behind it? It could be.

I definitely remember that a pair of very large, very new, and very posh power boats also overnighted at the old lock. One tied up in front of us and the other tied up at the fuel dock. They arrived late — maybe around sunset? — and left just after dawn in the morning. Boat deliveries, I assumed. Rich folks had gone south for the winter and wanted their floating toys brought to them. The two boats would travel together and do 20 to 30 knots or more to make it to Florida in a few days. (Now that’s the kind of trip I’d love to crew for.)

Janet helped enormously that day by taking care of my pups for me while I slept and slept. The time went by in a haze.

Moving On

The next morning, I felt only marginally better. But we needed to move on. There was nothing at Henry for us. I got out of the boat long enough to take a few photos and then climbed back on board.

I switched to daytime cold medicine and steered the boat out of the lock and back into the river channel. Then I handed over the controls to Janet and told her to drive. I sat down in her usual seat and tried very hard to stay awake.

I have no pictures. My logbook entry is sparse:

My logbook entry for October 20, at the peak of my cold.

I’m wondering if the tow we passed was the one I made Janet pass. She’d been worried about passing tows and, on other days when she drove, she had me take over when we had to pass one. But at some point — maybe it was that day? — I refused. I made the radio call, established what side we’d pass on, and stood next to her while she passed. It was a non event.

I do remember that it was around here that we got to Peoria Lake. That’s where the river got really wide with lots of shallow water all around. We’d already seen how rough those large bodies of water could get when it was windy — the farther the wind blows over the water, the higher the waves get. (See wind fetch.) We hit a number of spots where the body of water we were in got rough enough to wash over the bow and get the windshield wipers working. I can’t remember which days this happened, but I know it was sometime before we got finished with the Illinois River and it was more than just once or twice.

I did take over when we got close to the Illinois Valley Yacht Club (or IVY Club, as it’s known locally). I followed the channel markers in and got a bit concerned when my shallow water alarm went off. I steered us right into the slip closest to the clubhouse without touching bottom once, despite my depth finder telling me once that the water was -0.9 feet deep.

Once secured at the dock, I shut down the engine, took my pups for a quick walk, went back to the boat, and fell right to sleep.

Here’s the Nebo log for October 20, 2022. Download a PDF log file with more info. Track Do It Now on Nebo.

(continued in Peoria Heights to Peoria, IL)