Life on the lock

[ExiledInIllinois]

 

Mama Goose goes for a ride!

 

Nesting Canadian geese on the upper and lower end... This pair nest last year on the same end, just used the other gate.

 

Papa is somewhere keeping guard. I checked to see he didn't get between the barges and the wall or Mama would be a single parent!

 

Here's a still pic of Papa swimming guard, Mama is on the nest under that yellow walkway plate:

 

[ExiledInIllinois]

Not exactly bikini season, but getting there!

 

Locking recreational craft all morning and afternoon. Every 20 minutes or so a group goes up Lake Michigan boound. Small groups each time, not too crowded. The rec boats must be putting in @ the marinas and then immediately head towards The Lake and to their summer slips. Small boats will return later. No tows w/barges just yet to create a log jam and back log. Turnback the lock, go get more... Rinse and repeat!

 

Here's some vid:

 

 

Here's a vid of some more Lake bound PC passing a southbound tug. That is a Selvick company tug, I think that company might have been on "Great Lakes Warriors."

 

[ExiledInIllinois]

Here's a tug/towboat that comes through the lock a lot... Ooopsie on Cinco de Mayo!

 

Shots from The Web:

 

 

 

EDIT: The boat is Kimberly Selvick. That is the same company that is featured in the TV show: Great Lakes Warriors.

[BringBackFergy]

Here's a tug/towboat that comes through the lock a lot... Ooopsie on Cinco de Mayo!

 

Shots from The Web:

 

 

 

EDIT: The boat is Kimberly Selvick. That is the same company that is featured in the TV show: Great Lakes Warriors.

That tug is taking on some serious water. Did it make out ok?

[ExiledInIllinois]

 

That tug is taking on some serious water. Did it make out ok?

 

No. Not sure how they recovered it?

 

This boat is more of a river boat even though it has latching doors w/bulkheads. If I recall from The Inland River Record (bound record book of all the boats on the inland rivers), this vessel was made on the Illinois River @ Grafton, Illinois. The Kimberly Selvick used to be named: Scout until it was sold about 10 years ago and went to work up here in Chicago. It has more of a flat bottom and flat bow (front) with two push knees. It is made for pushing barges. Usually, on The Lake they will use a lake tug and tow (pull) barges in rough seas. Lake tugs have a v bow and bottom with more freeboard (amount of hull above the waterline). What this vessel was doing on The Lake in rough seas is beyond me. Probably fine in calm seas. As I was leaving work this morning, I heard from one of our (USACE) pilots that they were pushing a load of stone in 3 foot seas and it got rougher... They decided to swing around and tow the barge. That is when they hit bottom and ripped a hole into it and lost power. Crew of 4 abandoned ship and went on the barge where they were rescued by the USCG/Chicago Fire.

 

I would post a picture of a lake tug from my phone's camera, but I can't get under the size restriction here... I will do it later.

[ExiledInIllinois]

Hey Fergy... Here are the differences. The Selvick that swamped probably had no place being out there on The Lake in those conditions.

 

Here is a small Lake tug, Racine (USACE). Notice one push knee (thing they push with) up front, V hull, and tow block @ the back:

 

 

Here's a big lake tug with non-retractable pilot house. These will sometimes slide into a notch in a lake barge and push:

 

 

BTW, that is the Hannah Marine (I think defunct)... Same family as the actress Daryl C. Hannah (Lemont, Illinois)

 

Here is a river (pusher) boat:

 

 

Here's the Selvick that swamped. Kinda of a "hybrid" between a river (pusher) boat and a lake tug. It has two push knees up front, flatter bottom and bow, and has a square stern (rear) with two tow knees, not really a more central tow block:

 

 

It is obvious that one can see which one will be best for the various conditions.

 

Big thing, notice the doors on the side of the vessels. The river pusher doesn't have bulkheads (the thing you you step over) and latches... To keep water from splashing in. It has very little freeboard (amount of hull above the waterline)... The lake tugs have the added freeboard and the drain holes along side (scuppers)... River pusher is just a flat open deck (no wall).

[ExiledInIllinois]

Here is a picture I shot on Sunday. It is the USACE (Detroit District) tug: "Racine" with the "CB (crane barge/derrick) Manitowoc." Alongside is a flat deck barge which is used to hold the stone (empty in the pictures). This was shot @ the lock on the upper guidewall. They were placing stone @ various places along the lock to fill in areas that were scoured out.

 

Picture in vignette style:

 

 

Here it is natural:

 

Edited May 8, 2014 by ExiledInIllinois

[ExiledInIllinois]

As of this very moment... The Kimberly Slevick is still out there aground near 39th Street on Lake Michigan. The USCG just put out a notice to mariners on marine radio channel 16. According to this article from Tuesday, it won't be getting recovered soon:

 

Video:

 

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2014/05/06/crews-working-to-recover-grounded-tug-boat-from-rocks/

 

 

"...Tuesday morning, workers were busy setting up large pumps on the boat to pump water out of the hull so the boat could be lifted off the rocks, and hauled to a shipyard at 92nd Street.

Crews have since set up booms near the back of the tugboat to contain a small oil leak.

The boat has approximately 1,400 gallons of fuel on board, but most of it has been contained inside the vessel.

Members of the U.S. Coast Guard were on hand to monitor the recovery operation. CBS 2′s Derrick Blakley reports the tugboat won’t be going anywhere for a couple of days because the waves on Lake Michigan are just too rough for the salvage operation to proceed."

[ExiledInIllinois]

I shot some video today, the tail end of a northbound recreational lockage and the exchange of a southbound... Kinda long and maybe a bit boring. NO BIKINIS YET... Still too cold! It does give you an idea of what a typical recreational lockage looks like with a mix a vessels big and small. That's me on the PA. Usually I will advise bigger groups of boats what the wake regs are through the harbor and fleeting (that is where they build/drop off tows od barges) areas. Groups like this, especially with the bigger crusiers can really stir up the fleeting areas through the harbor. Things can stay rocking for quite some time, long after the boat is gone. Guys building tow (barges) can get knocked off barges, hands and feet smashed, tows break apart, etc... The other announcement was me telling a small fishing boat to stay out of the outflow/restricted area (dam area, I try not to use this term for obvious reasons ).

 

Here it is, from earlier today:

 

[ExiledInIllinois]

Anybody in the Chicagoland area want to adopt these two ladies? They come as a loving pair:

 

 

About a month ago some douchebag(s) left these two shepards on our access road to fend for themselves. They are very loving and loyal! They never wander past the security gates, even @ shift change! The mechanic (on straight week days) here has taken them under his wing and have them well cared for... Cleaned, fed... They are warming up to everybody by the day. My co-worker has too many pets @ home to take them in... I have three cats... We would hate to break up them as a pair. They listen well and are very obedient. They are great yard dogs and stay by the crew 24/7. Just tonight @ work I forgot to latch the screen door to the office and the black one snuck in... Startled me @ the computer putting in lockages when I felt her cold nose brush up against me! She listens very well and escorted her way out. They sleep and eat in the garage/shop area. Somebody must have loved them very much... Very trusting, but smart and leary... We can't figure out why they dropped them off @ the gov't yard (lock)? What are they "The Joads?" There are so many no-kill shelters in the Chicago area. It would be great to keep them, but the higher ups in The District may not go for that. They have the run of the place, keep the geese and swans away... Great watch dogs, they bark but stop when told to. I wonder if somebody had a business that went belly up and they left them here thinking that the yard is similar? We are all fenced in w/about 20+ acres... And here they remain, well fed and taken care of... At least two are on a crew here 24/7/365, so they never get lonely. It would be nice to keep them. They used to have a dog @ one of the other lock & dam on the Illinois Waterway. I think it may be against policy now?

 

Anybody in the area that can give them a happy home?

[ExiledInIllinois]

Update, the Great Lakes (especially the middle lakes) are on the rise after 14+ years!

 

Gary M (thanks for sharing) posted this cool link on the "other" board:

 

http://news.yahoo.co...-140245612.html

 

So cool! Pun intended! Thank you Lake Superior for supplying the water and the extreme cold this past winter!

 

Last time we had consistent high water on Lake Michigan was 1997-2000 or so... It was about 2' higher than it is now @ its peak in late 1997. I never thought I would see high water on The Lake return again, but it is here now... We are +.50 and consistently climbing. It dips down, then goes up... Slowly climbing and staying in the positive elevations. Right now it is +.60. Our lower end now is -2.88, we dropped that pool because of the rain (normal pool is around -2.00: USC 33 CFR 207.425). That gives us an total difference of just under 3.5'. A brisk north wind along the fetch of Lake Michigan will even "pile" the water up higher @ times.

 

Heres what it looks like. 1' of difference equals about 600,000 gallons of water. To put that into perspective, an average family of four will use about 200 gallons a day or about 730,000 gallons in 10 years.

 

This is about 3 feet... Water being diverted from Lake Michigan towards The Gulf. Navigation passing through uses the diversion/flushing. The flushing does aid in the health of southern Lake Michigan.

 

Filling the pit (lock chamber) with Lake water w/a tanker:

 

 

Emptying the pit (May) w/bassboaters:

 

 

 

Oh... We still have the dogs and they are still looking for a nice home!

[ExiledInIllinois]

Thunderstorms this evening.

 

Locking down 3 jetskis and 2 small boats... They are here somewhere in the chamber. Where? Hope they didn't get too wet:

 

Edited June 30, 2014 by ExiledInIllinois

[ExiledInIllinois]

Boating accident last night, 19' pleasure craft (Rinker) and a commercial tow with 6 barges collide. Three people still missing. 15 miles below the lock:

 

http://chicago.cbslo...al-sag-channel/

 

The Lock is @ mile 326.5 above the Mississippi, this accident happened @ mile 311 or so.

 

http://www.nbcchicag...-264096821.html

 

It was the Bill Arnold (tow), we should be seeing him come through in a few hours, finally heading north.

 

I noticed the Coasties locked down from The Lake just after I left yesterday @ midnight:

 

 

EDIT: For the PC to hit the slow moving barges and flip upside down, it had to be clipping @ a high rate of speed... A 6 pack tow will only do under 5 knots an hour... If that, maybe 2-3 in tight reaches.

[boyst]

Am I the only one here waiting on the bikini pictures?

[ExiledInIllinois]

Am I the only one here waiting on the bikini pictures?

 

It is always "cooler by the lake" as the saying goes.

 

I am waiting too! Not much this year... So far... I left my house for work, 20 miles away and it was 85... By the lock and The Lake it is 25 degrees colder! Been a brutal winter... River temp is normal, in the 70's... But Lake temps are running lower... Foggy out on The Lake now... Like I said it will be the "summer of fog."

 

I also gotta be careful with the pics/videos... Army makes you take SHARP training (sexual harrassment prevention)... I am threadinig a thin line right now and will remove any from Youtube that is deemed inappropriate.

 

Sorry boyst, I would love to let it all fly! I will see what I can do...

[boyst]

I was thinking earlier that if I ever get up to Chicago with a boat I am going down the canal with a sign that says "We Love Eric" held above my head in a bikini like a round card dancing pour some sugar on me.

Edited June 23, 2014 by jboyst62

[ExiledInIllinois]

I was thinking earlier that if I ever get up to Chicago with a boat I am going down the canal with a sign that says "We Love Eric" held above my head in a bikini like a round card dancing pour some sugar on me.

 

LoL!

 

Spray paint it on one of the bridges too! Just not the lockwall. Last people that tagged the lockwall were a couple of older Baby Boomers and they were spraying the name of their boat on the wall: Comfortably Numb. A sight to see, it was a big Cigarette boat too. One of the other boats got on the radio and said: "Hey O'Brien, why are people making the place look like a ghetto?" I was like: "Huh?" Then I stepped out and and saw the dude tagging the place. So... Stick with: "Eric is cool!" for the bridges... That way I don't get in trouble.

Edited June 23, 2014 by ExiledInIllinois

[ExiledInIllinois]

 

Here is a video from yesterday. Shows Lake Michigan elevation still on the rise. This is another shot of filling the chamber through the gates and NOT the filling valves. The lock gates are sector gates (shaped like pie pieces) as opposed to standard lock mitre gates. Sector gates allow the gates to be swung against the pressure of the water exerting aginst them (ie: "head" or difference in water.)

 

Here you see a small boat waiting to go down river while a few small boats are in the lock chamber going northbound towards The Lake.

 

Sorry Boyst... Still waiting for that right moment where I can shoot video and not get in trouble for capturing skin! ;-) ;-) For now, cold water will have to do. ;-) ;-)

 

 

[Just Jack]

Am I the only one here waiting on the bikini pictures?

 

I'm waiting also

[Gugny]

Exiled, Boyst and Jack want to see you in a bikini. It's the least you can do for them.