Last night was stormy. Colette heard a little rain as she got up to turn the A/C off, but Kevin slept through it. It was early this morning that Kevin got up to use the bathroom and noticed something wasn't on the level. Cygnet was listing to starboard. The phone rang and our friend J.R. was on the line letting us know that Cygnet wasn't looking good. Over the night, where parts of Chicago got almost FIVE inches of rain, the river rose significantly. We were about four feet higher than normal, see the before and after below. Actually this normal photo is even a bit high but you get the idea.
We've been instructed by our marina management company to tie to the white posts at our dock, not the cleats that boats normally tie to. We've been disobedient (so has almost every other boat in the marina) and have been ignoring that and tieing to the few cleats that are available. We still had one rope on a white post about 1/3 way down the boat. This rope didn't move up with the level of the river as the cleats on the dock do, so our boat was leaning a bit.
With a little wiggling and muscle Kevin was able to get the rope up enough to keep the boat level today and we don't have a problem. We were lucky, as you can see in the two photos below. Two other boats in the marina that were tied to the poles are worse. One is listing quite a bit, the other is not doing well at all, it sank.
So, what are we thinking about our night. Well, we learned a lesson and we won't repeat the same mistake again. We fared better than others and have no damage. Just wait until next week when we tell you about our power outage!
Normal, notice the dock behind Cygnet
Cygnet's getting high
We've been instructed by our marina management company to tie to the white posts at our dock, not the cleats that boats normally tie to. We've been disobedient (so has almost every other boat in the marina) and have been ignoring that and tieing to the few cleats that are available. We still had one rope on a white post about 1/3 way down the boat. This rope didn't move up with the level of the river as the cleats on the dock do, so our boat was leaning a bit.
Looks like you got a flat tire
With a little wiggling and muscle Kevin was able to get the rope up enough to keep the boat level today and we don't have a problem. We were lucky, as you can see in the two photos below. Two other boats in the marina that were tied to the poles are worse. One is listing quite a bit, the other is not doing well at all, it sank.
Too much Tequila
Too much water
So, what are we thinking about our night. Well, we learned a lesson and we won't repeat the same mistake again. We fared better than others and have no damage. Just wait until next week when we tell you about our power outage!
Glad you guys made it through that storm.
ReplyDeleteI'm a captain with TowboatUS and raised that boat with two of my coworkers.
Trust me when I say it isn't fun diving in the Chicago River.
Ha! I remember watching you CopperMike when I came home later that day to check everything out. I remember thinking what a terrible job you had that day. I felt so bad for them, that family had spent an entire day cleaning that boat up just a week or two before. I highly respect what you do, I've towed and been towed in our last boat. If you ever are in the neighborhood stop by and say hello.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Will do.
ReplyDeleteI'll be at the BoatUS booth all week. maybe I'll run into you guys.