Catrina reaches DuSable Marina in downtown Chicago about 9:30 a.m. We see her previous owner Mark sitting on the breakwater waiting for us. We are given slip G 37 which works just perfectly. It is on the very end of a pier, with plenty of beam and length and a great view of the City. This Marina has about 500 boats and is tucked right up to the skyscrappers!
Mark will be joining us for a couple days on the Rivers when his wife Pat and
7 other female family members enjoy Chicago's shows and shops! Tom and Mark decide to take advantage of a car to do some last minute shopping. Tom gets a new generator which is big enough to give us plenty of power if we are at anchor for a few nights. He also purchases two new gas containers adding 10 gallons to our inboat supply. Instead of a new cartridge for our horn, he gets a manual horn for signaling bridges and close encounters. Debbie stocks plenty of canned goods and paper products for our trip. Since markets may not be close to docks, it is easier use the Marina cart to carry supplies to Catrina today then lug them a few miles in a backpack.
Back at Catrina the men work on the VHF radio and transfer an antenna from the mast top (located a few yards in front of our boat and about 10 feet off the water. No, neither Tom nor Mark can walk on water or fly. They turned the boat perpendicular to the dock. It is always nice to have the previous owner available and Tom and Mark are becoming good friends.
Later Pat and her daughter-in-law Brook and friend Bee arrive at Catrina. Kevin and Dawn who also own a PDQ arrive. They live in Chicago overlooking the Marina. After lots of talk and tours of Catrina, we pose for pictures. After Pat, Brook and Bee return to their group, we join Kevin and Dawn on their boat. It is parked at the land end of a pier, not at the far end as we are. It is interesting to compare some of the things they have done with their boat and talk sailing strategies.
While with Kevin and Dawn, who do you think walks up our dock? Ted from Crystal Lake and Texas. It was a surprise to see him and it took a while for Debbie and Tom to put two and two together. He had arrived at the same Marina on his trawler after going down the west side of Lake Michigan and was planning to start the Rivers tomorrow! What a coincidence.
After dinner on the Navy Pier and a walk along the shore, we enjoyed a fireworks show over the water and the lights of the Windy City.
