Sept 22-23 The passage to the Mississippi

We left the barges at Beardstown before sunrise.  It did not make us feel too bad to leave working barges, as it was not the most scenic spot to be docked.  We made way 88 miles to the mouth of the Illinois river and the confluence with the Mississippi river at Grafton, Ill.  I noticed a water leak from a water pump on the starboard engine and had a mechanic check it.  Turns out that a seal in the sea water pump went out, so it needs to be replaced.   We could move on to Green Turtle bay and try to do the next 350 miles of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers without any marine repair stops –or—get it fixed now before trying to tackle these mighty rivers.   We decided to fix it, but, we have to wait 4 days for the part to arrive.