Cleveland to Buffalo, NY

Originally posted at www.svsweetescape.com

When you reach the east end of Lake Erie you come to a crossroads of sorts.  You can turn right and go to Buffalo or you can turn left and head north through the Black Rock Canal and the Niagara River to the Erie Canal.

Before we can turn left, we must turn right.  We have an appointment at RCR Yachts in Buffalo on Wednesday to have Sweet Escape’s mast taken down or “unstepped” if you’re into sailing lingo.

We had left Cleveland on Saturday morning headed for Ashtabula Ohio, about 50 miles to the east where on arrival, we anchored in a large industrial (read: less than appealing) man made harbor.  In harbors like this you are behind a seawall so you you have some protection from the waves on Lake Erie but you have virtually no protection from the wind.  And wind we got - with gusts again close to 30 knots.  No problem though as our trusty Manson Supreme Anchor held us fast.

On Sunday it was off to Erie Pennsylvania - another leg of about 60 miles.  This was really a picture perfect day for sailing and we were able to ride the 18 to 23 knot southeast winds all the way.  We have found that Sweet Escape loves to sail just ahead of a beam reach.  On this point of sail she is like a freight train and we were cruising at seven to eight knots all day.  

On arrival in Erie we anchored in a state park known as Presque Isle Bay.  This is a great, well protected natural harbor, that also contains a marina. It is popular with the locals who use it as a raft up area.  We pulled in at about 5:00 PM as many of the locals were heading home.  Overnight, we were one of four boats left in the anchorage.  All four ended up staying here two nights to wait out some weather but this was going to create a problem for us.  It meant that on Tuesday we would have about an 80 mile run to Buffalo in order to make our Wednesday appointment at RCR Yachts.

Tuesday morning we weighed anchor and plotted a course for the outer harbor marker at Buffalo.  What a difference a day makes.  Early on we were seeing five and six foot waves that we were taking right on the beam.  The 15 knot winds were almost dead astern making sailing all but impossible if we wanted to get there today.  So we motored, rolling all the way.  Later in the day, the wind and seas eased up bringing swarms of biting black flies.  Loyal readers will remember our complaining about black flies on Lake Michigan.  Apparently Lake Michigan is not the only lake that has them.

When making arrangements for our mast in Buffalo we had inquired about Tuesday night dockage and had been referred to the Buffalo City Boat Basin.  We called them and were told that although they don’t take reservations, they were not busy and they assured us they would have plenty of room and so our destination on this Tuesday was the Buffalo City Boat Basin.  We would stay there over night and go to RCR Yachts Wednesday morning.

We arrived at the outer marker at Buffalo harbor at sunset.  One of the rules that we try to follow religiously is to never arrive in a strange harbor after dark and on this day, we were cutting it very close.  After negotiating a horde of sailboats from a local sailing club we were able to finally get off the lake and end the trip from hell.  We thought.

With Brian at the helm we motored south on the Buffalo Ship Canal to just west of where the USS Little Rock, a WWII era battleship is permanently moored as a museum.  There, we found the Buffalo City Boat Basin and determined that it was not a marina after all but a floating dock along the harbor wall.  Worse, there was no space along this wall.  In fact, boats were rafted three deep.  We attempted contact with the harbor via VHF and phone with no success.  Now what do we do?  It is 9:00 PM, it is dark, we are in a strange town with no slip reservations and there is no safe anchorage nearby that we are aware of and we are exhausted.  We attempted phone calls to a couple other marinas but due to the hour no one answered.

Judy suggested that we go down to RCR Yachts to see if there might be an empty slip we could use for the night.  We motored south along the canal past RCR Yachts.  We considered going into their haul out well, but there appeared to be a boat suspended over the well on the travellift.  We turned around and headed back north determined that we would just have to find a place to anchor when the phone rang.  It was Darren, the service manager from RCR Yachts.  He told us that he had seen us come by and offered to move the travellift so that we could go into his well for the night.  We gratefully accepted, Brian turned the boat around and Darren met us and helped us get tied up.  Needless to say after a 13 hour slog through six foot waves on the beam, hordes of biting black flies followed by no room at the inn, words cannot express the gratitude we felt.

On Wednesday Sweet Escape’s 61 foot mast was taken down and secured on deck.  Actually the mast is on two wood supports that the yard built, and is further supported by the traveler arch over the cockpit.  The work took most of the day.

At noon, we walked the 1 1/2 miles to the only restaurant in the area; Dug’s Dive.  This is a restaurant at a nearby marina which specializes in seafood.  We walked along a bike path and along the way came upon an area that was under construction.  We noted that the crew appeared to be engaged in setting large slabs of gray stone on the blacktopped bike path with some type of black tar like adhesive. Upon further inspection it appeared that these slabs were granite.  Wow, this must be some important bike path.  

We were approached by a reporter and cameraman from a local Buffalo TV station.  The reporter told us that these granite slabs had originally been purchased by the government to be placed at the Freedom Tower at ground zero in New York City but that they decided that they did not like the shade of gray.  The Federal Government then gave the granite to the City of Buffalo to be used on this bike path instead.  The reported wanted to interview us to get our thoughts about this project and the use of tax dollars.  Since it is Brian’s intention to never be on TV again, we politely declined and continued our journey to Dug’s Dive.

Grandson Cameron will be pleased to know that at Dug’s Dive, Judy had an official “Crabby Patty” of SpongeBob Square Pants fame and pronounced it delicious.

On Thursday we finally “turned left” and headed to the Erie Canal.  But to read more about that - loyal readers, you will have to patiently await the next installment of the Journey of the Good Ship Sweet Escape. 

We will place photos from this time period in our albums page.  

Detroit to Cleveland

Originally posted at www.svsweetescape.com

We left Detroit on Wednesday morning and headed south to transit  the final leg of the Detroit River, enter Lake Erie and proceed to Put-In-Bay, Ohio, a passage of about 55 miles.  Once clear of the marina we encountered the Ambassador Bridge which connects Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.  Cruiser’s tradition requires that cruisers who are  retired shout “No more Mondays” as they pass under this bridge.  Who are we to challenge tradition?

The Detroit River south of the downtown area is a heavily industrial collection of oil refineries, steel mills and power plants.  Not much to look at really but important none the less.  While southbound, we were passed by a Coast Guard Cutter and a short time later we began hearing radio traffic between this cutter and a large ocean going freighter that was northbound on the river.  The Coast Guard ordered this vessel to slow to six knots so that they could put a boarding party onto the ship.  A short time later we passed the ship as it was being boarded by the Coast Guard.

Before starting this adventure we spent a lot of time researching equipment, boats, sails, engines, and so on.  Some of the research was actually pretty boring reading.  The more enjoyable research was learning about destinations.  One such destination was Put-in-Bay Ohio, an island in Lake Erie.  Never ones to pass on an island, we thought we would make Put-In-Bay our first destination on Lake Erie. 

Put-In-Bay is a beautiful place that everyone in Ohio seems to know about but that no one else we know has ever heard of.  A touristy place, the island has restaurants, shops, an impressive monument to Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, more themed bars than residents and lots of live music.

We pulled into the Island’s mooring field at about 4:00 P.M. and hailed the Water Taxi Service.  There is no place to land a dinghy on the island and so you must use the water taxi to get to shore.  The Water Taxi also administers the mooring field and collects payment for the moorings.  The taxi service is included in your daily rental for the mooring.  

It has been a couple of years since we have had to pick up a mooring.  The procedure for this involves one person at the helm while another hangs over the bow rail with a boat hook trying to get hold of the round pendant on the top of the mooring ball.  Needless to say we were not successful on our first attempt but eventually were able to secure the boat and provided some entertainment to the other boats in the mooring field in the process.  

Daughter Jennifer had forwarded our mail to the Island’s Post Office and on Thursday we walked there arriving at 12:30 PM to find that the Post Office is closed from 12:00 to 2:00 for lunch.  Wow, talk about island time. 

The primary method of transport around the island, at least for visitors is the golf cart, both motorized and electric. There are several outlets where they can be rented by the hour or by the day and they can be seen zipping all over the island. While we waited for the Post Office to reopen, we rented a golf cart and buzzed all over the island for a couple of hours. 

Each night at sunset the Boardwalk Marina has a flag lowering ceremony in which they blast patriotic music across the mooring field.  After the flag is down, boats chime in with their boat horns.  Afterwards, the water taxis get busy for the island night life as people go ashore to experience the many restaurant, bars and music venues.   

To get to Put-In-Bay, we had traveled over 500 miles and were feeling pretty good about ourselves - until we saw the distance sign to Key West.  This sign reminded us that we needed to get moving.  So, Friday morning we let loose of our mooring, took on diesel at the fuel dock and headed east towards Cleveland and our destination there, the Whiskey Island Marina. 

Never having been to these ports before, we are never sure what we will find once we arrive, but in this case, a good clue might have been the name of the marina.   On our arrival, the marina answered on our first hailing and three beefy type guys all wearing the same yellow shirts with “Security” on the back were at our assigned slip to assist.  We noted that there was another boat in the slip and the security guys were apparently getting the guy to move.   We stood off, circling until order was restored and we were able to dock in our assigned slip.

On the way in to Cleveland we were listening to a local radio station and heard that the hated New York Yankees were in town to play the Indians that night and that the Browns would be playing the Eagles as well.   The big controversy on local talk radio was how Cleveland had recently banned alcoholic beverages in their sports venue parking lots on game days.

Based on our observations at the Whiskey Island Marina there was no lack of adult beverages, with most people carrying at least a 12 pack of beer and a lot of them having trouble with their balance,   We are thinking that Cleveland has a ways to go in the temperance department.

Once docked, we headed to the marina office to check in.  On the way,  we couldn’t help but notice more beefy guys with yellow shirts, some with german shepherd K9 type dogs.  This is what we get for checking into a place called the Whiskey island Marina.

Later we found that there was going to be a band playing at the marina.  They really take security seriously there.  There was a large crowd of locals all of whom we found to be well behaved, friendly and the band was pretty good too.

See our albums page for additional photos from this time period.

 

A Generous Effort

Originally posted at www.svsweetescape.com

Judy’s younger sister Carla is someone that you usually will find with a smile on her face. You would be hard pressed to remember her complaining about anything.  Carla possesses an intelligent, wry sense of humor that can keep you laughing for hours.

With husband Mark, their three boys and a daughter she is also a very busy person.  Yet no matter how busy life gets it does not distract her from the important things.  

Early this summer Carla talked about going on a family vacation, not always an easy thing to plan with growing children.  When asked where they would go, Carla said she wasn’t sure, but for them it is more about spending time with the family than the destination.

Carla, Mark and family have traveled all over.  It is not unusual for them to pile into a van and drive to the west coast or take a church bus to Mexico.

So we were not surprised when while we were waiting out weather at Presque Isle, Michigan that Carla called and said she was in Portland Maine eating lobster.  What did surprise us was the next day when she called again, this time from Toledo Ohio and asked us where we were (at the time we were underway to Harrisville, Michigan) and if it was okay to stop by.  So we happily made arrangements to meet at the Harrisville marina that evening. It wasn’t until we arrived there and looked at a map when we discovered that this involved Carla and family driving some 250 miles out of their way to see us, which is exactly what they did.

After a month on the water and two days by ourselves at anchor, it was wonderful to see family.  Carla and Mark have an awesome family and are great guests.  We had a great albeit short visit with Carla, husband Mark and nephews Eric and Luke along with niece Kristen.  Unfortunately, busy lives have to continue and their visit was way too short, but they all have an open invitation to join us again on Sweet Escape.  

It is our hope that when life gets too hectic for the family that the boat will be a “Sweet Escape” for them too.

Presque Isle to Detroit, MI

Originally posted at www.svsweetescape.com

On Saturday morning following two exciting days waiting out weather at anchor in Presque Isle Bay, we pulled up to the fuel dock at Presque Isle Marina and took on 26 gallons of diesel, filled our water tanks and pumped out our waste tank.  After that, we headed back out onto Lake Huron and pointed Sweet Escape south.

We have been able to sail very little so far.  It seems that the wind is either on the nose or on the stern or so light as to make it not worth putting our sails up.  So we have motored quite a bit.  We generally motor at about 2500 RPM which pushes us along at about 6.5 knots.  The good news here is that Sweet Escape “sips” diesel, using just 1.34 gallons of fuel per hour at this speed.

We cruised to Harrisville with the wind on the port quarter and three to five foot waves, where we docked the boat at the Harrisville Harbor of Refuge.  Judy’s sister Carla and family would drive 250 miles out of their way while returning home from a vacation to meet us there.  See more about this unbelievably generous effort in a separate post.

While at Harrisville we walked the two blocks to Mr. Ed’s IGA which is apparently the center of the universe in Harrisville Michigan because there is little else.  There, we stocked up on groceries and the all important Diet Coke.

Sunday morning we headed south again, this time across Saginaw Bay to Harbor Beach where we would anchor in a large, very weedy man made bay next to a coal fired power plant.  Not the most picturesque anchorage but it served our purpose nicely.  Monday morning we weighed anchor and headed for the Blue Water Bridge at the entrance to the St. Claire River.

The St. Claire River is the northernmost conduit for southbound vessels making the transit from Lake Huron to Lake Erie. The other two components of which include Lake St. Claire and the Detroit River running along the east side of the City of Detroit.  This river system separates the United States and Canada with the US on the west bank and Ontario on the east.  It is one of the busiest sections of the Great Lakes and is full of commercial shipping both north and southbound.  

This section of our cruise is one of the reasons we chose to install AIS (Automated Identification System) on Sweet Escape.  Similar to a transponder on an aircraft, AIS broadcasts and receives vessel information, navigational data such as position, speed and course over ground and displays this data graphically on our chart plotter.  Likewise it broadcasts our own data to other ships in the area.  All commercial vessels are required to have AIS and more and more private vessels are installing it.  We also have radar but it is much less precise and much less reliable.  AIS allows us to see and be seen, especially at night and during periods of low visibility. 

We entered the St. Claire River and passed under the Blue Water Bridge.  The northern part of this river is notorious for a four knot northbound current.  This current when opposed by north winds can set up steep waves and make your transit of the river miserable.  Luckily, we had winds on the nose and no such problems this day. It was fun - we watched a small northbound sailboat motor by us going faster than that boat has probably ever traveled on it’s own.  

Our destination for the night was Port Huron and a small marina where we would tie to a wall on the Black River just west of the St. Claire.  We ate dinner ashore at the Quay Street Brewery which is located on the river across from where Sweet Escape was tied which provided the added bonus of giving as a nice view of our floating home while we ate.

Tuesday morning we headed back out to the St. Claire River and turned right.  We transited the river south into Lake St. Claire, a large very shallow  lake that connects the St. Claire River to the Detroit River.  There is a dredged shipping channel that runs through the middle of the lake and Sweet Escape had no intention of straying from this well marked, deep water channel.  Lake St. Claire, because it is so shallow, is known to become quite nasty very quickly around storms and high winds.

As we transited the lake south we observed clouds building to our west.  These clouds continued to build and grow dark.  We then began hearing Coast Guard warnings for vessels on Lake St. Claire to seek safe harbor immediately.  At this point we were probably halfway across the lake and decided to keep going as it looked clearer to the south than it did to the north.  Besides, it’s tough to do anything “immediately” when your top speed is eight miles per hour.

We continued southbound and entered the Detroit River.  We were bound for Milliken State Harbor in downtown Detroit, a couple miles down river.  At this point it started raining and blowing with occasional thunder and lightning. “Milliken State Harbor, Milliken State Harbor from the Sailing Vessel Sweet Escape”. We attempt to call on the VHF radio as we approach the marina entrance for a slip assignment, docking instructions and to request docking assistance.  No response.  We call again, still no response.  We try calling them via cellphone and get an answering machine.  Did we mention that we are in the middle of a thunderstorm?

We’re out of options.  The weather is getting worse and we need to get to safe harbor.  Into the marina we go with no slip assignment, no directions or help.  Our intention is to take the first unoccupied slip and hope that there is enough water to support Sweet Escape’s five foot draft.   We find a slip in between two other large boats and get lined up and into the slip but the wind blows us off before we can get a dock line on a shoreside cleat.  Back out, get turned around and try again.  On attempt two Judy is able to get a line around a piling and we are able to get the boat restrained in spite of the wind and rain.  At this point a dockhand shows up to help.  Great, thanks.

We go into the marina office and Brian asks the woman working there if they heard us trying to call on the VHF.  The woman says that she had the radio turned down and couldn’t hear.  By the way, welcome to Motown.

In a city with - shall we say, a crime problem, Milliken State Harbor is a newish State of Michigan run marina located in the midst of downtown.  It is separated from the city by large iron gates and a moat that runs around it.  At night, there are security guards posted outside the gate.  Needless to say the crew of Sweet Escape stayed put for the evening.  Judy did do some laundry however and crossed paths with some of the local wildlife in the form of a large rat on her way to the wash machine.

We will post photos from this time period on our albums page as soon as we find Internet access suitable for uploading larger image files.

 

Mackinac to Presque Isle Bay

Originally posted at www.svsweetescape.com

Years ago we wanted to go skiing and we had a winter in Wisconsin with little snow and lower Michigan had a lot of snow, so we drove to Michigan and went skiing.  Afterward, we decided to drive home around the north end of Lake Michigan completing the loop.  After an exhausting trip,  we came to the conclusion that Michigan is very much like Wisconsin and this pretty much killed any burning desire to travel back here.  We held this belief until we bought our first  boat and spent some time in the Muskegon area.  This was when we realized how nice the state is especially for boaters.  Don’t worry we will NEVER  become Lion fans but we are enjoying Michigan.

We are heading south.  Mackinac Island was the farthest north on this trip that we plan on traveling.  So the west shore of Lake Huron is uncharted water for us, the farther we travel the more we leave our comfort zone.  

The northern part of the east side of the state is much more remote than what we have encountered so far.  We have been traveling and anchoring overnight in man made harbors that have a fuel dock and not a whole lot else. You pull in, put the hook down and there is seldom anyone else around.

Right now, we are anchored in Presque Isle Bay, a large bay off Lake Huron that provides protection from all but northeast winds.  This is supposed to be one of the nicest anchorages on this part of the lake and we have to say that in terms of the color and clarity of the water here, the Bahamas have nothing on this area.  The same cannot be said for the temperature of the water.  Last night, Judy couldn’t help herself and went swimming in the clear turquoise colored water - right off the boat.  At night there are so many stars, you almost cannot see the blackness of the sky.

No swimming today.  We have decided to stay here another day because a cold front is coming through with rain and yet another wind storm predicted.  Instead, we soaped up the boat, baked some brownies, read and watched TV while Mother Natures’s rain rinsed the boat.  

It is getting colder.   Judy pulled out warmer blankets and put on some jeans (yes, they still fit).  The colder weather is a good motivator to keep us moving south - now if only the rain and winds would cooperate.

Mackinac Island

Originally posted at www.svsweetescape.com

We left Charlevoix on Sunday morning under blue skies and a moderate southwest wind.  Lake Michigan waves were in the one to three foot range and as we were headed north they were on our stern, making for a pleasant ride.

We motored north and transited Grey’s Reef Passage, a narrow passage at the very north end of Lake Michigan through - you guessed it, Grey’s Reef.  Once through the reef we turned to the east and headed for the Straits of Mackinaw, the Mackinac Bridge and Mackinac Island beyond.

The bridge is visible for many miles away.  It connects lower Michigan to the Upper Peninsula.  The straits themselves separate Lakes Michigan and Huron and they are notoriously rough as there is a great deal of turmoil in the water where the two lakes meet.  We found this to be the case as the seas kicked up and seemed confused as we approached.

We approached the bridge and went under in the very center.  There is a point where there is an optical illusion that makes you question your navigational charts and wonder if you will in fact clear - but you do.

Once through the bridge we headed for the Mackinac Island State Harbor where we had a reservation for two nights.  We were on a mission.  We had run out of Diet Coke on Saturday due to the unplanned two night stay at Oyster Bay and we needed caffeine.

The State Harbor at Mackinac Island, in addition to hosting a large marina is also the location of the docks where the big ferry boats that run people  between the Island and several locations on the mainland tie up.  There are three or four ferry boat companies on the Island and ferry boats operating everywhere.  When we arrived at the harbor we shared the entrance with two of these boats.

The marina is just steps from the downtown area and once docked we headed out in search of the badly needed Diet Coke and some food since neither one of us had eaten anything that day.  We found both at a pizzaria that serves very good pizza and equally fine Diet Coke.

That need satisfied, we decided to have a look around.  It was after 6:00 PM on a Sunday evening so the ferry docks were very busy with tourists headed home for the week.

Mackinac Island has to be the fudge capital of the world.  There are no less than eight stores making and selling fudge in a space of about two city blocks.  When you walk down the street and the smell of fudge cooking combines with the fragrance of fresh horse manure, you know you’ve arrived on Mackinac Island.  Which brings me to the Island’s other claim to fame, it’s ban on motorized vehicles.  Bicycles and horses are the order of the day here.  If you choose to walk, just be careful where you step.

There is a small but well stocked grocery store just up the street from where Sweet Escape was docked.  We stopped there on the way back to the boat and purchased two, yes two, twelve packs of Diet Coke.

On Monday morning we were awakened by the firing of a cannon and a rousing rendition of Reveille from Fort Mackinac which is perched on a hill overlooking the harbor.

We walked back uptown and rented two bikes which we rode all over the Island.  We found the Island to be beautifully kept and very lush with landscaping everywhere.  Once you leave the main street and it’s fudge shops, and take a look at the homes and other buildings, the word that comes to mind is “gingerbread”.

We toured the Fort and watched a cannon firing demonstration.  This is done several times each day.  We recorded this on video and the YouTube link is at right.  Afterwards, we walked around uptown and then we returned to the boat and picked up our bag of laundry and headed to a small laundromat located on the second floor of a downtown building.  Once there, Judy did the wash while Brian supervised.

We returned to the boat with the clean clothes and then went back to the grocery store and did some provisioning.

Tuesday morning following a run to the bakery and a pump out at the marina, we left Mackinac Island and headed south on Lake Huron.   We will put additional photos from our Island visit on our albums page.