2013 Lake Erie Sailing Trip - Day 7

Day 7 – Cedar Point

The only twenty minute run you will ever do in a sailboat is either the trip from your slip over to the gas dock to get your holding tank contents pumped out....or to travel from Sandusky to Cedar Point.  It is about a two mile trip and when you have two wide eyed kids, chomping at you to get there, you max that throttle and haul rudder across the bay as fast as you can.  The marina at Cedar Point is massive, over 750 slips, and 80 of those which are reserved for transient boaters.  After getting checked in and buying our passes for the park, we motor over to our slip to find, as usual, that we are one of only a few boats in the transient section.  Of the 80 slips, we've never seen more than eight of them occupied.

Our day at Cedar Point was great, we spent the morning at the amusement park enjoying some rides then the afternoon at the adjoining water park, which is where you want to be with that hot afternoon sun.  Magnus was tall enough this year to go on any of the big boy rides, but one ride on the Sea Dragon with his head buried in my lap was enough proof that he wasn’t quite ready for the roller coasters.  Ana took the kids on the kiddie rides and exploring some of the shops when I went to hit a couple of the big rides.  I went on two roller coasters, one called Raptor and another one, new this year, called Gate Keeper, both of which were pretty good, but nothing compared to the Top Thrill Dragster which I went on the previous year with my brother Marty and nearly filled my shorts.

We returned to the boat at the end of the day to make dinner, wind down and figure out our plans for the following day.  As Ana and I were sitting below in the cabin, talking, we suddenly noticed a painful squeaking noise originating from....somewhere.  We looked inside the boat, but it wasn’t coming from there, so we went out in the cockpit, waited a few minutes, then our ears were again pierced with a ruthless squeak.  I hopped off the boat and onto the dock, inspecting all the metal fittings, connectors, bolts and pins I could find, but the squeak wasn’t happening anymore.  I jumped back on the boat, and seconds later SQUEEEEEEEEEEEK.  “Jesus Christ, what the hell is that?” I shouted.

“It has to be coming from the dock,” Ana said.

“But where?”

“I have no idea, get back on the dock and wiggle it around and I’ll try to see where it’s coming from”

I jumped back on the finger pier and started jumping up and down like a madman, trying to tease out a squeak, but with no luck.  So I hopped back on the side of the boat and rocked it violently, Slipknot style, determined to get a squeak.  Again, nothing.  I even went on the main dock and leaped from side to side, but it didn’t budge.  I just couldn’t get a squeak, until I went back in the cockpit, sat beside Ana and waited for the swaying boat and dock to quit moving.  Then, perfectly on cue, SQUEEEEEEEEEK.

“Arrgggg, make it stop!” I cringed.

“If it does that all night, there’s no way I’ll be able to sleep,” Ana said.

We went down below, put the slats up on the door, cranked up the music and enjoyed dinner, squeak free.  After this, we went for a walk down to the pool, listening to the wretched dock cruelly squeak at us as we left.  I was surprised to find a hot tub, which we hadn’t previously noticed, so I slid into there while Ana went down to the office to use their internet connection.  At 8:50, the lifeguard shuffled us out as the pool was closing for the day, so we walked back to the boat, endured a few more squeaks, then locked up Bella Blue for the night, put on some music, and slept right through the racket.

2013 Lake Erie Sailing Trip - Day 6

Day 6 – Middle Bass Island to Sandusky

We head out early as the forecast was calling for heavy winds later in the day.  We sailed to Sandusky, which took a little over two hours, and got a slip at one of our favourite marinas – the Sandusky Yacht Club.  It felt very strange being in a slip without Andrew’s boat Endeavour beside us as we’d jointly discovered this lovely location and had many a fun evening here.

The Sandusky Yacht Club has the best restaurant in the city and we happened to arrive on buffet Wednesdays so tied into a delicious, gigantic lunch which was followed up with a giant helping of their signature dessert dish – bread pudding.  You have never experienced bread pudding until you have tried the SYC version.

Once again, we had great timing as we noticed the skies outside darkening, wind whipping up and weather warnings appearing on the television.  We decided to do a quick run to the grocery store before it got really nasty, as we were running low on non meat consumables.  We got soaked running there, and a minute after we arrived to the store we heard warning sirens going off and a weather warning on the radio advising that a tornado warning had been issued for the Sandusky region.  The staff told us we better get back to shelter quickly so we did a ten minute speed shop, then bolted back through the streets, keeping our eyes peeled for funnel clouds.  All the talk of tornados had Stella terrified so she was bawling as we ran across the parking lot and finally into the safety of the yacht club.  We ordered some drinks and watched the weather channel which showed the tornado touching down east of Sandusky and causing all sorts of damage.  The winds had picked up to 80 mph so it was a very nasty, though fortunately, short lived storm.

We spent the rest of the afternoon on the boat with Ana taking full advantage of the laundry facilities and doing laundry runs back and forth while the rest of us spent the time relaxing, reading and playing games.   Evening was equally slow, we cooked a great dinner, watched a movie then crashed out hard for another uninterrupted boat sleep.

2013 Lake Erie Sailing Trip - Day 5

Day 5 – Put-in-Bay and Middle Bass Island

I woke up with a remarkably clear head, considering the quantities of Buzz Balls and tall boys consumed the previous evening.  Additionally, because of the overnight rains we had sealed up the boat tight, closing all hatches and plugging all holes, which always produces oxygen depleted environment, perfect for turning a six pack stinger into a 26 ounce pounder.  Seems that in life, sometimes you are just not meant to get a hangover, and I thanked the gods for that one.

The mission for the day was to get the ferry schedules figured out so that Chris and Melissa could make it back to Pelee Island in time to catch their Canada bound boat.  But before all that, we need a good solid brekkie so after showers we walked over to the best breakfast place on the strip and enjoyed a great meal and decent coffee.  It’s easy to find, just start walking down the main street and when you get to a place that doesn’t sell beer or knick-knacks you are there.

After breakfast, Melissa checked the ferries and bought the required tickets, leaving at 12:15, then we walked over to Perry’s Monument, which is a 350 foot tower built to commemorate the American’s defeat of the British in the Battle of Lake Erie in the year 1813.  The view from the top was okay, but you couldn’t see too far because of the haze hanging in the air, but we were at least able to see the whole of South Bass Island and at least part of the nearby islands.  As we walked around the observation deck, I couldn’t help thinking about some lunatic jumping up and over the concrete rail and plunging to his gory death.  Then I started thinking about us walking around at the bottom and one of us getting flattened by just such a suicidal maniac.  Then I started thinking that would be an excellent beginning for a horror novel.  Then I wondered why I hadn’t written a horror novel yet.  Funny how the mind makes these strange leaps.  I was soon distracted by a thread in my shirt tickling my neck, which got me back on track and away from that macabre train of thought.

We trotted over to the visitor’s centre, a place we’d somehow missed on the previous four visits here, and discovered an excellent exhibit on the Battle of Lake Erie, as well as a 15 minute movie on the battle, which was surprisingly well done.  By the end I was imagining myself as a low ranked sailor on the US Niagara, loading up a 30 pound cannon ball, suddenly and violently ripped to shreds by a deadly shower of wooden timber shards as an enemy projectile rips through the hull of my ship.  Man, what the hell did they put in those Buzz Balls to produce such gruesome thoughts?  Mental note – pick up a case before we leave.

Soon, we are waving goodbye to our friends and are sad to see them leave.  They were great guests to have aboard, not just because they brought a great deal of alcohol, but because they were carefree, eager to help, excited to learn and so great with the kids.  I sure hope they get married some day and have kids of their own, sometimes you just meet couples who you know would be the best parents in the world.

Shortly after they left on the ferry, we threw off the lines, went for a quick pump out, filled the tanks up with $90 worth of diesel and headed over to Middle Bass Island, a short 2 mile trip north of our current location.   We had visited there last year but really hadn’t explored much, so  we wanted to spend a day and have a better look around.

We went to the Middle Bass Yacht Club, got a slip, had some lunch, then rented a golf cart and began our whirlwind cruise around the island.  If Put-In-Bay and South Bass Island is Disneyland, and Pelee Island is like a beaten up teeter-totter in a forgotten playground, then Middle Bass Island would be something akin to the local shopping mall parking lot carnival.  Yes, there a few interesting things to see, such as “JR Walleyes”, “Hazard’s” and the giant lily pad swamp near the airport, but by far the highlight of the visit was the walk around Lonz Winery.  As dusk approached, we went for a walk over to the abandoned winery, counting a dozen bunnies along the way.  We explored the area for a while then headed west along the shoreline in search of some diving cliffs that the dockhand at the marina had told us about, which we never did find, but did discover a large population of fireflies, which kept the kids busy scurrying around in the long grass, catching dozens of them.  This particular species were large and very easy to catch.  As we rounded the corner of the island, mosquito hour had arrived and they began their attack, so we picked up the pace and headed down a heavily wooded path, which seemed to lead back to the marina.  Halfway through, I looked to my left to be rendered speechless by a vision of the enchanted forest.  Before me were thousands of fireflies, from the forest floor to the treetops, flashing their fires at random, creating a mystical, magical scene.  The rest of the family soon reached this spot and we all stood there for a few brief moments, entranced by the picture before us.   But soon the mozzie bites were too much to bear so we continued on and were soon back in the marina and in the boat.  We finished off the night by watching Cloud Atlas, whose storyline defies description, but suffice to say that, though it was watchable, it confirmed my belief that Tom Hanks and Halle Berry should probably move onto other careers.

2013 Lake Erie Sailing Trip - Day 4

Day 4 – Pelee Island to Put-in-Bay

We woke up to a stunningly beautiful morning, not a cloud in the sky to be found, a nice steady wind, and an eager crew.  Before leaving the marina, we do a bit more snake hunting and fishing, while Ana and Melissa walk over to the Pelee Island Co-operative, located directly behind the marina, to try and find some more bandages for her hand.  I felt compelled to tell the group about my grandpa’s thoughts on the concept of the Co-op.  You see, Saskatchewan is the home of the Co-op and every small community in the province has one.  The typical Co-op is a general store that sells everything from hardware to groceries and my grandpa always says, “If the Co-op doesn’t sell it, you don’t need it.”  Turns out, she didn’t really need those bandages.

As we were preparing a bacon and egger breakfast on cafe Bella Blue, Magnus and Stella managed to catch a turtle, so we were summoned over to inspect the prisoner.  I took a couple pictures then put him back down on the dock, where he scurried away and plopped back into the water.  These marina waters were alive with creatures, from the plentiful snakes to turtles, giant carp, cranes, bass and sunfish.

After cleaning up, we threw off the lines and set sail for Put-in-Bay, with Captain Chris at the helm.  I was more than willing to hand the boat over to him and take on a passenger role for a change.  After giving Chris an overview of the boat and its controls, he took over and was a natural helmsman.  He and Melissa are keen to buy a sailboat so have been researching them and learning as much as possible.  As our course was directly upwind, he had to tack back and forth to make headway, but with a steady ten knot breeze, he kept up a great pace and provided a lovely sail, by far the best of the trip.  Ana and I sat together at the bow of the boat, with our feet dangling over, getting treated to a frequent, refreshing splash of cool water.  I’m pretty sure that’s the first time we’ve sat together on our boat while somebody else piloted and it was relaxing indeed.  Every time I looked back at Chris, he had a big smile on his face and was doing the thumbs up, definitely a natural sailor.  Melissa was stretched out on the deck, soaking up the vitamin D and bobbing her head to the great tunes playing over the stereo.  As we were slicing through the waves, feeling the sunshine, it occurred to me that it was Monday and the rest of the world was at work.  This broadened my smile.

After 15 miles of sailing we arrived at Put-in-Bay, located on South Bass island, which is the busiest of the Lake Erie islands and a little slice of the Caribbean right on our doorstop.  We walked over to the US Customs video phone and were cleared through after providing our passport information.  Chris and Melissa were astounded at the simplicity of the process, after being verbally accosted many times at the highway border crossings between Ontario and New York.

Our fine guests disappeared then returned with a six seater golf cart and we took off to explore the island.  The island is not very big so it takes less than an hour to explore most of the roads.  We made stops at the Perry Caves, Sand Bar, grocery store and the liquor store, where Chris procured us four Buzz Balls, which he grabbed from a big tank of ice cold water.  The guy working the cash register said, “You guys ever had these before?”

We replied, “No”.

“Well,” he said, “be careful.  The first one will go down okay, but after that watch out.  These four are enough to keep you going all night.”

Sounds like a party.  Chris distributed a Buzz Ball to each of us.  On closer inspection of the package I found they were 20% alcohol, which would explain the “Buzz” part of the name.  Ana nearly spit her first mouthful out so she handed hers over to me which I dutifully drank, then finished off my own and was well on my way to a state of intoxication.  We drove the cart back and Chris and I got settled in the gazebo, which was on the dock beside the boat, while the kids and ladies walked back to town to do some retailing.  Before long, the skies darkened and it turned from a sunny, beautiful day into a fierce downpour, so we hustled back into the boat, grabbed some talls boys from the cooler and continued our conversation.  The rest of the gang soon arrived, soaked from head to toe, but looking quite happy with their purchases.

We cooked up a great chicken dinner and spent the rest of the evening in crazy conversation, Pictionary and making all sorts of obscene references to Buzz Balls.  We tried talking Chris and Melissa into going out to experience the Put-In-Bay nightlife, but they were content hanging out with the family.  Or they may have climbed out the front hatch after we went to sleep and did some family-free clubbing.  If so, they hid it well the next day!

2013 Lake Erie Sailing Trip - Day 3

Day 3 – Erieau to Pelee Island

Shortly after 4 am we left the dock and were on the lake, headed for Pelee Island, roughly 55 miles south west of us with a strong south west wind directly in our face.  It was a very rough ride but Bella Blue did well slicing through the wind and crashing over the steep waves.  Sadly, the crew didn’t do quite as well as both Ana and Magnus were immediately sea sick and spent the entire ride laying down, trying to keep their insides inside.  Magnus did have a brief vomiting episode but did feel much better afterwards and went back to eating his toasted bagel as if nothing had happened.  Stella was fine the whole way through, just a little bored with the long ride.

Around 12:30 or 1:00 we arrived at Scudder Marina, located on the north end of Pelee Island.  This island is home to Canada’s southernmost point.....and not much else.  As we would soon discover, compared to the US islands only a few miles to the south, Pelee Island leaves much to be desired.

We had been in touch with Melissa and Chris via text messages along the way and they arrived by ferry to the west side of the island around noon and planned to hike the six miles up to the marina where we would meet.  So after our arrival we went for a short walk around the docks and found an impressive population of Lake Erie water snakes living on and amongst the rocks.  Some were as large as six feet long, while others were less than a foot, so not sure if they were different species or just a momma and baby thing.  Magnus has always been terrified of snakes, so I was surprised when he was keen to get a closer look at them.  Stella, him and I crawled around on the rocks to have a good look and snapped a few photos.  As we were poking around, Melissa and Chris appeared on the horizon, lugging backpacks and sweat stained from pits to ankles as the day had become very warm indeed.  We guided them over to the boat where they got their stuff unpacked into the v-berth which would be their home for the next couple nights.  I was overjoyed to see Chris whip out a couple dozen tall boys of various varieties and we found a suitable place for them in the cooler.  I had kept my beer supply to the absolute minimum in anticipation of picking up some cheap US suds, and there was barely any left so this was a welcome addition to the supply.

After a couple drinks we went for a walk to find the bakery which, we were told, was a mile down the road.  Along the way we encountered some beautiful little lakeside cottages, some of which had their own secluded beach areas and decks overlooking the bay.  We found the bakery, ordered up some fresh bread and snacks, and our guests bought the kids two bags of those little flavour-packed jelly beans, which became the fuel for an extended game of “close your eyes, open your mouth, chew the jelly bean I toss in there and guess what colour it is.”  Nobody was particularly good at it, though I think Ana got the most right.  They all tasted like lime to me.

We slowly wandered back to the boat, along the way passing a school, in front of which was a big sign saying, “Warning - No Hunting - School Zone ”, making us wonder why you would need to remind people it’s not a good idea to sqeeze  off rounds in a schoolyard.  As we returned to the dock, we found it so hot and muggy that we took the boat out to the  middle of the bay, cut the engines, and jumped in for a cool, refreshing swim that actually turned into more of a community bath after Ana brought the bath gel up.  Sadly, Melissa wasn’t able to partake, as the day before leaving on their trip she had broken a coffee carafe while washing it and sustained nasty and deep cuts on three of her fingers.

After returning to the dock I got the grill fired up and barbequed steaks and Portuguese chorizo for dinner.  Despite the full bellies, we manage to stay up for a while chatting but eventually we pack it in and hit the beds, all of us exhausted after a very full day.

2013 Lake Erie Sailing Trip - Day 2

Day 2 – Erieau

The rest of the sail went by without problems and by midday we were closing in on Erieau.  After the single floating sailboat we did not see another vessel during the passage, but now the lake was alive with action as there were fishing boats everywhere, in fact Stella and I counted 23 of them.  We also spotted some fishing net markers directly in our path, and attempted to go around there, but after a mile and a half, with no end of the markers in sight, we decided to cut across them and fortunately did not get anything tangled in our keel or rudder.

We arrived to a clean, well organized, well marked marina and within minutes we were in our slip, registered and being taken on a guided tour of the marina by Cathy the manager.  Erieau is one of these special places that nobody knows about.  The town itself is small and located on a peninsula between Rondeau Bay and the lake, and the nearest city of any size is Chatham, another place that few people know much about.

The kids and Ana immediately put on their suits and were in the swimming pool, while I decided to go for a walk and enjoy a nice Cuban cigar.  After a long, successful sail it is good to treat yourself, no?  I wandered around, found the beach, which was gigantic, nearly void of people and very inviting.  I went for a nice walk along the shoreline then cut back into town and snapped a photo of what I can only describe as the perfect marine trifecta - welcome to the Erieau Marine store/Liquor store/Beer store, one stop shopping for boaters.  And less than a block away was a convenience store where you could pick up a pack of hot dogs and buns, so there truly was everything a boater could possibly need for supplies.

After that lovely cigar, I went for a dip with the kids, then did some dock walking and saw hundreds of fish and some big turtles, as well as a few baby turtles which Stella was absolutely smitten with.  Ana soon joined us and we did another tour of the town, stopping for ice creams at the convenience store, then the curio shop, which I refused to enter as those places tend to trigger a knick-knack attack for me.  That’s the feeling that your house or boat is about to be buried in a nonsensical heap of crystal figurines, ceramic elephants, aprons embroidered with “Please kiss the cook”, collapsible back scratchers, carved Indian heads, Sea Monkeys and, if things go really bad, a Slap Chop that will forever take up valuable, limited cupboard space and never get used.

We decided to go for an early dinner so settled in at a newly opened brew pub/restaurant, called the Bayside Brewing Company.  After admiring the gleaming new bronze beer vats, we were led to an enormous fifteen person table on the deck overlooking the bay.  The beer came in two varieties, regular and light, and in cups, pints, mini pitchers and full pitchers.  I floated the idea of splitting a pitcher, which Ana declined, so I ordered a pint.  That pint tasted so good I ordered another one, which we shared since Ana liked it too.  For dinner, I had a gourmet perch sandwich, strangely served in two toasted hot dog buns, but was delicious.  The owner came by at the end of our meal to ask how everything was and told us that they have been very busy thus far this season, with people traveling from a wide area to visit the restaurant, which did not surprise me much at all.

After our meal, we walked over to experience the marina/liquor/beer store (man, I love typing that!).  The marine store was extremely well stocked so I picked up a few spare boat parts, but was stopped in my tracks by Ana when I started eyeing up the equally well stocked beer fridges.  Yes, I knew cheap US brews were only a couple days away, but still....

Outside the store there were a few fishermen cleaning their catch, which consisted of a dozen huge walleyes and rainbow trout, obviously all those boats were out there for good reason.  The well built clean station was right alongside the lake, and in the lake sat a dozen hungry turtles, snapping up the fish bits that were thrown out to them.  What the turtles didn’t grab, the hundreds of fish beneath them did, providing for a very well fed population of creatures.

We returned to the boat and somehow managed to get through half a movie before passing out. 

2013 Lake Erie Sailing Trip - Day 1

Day 1 – Port Dover to Middle of Lake Erie

The annual Lake Erie boat trip is finally here, but this year will be different as our ever present companion Andrew Holmes has moved to Kingston and will not be joining us.  Our plans for this trip have changed several times, at one point we were planning on exploring the east side of the lake and a portion of the Erie Canal but we decided to once again hit the west side of the lake and venture into some areas we have not yet seen, but also return to a few of our favourite places.  Our friends Cesar and Kathleen were planning to sail with us in their boat for the first couple legs of the journey, but at the last minute decided to hold off and leave a bit later than us.

Our “final” plan was to leave Port Dover Friday evening, do a 110 mile overnight run to the town of Erieau, then the following day make a 55 mile run to Pelee Island, where our friends Chris and Melissa (the daughter of Cesar) would be joining us to spend a couple days on the boat exploring the islands.

By 7 pm the boat was loaded, diesel tank was filled, holding tank emptied and Port Dover was in our rear view mirror.  It is always exciting leaving harbour on a big trip as you really do not know what awaits you out there in that big lake.  And yes, Lake Erie is a very big lake, approximately 250 miles long by 40 to 60 miles wide, and known for its violent and rapidly changing sea conditions when storms blow in.  So we do not take this trip lightly, we pay close attention to the weather forecast and avoid sailing when bad weather is eminent.  Though it was a wet and windy day, the evening and overnight forecast looked pretty good with favourable winds.

By dusk we had made it out to Long Point, at which point we turned west and pointed the boat into the blackness in the direction of Erieau.  Night sailing is an amazing experience and is much different than sailing during the day, and things often are not what they appear to be, as we would learn once again.  Shortly after rounding the point, we could see what appeared to be a lighthouse ahead, very far off in the distance.  I checked the chart and Erieau did indeed have a lighthouse with a flashing light that matched what we were seeing, except that it was 75 miles away.  We looked back at the lighthouse on Long Point, which was five miles back, and blindingly bright, and decided that the light we were seeing must be from Erieau.  So we sailed on, headed toward the lighthouse, which would make our navigation dead simple.

I went down below to grab a couple hours sleep and gave Ana the helm.  As I was getting ready for bed, Ana called me up and said the light was moving, so I quickly returned to the cockpit in time to see a sailboat ahead of us and maybe 50 metres off our starboard side.  The boat was bobbing around in the middle of the lake with a single anchor light on, close to nothing and right in our path.  We listened to the radio for any calls from the boat but there was nothing, so we don’t know if they were perhaps asleep at anchor, or had boat trouble or perhaps something else.  But yet again, we were fooled by the lights on the lake and completely misinterpreted what was actually there.  We were very lucky to avoid a collision and can add this to the “lessons learned” section on our sailing resume.

As midnight arrived, we continued our course westward, sliding through the blackness and paying close attention to the lights.