In Geneva State Marina now

We left Middle Bass Island at 8:00, the 27th, under party cloudy skies and a mild chop. We saw the most beautiful cloud and sun that Dale called "Biblical". Maybe God does watch over sailors.

We made it to Vermillion, Ohio by noon. It is a quaint town with a 1920's drug store, Hart's, that has an authentic soda fountain. Our slip was across from a lovely neighborhood and upriver from other dockage. Here are shots from our slip. On the 29th we saw this beautiful rainbow after an afternoon storm.

The lighthouse and Maritime Museum were a block from our boat. Oliver loved the beach here.

From there we headed to Cleveland, the east side on the 29th. Spotting a large city from the water is rather cool. We stayed at the Edgewater Basin by the yacht club. We were tied up near a gas dock, but had a beautiful view at night.

We left the next morning to haze over Cleveland and only a mild chop. It was our 30th anniversary!

This was our hitchhiker. I was putting screens up and looked down and saw what we think is a lamprey stuck to our boat. Dale used the boat hook to pry him off. YUCK!

We had some nice sailing time, then the winds died. Later, the winds picked up and storms moved in. The rain stayed onshore luckily. The lighthouse picture was when we passed Fairport.

By afternoon, we made it to Geneva State Marina. It is connected to a big State Park. Oliver has lots of trails to discover, so we are here until August 1st.

Off to Erie, PA tomorrow.

Continuation to Lake Erie

I am connected again, so will finish our journey. We went down the Detroit River, sometimes with sails up and then down, then up depending on the winds and interference from islands and buildings. I did see Ford Field between buildings. Go Lions! The Renaissance Center still looks lovely. Oliver seemed to check it out then sit a spell.

The Ambassador bridge was next up. It is so weird to go under semi trucks. After this point, it becomes industrial for quite a while until you get closer to Lake Erie. It also gets a bit smelly in some parts.

Crossed into Lake Erie much more quickly than we thought with the current helping us along. We had a nice sail and then the winds picked up and the waves increased. The last hour and a half were not a good time. The life jackets went on and we held on to reach Put In Bay, South Bass Island, Ohio at 4:30. We thought of grabbing a mooring ball, but then we would have to try to get Oliver to shore through the waves. So, we called the state docks, no answer on radio or phone, called another marina, no answer. Finally we saw an empty dock and pulled in with the help of 2 guys that had just done the same thing. The harbor master came right up and we got the slip for the night. It is quite a tourist destination for those in Ohio. That night we walked into town and Oliver got tons of attention aster such a rough day. Here is our marina and the view of the Perry Memorial tower from our boat. I guess during the War of 1812, Perry said about the British, "put them in the bay" and hence the city got the name.

The weather was expected to get worse the next couple of days> Becasue of "Christmas in July" in Put in Bay we would have to leave, so we found a slip on Middle Bass Island until tomorrow, Friday. It is very protected and has lots of grass and fields for Oliver to enjoy without bouncing around. There is not much here but a restaurant/bar, some beaches that do not allow dogs and a ferry to Put in Bay. They used to have a winery built in the 1870's, but darn, it closed years ago.They also have a wonderful laundry facilities, so we have been catching up on that. Tomorrow we leave for Vermillion. Waves 1-3 we hope.

Made it to Lake Erie

Spent more time in Port Huron than planned. We did get to shop, get dog food from a vet and meet new people headed south from Muskegon. The marina staff was so nice to drive us around in the courtesy car for errands. We had two days of storms and then a day for waves to calm and come from the north to take off for Lake St Clair. The waves from the north help us go with the current, so it is not as rough and we can pick up some speed. Here are some pictures of the journey. Oliver sleeps, then checks things out, stretches and goes back asleep until his intuition tells him we are close to stopping for the day.

We did see lots of freighters. This is my favorite shot of 2 big ones crossing paths.

Made it to St. Clair Shores the 21st, Saturday  and pulled into Jefferson Beach Marina. It is a marina that is huge. That day  Poker Run was going on and the people partying were out in full force. We just laughed at adults on dinghies with the soaker guns shooting at each other. This is a view from the  back of our boat. Way way way down the docks is a small grassy area that Oliver could use as well as other canines. It took us 10 minutes just to get there. Many times we ran.

Obviously the designer did not own a dog.  We also took a dinghy ride around. We met another couple from Muskegon who sold everything and are headed south. Again, the weather was not favorable so we spent an extra day here.

On the 24th we set off for Lake Erie. The entrance as shallow and we almost grounded. Winds were behind us and waves were not suppose to build until later in the day. It was a longer journey, so we hoped and prayed. First we had to finish going south on Choppy Lake St. Clair. We could see Detroit in the distance.

New post coming for Detroit River and Lake Erie. The connection needs a rest.

It has been a while, but I finally have a decent connection to post. We made it to Roger's City on July 4th. It was hot and humid and there is not much there except the biggest limestone quarry in the world. Met an 80 year old couple from Holland that had lots of stories. They did not have fireworks so we were bummed. On the 6th we headed to Presque Isle (pronounced eel). Since storms were coming and we did not know the area, so we went into the marina. The older couple from Holland were there and yelled over that "we saved you a slip". It is pretty much unspoiled wilderness. They have quite a conservation program to save flora and fauna. They have a general store with a good deli and the yacht club restaurant which was excellent. On Friday night the store sells ice cream and the line was 20 feet long. Obviously, there is not a lot to do there. Saturday night we ate at the club and then they had fireworks. It was a great show that we could watch from the boat. We also took Ollie for a ride around the bay. The old Presque Isle lighthouse (1840) was designed by Jefferson Davis, and yes he was the president of the confederacy later.

We skipped Alpena and kept going to Harrisville on the 9th. There were 2-4 waves but they hit from port stern (back left) so we pushed on. Spent 2 days there. They had a small grocery and a terrific pet store (go figure) so I picked up some supplies. The harbor master had a yellow lab that hung out all day at the docks. She came over to our boat numerous times and was right with us when we took Oliver for walks.

There was also a creek near the marina. Oliver looked like a bear searching for salmon.

Then we were on to Tawas Bay where we anchored out for a couple days. We dinghied to town one day. The bay is so shallow that you anchor quite a ways offshore then wade in 1/4 mile with the dinghy to shore to take care of business. This next picture is Tawas at night from our boat. The first morning, we woke up to bug city, yuck! Washed the boat with Bay water as we have to conserve what we have.

The next day we took off for Harbor Beach. This was a day to forget. First, in Tawas, we had to wait and wait for 2 power boaters to fill up with gas (300 gallons a tank). After being an hour behind schedule, our oil pressure gauge was wobbling. Dale fixed it, but now we are farther behind. On Lake Huron we then went through three bug plagues. Luckily we had screens down, but we went from mosquito looking things, to big gnat looking things to horseflies. Then I call harbor Beach and we get close and we find out they are too shallow for us. Since it was almost dinner time, we found out we could anchor by the breakwall and lighthouse. This was also popular with the seagulls. It was like an Alfred Hitchcock movie. We had to dinghy quite a distance to get to the marina to let Oliver ashore. We promptly left the next morning and made it to Port Sanilac where we stayed 3 days to recover. It is a nice little port and again I could get some groceries. They also have the most wonderful bakery and the oldest continually operating hardware store in Michigan. I hit the bakery and Dale went for hardware. We cleaned Still getting bugs off) and worked on the boat. We saw the Port Huron to Mackinaw sailboat racers go by.

After feeling restored, we headed on to Port Huron where we are today. We heard the current picks up as you get close to the Blue Water bridge between Sarnia, Ontario and Port Huron, and boy did it. We picked up a knot as we approached the bridge.

We passed the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse. built in 1829. It used to be near a fort. It is also the oldest, but I am starting to wonder about all these claims.

Then, the wild ride began down the St. Clair river. We were flying by at 10 knots, which is fast for us, we go 6-7 usually when we motor. It was choppy and a freighter was coming, luckily it was a smaller one. Then we were to the turn off on the Black River where there are marinas. We had to pass under 2 bridges, but we are docked safe and sound.

Spent 4 days at the island with my sister, Mary. Here are pictures from the dock.
The next picture is of a great little breakfast and lunch spot. They have yummy food and it is Oliver's favorite spot as they have water and dog treats outside the door.

We also saw the same cruise ship that docked in Saugatuck and took Mary on a dinghy ride around the island. It was pretty chilly and windy out there. I was in the bow bouncing around with the dog when we hit the ferry wakes.

Just in case you think we are lazy, we went for many walk, some shopping, history tours and I did a little run in the morning. I felt really fast running as I passed the horses hauling supplies (and I thought I plodded along). Oliver is fascinated with the horses. When he was a puppy they scared him.

On Thursday, the 28th, we headed back to Mackinaw City. Friday, Mary went home after graciously taking me to a grocery store by car which was a treat. Here was our last night by the bridge

Saturday, we headed North through DeTour Passage to the North Channel. This lighthouse marks the passage to the St Mary's river  that carries freighter after freighter to Lake Superior.

Just as we were passing this, the winds came in howling. We blew into Detour marina, literally, for the night. Then we took off early morning to calmer conditions.

We anchored out for 3 days, one longer than expected because of storms, in a island cove north of Drummond Island. We explored from that location in the dinghy. Luckily my IPAD has GPS and maps so we would not get lost. There are hundreads of island up there and pretty soon they all start looking the same. The odds of finding your boat again diminishes the farther you go.

Three times a day, Oliver got a trip ashore to do his business, but mostly to swim and play. He likes to explore, swim and then go back to the boat and sleep. One day we were on the shore talking with another sailor in his kayak when a water snake came up to me to say hello. I was not impressed and calmly walked on to the shore and told Dale to keep Ollie away. He would probably want to play with it. Here is Oliver's day, minus the eating parts.  

The last picture of this leg is the beautiful moon we saw from our cove the night before  we pulled anchor to head to Roger's City on July 4th.