Bayfield ON

People at Sarnia Yacht Club are pretty friendly.  Not only did the guy whose well (slip) we were in not yell at us but he also offered us cake and then invited us to race with them on their regular Wednesday night race.

We got the cart out and made a run to the LCBO.  We have run dangerously low on wine.  Our supply of California wines has been depleted to 1 bottle. I should find out if Jason will deliver to Goderich. We walked by Pink Lloyd:

We later saw the matching pick up truck that tows this.

We decided to go out for dinner to the local Italian restaurant or trattoria.  We arrived, without reservations, but were immediately seated as a table for 2 just finished and left.  Apparently, one needs a reservation here as it is an authentic "Eye talian" restaurant.  There are no menus so barring any food allergies and/or vegan or vegetarian diets, it's just "feed me".  Salads are served before the food decisions are made. We went for the "feed me" option.

This is the "feed me" option. 4 pastas and 2 seconds.  We made sandwiches for the passage to Bayfield and we will have the rest for lunch tomorrow.

After dinner we went back to the club as the bar is open on race nights.   About 35 boats raced and it looks pretty competitive.  A few boats join them from Port Huron Yacht Club across the river/border. We had a very interesting conversation with the commodore and got the scoop on all the infrastructure improvements that have been made.  Next week they are taking delivery of a new dredger/pile driver.

We arrived in Bayfield after a flat windless 50 mile passage.  We tied up had a cocktail and then off to the beach for a swim.  Our first swim of the trip.  The beach is a little rocky; beach slippers are definitely in order.

We walked into town for dinner at the Black Dog Village Pub and Bistro and had traditional Ontario dinners, panong with chicken and shrimp and Belinda had the curry. Surprisingly good food.  The restaurant was very busy, apparently reservations are recommended.

Bayfield is very much like Niagara on the Lake but without the bus tours. 

We took a walking tour around the town square and then went back to the beach for the sunset.

Sarnia, ON

We are tied up at the Sarnia Yacht Club.  We had to move slips or "wells" as they are called here as the owner of the first slip returned from a double handed race. Washed the boat to get the Lake Erie flies off the deck.  It was amazing the number of flies, shad and others, that would be on the deck every morning.  Not so bad once we got off of Lake Erie and up the river a bit.

We had stayed an extra night in Windsor to watch the fireworks.  The buses were free after 6pm as the local Zehrs paid for the service.  We went by bus to downtown Windsor to the Tunnel BBQ.  We got in-between the big rushes so we had about a 15 minute wait.  After we got on the list, people were lined up outside.  I was not that hungry when I got there but was famished after several plates of ribs went by while we were waiting. When our order finally arrived: spectacular.

BTW: that's a plate for 2, although I ate more than Belinda.

After dinner, we went down to the waterfront and waited.  I was offered a peach from a woman standing beside us.  I picked a clear spot looking over at the RenCen over in Detroit.

The fireworks were launched from 3 barges tied up in the Detroit river. The river was blocked off to vessel traffic and the tunnel was closed.  Most of downtown Windsor was blocked off to traffic.  The number of people on the Windsor side was astounding.  Can only imagine the Detroit side. There are rumours circulating that this will be the last year for the fireworks as Detroit cannot afford the police and security for the event.

Awesome!

After the fireworks, we ventured over to the Casino, (now CaesarsWindsor Casino) and had a drink.  Surprisingly less expensive than the ACC.  I had been to the ATM recently and it gave out new $50.00 bills, which are kind of hard to use in smaller stores.  The casino had a machine that would break bills.  So I put the money in and it gave back $20's and $5's.  Very cool, more fun than the slot machines.

We planned on getting a taxi from the casino but since the casino is in the traffic restricted zone, no taxis were able to get in.  We walked out to the edge of the traffic zone and waited for a taxi.  Just as we were about to give up and get in the humongous lineup for the bus, we were able to flag a taxi down.  Best $20.00 that I have ever spent.  The bus would have been a couple more hours before we would have got back the club.

In the morning we left for Sarnia. I did a quick calculation and figured that it would be 8 to 10 hours to get up river, so we left early (by our standards).  We got across Lake St. Clair before the winds picked up.  We could have motor-sailed but it was only 10 miles and then we would have to take it down again before motoring up the river.  In the river, the wind was pretty much on the nose.

The current in the river was pretty strong.  Most of the time, it was 1 1/2 kts but up near Sarnia it got up to 3 kts.   At some points, we were doing 4.5 kts on the GPS at almost full throttle.  We arrived at the Sarnia Yacht Club at about 6:30pm.  That's a long day for us, especially since we have to keep close watch to keep track of the buoy numbers to stay on the Canadian side of the river and not venture into US waters.

Taking the Canadian side takes you by a couple of small islands that are fully covered by cottages. some pretty big houses along both sides of the river.

When we arrive, we are assigned a slip.  We had a choice of either a slip long enough or wide enough but not both.  I chose wide enough.  Sticking out a bit is better than trying to fit between 2 pilings that are not wide enough.  We wanted to spend 2 nights so I asked if we would be OK. The dock person said that we were good because that slip is always empty.  Anyways, just as we are preparing to eat a woman stops and asks if we are leaving because her husband is getting back from racing a double handed race and we are in their well. Long story short, he ties up at the fuel dock and we spend the night and move in the morning.  Very quiet place here except for the fog horns of the freighters entering or leaving the river.

We stopped at the office and met Chelsea's mother.  Chelsea is QCYC's new dock master and her mother works in the office here at SYC. Chelsea used to work here.

We have now booked our next couple of stops.  We are off to Bayfield ON for a night and then Goderich at the trailer park/marina for the long weekend.  Brian and Sandi are meeting us there to stay the weekend.

Touring the Tomato Capital of Canada

The waterfront in Leamington is lovely, after they rebuilt following the 2010 tornado.  Lots of birds are attracted by the gardens.  This morning we were awoken by the cheerful sounds of a pretty little song bird perched on our pulpit.  Unfortunately it was just after 5:00 so some of the beauty was lost on me.
One problem with keeping the dinghy on deck is that you can't just pop up in the hatch to tell the birds to bugger off but have to stomp all the was through the boat to yell 'go away'.

This was an layover day so I decided to venture out on my own on the Leamington bus.  For $2 you can do the whole town.  The bus runs on a schedule which includes a stop across from the Marina.  When I got on there were 2 other passengers, both elderly women with canes and the driver was also a retired woman.  Once they found out it was my first time in town (the question 'Is that the Heinz plant?' gave me away) they stepped up the commentary. I also got a history of the town and the various groups living there... mexican farm workers, Mennonites, Mexican Mennonites... (for some more reading on Leamington see http://canadiandimension.com/articles/2479/)
Had a great time, though the bus did get a couple of minutes behind - the driver explained that a couple of people with walkers can throw the whole schedule off!  My goal was to have my nails done - the bus driver and I agreed on which place looked the best. And she gave me instructions as to where I was to be standing at 34 minutes past the hour for the return trip.  It was a lovely getaway from the boat - a mani/pedi and Sex in the City playing on Cosmo TV.

And it turns out the bus driver's daughter is the grounds keeper responsible for the lovely gardens at the marina.  Including the new 1812 Peace Garden in honour of 200 years of peace with our neighbours to the south (or to the north if you happen to be sitting in Windsor).

Windsor, ON

We left Leamington Friday morning.  Belinda had a much more interesting day than I did so she is going to write the blog for Thursday.

The wind was out of the NNW at about 8-10 kts. We set the sails and were cruising along at 5 kts. Better than motoring.  Caught a couple of gusts and doing 7 kts. But it did not last  and dropped to below 5 so we furled the genny and started the motor.

We got to the mouth of the Detroit River.  I had been hoping that there would not be any freighter traffic; there were 2 upbound boats and 1 downbound boat as we were approaching river.

We had arranged to stay for 2 nights at the Bob-Lo Marina .  Bob-Lo is the anglicized version of Bois Blanc.  We were concerned about the depth at the marina but they assured us that there was plenty of water at the docks. We made it along the channel and turned to go into the marina.  The dock hands directed us to a better slip than originally assigned as it had more depth. I got close to the dock and ran aground.  Not staying here for the night. We managed to back out and get back into deeper water.  Once out in the main channel with a little more turning room, I reversed the engine to get the weeds off the prop.  A clump about the size of a bean bag chair came off. Up the river we went.  Too bad since the island looked very well developed: large houses and condos.  We thought that we would stay but have to suffer through a sales pitch.

We had to take the Canadian route to stay on the Canada side of the border going up the river. Channels are well marked but you have to keep watch and stay alert. As one looks at the chart plotter and sets a new waypoint, the wheel sometimes moves (especially in a strong current) and the boat becomes directed at the marker.  We didn't come close but Belinda thinks that we did.

Getting from Amherstburg to Windsor is not very far.  Going upstream against a 2 kt current was not going to make for a short day.  We called the Westport Marina in LaSalle ON and they assured us that they had sufficient water to get in and out and at the docks. We got into the marina and then had a selection of slips to use.  The first had an extra piling to reduce the beam width of the slip so we backed out and went the other side.  We got in but later realized that we were on the bottom, not hard but the front of the keel was on the bottom.  Not so bad since last week 3 boats were blown off their stands at the marina. Not a tornado but very close.

The marina was not the finest marina that we have ever visited but it was secure and we were tired.

It was very similar to the marina that we stayed at when Brian and Sandi bought their boat in Detroit, except that there was not there same amount of security.  It was a working marina; money is made on winter storage not summer mooring.

This morning I watched the marina owner right one of the boats that had tipped over in the storm.  He used a forklift, a front end loader and a travel lift to lift the boat and right her and place on jack stands.  Not the QCYC way since Ray (the owner of the marina) was the only one operating the heavy machinery but because there was not a sufficient brain trust helping, giving advice and assisting.  The boat was righted with very little apparent damage.

We departed LaSalle and headed up river.  We saw the beginnings of a tug boat race that was going on.  US Border patrol was very busy.

We motored under the Ambassador Bridge.  Although I know that there is lots of clearance, it never feels that way while going under the bridge.

Downtown Detroit.

We made it to the Windsor Yacht Club.  The assigned slip was rather tricky to get into with a north wind.  It took 5 tries with a little encouragement from the dock master to get in but we managed.  It was not pretty but we did it.  We are tied up, had a BBQ dinner and going inside for the band playing tonight.

Hot In Leamington

It's a hot one in Leamington today.  With humidex 39C.  Yesterday it was 42C with humidex so today is much cooler.  We installed UV insulation when the boat was built so the interior of the boat does not get as hot inside.  With fans, not so bad.  At night the boat cools down to a comfortable temperature.

One of the things that the marina offers is free charcoal for BBQ'ing.  Real coals for a BBQ.  Have not done that for many years.  So we arranged for one of the attendants at the marina to bring out charcoal and some lighter fluid and we started the briquettes.  After the second time lighting the briquettes, they started burning.  I put the potatoes on and waited and then put the chicken thighs on.  An hour later the chicken is done but the potatoes are still rock hard and uncooked.  I try and stoke the fire a bit but to no avail.  I give up and take the potatoes and veggies back to the boat and cook them in the pan. There is a reason for going propane.  It was a good idea; execution was a bit short.

Today we got the bikes out.  Partly because I needed to get at the engine to adjust the fan belt tension.  It had been squealing at startup so it needed a little tightening.

We headed up to the uptown area of Leamington.  Yes there's an uptown AND a downtown.  We walked the bikes a bit, having forgot the keys to the locks.  We found a nice Mexican restaurant (lots of Mexicans here) and had pork sandwiches (tortas). Not the same as the market in San Miguel de Allende but pretty good.

After that I headed off to Rona to buy a piece of 2X4 to make a light fender board.  We have a big one for the Welland canal but many of the marinas have pilings along the wall to prevent big power boats from hitting the wall.  I discovered another dent in my railing so I went off to get bits to make another one and not tie fuel cans to it so it is usable in a pinch.

Here is the 2X4 tied to my bike for transport.

Here is the finished product.

On my ride back from Rona I passed a veggie stand.  I had to buy some tomatoes since they looked so nice.  The stand had an honour box. $2 a bag.

We have seen some cultural differences between the islands and Leamington.  On Kelley's Island the Amish have given up the horse and buggy for golf carts.  The local Mennonite community use cars.  The contract for lawn care here at the marina is with a Mennonite crew.  So this morning, there was a young woman in a long dress pushing the lawn mower around and then carrying the gas powered whipper snipper.

We headed back downtown, mostly in search of air conditioning but I had to go the bank as well.  We roamed the aisles of Canadian Tire and managed to buy some more stuff for the boat.  We passed the LCBO so we had to go in and buy more booze.

There is a light breeze tonight.  The few sailboats here go out for a race.  The one Hunter has a full enclosure and a dinghy on davits.  Surely that be part of the PRHF rating.

Tomorrow we are still deciding whether to make the run to Windsor or Cedar Island Yacht Club, one of the few clubs that we have reciprocal with on Lake Erie.  They have a limit of 35', similar to the Oakville Club for the same reasons (they med moore along the side of a river)  but we will call in the morning to see if they can accommodate 1 larger boat.

Pelee Island, ON Canada

We arrived at Scudder's Marina on Pelee Island, ON Canada.  It feels good to be back to Canada.  Unfortunately Scudder's does not have WiFi so no posts for the last 2 days. Sorry for the long pst but just catching up.

We left Put-In-Bay relatively early.  The weather forecast was for thunderstorms in the early afternoon, so we decided that we had a large enough window to make it to Pelee Island rather than across the cut to Middle Bass Island.  There had been a thunderstorm at about 3am which put out the last party that was still going on at the docks in harbour. Put-In-Bay is certainly the place to go for bachelor or bachelorette parties. There were several going on.

We ate at the restaurant that runs the mooring balls.  Great service.  Mooring includes unlimited water taxi service all day.  Just call on CH 10 and they come right away.  The Boardwalk is supposed to be the Lobster Bisque capital of somewhere.  Big chunks of lobster.  I also had the lobster Mac N' Cheese in honour of it being Lobsterfest at QCYC.

So this is the harbour at Put-In-Bay.  Boats were rafted 4 to 6 deep.  There is a mandatory rafting policy here.  If you tie up boats will be rafted up to you.

Here are the dock rules.  Note the last rule. As if.

We left Put-In-Bay, passed the last green marker and set both sails! Woo Whoo!!  We cruised at 6.8 to 7.2 kts. on a nice beam reach and quickly crossed the border. Funny there is no red line like there is on the charts.  We sailed to the north end of the island and quickly docked at Scudder's Marina.  After we tied up and put things away, the next storm cell approached.  Winds gusted up to 28-30 kts and driving rain. We even had to close the ports with the visors on them as the rain was going horizontal. The storm passed but it continued to rain the rest of the afternoon. We just lazed around not doing much.

For dinner we were directed to a restaurant on the north west corner of the island.  Street names are very logical here: North Shore Road, West Shore Road, South Shore Road and East Shore Road. We had the special pickerel dinner: Is there a limit on the amount of Lake Erie fish on should eat in a year? The fish was excellent but still in American sized portions so we took home half of it. Afterwards we walked out Cemetery Road and then out to Sheraton Point.

Monday.  Its bike tour of the island day.  We get the bikes out and start the around the island bike tour.  First stop is the Inukshuk.

Next stop is the Pelee Island Winery. This is the bike path entrance to the winery.  The path is lined with roses.

The winery has an open room for tastings, gift shop and fine dining.  Out back there is a still and a patio with several BBQ's.  We had a 3 wine tasting, 5 if we wanted to go on the tour; way better than the Kelley's Island winery. The guys working at the tastings counter were not very worldly and really only knew about the wines that they were serving from their training. One guy was opening a persecco and his buddy was joking that if not careful, he could put out someone's eye with the flying cork.  Sure enough, the cork went flying just missing the friend.  We bought 3 bottles of wine as that was the limit I can carry in my knapsack.

The winery had a deli counter so we thought that we would buy a sandwich and go sit on beach and have a picnic.  The deli only sells frozen meats.  This is so that you can BBQ your own lunch at their BBQ.  Not for us thanks.  We ordered an olive loaf and some cheese.  However, the person at the counter said that she needed to bake the bread first, 9 minutes.  It worked so we packed the cheese and bread and headed off to the south west corner of the island and had lunch on the beach.

This is looking out a Middle Island, which is the southernmost land of Canada, contrary to popular belief that Pelee Island is the southernmost.

We rode over to the South East corner of the island to look at the glacial grooves.  Unlike the site at Kelley's Island, there were no signs and/or noticeable path to get there from the road.  With the rain yesterday, most of the paths were under water.  Belinda started hearing thunder so we decided to high tail it back to the boat before it starts to rain.  As we rode along East Shore road, the skies started turning black.  We made it back to the last stretch, which had been graded this morning and apparently wetted.  As we rode the mud from the tires was flying everywhere.  We made it back to the marina just before it started to rain.  The island is way bigger than we thought!. The boat was heeled over in the slip.  The good thing was that the rain washed all the shad flies off the boat. Lake Erie storms are pretty wicked.  I can see why very few boats will tow a dinghy.  Dinghies are carried on davits or on deck.  We have been carrying our on deck. Very easy to get on and off with the electric winch.

Here are shots after the storm.

Jeff in the big chair.

Entrance markers.

Near the marina there is a pumping station, No. 5.  Apparently, Pelee Island is mostly swamp so to make it suitable for farming, there are dykes built around and the water is pumped out.  Since it rained the last 2 days, the pumps have been going non-stop.  Two big diesel engines driving high capacity pumps. Unfortunately they went all night so it was not so quiet.

We have found that people of the islands are very friendly.  Everyone has greeted us.  On Pelee Island, the drivers of the cars were waving as they are passing.  After 1 day we knew practically half of the people.  The server from the restaurant waved in recognition as she drove by, as did the Marina guy and the Hydro workers who were at the restaurant with us.

Economically, Pelee Island is not doing so well.  Many stores are closed and there are lots of houses for sale.  There seems to be many Americans here, which would explain the houses for sale.  Apart from the marina and ice cream stand, restaurant and winery we could not even spend our money here.

We left Pelee Island this morning and headed due north to Leamington.  With main alone, we made 6 kts. in 18 kts of wind.  We crossed the main shipping channel without incident and tied up in Leamington before lunch.  As we motored in to the slip, we disturbed hundreds of seagulls sitting on empty docks.  Our tax dollars mooring the seagulls. The marina was rebuilt after the tornado 2 years ago. Found the beer store, liquor store and grocery store.  Life's grand.

Put-In-Bay

Put-In-Bay.  What can you say. It sort of like a fresh water Cape May.  Bars with outdoor patios, loud sound systems, tacky T-shirt shops and lots of boats.  In the marinas, they are rafted 4 deep. We were told that at Kelley's Island they will raft 6 deep.  With all the boats around, it is hard to tell that there is a recession going on in Ohio. Last night most of the boats on the mooring balls were sailboats; tonight it is mostly power.

There are no cars available for rent on the Island.  Only golf carts.  On the main drag, it is only golf cart parking during the day.

We tied up to a mooring ball in the harbour, in the Tartan section.  There were 3 Tartan 37's and a Tartan 4100 beside us. This is Tartan country.

The herons are pretty big. This morning we took a walk around the island.  The north side of the island has cottages that are similar to Ontario.

View of the harbour.

The forecast tomorrow is thunderstorms all day.  We will move over to Middle Bass Island to the State Park.   It will be a gruelling 1 mile cruise.