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Table of
Lake
Erie Islands: Cedar
Point/
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22 July 1999,
18:22. Arrived at the marina. Winds light,
variable; seas on Lake St. Clair <1 ft; air
temp: high 80s; visibility: unlimited; clear and
sunny. Overall, a beautiful day for boating.
Off-loaded remaining personal items, wrote check to
pay off loan balance, signed over registration,
said one last goodbye to 2E and Lake St. Clair. Out
of boating, but just for a while. We've enjoyed the fantastic boating opportunities and beauty of the Great Lakes from 1989 to 1999. Until the 1999 season our home ports have been on the West Shore of Lake Erie in the Monroe, MI, area. Although we won't be boating any more for a while now that we've sold our boat, and I've toyed with killing this page to make the mental separation from boating complete, for now I'm leaving it up, hoping there's still something to share. I've gotten nice feedback, and that's an incentive to keep things going. Erie's West basin and the respective Michigan and Ohio coasts are generally off the main cruising lanes between Detroit and points North and what are generally considered the more interesting locales on Erie, mainly from Put-In-Bay and points East. The West End makes for interesting cruising, not to mention fantastic walleye and perch fishing. As a home base it's almost ideal for trips to Put-In-Bay or Cedar Point: they become easy-to-manage short hops, not all-day affairs as they can be for boaters from Lake St. Clair or farther North. I'll share some points of interest, based on 10 years there. With sadness, however, we said good-bye to Erie as our boating home in the Summer of '99, and moved our boat to Belle Maer Marina in Harrison Township, on Lake St. Clair/Anchor Bay, just a stone's throw from Metro Beach and the Clinton River. On 22 July 1999 she was sold. Our first boat was Bony Fingers, a Sea Ray 268DA -- a 27 foot Sun Dancer. We bought her after spending several years typing the manuscript for a text book. What did we get for working our fingers to the bone?? Bony Fingers, so that's what we named her. As the family grew, Bony Fingers seemed to grow smaller, so we traded-up. Below is a photo of our second boat, a '94 Carver 300 Aft Cabin. She was named “2E” -- which means Second Edition in publisher's jargon -- in honor of (naturally) the second edition of the book.  2E had plenty of power, room, and comfort. She's taken us through bad seas like a graceful, confident and gentle lady, and hosted 6+ sleeping in comfort. And it was soooo tough to pull into port, or just hang out below decks at home, with AC on in the Summer or heat on in the Fall, grab a cool one out of the ’fridge, pop a snack into the nucleowave, and either throw on a favorite Pat Dailey tape, cue a great video, or just watch TV as we update the log for the day. We have nothing but positive things to say about Carver. Click on the photo of the 300, above, or on this link, to visit Carver and see what they're offering now. Unfortunately, 1999 was our last season with 2E, or any boat for that matter until retirement time rolls around in a few years. The kids grew and would rather “do their thing” with friends, and we were facing three college tuition bills. We used 2E just a bit more than enough to keep the IRS happy in 1998 and 1999. Before that, we were always on the boat, always on the water. |
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Before I get to our main cruising area from 1989 to 1998, Erie, let me digress. One of our most often visited ports up north is Rogers City. Couldn't seem to go there, or get by there, without getting weathered-in for at least two days. That includes one day when 12 footers rose just after we pulled in. Everyone in the marina was up all nite, and the adjacent hardware store quickly got sold out of just about every line they had. But, Rogers City is a wonderful place to stay, a close walk to town (groceries, laundromat, restaurants, movies, even bowling). Their new marina is superb. If we HAD to get stuck anywhere, Rogers City would be our choice. |
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The West End of Lake Erie was our usual haunt -- an often overlooked area of Erie (or the Great Lakes overall, for that matter), mainly because it's out of the way for the hordes of boaters going between Detroit and points North to the South -- Put-In-Bay and the other Lake Erie Islands, and places on Ohio's North Shore like Sandusky/Cedar Point and beautiful Vermilion. The paucity of transient dockage in the Basin reflects that out-of-the-wayness. Nonetheless, and although there are few compelling reasons to visit if it's not in your neck of the woods, it's a good place to see something new, to fuel-up, and to weather out one of Erie's “bad days,” of which there seem to be many. And, of course, from Put-In-Bay West to West Sister Island, and even to the very shore of the Lake, in the West End of Erie you'll find some of the best walleye and perch fishing around. A great book to buy for more info, A Boating Guide to Western Lake Erie, is available from Amazon.com. |
Here's
where we've been on Bony Fingers, 2E, or both.|
What's Here -- |
Described below are some of our haunts, starting with our home port from 1994 through 1998, Toledo Beach Marina; and in Monroe a few years before. We're omitting most of the Lat/Lons, as they're for you to check on your charts. Here is a satellite photomosaic showing the lake shore from Toledo Beach north to Monroe (56K JPEG). There are other places in the West Basin I haven't covered, namely the Port of Toledo and some marinas South of Toledo Beach (e.g., Luna Pier and below). I cover Put-In-Bay and Sandusky, but omitted for now other Ohio North Shore places like Port Clinton, Huron, and beautiful Vermilion. Someday I'll post some information on another favorite place, Leamington, Ontario: its wonderful marina and the surrounding area. |
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This is an aerial view of our home port from '94 through '98, Toledo Beach Marina (Exit 9, I-75). It's all of a 5 minute slow cruise from our dock to beautiful Lake Erie, shown at the upper right. TBM is a convenient and clean place for boaters, not too far out of the way on a cruise between Detroit and points North and the Lake Erie Islands or Ohio's North Shore. Heck, it's a top-notch, full-service marina -- the best around. TBM doesn't advertise transient slips, but stop at the fuel dock and ask: you'll usually be directed to a vacant slip. |
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TBM has gas, diesel, and pump-out; a well stocked chandlery (Mike's Marine); the Sand Bar (serving cold “cool ones,” a modest selection of food, and hosting special events such as a band or theme-parties many weekends); and repair and hoist facilities for even the biggest of boats, power or sail. There's a bait/party store on site, but not much in the way of provisions unless you're looking for a 6-pack of something, some bread and lunch meats, and that sort of stuff. |
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Directly opposite TBM/Mike's Marine/The Sand Bar, inside the cut (starboard, inbound), is North Cape Yacht Club. They have limited dockage, we hear, and a restaurant, but only for ILYC members; we're not of the yacht club set. Five miles down I-75 near Toledo, on the North side of Summit Street in the same strip mall as Kroger, is West Marine: the toy store for anyone with a boating fetish and some money to spend, even if it's only a few dollars. Like me. Need some boating accessory? Don't really need anything, but want to buy something anyway? Visit West Marine. A few miles more, also on Summit Street (South side), is the Boat/US store. Neither is accessible by boat. |
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Bolles Harbor is just a few miles North of Toledo Beach, about half-way to Monroe. The entry to this Harbor of Refuge is narrow but reasonably protected to the north. On busy weekends the channel is crowded. In addition to boat traffic from the marinas, there's a large DNR boat launch that's heavily used. The volume of traffic makes for some tense times (close passing with lots of chop, lots of rocks to starboard when in-bound, and too many boaters who don't practice the Rules of the Road) unless you're patient and in control. As you should be. You can get an idea of some of the facilities available at Bolles Harbor here. We visited Bolles Harbor often for one main reason: Trout's Yacht Basin, just inside the “creek” on the South side. Trout's has the cheapest gas we've found just about anywhere for years on end, and we've never gotten bad gas. The Trout family does a marvelous job with their customers, and gain new ones every year through word-of-mouth "advertising" from many happy and satisfied boaters. Trout's has a do-it-yourself coin-operated pumpout. You'd think that for just a couple of dollars you'd have to empty your holding tank with a straw, but it's a full-fledged system. You have to do the dirty work yourself, but what a price for the fun! Trout's is home port to a modest number of boats, power and sail, as are the adjacent Monroe Boat Club and Harbor Marine further up the creek. There's little in the way of transient dockage, however, and nothing much close by in the way of provisions. Both Trout's and Harbor Marine have some marine supplies (lubricants, hardware, etc.), and offer haul-out and repair. They can easily handle a 30 footer like ours, and indeed we kept “2E” stored for the winter in Mr. Trout's barn every year. Trout's is closed Mondays. They're open every other day, but closed like clockwork for lunch and dinner between approximately 11:30 to 1:00, and 5 to 6. No fuel then. Family time, private time, and thank god someone still respects that. The pump-out works all the time, so you can at least empty one tank while waiting to fill another. |
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The Hot Hole |
There's a special place just North of Bolles Harbor, just South of Monroe and the entrance to the River Raisin. It's called the Hot Hole, the Hot Spot, and other things. And it loves to chew up props. Click here for more about it. |
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Any port in a storm. Monroe, also a Harbor of Refuge, is one of them. It's overlooked in most cruising guides -- probably for good reason. The Harbor is a large, deep turning basin for freighters that supply coal to the Edison plant, whos two tall slender stacks at the entrance to the River Raisin (never call it the Raisin River!) are a landmark to West Lake Erie boaters from miles off-shore. (Don't confuse them with the shorter squatter stacks of the Fermi Nuclear Plant to the North.) Since the river is visited occasionally by huge ships it's necessarily deep (well over 20 feet) up to and including the turning basin. The trip up the river is dismal. From the lake you can run fast to the end of the basin, as the river is reasonably wide and often uncongested. Beware: in Spring or after any heavy rain there are often visible large logs and other debris, and deadheads, floating down the river. There's a small commercial building to port, usually with a couple of sailbotes (that seem not to have been moved for years) docked adjacent, and a no-wake sign or two. The Monroe County Sheriff Marine Patrol implied that the private no-wake sign has no legal effect, but be courteous anyway. It's definitely back to no-wake speed moments later as the river narrows and you approach the I-75 overpass and, immediately thereafter, see Riverfront Marina to starboard. Sailbotes can't get under I-75, so there's no reason for a sailboter to enter the river at all unless to sit out a storm in the turning basin. Other boats with less than about 15 feet vertical clearance AWL have no problem getting under I-75. Riverfront sells gas (typical prices) and has a pump-out (sometimes doesn't work), but if you need either of these services I'd advise going to Bolles Harbor/Trout's just a few miles South. If you need major repairs head further South to Toledo Beach Marina. Riverfront does, however, have some saving graces. A 30 second walk from the gas dock is a party store with the ordinary sparse but adequate amenities (including ice and bait), and such delicacies as pickled eggs and sausage out of greasy jars, head cheese sandwiches (actually very good), plus selections for more normal tastes, including beer. Adjacent to Riverfront is the Clam Digger. Cold drinks (soft and otherwise), sandwiches, and home-made pizza that's quite good. The Clam Digger is interesting to visit during the day, certainly a place where the wife and kids would feel comfortable. Once the sun heads down it gets crowded and loud: libations flow; muscle boats and many locals in cars congregate; the guys and gals play outdoor volleyball in the lighted court; and there's a karaoke and lots of folks who can't sing but try anyway. Inhibitions cease. Not the time to take the kids. If you have a draft (I'm referring to your boat, not a cold brew) of 30”-36” or so, don't even try going upstream of the Clam Digger. There's nothing to see anyway except for a statue of General Custer or, right across the street from that, the church where Kay Lanai Fay Whatever Her Name Was When She Was Miss America got married. |
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In my opinion the best relatively new place to hit the West end of Lake Erie is Maumee Bay State Park, Conference Center, and Marina, opened by the State of Oh.. (Oh... Oh hell, I can't spell out the “O word” since we bleed Maize and Blue, and happiness for us in the Fall is crushed buckeye nuts). As noted below, Maumee Bay has much to offer. It's deservedly gaining popularity -- slips are limited and usually booked, so it's not a “let's drop in” place if you want to overnight on a Friday or Saturday. It's so nice that you should consider laying over there even if you had no intention of heading to Toledo otherwise. Just call ahead to reserve a slip (click on the link in the left margin). How to get there by boat? Approximately 2.7 statute miles inbound from the Toledo Harbor Light you'll come to G"29" -- a 47 foot tower. The Park's channel entrance is to port, virtually a straight shot to approximately 083.22.32/41.41.33, a few miles away. In between you'll see charted depths so shallow you may turn back before you even turn in. You should be able to get in with no problem, but lake levels have been down so keep an eye on your depth finder and your course, and consider checking water levels with the Coasties in Toledo. Maumee Bay Marina's facilities (floating aluminum docks, water, and shore power) and staff are excellent. The rest of the place is still quite new and well-kept, and all available to boaters who pay for their slip. To us, on a hot summer day or muggy evening there's nothing better than a dip in a real swimming pool (OK, maybe cold beer is better), and Maumee Bay has two -- indoor and out. There's a sauna and exercise rooms; a game room and indoor activity courts; the usual hotel shop with reading materials, souvenirs, sundries, etc.; an 18-hole golf course with pro shop and cart and club rentals, driving range, and practice greens; hiking and nature trails and skating/biking paths; a sandy swimming beach with PWC rentals; an excellent and reasonably-priced restaurant (breakfast thru late dinners; ample portions) and bar; and more. Not surprising if you figure this place is heavily used as a conference center for business meetings and retreats. Aside from needing reservations to be sure to get a dock, Maumee Bay has two main drawbacks. (1) No fuel. You'll have to head across the bay towards Toledo to gas-up (long), or East to Cooley Creek and Meinke Marine (shorter). Not a real problem, but it's nice not to have to make a special trip out of the way when you're leaving for wherever. (2) No ship's store or provisions (groceries, drinks, etc.) for several miles (far beyond what most cruising books would call a “long walk”). So, plan ahead. Added note. Maumee Bay State Park is so nice that we've stayed in “the lodge” and in their fully furnished cabins for family reunions, and used the lodge/conference center for work-related retreats. Everyone's impressed. Word's getting out, so whether you go by boat or land yacht make reservations early. They're open year ’round, by the way, and offer skating and cross-country skiing when the weather cooperates. |
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Lake
Erie |
“The Bay” -- around these parts that's all you have to say: no one asks "which bay?" -- is about 35 miles East of Monroe, not at all far off the North Coast of Ohio, where you'll find one of the best amusement parks in the US, Cedar Point. |
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You can learn more about Pat's activities, order his tapes and CDs, and even sample some of his songs, by visiting his home page. He's up here, in our neck of the woods, in winter time, so be sure to check his home page so you can see this dude in action. It'll be a show you don't want to miss. You don't need your own boat to get to The Bay, but it's nice to have one to pass out on when the day ends in the wee hours of the morning. Several commercial ferries (Jet Express; Miller's) run many trips during the day and on into the night, from the mainland at Port Clinton. Check out the Put-In-Bay calendar and see what's going on. The Municipal Docks is our preferred place to stay: convenient, price is right. In '98 they tacked on a few bucks if you bring a dinghy you want to keep in the water. Exploring by dinghy is a must-do, so the added cost is no big deal. Finding a slip is a crap-shoot during special events and most Friday thru Sunday Noons. Go in-between and it's no problem. But always be prepared to raft-off; relax and enjoy the company of other boaters. Regardless of when you go: Beware the dreaded outside wall. It's almost always a lumpy and sometimes damaging stay if you tie-up there. Fuel, pump-out, and additional docking can be found nearby at The Boardwalk. The village installed numerous moorings and they have a super marine taxi service to get you to and fro if you don't have a dink. Put-In-Bay is home to a national monument honoring Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry ("We have met the enemy and they are ours"), to whom we owe a great debt of gratitude for his role in the War of 1812. Check out the Lake Erie Islands Historical Society home page to learn more about Perry, the War, his famous battles, and the surrounding area. The view from the observation deck is breathtaking on a clear day. Just across the harbor, only a short dinghy ride away, is Middle Bass Island and Lonz Winery. There you can take a tour, taste some samples, then buy bottles of what you like. A ferry will get you there and back for a few bucks. The trip to Lonz is usually fine, but on the way back you should expect the occasional barfing drunk, so look and stay clear. |
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Put-In-Bay:
the biggest little party on the Great Lakes. In fact,
according to Boating Magazine and Playboy (which I
never look at) it's one of the best boating party
spots in the US. Put-In-Bay's a zoo on Summer weekends. Just
what we like. After we settle in even the sailboters become
sort of tolerable. Sort of.
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Other Lake |
There's far more to the area than what's listed above. Visit the Lake Erie Islands Historical Society to find out more. |
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If you're in the vicinity of the Lake Erie Islands you're missing much if you don't make a trip to America's biggest and best amusement park, Cedar Point, in Sandusky. Cedar Point marina has been superb for years, with all services any boater might want or need. You'll generally need reservations on weekends, so call ahead (419-627-2334) to reserve a slip. Or, visit the marina's page on Cedar Point's web site for more info. The marina was upgraded substantially for ’99, making it even better and nicer. The most notable improvement is replacement of the concrete piers with floating docks (they have about 225 docks for transients), but other amenities include a better picnic area and a “pedestrian mall” where you can walk to relax as your kids are going wild on the rides. The marina store has the usual stuff, including newspapers, magazines, nautical trinkets and Cedar Point souvenirs, and some needed boat supplies; and a limited selection of foods and beverages. (Beer and wine, but no liquor -- only Ohio's wonderful diluted spirits here.) A swimming pool is available to use. There are two restaurants in the marina area, outside the park itself: one adjacent to the marina store, where food is good and varied and dress is casual; the other, where food is elegant but pricey, and you should dress accordingly. Both satisfy your desire for a cold beer or cocktail. A short trip across the bay from Cedar Point is Battery Park Marina in Sandusky. This is also an excellent facility, with Damon's restaurant (famous for ribs) on-site, a wave pool adjacent, and downtown Sandusky an easy walk from the docks. It's close enough that if you have a power boat you can leave your dock at Cedar Point and cruise over to Damon's for dinner, tying-up at Battery Park. (You can do the same with a sailbote, but leave around breakfast time to be there for dinner.) Battery Park lacks instant access to the amusement park, but that's where the ferry boat that goes to/from Cedar Point takes over. Check out Sandusky's home page for more information about the city. |
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"The Great Lakes are a diamond on the hand of North America..." Patrick Houston Dailey, the Great Lakes Troubadour and self-proclaimed "coolest son-of-a-bitch in the world." |
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Here are a few links to check. For the best return on sites to visit with one click of the mouse, scroll down to the Great Lakes Web Ring logo at the bottom of this page. |
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James Hebert's site, with many links nautical, focuses on Georgian Bay and the North Channel. A great starting point for information on boat maintenance and repair. Don't have a boat? Can't go Up North? Read James's beautiful trip logs, and it'll be almost as good as going there yourself. If I could only keep a log as well as he does. What lasting memories! |
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Don't start your virtual or real voyage thru the Great Lakes without stopping here first, and returning often. This is an award-winning, chock-full-of-information, and often-updated web site (and the motive force behind the Great Lakes Web Ring - “The Best of the Great Lakes”). You'll find dozens of links to other pages of photographs, lore, news, history, and data. A must-see for all who would like to know more about our wonderful part of the county and, in particular, the abundance of water that covers it. |
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Obviously a site for the magazine, but good information to be found. After all, it is about our neck of the woods. |
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More Links |
Great Lakes Forecasting System -- Some reasonable updates on Great Lakes weather and marine conditions; just pick your lake. Midwest Color Radar (Lakes Michigan, Superior, Huron, Erie, West end of Ontario) D/9's Home Page Your Mining Company Guide to Powerboating -- a wealth of information and links. |
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Questions? Comments? Go here, please. |
Copyright
2010, M. Shlafer