Updated
25 Jun 2002
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Table of
Contents
Our
Travels
West
End of
Lake
Erie
Toledo
Beach
Marina
(MI)
Bolles
Harbor (MI)
Monroe
(MI)
Maumee
Bay
State
Park
&
Marina
(OH)
Lake
Erie Islands:
Put-In-Bay
and
more
Cedar
Point/
Sandusky
(OH)
Other
Links
E-mail
me
Other
pages
in
my site
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Log
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.
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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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Our
Travels
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Here's
where we've been on Bony Fingers, 2E, or both.
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
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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.
If
you want a complete pictorial overview of the lake, with
links to ports and marinas, here's the place to
go.
A great book to buy for
more info, A Boating Guide to Western Lake Erie, is
available from Amazon.com.
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What's Here --
and What Isn't
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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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Toledo
Beach
Marina, South
Otter Creek
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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,
LaPlaisance Creek
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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. Mr. Trout and his
son Tom do 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
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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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Monroe
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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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Maumee
Bay
State
Park,
Conference
Center
and
Marina
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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
Islands
Put-In-Bay
(South
Bass
Island,
OH)
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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.
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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For
us and many others, the main reason for going to The Bay is
to listen to Pat Dailey, a.k.a. The Coolest
Sonofabitch In the World. Pat's written, and sings,
some beautiful ballads as well as some really bawdy songs.
He has a restaurant on the island. The food is OK, paling in
comparison with the shows he puts on most Summer weekends at
the Beer Barrel Saloon -- which allegedly has the longest
bar in the world.
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.
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. Another good link is to Doug
K's Put-In-Bay home page.
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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Cedar
Point
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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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Other
Links to
Great Lakes
Boating and
Cruising
|
"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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Captain
Webb's
Maritime,
Merchant
Marine,
Ships, and
Nautical
Links
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Complete, and completely
wonderful!
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continuous
Wave
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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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Great
Lakes Cruiser Magazine
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A very good source of
information on Great Lakes cruising and in-depth coverage of
ports of call. Not the glitz of Lakeland Boating, but
perhaps more "personal" and with excellent histories of the
places written about.
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Great
Lakes Vessel Passage
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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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Lakeland
Boating
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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
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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)
U.S.
Coast Guard
D/9's
Home Page
United
States Power Squadrons
Boat/US
West
Marine
Your
Mining Company Guide to
Powerboating -- a
wealth of information and links.
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This page has
been visited
times since 1 May 1998, when the counter was installed.
It was created 14 December 1997 and updated last on 14
June 2004.
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E-mail
me
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Questions?
Comments? Go
here, please.
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