Our arrival at the Sarnia Yacht Club on August 17 marked the end of Lake Huron and the beginning of the waterways linking the Lakes of Huron and Erie: St Clair River, Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River. The water color gradually changed as we traveled south along the Michigan coast – it’s went from turquoise in the north to a greener shade, more of an aqua color. We finally caught a favorable weather window with strong 15-20 knot westerlies that filled the sails without the waves, so we made the full run to Sarnia instead of stopping halfway. It was a long day of sunny skies, calm seas and fast sailing – it doesn’t get much better than that!
Arriving in Sarnia meant another Customs/Border check-in as we were returning to Canada. This time it was a phone call to CANPASS, and in about 10 minutes we were done. Sarnia Yacht Club is a large club with very tight quarters. No finger docks here, all were small V docks, with concrete piles between each slip (called “wells” here). We squeezed in, nice and snug, tapping fenders with the neighbors on both sides. Sarnia YC is the first dockage coming in from Lake Huron (the reason we chose it) and is in a primarily residential area with a lovely riverside park with walking and biking trails that stretch along the St Clair River, going well into downtown. I’ve driven through Sarnia many times on my way to Michigan and have never been interested in seeing more based what can be seen from the 401 and bridge; however, I have now experienced another side of this city and am impressed – it is a pretty city with breathtaking views of Lake Huron and the St Clair River.
The Sarnia YC members were incredibly friendly, helping us dock and offering advice on local restaurants and offers of giving a lift to stores that were not so close by. An added bonus was bumping into our new friends we had met in the North Channel and sharing sundowners in our cockpit well after the sun had already set. After two peaceful nights tucked into the Sarnia bay, even with HUGE thunderstorms rolling though, it was time to continue south.
Almost immediately after exiting the club, we passed under the Blue Water Bridge. I’ve driven over this bridge many times and it always looks so big, but funny how perspective changes when you are staring up at a bridge while standing next to your mast and for a couple seconds you think “oh geez, I hope we don’t hit the bridge!” But that was never really a concern – the bottom of the bridge is 152 feet above the water and we only need 64 feet.
The current! One factor in planning this trip was the southbound current of the St Clair and Detroit Rivers (we were not keen about fighting the 4 knot current, thus putting another check in the Trent Severn route). However, when travelling downstream, the current is your friend. Despite beginning this journey on a day with strong wind on the nose, we were moving under motor at 9 knots over ground, a record for Meshuggana. As we motored downstream, we passed enormous oil and chemical plants in Sarnia and Port Huron, magnificent homes and cottages and shared the river with huge ocean-going freighters on their way further into the Great Lakes. There were also many large motorboats, flying through the river, kicking up 3 foot wakes. This was frustrating, as not only did it make our travel uncomfortable by rocking the boat and sending things flying, but there are signs everywhere asking for no wake due to continued high water levels and flooding on shore. Many of the homes were sandbagged and their docks were under water.
After a few hours of the St Clair River, we arrived in Lake St Clair. The lake is a brilliant aqua color, shallow and teaming with boat traffic. Safe navigation routes are clearly marked with buoys and you don’t dare move off the channel, as there are also many other markers showing reefs and rocks. Like in Charlevoix, the shoreline is dotted with mansions and summer homes so big and opulent that your jaw drops – who could possible live there??
We made our way to the southern end of the lake and docked at the mouth of the Detroit River, in Grosse Point Windmill Park Marina, inside a large public park. One of my oldest, dearest friends, Anita and her family live in the area and we took this opportunity to visit for a couple days and enjoy their company as well as marvel at the Grosse Pointe community. There are 5 Grosse Pointes, suburbs of Detroit, that began as farming communities and became the summer resort hotspot for Detroit’s wealthy and the in the early 1900’s auto executives started building their mansions here. These towns remain segregated from Detroit today, in some places with physical barriers blocking street access. A canal runs along the boundary, and it is shocking to see the stark delineation from old patrician homes and a stone’s throw away, old clapboard houses, some of them burned and boarded-up; however, it’s good to see in recent years there has been great effort and investment in cleaning up the Detroit side of the canal.
We continued downstream on the Detroit River through the cities of Detroit and Windsor, ON. The north end of the city has modern skyscrapers, museums, old monuments, an amphitheaters and lush parks. As we crossed under the Ambassador Bridge (this one really does look big from the water), the engine of Detroit’s economy was revealed – the auto and steel factories, belching out smoke (or steam?), gas flares blazing…you can almost smell them before you see them. We saw Detroit as a city of extremes: poverty and wealthy; rust-belt industry and classic charm.
Our last stop in Michigan was the Grosse Isle Yacht Club, a lovely little club on an island at the top of Lake Erie. We had a nice dinner with a gorgeous view, a good night’s sleep, and then on to my home – Lake Erie.
Fantastic Journey Enjoy your time in Cleveland