As I write this final chapter, I have been home for a little more than one hectic, busy week. I use the word “home” lightly, as we still have no set address and continue to live a nomadic life. We remained on the boat for several days before driving to Cleveland to say my final farewell to my beloved Godmother and having some more family time with dad and my siblings. Now back in Toronto, we are unpacking the boat and bit by bit, moving into Allen’s daughter’s lovely new home in Thornhill, with a spacious in-law suite, that will be home until December. It will be nice to have some family time, especially with little Tommy, Allen’s adorable 1 year old grandson. And we’re busy preparing for our next adventure, Italy and Croatia, but now I am getting ahead of myself.
Lake Erie – I was excited to sail Lake Erie because I grew up on this lake, but it made us a little nervous. As the shallowest of the Great Lakes, it is notorious for whipping up waves and turbulent waters. Accustomed to depths measuring in the hundreds of feet, it was a little disconcerting to see 35 feet below our keel in the middle of the lake. The water’s color was now a deep jade, and it had the distinct scent of lake.
Our first port was the famous Put In Bay, Ohio, known for its restaurants, bars and party atmosphere. It did not disappoint. The docks in town are too shallow for sailboats, but the bay offers a mooring ball field with 80 balls. We hooked up, hailed the complimentary water taxi, and in just minutes disembarked on the island. The first thing we noticed was the golf carts, it looked like 100s of golf carts, they were everywhere, some private, but most were rentals. There were some cars and bicycles, but golf carts rule here. We meandered the main streets with beach themed bars serving overpriced drinks, beach themed gift shops and the requisite t-shirt vendors and on our second day explored the island on our bikes, visited the monument honoring peace between the US and Canada and took in some of the natural beauty that the bachelor/bachelorette revelers likely miss. We enjoyed Put in Bay for the most part, but despite securing a mooring ball, the rocking and rolling of the waves took a toll on our sleep. We moved to nearby Middle Bass Island, threw the anchor and enjoyed a more peaceful night before heading to my hometown, Cleveland.
The forecast was not good, not good at all. A long 10-hour day of wind on the nose and a lot more rolling waves. We rose with the sun and got going as we had to get to Cleveland by mid afternoon. Allen and I are fortunate that we don’t get sea sick easily, and even this trip made us feel a little uncomfortable, but poor Cat Stevens lost his breakfast more than once. It was like being on a long, nauseating carnival ride and not being able to get off for 10 hours. Fortunately things calmed down as we neared the west side of Cleveland and I was able to sit on the bow, taking in many familiar sites, recalling many memories as we passed Rocky River, Lakewood Park, Edgewater Park, and finally, The Flats, where many evenings of my university years were spent. Soon we came upon the Browns Stadium and pulled into Rock & Dock, the marina directly behind the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in the heart of Cleveland. It was so cool to be home!
What made this stop extra special was my friends and family that joined us for the evening. It was a magical warm, summer evening, with views of the R&R Hall of Fame, Cleveland Stadium and skyline right behind us. We spent two more nights on the east side of Cleveland, closer to my dad’s home, but we had to move, and fast, to make the Welland Canal on Saturday, despite unfavorable forecasts of strong wind and big waves.
As I mentioned before, Lake Erie can have massive waves making travel less than ideal. It also has very few safe harbors. We’ve become accustomed to Lake Ontario, where we are rarely far from a marina or anchorage to take refuge when needed; however, most Lake Erie marinas can take only small to mid-sized power boats and they are several hours apart, making it impossible to run for cover or take a break when things get rough. With this in mind, knowing how hard these next few days would be on Cat Stevens, we decided to leave him with my dad and brother to enjoy some land time.
The next two days were exactly as predicted – sunshine, blue skies and 5-6 foot waves, one after another, with the occasional rogue waves crashing over the boat. These were long 11 hour days, so we rose with the sun, hoping to outrun the worst of the waves (the lake is typically calmer at night). While uncomfortable, we weren’t afraid. We knew we were safe – we have the best safety equipment, we know our boat and the captain was more than competent. Two days later we were back in Canada, tired, but unscathed, ready to transit the incredible Welland Canal that would take us home to Lake Ontario.
The Welland is a commercial seaway designed for large commercial freighters. Private boats are not their main customer or concern. Up until July of this year, pleasure craft were required to sign-in, pay the fees ($200) and wait at a near-by dock until called to transit. Some of our friends have waited over 24 hours to be called, some have been required to transit at night, most have shared the locks with massive freighters and suffered damage to their boats as the massive wakes smash them into the canal’s walls.
Lucky for us, in July the Welland changed the process for pleasure craft. They now alternate days when private boats may travel the canal: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for downbound (Lake Erie to Lake Ontario) and Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays for upbound. We called-in the night before the transit, paid the fee on-line and were instructed to be at the first lock (Lock #8) by 9:00 am the next day. We were also informed that there were 3 other pleasure craft transiting with us, and no freighters.
The rest was simple. Saturday morning at 9am we were joined by two large power boats and a smaller sailboat and easily cruised into the first lock. After a little bit of paperwork and proof of payment we were on our way. The rest of the locks were easy, similar to Trent system, just much bigger. Several large upbound freighters passed us along the way, but as we did not share the lock there was no issue with wake or turbulence. As our bow splashed into Lake Ontario 8 hours later, we could vaguely make out the Toronto skyline across the lake – we were almost home.
After quick stops in Port Dalhousie and Oakville and 101 days after we began this Great Lakes Adventure, we pulled into our home port, Ashbridges Bay. It was good to be home, but not for long…the next chapter awaits…Italy and Croatia.
Hi Silvia – so happy to see all the adventures you and your husband have been going through ! Safe travels back home