On to Lake Erie!

On may 24, 2017, we re-provisioned in Sarnia, then motor-sailed down the St. Clair River. It was a new experience to be sharing our waterway with so many big ships. We eventually found a nice anchoring spot north of Fawn Island, out of the way of the shipping lanes.

In the morning, we woke up to mist and fog, so made sure our electronics were working (AIS and radar) and set off. It is surprising how useful a Chartplotter with AIS and radar can keep a boater out of trouble!  But we had to pay careful attention here, because before Lake St. Clair the river has the deep shipping channel, and then very abruptly, shallow water. Not fun for a long-keeled sailboat. We sailed across Lake St. Clair to Windsor, where we desperately needed to do some laundry! It took us 3 hours to complete, but it was a “rain day” anyway. We had 2 new dry bags to ensure laundry wouldn’t get wet on a dinghy ride somewhere exotic, and searched for them as they would come in handy today.  We searched high and low, in every nook and cranny, with no luck. So, we used the old soccer team trick, and brought green garbage bags to keep our newly laundered dried clothes dry.

May 26, 2017, we motored down the Detroit River past Windsor and Detroit in better weather.  People here have nice homes (mansions) on the river.

Nice houses in Windsor...

Downtown Detroit

The Casino in Windsor

The Ambassador Bridge

and more ships

Then they had bigger homes in Amherstburg – it made us laugh, since we went by in our little floating home.  We took a short cut in a shipping channel, and made it to Lake Erie by 11:00, so we set sail for the largest island on Lake Erie, Pelee Island!  We anchored in the North Bay near Scudders Marina with good protection from the forecasted easterly wind. It was warm here!

The next morning, we inflated the dinghy, mounted the outboard and went into town. There wasn’t much there, other than the marina, a restaurant, and a co-operative store, but we had our spare but empty 10lb propane tank refilled. Afterwards we explored the beaches on the north point of Pelee Island – ours were the only footprints – nice! 

The shallow waters were teaming with large fish, and everywhere birds were singing!

Around the corner was the beautiful Pelee Island light house, which was built in 1833, and abandoned in 1884.

May 28, 2017, we left Pelee Island with a promising weather forecast, bound for the very distant Rondeau Harbour between Point Pelee and Long Point.  Winds were on the nose all day, and soon the weather warnings were announced by the Coast Guard – first a squall watch, then thunderstorm warnings… We dropped the sails, and gave up tacking down the lake for gunning it for a rare safe anchorage in this part of the lake.  We made it in and dropped the anchor just as lightening was pounding down around us, and the pouring rain began! Another 11-hour day. The anchor held, and afterwards we were rewarded with a beautiful double rainbow!