Lake Erie Islands 2024

September 14-21, 2024
I hadn’t been able to take a week-long cruise on my boat since 2019. It just seems like I work too much these days. But it looked like I could do my work remotely for a bit, so I thought I’d get away.

There was enough wind to sail. Not enough wind to go fast. But I was content with that and had an idyllic morning. It really does not get much better than this.

Looking behind me, Cleveland is about 20 miles back and is dropping off over the horizon. The wind finally dropped to the point where I was only making about two knots. I had a long way to go, so I needed to motorsail for several hours.

But the wind returned for the end of the day’s journey. This is Pelee Point. It’s the southernmost point of mainland Canada. The east wind got a little brisk and made the waves a little bumpy until I got into the lee of Pelee Point.

The marina harbor also holds the Pelee Islander. It’s the ferry that runs from the mainland to Pelee Island.

9/15/24 - Leamington is the “Tomato Capital of Canada.” This is their visitors’ center. It was closed on a Sunday.

There is a huge tomato processing factory in Leamington. I came upon these huge wooden vats. As best I could tell, they were not being used. Some of them, I could see sunlight through their slats.

But the factory looked to be in full production. There were trucks staged behind the factory with huge double trailers overfilled with tomatoes waiting to unload. From what I could find out, the factory is making about 200 different products for Heinz and Costco.

I went to a Leamington Flyers junior hockey game. These are 15–20-year-olds. It was very exciting. The Flyers won 2-1.

9/16/24 – I departed Leamington to head to Middle Bass Island. The Pelee Islander caught up to me and passed me just as I was getting to the northwest corner of Pelee Island.

9/17/24 – It was so quiet – and I had great internet – that I stayed at Middle Bass for another day to work. I walked to the “General Store” for a pizza in the evening. This is the town hall and a church.

Docked at Put-In-Bay. I would have liked to have a mooring ball, but they weren’t running the water taxi reliably. This worked out great though.

I walked to the nearby Perry's Victory & International Peace Memorial. It has an excellent museum showing the details of the Battle of Lake Erie during the War of 1812.

I bought a ticket to go up into the monument, but the time of my ticket was 2 pm. So, I went to lunch.

I realized that I could check the webcam on my boat to see where I was. This was the view from my boat webcam. Pretty cool.

This is the view of Put-In-Bay from the top of the monument. You can see the power plant on the mainland in the distance. Green Island is the small island in the direction of the power plant. Rattlesnake island is to the right.

I had an excellent dinner at the Upper Deck of the Boardwalk. Again, I sat at the bar where I could see my boat.

That night was beautiful. It was a clear night with a full moon. I got a notice that the International Space Station was passing overhead. This is the augmented reality screen to help me spot the station.

This is a surprisingly good shot of the ISS. It’s the bright light near the middle of the picture. You can see the big dipper in the top left.

9/19/24 – The next morning, I left Put-In-Bay about 11 and sailed about two hours to get to Kelleys Island. I was passed by the Jet Express after I passed Ballast Island.

The theme of this trip seems to be sitting at bars where I can see my boat. I also watched the Guards game and had a fruity rum drink.

9/20/24 – I departed about 11 and headed to Sandusky. I passed close to the Marblehead Lighthouse. It was built in 1822.

9/21/24 – It was time to head home. I departed Sandusky at 7:15am and sailed out of Sandusky Harbor past Cedar Point.