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.
9/14/24 - I left Cleveland at sunrise.
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.
Here, I’m a couple miles from Leamington, Ontario.
The entrance to Leamington Municipal Marina. It’s one of the best marinas on Lake Erie.
The marina harbor also holds the Pelee Islander. It’s the ferry that runs from the mainland to Pelee Island.
Sunset in Leamington
The moon was going to be spectacular over the next few days.
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.
Docked at Middle Bass Island, Ohio.
This is the north side of the old Lonz Winery Façade.
Looking through it, you can see Perry’s Monument on South Bass Island.
The state park on Middle Bass Island is very nice and well maintained.
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.
9/18/24 – I departed about 11 to make the 30-minute hop to Put-in-Bay on South Bass Island.
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 went to lunch where I could admire my boat from my seat at the bar.
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.
Perry’s Monument
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.
Of course, I spotted my boat too.
This is Kelleys Island to the east. I’m going there the next day.
After working for a few hours, I headed into town for dinner.
A sailor tradition is a beer at Frosty’s.
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.
But the highlight of the night was the full moon. It came up and rose right over the monument.
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.
Docked at Kelleys Island
Kelleys Island sunset
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.
A fellow sailor heading out.
It was a beautiful morning. Not much wind in the forecast. But I was able sail for a couple hours before the wind died enough to force me to motorsail.
The moon was still high in the west.
It was a lovely day. There was not much wind but I made the motorsail to Cleveland in about nine hours. It was a great trip.