We sailed for a little while this morning, but wind under 5 knots it was definitely a motor day. Slip 12 in the municipal marina on the south side of the inlet. No depth issues and the gas dock is easy.
With a little luck this fueling will cover us for a while.
SYC has 8/10 showers, which is high on our list. Roomy, tiled, bench and lots of hooks, good pressure. All for only $1.25/ft!
On the downside, we found the bottom twice in the entrance. They have not completed this year’s dredging, but the Commodore tells me it will be done by mid July. Lots of very friendly people!
We met Phil on the dock, who generously drove to the bank and back, way across town— thanks Phil! More interesting, he bought the Beneteau Heat Wave from Jerry Springer many years ago. Apparently it was in Toronto when last heard from.
SYC has a clear policy on life jackets for kids and a positive loaner program to help it work. Good for them!
The current in the river is strong all the way, averaging 2-2.5 knots but was over 4 just under the bridge. Allow plenty of time when upbound.
Stag Island is south of the city, but with chemical alley well in sight. Even in behind the island the current is strong, but we still had to put the wheel over hard for enough drag to hang down current when the south wind was still up this afternoon. We are right alongside the waterski slalom run, with the hook in about 20 feet of water.
It was a long slog between 2+ knots of current and some major powerboat wake. The chop reflects back off the sheet pile and makes it pretty messy. Still, nice and peaceful at the end of the day.
We were passed by many ships today. Sometimes two at once
We couldn’t get as close to Grosse Pointe YC as last time, since we are staying out of US waters, but we did the best we could. Peche Island is right out front of the Windsor YC at the entrance to Lake St. Clair. The current is still almost 2 knots, currently against the wind, making anchoring a little complicated. We tried a couple of times further west before moving to our current spot. The eddie behind the point foiled us. Despite the official charts, we are now in about 12 feet of water.
We had never been in before, and thought it was a shallow powerboat Marina. While full of powerboats, it has 10 feet of water all the way into the gas dock, right in front of the fully equipped office and shower space. Three people met us at the gas dock, and the two young ones followed us out to the slip to make sure we got tied up. Power and water at each of the 40 foot slips. A powerboat level of luxury.
Of course it’s the most expensive so far ($2.35/ft DYC was cheapest at $1.50/ft for the second night) The live band just fired up on the patio, doing a passable “Lovers in a Dangerous Time”
The walk to Food Basics was 20 minutes because I took it slow in the heat. The storm smacked Toledo, but didn’t reach this far north. Overall it’s a great stop at an easy day from Erieau and from Windsor.
Always reliable, we ducked into this great little harbour between squalls this afternoon, docking in almost no wind, down from 20 half an hour before.
The bar and grill is now open only for breakfast. Apparently the former owner died and took the liquor license with him. There’s still ice cream, and a new taco and pizza food truck. No fuel on the docks, so we will head to Leamington tomorrow. (You can fill Jerry cans at the Co-op)
The tradition of carving names in the dock seems to have lapsed. Few names remaining and none that I recognized. I would probably have discouraged it if it was my job to replace rotting planks 😉
This view looking south shows us well protected from the lake, although the bay might get unruly in a significant northerly.
We had very little wind and motored all the way from Port Stanley to Erieau. We are anchored in behind the bar in more water than the chart suggests. Motored cautiously right through the gap and over to the west. It reads 5 or 6 from the weeds with occasional glimpses of 12 to 15 on the bottom, and we are 0.95m above datum. Anchored here with Dragon III 20 years ago, but that was September with lower water and a full season of weed growth.
There’s a horizon out there somewhere during our calm motor. Looks like tomorrow could be similar.
