2nd update on 05-31-09. Below is another ship that I met on the St Clair river, which was much more narrow than the Detroit River. In addition the current from Lake Huron runs very strong in this river. We left Detroit River, crossed over Lake St. Clair and into the St. Clair River. We spent the night at Port Huron Yacht Club. (Reciprocity with ECYC) When we entered the St. Clair River to enter Lake Huron the current was so strong we were only making 3.5 knots over the ground. We left Harbor Beach this morning and turned around and came back. The wind was out of the North West (Bow port quarter), however the waves were from the North, North East and were quite large. This is a fun trip so we turned around, came back to Harbour Beach and ate at a buffet for lunch. No dinner tonight, too full. After listening to the weather we may be here Monday as well.

The following sailboat races were held in the Detroit River just off Detroit, Michigan. It was an impressive sight and the pictures do not do this scene justice.

Detroit in the background.

Light house on the Canadian side of Detroit River, just down river from Detroit.

This is Sunday May 31st. We are in Harbor Beach, Michigan. This is on the southern end of Lake Huron. The following pictures are from the end of Lake Erie to this point. This is Detroit Michigan. The picture above is a very large GM office complex. I wonder why they are having financial issues as this looks like a very prospous organization from the surface.

This is the view from the Detroit River traveling north and into Detroit Michigan.

Once we entered the Detroit River this was the first ship we meet in the river. Quite an experience to meet a chip in a river.

We are exiting Lake Erie and entering the Detroit River.

As you can tell the weather was very cloudy. This is a light house in the Western end of Lake Erie.

This is another new friend that I made in Vermilion, Ohio. There are lots of Blue Heron in this part of the country. I saw one land in the water, pick up a fish and fly away. This was a first for me.
We left Vermilion this morning and went to Put In Bay on South Bass Island, which is in the western end of Lake Erie. Put In Bay is the counter of Key West, Florida. This is a party town on the weekends, this time of year and all week during the summer. It is all bars, tee shirt shops and restaurants.

I I've seen lots of beautiful and interesting designed homes along the waterway since leaving New Bern. HOWEVER this is the strangest one I've seen. Being a boat lover it is my kind of home. It actually is a steel boat, approximately 150 feet long and appears to be someones home. As you can tell it is sitting on top of a stone ledge, approximately 75 feet from the water. How did it get there?????

This is down town Put In Bay. Neat place to visit during off season. The docks raft up boats 4 wide and there are over 80 mooring balls for other boats to swing on. In addition there are big ferry boats bringing people on the island all day long.

There is a federal part on Put In Bay with a 350 foot tall Doric column that was built in memory of Commodore Oliver H. Perry, who in the war of 1812 fleet defeated the British Navy in the battle of Lake Erie. When ask what to do with the British fleet, Admiral Perry responded, "Put them in the bay" and this is how Put In Bay got its name.

If the weather cooperates, we will be out of Lake Erie Thursday and into the Detroit River. From there to Lake St Clair and into Lake Huron.

This is only a portion of the docks at Put In Bay.

Good Morning World. We are in Vermillion, Ohio. There are 2,600 registered boats in this town. We came into Vermillion Saturday afternoon and I think we have seen most of the boats pass our slip. We have seen everything from a small canoe to a 60plus foot sailboat. This has been a real treat to watch all the boats. Today the wind is out of the North East (beam) @ 15 to 20 MPH. We are staying put today and possibly Tuesday as the weather forecasters are calling for 15 to 30 out of the East for Tuesday. We are going into the Western end of the Lake so the waves have the entire lake to build and role into the Western end. This is a fun trip so we don't have to deal with such issues.
Saturday afternoon, shortly after arriving in Vermilion there was a tap on the door and a very nice gentleman as if I was making the loop. It was Dan Kernell. He and Judy finished the loop approximately a year ago. Dan has been very gracious with information about Vermilion BUT much more important, he is providing great info on what to expect on the LOOP. Dan and Judy invited us to their home for a cookout today (Memorial Day) and hopefully will continue to provided valuable information for this trip.
The first and last picture in this section are of interesting light houses in Lake Erie. The picture below is a couple of friends that we made while tied up at a local yacht club on Chagrin River. They really liked us and decided to spend the night on the Pelican. I know this because of the evidence they left on the decks. The evidence indicated they actually may have had friends over.
The additional two pictures are of Cleveland, Ohio. This was a beautiful waterfront. The Cleveland Browns stadium was impressive. It is right on Lake Erie.
There is a old fashion drugstore/soda shop approximately 3 blocks away and they make delicious sandwiches and have a great ice cream center with awesome milk shakes. If we have to stay in Vermillion a couple of days it will be fun. I'll be looking at boats and eating ice cream or drinking milk shakes. This is a great life and I'm very thankful that I'm having the opportunity to do it.

We are on Lake Erie. The above picture is a sunset picture from the marina we were in last night. The picture below is a picture of the south eastern end of Lake Erie approximately 30 miles west of Buffalo NY. We passed out of New York State, after being in New York for 18 days. We passed Pennsylvania and are in Ohio tonight. Hopefully we will get to Cleveland or further Friday. The weather has really been good with light winds from the South West. The weather may change Friday. It is predicted to be North changing to North East 10 to 15, which will be on our beam. Not the best but hopefully we will still have fun. The shoreline of Lake Erie is really nice. We are still in hills and high bluffs.

This is the last leg of the Erie Canal. We are fixing to lock into the last lock which is below. We will then be in Buffalo NY. Once I get paper charts for Lake Erie we will begin the southern route around the lake to Lake Huron.

This lock lifted us over 50 feet. It was a double lock and quite massive.

This is the bridge at Fairport. It is at an angle and there are no two angles on the bridge the same. My kids will remember Fairport from a canal barge vacation we took some time ago. This was the first of many lift bridges that we passed under. This entire bridge was lifted with a 40 horsepower electric motor.