July 31 - Geneva State marina to Erie Pa - 33 days - next stop Canada and the Welland Canal

We woke bright eyed and bushy tailed and had little trouble leaving the dock - careful to watch the depth going out - 6'6" is a little shallow but we scooted out. We decided to make the trip to Erie Penn. They have an excellent deep water harbor and lots of things to do and see. OH MY  a big city. We have hopped through so many small towns that being docked right down town is interesting. 

We did have wind in the morning and sailed at 4kts then slowly the wind petered out and we turned into a motor boat again. We also had some dark clouds that shadowed us to the north turning the air hot and muggy. We slid past the front or it slid over us but no rain.

Presque Isle, Pa is a long finger of land that curves out forming a large enclosed harbor. You have to watch and stay well east of the isle because the storms pile up sand further out than the charts show. We swung out into the channel and into the inner harbor. Our Marina was behind the Sheraton hotel and we had to go under a 68' high pedestrian walk way. Our mast is 60' high those 8" caused us to wonder and some people in the walk way to back away from the class but we scooted through and not sounds of screeching metal or screaming children. 

We are going to stay her tomorrow - wash cloths and see the Erie Maritime Museum - there is a Starbucks 5 blocks up the way :)  - find a marine supply store and replace a bumper that we exploded ( yep they pop) 

and stand down until Thursday. 

Apology - I have refered to the Welland Canal as the Wellan or Wellen Canal. I have got it right now

Also we past the city of

 Ashtabula Ohio - I love the sound of that name.

The name Ashtabula means "river of many fish" in the Iroquois language. On December 29, 1876, one of the nation's most notorious rail accidents occurred, known as the Ashtabula River Railroad Disaster, Ashtabula Horror or Ashtabula bridge disaster. As Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Train No. 5, The Pacific Express, crossed the Ashtabula River bridge, the Howe truss structure collapsed, dropping the second locomotive of two and 11 passenger cars into the frozen creek 150 feet (46 m) below. A fire was started by the car stoves, and of the 159 people on board, 64 were injured and 92 killed.

July 30th Lorain Ohio to Geneva State Marina 64 Miles

Today started off a little rocky. The slip we were in we could not back out of because of a large rock so forward we went and our dingy got hung up several time. I took us out while time stowed the dock lines so was unable to get photos of the herons or the harbor leaving. After a good breakfast we were able to sail for about two hours then the wind died as usual so we motored and decided to try for a long hop and get to Geneva State Marina. Old Cool worked like a charm and most of the day the wind and waves were at our back. Just before we reached the Perry Nuclear plant there was a switch and we slowed a little and nosed into two foot waves. A little water on deck but not rock-in and rolling like it was to Put-N-Bay. The Cleveland Skyline was pretty and there was one Huge house just East of Euclid the the Perry Power Plant that you could not ignore. We made it into the Marina no problems air conditioner running and all is well. 

almost looks like a submarine- but it isn't

have no idea what this is and could not find info on map

our route to Geneva

The Perry Nuclear Power Plant is located on a 1,100-acre (450 ha) site on Lake Erie, 40 miles (65 km) northeast of Cleveland in North Perry, Ohio, USA. The nuclear power plant is owned by First Energy Nuclear Operating Corporation.

Perry was the 100th power reactor licensed in the United States.

The reactor is a General Electric BWR-6 boiling water reactor design, with a Mark III containment design. The original core power level of 3,579 megawatts thermal was increased to 3,758 megawatts thermal in 2000, making Perry one of the largest BWRs in the United States.

ok - who climbs the ladder and walks around the edge ?

July 29th Put-N-Bay to Lorain - day 31 of trip

We were up at 7am and forgo breakfast until we were underway. Tom did an engine check then started to get ready to release us from the mooring ball. You can see from the photos below the area was filled with boats of every shape and size. We were lucky to have a clear get away-no one in front of us.

We were able to sail for about half of the day, then as usual the wind faded away to less than 2 kts. Down came the sails and we started trusty Cool ( my new nickname for our engine) and continued on our way to Lorain Ohio. 

It was interesting trip on two counts - 

 1. Seeing the Cedar Point rides on the horizon - you realize how large they are. 

 2. We could not believe the distress calls to the Coast Guard from stranded boaters. In some cases boats were sinking, others colorful inflatable rafts were adrift. I give the radio operators maintaining their calm in all situations. 

I will make a note that I am cheating in some respects. I get curious about the places we go to and look them up - hope you don't mind that I add  the info in the blog.

At note on the Spitzer Marina - short handed, the young women at the fuel dock was doing double duty running to help people (us) get into their slips then running back to the fuel dock. They put us on a broken floating dock covered in bird (you know what) that stank. I finally when out and hosed off the worse of it. The only good thing was the showers and we put the air conditioner in and had a comfortable night. 

yep they put us right next to a water hazard - another boater told
us about the rocks - someone is smiling down on us because
we missed them going in and leaving. 

Lorain is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in northeastern Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River, about 30 miles west of Cleveland

Ford Motor Company had the Lorain Assembly Plant in the city, mostly known for assembling the Ford Econoline (E-series) van, Ford Torino and Mercury Montego, and beginning in 1975 the Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar (through 1997); the plant ceased all production on December 14, 2005 because the UAW and Ford management were unable to come to terms on a new contract. The sprawling United States Steel Mill, portions recently acquired by Republic Steel, stretch for nearly 3 miles on the city's south side. These mills have operated in the city since 1895 and continue to employ thousands of local residents. Though the blast furnaces were idled in late 2008, Republic announced in December 2011 that they would be building electric arc furnaces to once again make steel in Lorain.

One remarkable store in Put-N-Bay

Our last stop in our golf cart tour was the best. There is a store called the Cargo Net - a nostalgia and nautical lover's paradise. The ground outside the house/ store are beautifully landscaped with this turtle statue the centerpiece. When you enter the store - well it takes your breath away. The store is filled with restored items. You could spend hours looking and the owners are a wealth of information inviting you to look but not drool on their masterpieces. If I could have found a way to put the Cadillac on the boat we would own it now. This is a must stop, must see store in Put-N-Bay

For more than 53 years, Bill Timmerman and Bob Stone have logged more than 30,000 miles a year-- 33,000 in 2006-08 looking for the unique and the unusual in Marine Antiques, Artwork and Americana.