Great Loop Day 003 Aug 31, 2016, Lake Erie Metropark Marina to Vinny's Breakwall
Eel Grass and Swift Currents
“The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it.” ― Molière
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Day 3 Wednesday, August 31, 2016. Today was a short mileage day 16.6m. Right after leaving LEMM The field of weed beds sought me out and did everything they could to impede my progress. First, they fowled my prop and then covered the water intake. I had no choice but to put the outboard in neutral to clear the prop of eelgrass with my boathook as the prop is extended away from the transom much too difficult to reach with my hands. Needless to say, my outboard had a hard day.
Stopped in Humbug Marina for gas and trying to get out to the channel was surprisingly difficult as the eelgrass was all around me. Scan the water for previous boat tracks in hopes of finding a clear passage. The navigation chart shows 2 channels, the Trenton and the Livingston. My guess was the Livingston Channel would be running faster than the smaller Trenton Channel on the west side of the Detroit River.
Getting into the Trenton Channel was a struggle and I didn't know there was a swing bridge too low to sail under. I didn't check my charts that closely only now to find this bridge has a clearance of only 18 feet when closed and of course, it was closed.
I noticed up ahead a powerboater ducking in an opening on my right. That could be a marina. On my starboard bow was a short open dock. The current was significant at 3 or 4 miles an hour, and I needed to keep alert on how the Sea Marie was behaving. I maneuvered her ever so deftly to that dock and with bow line in hand I jumped carefully on the dock to tie her off. If I fell or lost the bow line the Sea Marie would be carried back to Sandusky on this swift current without me and that would certainly ruin my day. Told Mickey to watch the boat and he stayed below as I secured the hatchboards so he wouldn't climb out.
The sign overhead read Water's Edge Marina and I began to look for someone knowledgeable for help. A couple of boaters just pulled into their slip as I approached them with my problem and they were not able to give me any useful information but did direct me toward a boat on the end of another pier. There they told me I would find a gut named Gus working on a boat.
Finding Gus wasn't hard as he was working on a powerboat's engine below deck. I explained I was doing the Great Loop and my problem. He was kind enough to provide me with phone numbers for both bridges. Also advised me to be aware of the second bridge tender, that guy can be a bit nasty with boaters. I thanked him and set out to take on my first bridge opening.
After calling on channel 13 with no reply the phone calls worked. The first bridge, the Grosse Ile Free Bridge had answered the phone call and promptly stopped the car traffic, and swung the massive steel bridge around to allow me to pass. As I came up to the second bridge, The Grosse Ile Toll Bridge, I remembered what Gus had told me so I was prepared. I made the call on the phone and was relieved to hear a female voice and she was quite pleasant to talk to. She wasted no time in stopping the traffic and swinging the bridge open to let us through. I remembered to call back both bridges to thank them for the opening.
I recall feeling a sense of power, of being in control for the first time in my life that I and I alone were able to get these 2 great works of steel to stop traffic and swing open for a 22-foot sailboat the same as if I was a Great Lake bulk carrier. But the angel of reality was sitting on my shoulder and reminded me not to get too cocky, there are going to be hundreds of more bridges on the journey and some may not be this easy to get through,
I was at the end of the Trenton Channel and going into the main channel, now called the Fighting Channel. The Livingston Channel started near the lake opening and then converged on the Ballast Channel before becoming the Fighting Channel, probably named after the Fighting Island next to it. But how did the island get its name? “The island took its name from the Indigenous artifacts that were first spotted on the island in 1810. The island was the site of a brief skirmish on February 24 and 25, 1838, during the Battle of Windsor, part of the Patriot War.”. In 1918, the land was bought by John B. Ford of the Michigan Alkali Company and was used as a location to deposit waste from their industrial plants which produced soda ash, lye, and baking soda.[3] Nearly 15,000,000 m3 (20,000,000 cubic yards) of high-pH waste was dumped on the island during its industrial history. Michigan Alkali Company became Wyandotte Chemicals Corporation, which was subsequently bought by BASF, who are the current owners of the island. BASF embarked on a rehabilitation program that successfully removed the waste for proper disposal and rebuilt the natural habitat of the island. A current program running on the island is used to teach elementary/secondary schools about biology and ecology.” Thank you, Wikipedia.
Now came the full brunt of the Detroit River current. This international river has channels that are maintained at certain depths for ocean and lake freighters to get through without hitting any shoals or shallow water. The charts indicate a depth of about 30 feet. At full throttle, I was only able to muster 3.7 mph. At half throttle only 3.4 mph. Thought it might be easier going upstream in the center of Fighting Island Channel and it was worse. I wasn't going to make it to Lake St Clair today.
I spotted a small marina fuel dock just west of Mud Island on my port side and went to investigate. The fuel dock is not on my chart. A couple of guys came out and I asked if it was ok for me to settle in for the night on this dock. Greg and Tommy recommended putting a call to Vinney at the number they provided. He runs a marine service center next door. You know you are in Detroit when you need to call a guy named Vinny for a favor.
I called but no one answered. It was just a few boat lengths downriver so I motored down then turned around pointing the bow into the current (A boating maneuver I will be using a lot later in my journey) and tied off outside the breakwater for the night and planned on calling him in the morning. It was a chilly evening with winds from the north. There's an active railroad line right next to this marina with a rather loud bell at the gate crossing but with the hatchboards closed it wasn’t that bad of a nuisance.
The river is reasonably calm here but I do get boat wake from time to time. I thought if it gets really rough I'll pull in along a more sheltered dock.
Since I had no shore power, I plugged the 1000-watt inverter into the microwave and it turned on but it does take longer to get a hot cup of water so hooking up the third battery worked a little better getting the hot dogs warmed up. Not as good as shore power but due to the square wave output of the inverter vs the sine wave from shore power, it's as good as it gets. Sure I could have bought a sine wave inverter but what the hey I can suffer a little bit.
Spending time looking over the chart and guidebook showed a state-run marina just north of Detroit. I’ll try to get us into Lake St Clair but that is no guarantee, This marina will be my bailout stop for the night if I can’t run the rest of the Detroit River.
Settling in for the night and the boat is ready to leave first thing in the morning. Another call to Vinney went unanswered and no activity at the building that held the office. On to my next destination. Fair winds...
Comments from 2016:
Edward Durma Hank - Where is this location at?
Henry Krzemien RN Humbug Marina, Gibraltar south of Detroit 10 minutes after this shot I was stopped in my tracks by seaweed. Fouled the prop pretty well. Had to stop the engine and remove the offensive vegetation. Stopped at Humbug Marina for gas.
Edward Durma Thanks for the info, I was guessing that it be Elizabeth Park Marina. Humbug is off the main channel in Gibraltar.
Henry Krzemien RN That's right I then took the Trenton Channel. 2 swing bridges I had no idea how to contact them. Stopped at a small Marina and a guy named Gus shared the phone numbers with me. That was pretty cool.
Noel Gingerich That is my winter marina. Water doesn't freeze there.
Bev Smith, I envy you and your adventuresome spirit. Diane will keep me posted. Good luck!
Jim Hinton When you check in at these marinas, let them know you're giving them a plug on your Facebook page. Should be worth something!? Great pictures!
Henry Krzemien RN Good idea Jim but most of the people I see are low-level employees like today at Humbug in Gibraltar where 2 girls are still in grade school. Had no advice on the river. In fact, there were 2 drawbridges that wouldn't have opened had I not gotten phone numbers from an older gentleman working on a boat at a marina just before the first swing bridge. I'll keep trying.
Ellen Perme That looks like so much fun!!! Just you and the cat and God's good gifts!! AND Facebook to keep you connected!!!!
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Are you not permitted to just tie to the river bank or anchor in some out of the way corner? If you stop at a commercial marina every night it is going to be an expensive trip.