Over the past five days, we have covered nearly the entire length of Lake Erie. As mentioned in the last post, our first day on Lake Erie was the longest at 10.5 hours (71.63 nautical miles), culminating in a beautiful anchorage in Erie, PA and fireworks.
We planned the subsequent four days of travel to be progressively shorter as we covered the remaining 149.84 nautical miles to Put In Bay (PIB) on South Bass Island in Ohio. We arrived early afternoon yesterday in between rain bands and will remain here for a week. Several boats from our new home port, MacRay Marina, in Michigan will be joining us here in a few days.
To provide a brief overview of the last few days, after anchoring in Erie, PA the first night, we left our anchorage quite early at 6:00am for our anticipated 8 hour travel day to Geneva State Park Marina located in Geneva on the Lake (GOTL) in Ohio. We had to travel east for just a bit before turning and heading west. For anyone who has driven east in the morning, into the rising sun, you can appreciate the challenges our Captain had for the first 45 minutes on Friday morning with the rising sun and the additional reflection off the water.
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| NEBO screen shot of the first hour of our trip the morning of July 4th. The first bit was traveling East, into the sun before we rounded the point of Presque Isle Bay. |
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| Our captain at the helm bright and early. Friday, July 4th @ 6:15am |
For several days, another Looper boat, Irene, which we first connected with back in Scotia, NY, has been in the same general area on Lake Erie. We left the same anchorage and both traveled to GOTL. We all went to dinner together in GOTL on July 4th. Later in the evening we enjoyed another night of fantastic fireworks.
Each day, we've followed the southern rim of Lake Erie. After departing GOTL Saturday morning, we traveled five hours to Cleveland, OH. On the way, our Captain had to navigate some sailboat races. Beautiful boats. They are not all pictured, but there were six of them in total. Big ones!
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| Sailboat races on Lake Erie |
When we docked Saturday afternoon in Cleveland on the T-Head of A-Dock, we were very warmly welcomed by the folks who keep their boats docked there the entire season, just hanging out at the marina on the 4th of July weekend. One owner in particular said he waited several years to get the last slip on A-Dock just so he could meet and visit with the transient boaters as they pass through. Wow! The marina was also having their 1st annual strolling docktails. How fun! We enjoyed the camaraderie with our new Ohio friends and pulled out our lawn chairs and hung out on the dock with everyone. MMS provided much needed shade on the dock for everyone as the sun was setting. We hope to see our Ohio friends again as they winter on the Gulf Coast of Florida. They felt like "our people". At our old marina in Florida, the conversations on the dock would be so energized, we had a rule that if you wanted to talk, you had to raise your hand and wait to be called on. The same procedure was in place in Cleveland. Hilary almost cried tears of joy when one person raised their hand to get a chance to jump into the conversation. It felt like home.
Being in Ohio, and so close to the completion of our trip is a strange but happy feeling. Hilary in particular can feel herself focusing less on the Great Loop and more on enjoying the rest of summer on the boat in Michigan with friends. The transition of wildlife, or lack thereof, in fresh water vs. salt water over the past four months of travel is subtle, but certainly noticeable. While traveling on Lake Erie, there of course are no more dolphins catching a ride in our wake. Lake Erie is fresh water even though the vastness of the Great Lakes make it look and feel like the salty Atlantic Ocean. Additionally, pelicans have been replaced with Canadian Geese.
Sunday morning, we departed Cleveland and continued west, enjoying the view of downtown Cleveland as we started our five hour journey to Vermillion, OH.
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| Downtown Cleveland Skyline Sunday, July 6, 2025 |
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| Lighthouse on the East side of the main entrance to Cleveland Harbor |
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| Lighthouse on the West side of the main entrance to Cleveland Harbor |
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| Lighthouse on the Beach in Vermillion |
Upon our arrival in Vermillion, we pulled out the eBike and eSkateboard for not one, but two trips to the grocery store, 1.5 miles from the marina. Knowing we planned to be at PIB for a week, it was time for some heavy provisioning. The first trip to the store was for food and the second trip was for the oh so heavy liquids. There is no picture, but on the second trip, Bert had two 12-packs of soda and two bottles of wine in his backpack on his skateboard. Hilary had two 12-packs of soda in her backpack and two 12-packs of LaCroix and one 24 pack of White Claw ratchet strapped to her rear bike rack. I'm sure the two of us were quite a sight heading back to the marina. Why four 12-packs of soda you ask????? Because they were buy two, get two free. 😂
In Vermillion we were docked right next to a high-end restaurant. We watched large boats come in and dock for dinner and we also witnessed a couple get engaged. An entertaining evening for us to enjoy from the comfort of our air conditioned salon.
Yesterday was our 5th consecutive day on Lake Erie and the lake was not as kind to us as she had been the prior four days. We had some beam seas for about an hour, making for an unpleasant journey, and had to time our arrival into PIB A Dock in between thunderstorm bands. For a while, the visibility was just awful. We did arrive safe and sound and have the perfect dockage for the week we will spend at PIB.
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| Heavy rain and T-Storms on Lake Erie as we approached final dockage at PIB. No sign of Perry's monument, less than 2 miles away. |
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| View of Perry's Monument once the rain band cleared |
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| Our route across Lake Erie from Vermillion to PIB 28 nautical miles and four hours |
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| A celebration cocktail at Frosty's Pizza. |
PIB is special to us because this is where we got engaged on 07/25/2010 (Christmas in July at PIB). Bert proposed to Hilary on the deck of the Boardwalk at sunset. Our dockage is in perfect view of the Boardwalk off our transom.
After we enjoy our week here at PIB, we have just two more travel days to officially cross our wake and become Gold Loopers. Bert pointed out yesterday that because he's been from MI to PIB by boat, he has actually crossed his wake upon arrival here at PIB. However, Hilary has never traveled to PIB via boat, so she will not cross her wake until we arrive in MI.
We'll leave you with a sunrise view of Perry's Monument out the front windshield. Today will be spent washing MMS and making her presentable for show and tell when our friends start arriving tomorrow.
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| Sunrise at PIB Perry's Monument |
If you are not familiar with the significance of Perry's Monument, it is a tribute to the peace between Great Britain, the US and Canada. It commemorates the battle fought on September 10, 1813, here in the bay of South Bass Island and celebrates the subsequent peace that followed the war of 1812. Perry's monument is 352 feet, taller than the Statue of Liberty at 301 feet. On a clear day, we have seen the skyline of Detroit from the top of Perry's Monument.
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