We completed traversing the Erie Canal just in time, heavy rains closed many of the locks right behind us causing weeks of delay for some. The cruising conditions on Lake Erie were non eventful. Lake Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes but is known to kick up some action just like Lake Michigan. We traveled the southern coast of Lake Erie, and floated our boat into Canadian waters many times….HA. Cleveland, Geneva on the Lake, and the southwest islands of Lake Erie are all highlights.
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Beautiful clear, cobalt and sapphire blue waters of the Great Lakes
Our scooter bike convoy touring town. The sun is muted by the smoke from Northern fires Rock skipping, challenge on!Fellow Loopers Jen and Rick from Nauti Jenny at Geneva on the Lake, Ohio – Lake Erie
Not to be confused with Geneva Lake WI
Fries and bacon in your salad? Of course!
She belongs on Survivor!
Geneva on the Lake, OH, a nice town with a 50’s flair and ’21 touches, complete with wineries, live music venues (and a salad with fries?!?)
Downtown Cleveland Rock and Dock – Sea C is docked in front of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which is the white building on the left.
Our turn to host Docktails aboard Sea C
First showcase grocery store we have experienced, Heinen’s – beautiful!!
An early Stones
Some cool sights in Cleveland20 Loopers converge for dinner in Cleveland
Kelley’s Island moonrise – First and only marina that we were parked in by other boats and couldn’t leave in the morning.
Glacier grooves
Love island flair!
A huge shout out to our OH friends who hosted us in Middle Bass Island for 3 days! So glad they were a memorable part of our loop experience!
Day floats with lots of laughs! Great meals, nice beds, & laundry catch up!💕
Thank you to the Gaskins for their hospitality. Their home is on Middle Bass Island and looks directly over Lake Eire, a beautiful view! We left Sea C at their Yacht Club for the weekend.
A notable icon of Middle Bass Island, Lake Erie
After stopping at 6 ports on Lake Erie we head north for Lake St Claire, MI
Port Huron, MI ~ home of the Bayview Port Huron to Mackinac race. We don’t even bat an eye about hailing & scheduling lift bridges anymore
Lucky to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary in Port Huron, the Loop experience has helped us grow stronger and grow a deeper appreciation for each other! Cheers 🙂
See Sea C in the reflection of Zebra Bar ~ headed to Lake Huron ~ a slow crawl up-current!
TRANSMISSION UPDATE – Pam and I bought each other a beautiful new Italian made transmission on our 30th wedding day anniversary, very romantic…and practical too! This beauty is not available until mid Sept and will be delivered directly from Italy to Kenosha WI. It is a bit challenging navigating Sea C in tight areas with the limited starboard power, but manageable for now.
Just completed 36o miles up the Erie Canal from Albany to Buffalo, NY. The trip included locking through 35 concrete chambers, sliding under hundreds of low hanging bridges, and moseying through dozens of quaint small towns. Had the Canadian border been open to non-essential travel, we would have taken a right hand turn half way up the Erie but it was not to be. The Erie route option proved to be a better than expected passage leaving us even more impressed with the state of NY. Not all boats can make it through the Erie Canal due to the low bridge clearance. We needed to pivot down our tall radar mast and lower our fly bridge bimini (not an easy task) to about 15 ft to prevent banging Sea C’s head. There were some close calls with low steel trusses but mission accomplished!
These “Guard Gates” are used to isolate sections of the canal in case of accidents, high water, and to drain water during the winter…..or of course bad boat behavior.
Lock 17 – The Guillotine!
Game face entering 17~ The Guillotine is serious stuff!
Quite Nice & Lucky Me ~ down and OUT
.A company called ‘Erie Canal Adventures’ rents these sleep ready boats to people to cruise the Erie Canal. This is a must do for anyone interested in trying out overnight boating. You can’t do much harm to these beauties, they are similar to big bumper cars. Most of the small towns have free docks with water and electric that boaters can use as they navigate the Erie.
Nothin’ happenin’ here!
A veritable ghost town
Little Falls Canal Rotary – nice clubhouse with laundry
Some towns are struggling while others are thriving, but all have a special beauty & charm.
Leaky Lock #18
After lock 19, Sea C’s bimini was lowered to meet the upcoming bridge heights. This 12″ height reduction was tricky but it worked.
Lake Oneida on 4th of July
Quite Nice & Lucky Me
Pizza dinner with Wanderer, Quite Nice, Lucky Me, Das Boot, Slow Churn, It’s aBoat Time, & Taurus.
VIDEO – This was the lowest bridge of all….no problem…. centimeters to spare!
Love the police light!
Lots of bridge art depicting historical scenes
Lovin’ the livaboards along the canal!
VIDEO – Our first head-to-head encounter with a freight train – not only loud but a smelly experience, Yikes!
Free water and electric in most town, nice!
The Erie Canal has an beutiful bike/walking path that runs the entire length. A biking event that involved riding the entire canal was underway as we passed through. Biking the Erie is now high on our list of future adventures.
Middleport Lift Bridge, like many, is operated by a ‘roaming operator’ who races from bridge to bridge to accommodate all moving vessels…can get pretty crazy!
Christian bird house overlooking falls
free pump out along the way!
Notice the old stair step locks on the right
Nearing the end of the canal! We would make a few quick ‘day-stops’ along the way to explore surrounding falls, etc.The granddaddy of waterfalls – A great day at Niagara Falls with fellow Loopers from Agape and Nauti JennyWe learned a few navigation tricks from this vessel. Perhaps someday the Sea C Rider will get a chance to enter the Niagara mist!
** BOAT PROBLEM UPDATE **
A certified mechanic confirmed that we have a serious issue with Sea C’s starboard transmission. Fortunately, with a little finesse and reduced speed, we should be able to cautiously make our way back to Lake Michigan for surgery later this summer. Soooo, all systems go to the Great Lakes!
Loopin' with Mike n Pam 