We have come
a long way so far, all the way around the great loop to my old home stomping
grounds of my youth. First a couple of
days at Grosse Ile Yacht Club and then over to Put-in-Bay, Ohio for an entire
week. Our plans are after Put-in-Bay we
will return to GIYC and spend some good amount of time before resuming our
water travels.
My brother,
Tim, was our host at GIYC and arranged our dock and gave us all we needed as a
guest of the club.
We had a
treat at GIYC. My high school graduating
class (1958) is an extremely tight group, one of the advantages of our class
being small in number, about 62 of us at graduation. We know the whereabouts of every classmate
and we can be in touch with any of us or all of us. Dave Marsh (aka Oscar) is the point man for
our class. He puts a lot of time and
effort into newsletters, keeping track of sad news, good news and anything that
affects any of us. Our arrival at GIYC
was no exception. He had arranged a mini
reunion for our arrival. We had a bunch
of my classmates show up and party with us at the GIYC clubhouse. It was a great time for us and we enjoyed it
to the max. The only downside, it was
just was not enough time before it was over.
After a
couple of days we departed from GI to over to Put-in-Bay (Ohio) which is one of
the many islands in the western basin of Lake Erie. The actual name of the island is South Bass
Island. Put-in-Bay was where Commodore
Oliver Hazard Perry staged and protected his warships in preparation for the “Battle
of Lake Erie” during the war of 1812 with the British.
I recall
from a documentary about this battle that if Commodore Perry would have not won
this battle (“We have met the enemy and they are ours” he famously reported) it
is likely that Michigan, northern Ohio, parts of Indiana and Illinois and other
northern states would be part of Canada today.
Also part of this documentary was the fact that the British had only
enough cannons to for either their fort at Detroit of for use on their
warships, not both. So when they lost
them in the battle they had no hardware with which to defend the fort so they
had no choice other than to surrender it to the US. I believe this was on a VHS tape I purchased
on an earlier visit at the gift shop at memorial monument.
Put-in-Bay
was where I matured, a bit more every weekend over a period of several years
aboard my parents boat. This was and to some extent is still a wild place, sort of like the
wildwest in earlier times. Today there are
a number of new rules, one of them about open alcohol containers on the docks, a
fine of nearly a hundred dollars if you do this. The result is that the docks are now very sterile
as far as activity goes. This is too bad
because the dock life was at one time really active but was ruined by a few bad
actors causing the town authorities to feel the need to make this rule.
The docks
used to be the spawning ground for impromptu parties almost always with
music. Our entourage consisted of a
number of music makers. Our dad was an
expert with the tub fiddle and our traveling companions were natural born
entertainers with ukuleles, kazoos etc.
The only professional among us played a concert violin. He was the one who classed up the act. This kind of activity is also banned today. These were truly fun times.
As a youth
there, my brother and I would rent bicycles, keep them on the dock (also no
longer allowed) ready for use to go visit the any of the caves on the island, and
just be able to tour on impulse. We were
witness to all kinds of bar activity both good fun and bad fun and it is a fact
that the police of Put-in-Bay are very proud of their jail. They would usually have a few occupants by
the time Saturday or Sunday morning arrived.
Mostly college kids feeling a few too many of their “oats.”
The Lake
Erie Islands are one of the best recreational areas that exist. In total, really beautiful.
View if the GIYC facilities as we depart for Put-in-Bay
This is the Detroit River Light that marks the official end of the Detroit River and the beginning of Lake Erie. As a youth, this was the first way point we all looked for on our family's many voyages to the island from Trenton, MI where our boat was kept. For some reason the this voyage seemed like a real adventure, sort of like Christopher Columbus, only every weekend. Although it is only about 26 miles of open water it seemed like an real ocean voyage. In our older and slower boat, the trip was almost an 8 hour journey. So it seemed like a long way. Not to minimize what Lake Erie can do in that span of 26 miles. We encountered waves as high as 15 feet going across that span of water! Coast Guard's figure, not our guess. It was every bit of that on that day.
This is Middle Sister Island, the second way point, about half way across. Middle Sister is in Canadian waters. There is nothing on it except for rattlesnakes (I am told) and for sure tons of seagulls. There is a nice anchorage on the other side. Our mom and dad and some guests spent about 26 hours anchored near this island in high seas with a broken rudder post. In those days there was no ready radio communication and in those seas not much other boat traffic to see them. They were eventually spotted by a single passing boat who alerted the Coast Guard who in turn dispatched a boat from Marblehead, Ohio to come out and pick them up. They attached a tow line and towed them all the way back to home port of Trenton, MI. That went way beyond the call of duty on their part and our dad said they would take no reward of any kind for doing this. Those of us who were waiting at home were relieved that they were OK but simply marooned. Good ending.
This is the final way point the monument at Put-in-Bay itself. We used to make bets on who could see it first. Notice the elevator on the left side. A few years ago, a granite slab from the outside wall of the observation platform broke loose and fell off, and fell about 300 feet to the ground. There was a lady sitting on a park bench a few feet from where it landed. I can only imagine her laundry bill that evening. When repairs were studied, it became evident that there was a lot of deteriorated masonry up there so it has become a 3 year project making proper repairs and upgrades. An unintended consequence of going with the lowest bidder at the time of her construction. The rotunda on the inside at the base although beautiful has been plagued with water seepage and resulting stains from my first knowledge of the monument in the early 1950's, first evidence of the low bidder's work.
The fresh water environment of the Great Lakes really grow some healthy seaweed. This is one of the many piles they pull out of the harbor daily.
They collect it and haul it away.
This is a more or less recent addition on the waterfront, called the Boardwalk. A fun restaurant with a good bar with a great view of the harbor, especially from upstairs. It is built on what once was the coal dock. The island used coal at one time for all heating needs.
This boat, the "Sonny S" was around when I first was a regular at Put-in-Bay. Only then it was an actual fishing boat. Today it is a inter island ferry boat. There is nothing about her history I could find on the Internet, just sailing schedules and rates.
A view of the harbor from the upstairs restaurant at the Boardwalk.
Miss Patricia giving me one of those looks!
One of the many memorials to the fallen soldiers of both sides of the battle on the Island.
One of the cannons on display along the edge of the park that faces the harbor. One day when I was about 13 years old, I had some M80 firecrackers. For those who are not familiar with firecrackers an M80 is really big. Anyway, I lit one and threw it into one of these cannons (perhaps this one) just in time to see a couple of ladies I judged to be in their 80's about to walk in front of the cannon. I said to myself, Lord, I think I just killed two ladies from fright when this thing goes off. They were right in front of the cannon when it went off and were they ever mad. The local cop was within sight and of course they went to get him and get me taken care of. They pointed to me, then the cannon, then to the harbor, this sequence being repeated many times during their story of what happened. I think the cop got tired of them because he sent them on their way and came over to talk to me. He simply asked me that if I had any more of these things would I kindly light then off on the water side of the road. My how times have changed.
This is the well know Round House Bar. This place really jumps. Beer is purchased by the bucket. Then the purchaser eventually puts the bucket on his head. I even got Miss Patricia to to do some karaoke while there. Now that is saying something about the aura of this establishment.
The sun is low in the west.
Our flag flying off of our VHF antenna. This is a replica (sort of) the one that Commodore Perry had with him during the battle of Lake Erie aboard the flagship, "Lawrence" When the Lawrence became so badly beat up by the battle, he abandoned ship, taking this flag with him over to the other large fighting ship the "Niagara" the ship from which he finished the battle and was victorious. This made this flag and this phrase a historic item.
Pat with Jim and Susan Conlin. We first met Jim on the loop at our AGLCA rendezvous at Myrtle Beach and have been in touch ever since. They did us the honor to come and visit us during our stay. Jim is a professional photographer and has a website to showcase his (and market) his work.
The a view of the work going on at the top of the monument. When the monument is open for visitors, a trip to the top is a real treat. It is more than 300 feet up. The view of the Ohio shore, the Canadian shore and all of the islands is spectacular.
The flags on the monument grounds.
One more sunset. Never get enough of these.
OK girls, you have been told the rules.
Bill Christie and his wife Linda with Pat. They also honored us with a visit at Put-in-Bay. Bill was my first ever boss when I was fresh out of college. He was a great guide for me in those days. We have stayed in touch all this time.
Unfortunately I did not get a photo of Bill and Alexis Campbell who also took the time to come down to the boat. Bill was my roommate during those days and also worked for Bill Christie. Those days produced a lot of great memories for us. The three of us men swapped a lot of stories about those times.
And unfortunately, I failed to get a photo of my daughter Debbie and her husband Jimmy who took the time to come and visit us from their home in Lorain Ohio.
Pat on the foredeck of the Salt Shaker. We frequently put out those two chairs and just enjoy the motion of the boat and the views.
Here is one of the many many Customs and Immigration boats. Some of these boats sport as much as 1500 horsepower. I would not want to try to outrun one of these. They needlessly, in my opinon, stop a lot of boats. But they need to stay busy. The ICE sent a representative to a local town meeting to describe their operations and answer questions. Two of the more interesting questions I am told were these. 1) How many boats have you stopped this year? Ans. about 500. 2) How many violations have you found? Ans. none, if you do not count the single violation that was not part of our reason to detain or arrest. This is second hand but I consider the sources I got it from as reliable.
Now here is a craft that would not be good in foul weather. But with enough spirit(s) it would sure be a fun ride. A real James Bond machine.
We are on our way back to Grosse Ile. We went around the island to get a photo of this. This is the front end of one of the retired and scrapped Ford Motor Company ore carriers. This one is the Benson Ford. There was one other, the Henry Ford II. Both named after Henry Senior's grandsons. The front end of the Benson Ford was brought to this location, put ashore and made into one of the most unique residenses anywhere.
