Saginaw Bay to Port Clinton

[MJWEENZ]

Early in May my wife and I will be bringing our new (to us) Lord Nelson 41 from Saginaw Bay south to Port Clinton, Ohio. I am looking for advise on marinas along the route, specifically on the west shore of Lake Huron, that would warrant your recommendation. As we draw 6' marina depth is also a big consideration. Any one have any suggestions?

[Joli]

Not much there, maybe push to Sarnia?

[claskey]

I have done that trip three times, Port Austin is a good stop on the tip of the thumb. From there to Port Sanilac is another good leg, From there two Saint Clair marina on the Pine river. Form the Pine river you can make north lake Erie. I'm in Gibraltar. These are all 8 to 10 hour runs at 5 knots. Hope this helps

[MJWEENZ]

Thanks! I will look these up.

[claskey]

If you draw over 4ft. do not think of using Harbor Beach or Lexington harbors for anything other than an emergancy, this leaves only Port Sanilac from the tip of the Thumb to the Saint Clair river. For a good course stay outside the green reef mark north of Harbor Beach find the 50ft. shelf line and head all most due south this will take you to the mouth of the river with no danger.

[MJWEENZ]

Claskey,
Thanks for the advise! Looking at the charts for southern Lake Huron reminds me a lot of western Lake Erie, shallow. Probably not a fun ride with a north wind.

[claskey]

North or Northeast can be a real bad ride. However this trip is some of the nicest sailing waters of the great lakes. This trip was my wifes first long sail and she was hooked after it. If you need any more advise just PM me.

[Joli]

If you need loaner charts let me know. I live in Port Clinton. Where are you docking? Brands?

[jfssail]

Claskey gave you a lot of good advise. Port Austin is a good first stop other than Caseville in an emergency, might be shallow here. You could give the Admiral with a dinner at the Farm Restr, a few miles south of Port Austin. They come out by car or truck and take you there. They have one of the few Master Chiefs in the US
Stay away from Lexington, they have a sand bar at the entrance that catches a lot of sailboats.
Port Sanilac is one of our favorite stops. Have dinner in town with the locals at Mary's Diner. St Clair is also the next stop on the way south. Next stop will be Windsor at Lake View Marina or the Detroit YC , (if you have an affiliation). We usually stay at the Ford YC at the bottom of Grosse Ile . Might be tight here with your draft. Also getting to Ford YC off the Livingston Channel can be a problen without a good GPS Chartplotter. We make Windsor in 10 hours going north and Port Clinton in 8 hours south bound.
Take a couple extra fuel filters if you are not sure of the cleanliness of your fuel tank. Know a couple of boats being brought back to Ohio from Michigan that had fuel problems when they hit big waves on Lake Erie that stirred-up crud in their tanks.


Give me a call if you need additional details

Jack F Stewart
1993 C36 #1233 "Windancer"
Port Clinton, OH Brands Marina E-13
jfssail@neo.rr.com

[MJWEENZ]

Claskey, Joli and JFS thanks very much for the advise! Will most certainly be stopping at Port Austin and Port Sanilac, still not sure about where to stop around Lake St. Clair. Might just want to anchor there, any recomendations regarding that idea?

We have reserved a dock at Brands, heard good things about them. I don't have the number in front of me right now, but probably not too far from you Jack. Please stop by and say hello to the newbe. A little far from north bay, but hey, the journey is part of the fun.

We are taking the boat out for sea trials this Saturday (passed structural survey a couple of weeks ago) and will close on it the following week, so we will be making the trip toward the end of April.

Joli, thanks for the offer for the charts! Don't think I will need them as the boat is coming with a complete set of Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron charts, just don't have them here. Saved the Lake St. Clair and Erie charts from the old boat.

Mike
Spring is here in Ohio

[magicmoments]

You may also consider Metro Beach Marine Park on Lake StClair. I draft 5'0" and had no problem last year. Water's up this year. Metro is noisy on the weekend but quiet weekdays. Boat "Toy" stores are within walking distance.

Also further south on the Detroit river on the Canadian side is LaSalle Mariners Yacht club which always welcomes visitors, or anchor in the cove Just north of Bois Blanc Is. 42.06.40N 83.07.20Wthe locals call it crystal bay.

Enjoy your new boat.

[jfssail]

When I mentioned St Clair as a stop, I meant the city of St Clair on the river.an hour south of Port Huron. As far as anchoring on Lake St Clair , one spot is behind Peche Island, just across the water from Lake Park Marina in Windsor.
jfssail

[Joli]

Have a safe trip, Lake Huron can get a bit lumpy but then again so can Lake Erie. You'll like Brands, they are a sailors marina, we would like to winter there, the marina is only a few blocks from our house but we are unable to get under the high tension wires on the Portage River.

We'll be leaving Algonac for Sandusky mid May, typically leaving around dinner time and arriving home early the next morning. Traveling downriver is a nice trip, the contrast between Detroit and Windsor is stark.

Originally Posted by MJWEENZ

Claskey, Joli and JFS thanks very much for the advise! Will most certainly be stopping at Port Austin and Port Sanilac, still not sure about where to stop around Lake St. Clair. Might just want to anchor there, any recomendations regarding that idea?

We have reserved a dock at Brands, heard good things about them. I don't have the number in front of me right now, but probably not too far from you Jack. Please stop by and say hello to the newbe. A little far from north bay, but hey, the journey is part of the fun.

We are taking the boat out for sea trials this Saturday (passed structural survey a couple of weeks ago) and will close on it the following week, so we will be making the trip toward the end of April.

Joli, thanks for the offer for the charts! Don't think I will need them as the boat is coming with a complete set of Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron charts, just don't have them here. Saved the Lake St. Clair and Erie charts from the old boat.

Mike
Spring is here in Ohio

[MJWEENZ]

Joli,
What boat do you have? The clearance under that power line is 83'. Must be one heck of a mast! The LN41 we are buying has a air draft of 60'.

Mike

[Joli]

Our air draft is 93 so the wires are a bit of an issue. Your stops along the way are not stops we can visit, hence my first post. Our last trip up there was Muskegon to Cheboygan to Bayview to Sandusky.

If you see us at PIB stop by for a coldy and say hi, we'll be on the moorings.

Joli

Originally Posted by MJWEENZ

Joli,
What boat do you have? The clearance under that power line is 83'. Must be one heck of a mast! The LN41 we are buying has a air draft of 60'.

Mike