Transit from Lake Erie to Lake Huron

[Jim Stull]

Anyone have experience traveling the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair?
I have been warned that the current in the Detroit River is quite swift.
How much of a problem is the current as well as commercial trafic to a sailboat working its way from Lake Erie to Lake Huron?
Thanks



jtstull@icubed.com

[Bruce Bett]

Jim:

I've only taken Sostenuto up the River once and that was only as far as Boblo (Bois Blanc) Island so I make no claims to expertise. Two bits of advise I will offer. First try to avoid weekends. The River gets really choppy on the weekends because of heavy traffic. As for the Freighters, nerver mind rules of the road a freighter ALWAYS has the right of way. To avoid sholes stay just outside of the comercial channels.

I have Sailed out of Port Huron a few times. The current at the head of the Saint Clair River is bad, but there is slack water on the Canadian side.

Have Fun

Bruce

Anyone have experience traveling the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair?

I have been warned that the current in the Detroit River is quite swift.
How much of a problem is the current as well as commercial trafic to a sailboat working its way from Lake Erie to Lake Huron?
Thanks

BETT@stmp.munet.edu

[Donna Delahanty]

Anyone have experience traveling the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair?
I have been warned that the current in the Detroit River is quite swift.
How much of a problem is the current as well as commercial trafic to a sailboat working its way from Lake Erie to Lake Huron?
Thanks

ddelahanty@cinbell.com

[Donna Delahanty]

Anyone have experience traveling the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair?
I have been warned that the current in the Detroit River is quite swift.
How much of a problem is the current as well as commercial trafic to a sailboat working its way from Lake Erie to Lake Huron?
Thanks

Bruce,

We made the trip up the Detroit and St. Clair Rivers 3 - 4 times on our CD25 that we use to own without any problems.

There is current in the rivers, but, it really wasn't too bad. You usually have to motor, not because of the currents, but because the wind just doesn't cooperate. It seems it's always coming from whatever direction we go. I'm sure you know the story. The only place where the current is noticeably strong is under the Blue Water bridge as you enter into Lake Huron. As long as you stay VERY close to the Canadian side you'll have no problems. On one of our trips, we decided to go smack dab in the middle as we passed under the Bluewater bridge just to see how strong the current was. The motor was almost full throttle,(9.9 Evinrude) and we just stood still under the bridge making very little headway.

For some reason the water is always a little choppy by downtown Detroit, but, nothing to worry about. Be sure to give the freighters the right away and keep a sharp eye out for them. They will come up on you faster than they appear to be going.

We always planned 2 days to get up both rivers. We are not very regimented and tend to piddle around in the morning causing us to get late mid-morning to noonish starts. I figure someone more regimented could make it in one day. After crossing Lake Erie from Port Clinton, Ohio, we would anchor in Crystal Bay. Crystal Bay is in the Detroit river just north of Boblo Island (Bois)and is protected from the current. You can get to it from either channel up the Detroit river.

The first day we travel up the Detroit River and cross Lake St. Clair. We anchor by Gull Island, which is just outside the channel to the St. Clair river. Gull Island is protected from the freighter wakes, but, there are alot of power boaters and jet skiers that beach their craft on Gull Island for some partying. Once it gets dark they usually settle down. The next day we continue on up the St. Clair river. The St. Clair river is very scenic and beautiful. The water is aqua. Yes, really!

If you have a couple of extra days, you may want to explore the various channels that run from Lake St. Clair and converge on the St. Clair river. They can be very interesting. We pulled into one canal like channel to get gas. It was like going back in time. Just be sure to look up for aerial cables! or tree limbs.

Another interesting side trip is taking the Channel Ecarte east to Wallaceburg, Ontario. Wallaceburg is another one of those towns that is like going back in time. You do have to pass under a couple of draw or swing bridges when you go there.

Enjoy your trip. We plan to make a trip up that way again next summer when we go to the North Channel.

Donna Delahanty



ddelahanty@cinbell.com

[Geoff Safron]

I notice that your original posting was almost a month ago, so if this reply comes too late after your trip, hope it was a good one!

My home port is on Lake St. Clair; I delivered the boat from it's previous home near Traverse, so I have experience down-stream on the St. Clair, and we did the trip back and forth to Cedar Point last summer.

I can see how up-stream on the St. Clair can feel like forever: my knotmeter reported 4.5 knots, and the GPS said something closer to 10! You can actually feel the "push" under the Bluewater Bridge.

Re both rivers, I second all the recommendations of those above, particularly with regard to the tankers. Do a 360 scan every few minutes, as they can appear on your butt out of nowhere.

Learn from my mistake on the Detroit River: careful with the "roads less travelled", eg the narrower Eastern channels; things can get really shallow all of a sudden—several times, we went from 20' under the keel to 0.1' in less than a boatlength; Also, in many places the buoys are moved and removed compared to what the Richardson's says.

May you have better luck with wind direction than we did! Otherwise, you'll get quite used to the sound of your diesel.

Good Luck!

Geoff



brainstorm@unidial.com