Lake Erie Questions..

[rucaradio]

I've boated Ohio's inland lakes for years, but the week of July 4th we'll be going up to Marblehead to visit the islands for a few days. I've never boated Erie before and I'm looking for some advice and tips.

We're staying at a motel with transient dock space in Marblehead, but don't plan on spending much time there. We hope to hit the islands and explore. The Tall Ships will be in Cleveland Harbor from July 7th - 11th and I'd like to motor over there, but am a bit worried about distance from Sandusky to Cle. I also don't know if recreational boats will be allowed by the ships or in the Harbor.

Any help would be much apprecieated. Thanks in advance.

 

[ExxWhy]

Re: Lake Erie Questions..

That's a pretty long haul by water from Sandusky to Cleveland. All depends on the weather and wave conditions as to how much fun it would be. Probably would be better off to trailer the boat closer, say Rocky River or even Edgewater to see the tall ships. Not sure how close you can get, but close enough to have a fun time anyway.

Checking the weather ahead of time is very important, preferably monitoring the weather while out with a marine radio. Not unheard of for them to call for less than 2 ft the day before and something changes and you end up with 4-6. That's not a lot of fun in a small boat.

Up by the islands, you can usually find something calm sheltered by the islands, Sandusky Bay if nothing else.

 

[swaycleveland]

Re: Lake Erie Questions..

my advice, watch your depths if your on the bay side of marblehead its shallow. average in the bay is about 6 feet. watch the sand bar around johnson island. lots of boats run a ground there. also the bar moves so comming around the cedar piont channel can be tricky.
if you are on the bay side of marblehead let me know in advance ill show ya around. we have a cottage on that side and thats where im docked.
if your on the north side of marblehead watch for weeds tons of that in west harbor and east harbor.
depending on your boat i agree its toon long of a haul from marblehead to cleveland

going to the islands ( put in bay, kellys )once again watch your depth and markers
lots of hazzards for people not paying attention

 

[jserb]

Re: Lake Erie Questions..

rucaradio
I have to agree with the other captains, Sandusky to Cleveland is almost 50 miles and even shore hopping; the cliffs of Ohio are not very forgiving often with chopy waves near by due to the shallow water. I would suggest driving to Cleveland, put the boat in, enjoy the tall ships, then trailer to Sandusky and venture into the islands of Lake Eire. Now im not saying you cant go to Cleveland but if your going mid day, odds are the lake will have picked up and will be choppy. I dont know what kind of boat you are running in, just suggesting it might be funner to do it this way rather than bounce your passengers around for an hour trying to white knuckle it to Cleveland..only to head back out 50 miles to Put In Bay

 

[solar7647]

Re: Lake Erie Questions..

Well all though the trip from Sundusky to Clevland is long it all depends on your comfort level, planing and experiance.

I would agree with the rest above to try and trailer closer since you dont have experiance on the big Lake.

Lake Erie is very differant from the other lakes because of the fact it is shallow, it is effected by wind very easy. A 10-20 mph wind will have a big effect on the water conditions.

East of the Islands will have better water conditions because the depth increases and the Islands provide some shelter if the wind is blowing out of the south-southwest witch in my experiance will be the most likly be case that time of year.

If the wind is coming out of the north-northeast you will want to stay off the water east of the islands because it will have 2/3 the length of the lake to wipe accross before hitting the islands and the water will be pretty high since the lakes currant is southwest to north east.

The lake tends to have more of a peak wave shape not much differant from inland lakes rather then a rolling or swelling like the larger lakes. So if you find your self out there and the wind picks up and gets you into 3-4 ft waves remeber to keep your bow directly into them, getting sides ways will get you wet and may shake you up a bit.

Wind less then 10 mph will be fine every place.

You will want a merine radio if you dont have one, channel 16 is the emergancy channle so keep it on that. There is a large section of the lake west of the islands that is fall out for artillery target practice...they will anouce if they are firing on channel 16. They will also update lake conditions. The fireing zone if marked on the lake erie charts you will want some of those as well.

The lake can be and is very intimidating the first time out and once you get off shore it can make you feel very vonerable. The biggest thing I tell people is

Remeber basic boating rules.

Carry no less then 200ft of rope (100 of that just for anchor)

watch you depth it jumps alot out there

Have fun!
oh and
Watch out for the Jet Express its wake will swamp you!

 

[JimS123]

Re: Lake Erie Questions..

If your boat is a 19 footer as indicated in your signature, as a newcomer to the lake I wouldn't try to make the 50 mile trip. I'm not sure about Cleveland's facilities, but there are nice ones in Lorain, which is much closer than Sandusky.

Sure, watch the forecast, but don't always believe it. A few years ago I was out in a dead calm with hardly a ripple on the water, when the wind came up. By the time I retreived the anchor the waves had come up to 2-3, and within a half hour there were 4 foot rollers.

10-20 winds will usually bring out the small craft warnings.

Now, if you have an old wooden Lyman built in Sandusky, then go for it...LOL!