Bayfield to St. Clair River
Lake Huron and the St Clair River
Friday, June 24
After an interminably long three-week repair layover, it was finally time to restart the homeward journey. Roland no longer had to worry about piloting Simply Blue alone, for I would now be his First Officer for the rest of the journey.
Final morning preparations were made before setting out. The weather was beautiful as we fired up the diesel engine and carefully edged out of the marina. We motored out past the breakwater and a little ways out into the wide, blue - and mostly calm - waters of Lake Huron.
Meticulous Teutonic Records
Even though the winds were quite light, we were in the mood for doing some actual sailing; we cut the motor and unfurled the sails. The winds was coming from a favorable direction, and we were able to set a course directly for our intended destination - the start of the St Clair River at Sarnia, Ontario.
courtesy RHanel
I took some time to soak in the new experiences surrounding sailing - the landless horizon, the lap of the water on the hull - easily heard without the drone of an engine, the rhythmic movements of the boat. I've not done much sailing in my life, and certainly nothing close to a long multi-day expedition like this one. I had no idea if this would end up being a fulfilling, enjoyable trip or simply one filled with drudgery.
At first, our progress was very modest - perhaps 1.5 knots (roughly 3km/hr). As the morning progressed, however, the wind very gradually intensified, and our overall rate of speed did as well - 2 knots at 9am, 2.7 knots at 10 am, 4 knots at 11 am., 5.5 knots at noon. By mid-afternoon, we were regularly topping 6 knots (11 km/hr). Simply Blue felt more alive at these speeds, moving about slightly as it cut through the waters of Lake Huron, which had at this point a slight bit of chop.
courtesy RHanel
Our track took us on a southwesterly course. For the most part, we could still see - very faintly - the Ontario (eastern) shore of the lake, dotted with many white wind turbines. To the west we could see only water; our distance from that shore combined with the curvature of the earth made the land invisible. To the west, it looked like the ocean - a boundless horizon.
Shortly after 6pm, after over ten hours of sailing, we arrived at the southern tip of Lake Huron. Here, the combined waters of three of the world's biggest freshwater lakes emptied into the St Clair River. Located here is the city of Sarnia, Ontario, as well as the Bluewater Bridge international crossing point. The long curved span of the westbound cantilever truss section of the bridge had served as a navigational landmark to us from a few tens of kilometres away.
courtesy RHanel
Approaching Bluewater Bridge
The St Clair River is part of the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway system. A great deal of commercial traffic uses this system, which permits ocean-going vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean all the way to the farthest reaches of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. Inland centers such as Toronto, Hamilton, Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Thunder Bay, and Duluth are served by the seaway, and it is an extremely important piece of transportation infrastructure to the central part of North America. Being in a confined section of the seaway meant that we'd now have to contend with shipping lanes and heavy marine traffic.
Navigating under sail in the narrow confines of a river, especially one with a lot of traffic (such as this one), is very difficult - if not downright dangerous. We furled the sails and fired up the engine as we approached the bridge.
We slid underneath the 230-foot high Bluewater bridge at about 6:45pm, and entered the St Clair River. Instead of being along on a huge expanse of water, we were hemmed in by riverbanks, navigation buoys, and lots of other boat traffic.
The other big change was the on-land infrastructure. In addition to the modest buildings of Sarnia, Ontario, there was a lot of built-up land along the banks of the St Clair River - mostly in the form of various industrial installations: power plants, refineries, factories.
Roland had decided that it was a little too early to stop in Sarnia, and that we could log some decent distance down the river before sundown. In addition to the motive force from Simply Blue's diesel, we got a boost from the water itself - from the flow of the St Clair River. In places we could actually see the current, and by our estimation it contributed a knot or two of additional over-the-ground speed.
Within 45 minutes we saw our first truly large traffic up close - a 700+ foot long bulk carrier vessel known as the Algoma Enterprise. Even though it was clearly a workhouse, scratched, dented and rusty from hard service on the lakes, it was still rather majestic. Important, though, to keep out of its way.
courtesy RHanel
courtesy RHanel
courtesy RHanel
We managed to make it about halfway down the river to Lake Saint Clair before the light started to give out on us. I manned the helm while Roland disappeared below to examine his nautical charts, looking for a suitable spot for us for the night. There was nothing immediately to his liking, so we started visually scanning the Canadian riverbank, looking for something that would work for us - somewhat secluded, out of the current and out of the shipping channel.
Eventually we spied a quiet rusty old dock just south of Courtright, ON. It was empty and there were no buildings nearby. Roland estimated that we could pull up close to it on its downriver side and anchor (without actually docking). I soon got my first taste of anchor duty, as Roland swung Simply Blue around up behind the derelict-looking pier, but the boat into idle, and I payed out the anchor.
courtesy RHanel
Settling in for the night
Safely ensconced behind the quiet dock, we prepared our first dinner together on the boat - a combination of barbecued sausages, salad, and some flatbread.
We soon headed off to bed - Roland in the front V-berth cabin and me in the surprisingly spacious under-cockpit cabin at the back. This was a pretty nice setup; we both had enclosed private bedrooms, with the main cabin separating us (and containing the entrance to the bathroom).
Today had been not bad, overall - 117 km (63 nm) of total distance over roughly 13.5 hours. And, no incidents or surprises. A welcome change.
Click below to watch a video wrap-up for June 24:
Video wrap-up for June 24
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Bayfield to St Clair R. - click map to view
June 24 - Bayfield to St Clair R.
Start Time:
7:28a.m.
End Time:
9:04p.m.
Duration:
13h36m
Distance:
117.16 km
(72.8 mi)
Average Speed:
8.6 km/hr
(5.4 mph)
Start Elevation:
591ft
(180m)
*
Max Elevation:
592ft
(180m)
*
Min Elevation:
527ft
(161m)
*
End Elevation:
584ft
(178m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
115ft
(35m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
117ft
(36m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
