We crossed underneath the Ambassador Bridge, which links Detroit to Windsor, at 2:17pm. On the bridge, crawling lines of semi-transport trucks inched their way across - a testament to the fact that fully 25% of all trade between the U.S. and Canada moves over this crossing.
Down the chaotic Detroit R
Once past the Ambassador Bridge, we started along another stretch of heavy industry, much like we had encountered just south of Sarnia. There was a certain beauty to these dirty, smelly, grimy places - full of deep sounds and streams of smoke, and - occasionally - the flash of something molten. As we glided past, it felt a bit like we were taking a tour of a modern Mordor. The experience was not entirely without a certain kind of charm.
A final look back at Detroit
Closeup, blast furnace complex
The industrial areas south of Detroit eventually faded away, and the riverbanks turned mostly green again, with the occasional section of built-up residential land or small town. The heavy commercial traffic continued unabated, and we saw several more impressive bulk carriers (these bulk carriers seem to be the most common form of heavy traffic on the Great Lakes).
courtesy RHanel
courtesy RHanel
courtesy RHanel
courtesy RHanel
As the Detroit River neared Lake Erie, it breaks up into several navigable channels. We chose the east-most channel, closest to the Canadian shoreline. With the help of a fairly significant current, we zoomed past Amherstburg, notable for being involved in some of the first U.S. attacks on Canadian soil at the beginning of the war of 1812.
courtesy RHanel
Upscale Amherstburg Homes
Amherstburg Coast Guard Station
Beyond Amherstburg, the river started to widen significantly. Ahead, we could now see the wide waters of Lake Erie, only a few miles distant. We had achieved our goal of arriving at Lake Erie today, and we still had four hours of sunset remaining. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, we elected to start our journey eastward along Lake Erie, covering a bit of extra distance beyond our initial plans.
Lake Erie is also a fairly shallow lake, and we elected to stay in the dredged shipping channels until fairly far out. This allowed us to have a close encounter with the biggest vessel on the Great Lakes today - the 1000+ foot long Paul R Tregurtha, a huge self-unloading bulk carrier. It is so big that it will not fit into the locks of the Welland Canal, meaning that it is permanently restricted to the upper Great Lakes. For this distinction, the Tregurtha is also known as Queen of the Lakes.
We motored south along the shipping line to a point beyond a very rustic-looking lighthouse complex. We then decided that we should get some actual sailing under our belts today, and we cut the engine and raised the sails. Although it was not particularly windy, it was nice to have the peace and quiet that wind power affords - especially after twelve hours of fairly loud engine droning.
Finally heading in right direction
We turned east as we started sailing. This was a significant turning point, for we were now starting to make literal progress towards our goal of Kingston, ON. Up until this point, Simply Blue had been motoring and sailing northwest, west, southwest and south - all away from Kingston. We had now "rounded the corner", so to speak, and were now making actual physical progress towards home.
We only made about 15 real kilometres of progress eastward along Lake Erie before sunset approached, and we had to start looking for a spot for the night. There isn't much in the way of naturally-protected anchorages along the northern shore of Lake Erie here, and we ended up deciding to slip into a small marina in the community of Colchester, right around the time that dusk was settling. There was a convenient straight-in berth available, and a trouble-free docking was had.
courtesy RHanel
The little marina was pretty dead, and it was well past 9pm. It had been a long day without a lot of eating, and I was pretty hungry for some "land" food. Roland's wife Stephanie had been on the phone with Roland, talking about how it was the St Jean Baptiste weekend, and how we should have some poutine to celebrate. That, I thought, sounded like a deliciously fantastic idea. Perhaps some establishment on shore would be able to service us?
We went ashore as dusk fell. As we walked along the pier towards the shore, we encountered more and more of the mayflies we had started to see on the boat today. By the time we reached the marina's parking lot, they were everywhere - and I mean everywhere. In the air, on the bushes, on the pavement, and especially up near streetlights. They were so thick on the ground in places, it was impossible to avoid walking on them. Mayflies have an exoskeleton that crunches and snaps when you walk on them, and I found this very uncomfortable.
We walked around some of the streets of Colchester but didn't run into anything open. There was one promising spot - the Colchester Bar & Grill - but for some strange reason they were open until midnight or later for every day of the week, except for .... Saturday? (and wouldn't you know it... today was Saturday). Weird. We sadly returned to the boat, poutine-less, and on the way, crunched the carapaces of untold more mayflies.
Click below to watch a video wrap-up for June 25:
Video wrap-up for June 25
Interactive trackmap with photo points - St Clair R. to Colchester Hrbr - click map to view
June 25 - St Clair R. to Colchester Hrbr.
Start Time:
7:15a.m.
End Time:
10:12p.m.
Duration:
14h56m
Distance:
138.91 km
(86.32 mi)
Average Speed:
9.3 km/hr
(5.8 mph)
Start Elevation:
582ft
(177m)
*
Max Elevation:
602ft
(183m)
*
Min Elevation:
528ft
(161m)
*
End Elevation:
565ft
(172m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
135ft
(41m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
144ft
(44m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
