Nice start to the day with a cup of coffee (prepared by Mark - no lattes near here)! We enjoyed the lights from the little sheds last night. Even though folks aren't here they keep the colorful lights on (or use a timer) around their rooflines, inside, etc. Nice display...
We were in no big hurry to leave as a very short day of just 6 miles to Mentor Harbor (not to be confused with the town of Mentor with a population of 47,000+ about 5 miles south of here). Mentor Harbor has around 7,000 folks. Mark has been doing more logistics for the next few days checking weather, winds, etc. We need to be somewhere by Wednesday night to hunker down as Thursday, rain is predicted and strong winds for Friday. Saturday looks good but more rain on Sunday, so.........we left Eastlake and the Chagrin River at 10:15. Enjoyed our short stay here and would definitely come back. An uneventful trip to just outside Mentor when we saw several small sailboats (yachting club student sailors). We dodged them and on into the Mentor Yachting Club but wow....the wind had really picked up and once inside, even younger kiddos learning to sail in their little boats and we're trying to keep out of each others way. We were told to tie up at the gas dock for our slip assignment. Thankfully, the dockhand (Sean) was there to take our lines - winds were crazy....how did that happen? Certainly not predicted. Lake Erie conditions can change so quickly!
Catrina is 17' wide and sometimes a challenge to find a spot wide enough for us. The young man told us which slip and that it was 17 1/2'..............WRONG! Sooooo grateful to a couple from Cleveland who came to help us and after 4 (FOUR) different spots, we finally are on an outside dock (short) but does the trick as we were NOT going back on the lake!
So thankful to be settled in by noon, have lunch and stayed indoors as it feels like 94 out there with the strong winds continuing (gusts to 19 mph).
If you are not a yacht club member (we are not) you usually are not allowed to stay at one. However, Jim Hayward who we met yesterday in Eastlake told us Mentor Harbor will take in transietnts or non-yacht club members. Otherwise all yacht clubs have this reciprocal agreement that you can stay at any yacht club IF a member. So we were happy to hear we could stay here, made a reservation for one night but what a challenge with the winds and not-Catrina-width friendly.
The 2nd spot we tied up to was actually the ferry dock which takes us across the river to the facilities. That wasn't going to work, so onto onto #3 and then finally #4.
Around 2ish we saw the little "scooter" boat (never heard this term) was leaving the dock so we called out for Sean who helped us tie up at the gas dock this morning to come pick us up. He gave us a ride to the yaching club - restaurant, sailor camp, pool, etc. We walked around but there's no way out - need a key to get thru the gate by car. So, Mark decided we needed some ice cream treats at the gas dock, and then back to Catrina.
1. Gore Bay, 2. Little Current, 3. Killarney, 4. Tobermory, 5. Bayfield, 6. Windsor, 7. Buffalo, 8. Cleveland, 9. Sandusky, 10. Put-In-Bay, 11. Toledo, 12 (no sign yet?), 13. Port Huron, 14. Lexington, 15. Port Austion, 16. Harrisville, 17. Alpena, 18. Presque Isle, 19. Mackinac Island, 20. LeCheneaux Islands, 21. Charlevoix, 22. Bay Harbor, 23. Harbor Springs, 24. Drummond Island, 25.Saulte Ste Marie, 26. Munising, 27. Isle Royale.
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