Port Huron, MI

Sunday, August 1, 2010

042-58.560 N
082-25.560 W

Ahoy from Port Huron, MI!

When I last wrote, we were in Detroit and headed to Lake St. Clair, where I was going to meet some old Michigan State friends. I'm happy to report that we had a great sail to St. Clair Shores and the reunion was great as well. I hadn't seen some of these people in 25 years when we worked together in the Boston area and in many ways it was like nothing had changed, We all had a wonderful time and have vowed to not let 25 years pass again before doing this. Let's hope so!

From St. Clair Shores we headed across Lake St. Clair to the St. Clair river which connects to Lake Huron. We had a cold front come through the prior afternoon and of course that brought N winds with it. I'll let you guess what direction we were headed and we won't even talk about sailing.

The St. Clair river is about 37 miles long and is narrower than the Detroit river. As a result the currents are higher, averaging 2+ MPH. Our 45 mile trip took about 8 hours, so we had plenty of time to absorb the scenery. The river also separates the US from Canada and during our trip we crossed back and forth over the boundary.

There's a large dichotomy between the ends of the river: The S end is very rural with marshes on the Canadian side and small houses on the US side. As you approach the middle it becomes increasingly populated on both sides and the houses get bigger. Once you're past the middle section it becomes increasingly industrial, especially on the Canadian side, and once you get to the end you're in a larger sized city.

The number of power plants along both sides of the river is astounding. Clearly the export of power is a big business as there clearly aren't enough people in the area to require this amount of power and the power plants on the Canadian side had their power lines stretched across the river. There's also a huge number of refineries and chemical plants on the Canadian side with pipelines going under the river to the US. I'm guessing that the environmental laws are more lax in Canada and that's why the businesses are located there. We saw at least one power plant on the Canadian side belching smoke, which was something that you didn't see on the US side.

Port Huron is quite a large city with lots to see and do. We pulled into a very nice State of Michigan dock and spent 3 nights there. They have a trolley that will take you on an hour long narrated tour of the city for 10 cents (5 cents for seniors)! While we were there the Great Lakes Cruising Association had a rally and there was an antique boat show which included many beautifully restored Chris Craft boats. Wow, what a labor of love! There was also a BBQ rib competition, which was near and dear to my stomach, if not my heart.

Unfortunately many of the larger businesses are located a good distance from the old downtown, but they have a good bus system that can take you just about anywhere. We rented a car to run errands and pick up supplies. I'm happy to report that the good restaurants are located in the old downtown section and there are a lot of very good restaurants here!

While we were here I decided to resolve an issue with a coolant line which runs from the engine to water heater, heating water via a heat exchanger. It had sprung a leak while we were in the Erie Canal. Well, finding that leak and fixing probably took 8 hours as the hoses run under the floor and are virtually inaccessible. I can trace the origins of this problem back to a fuel leak that I had while the boat was on the hard in RI a couple of years ago. The fuel soaked into the hoses and turned them into jelly and it took this long for them to fail. At least that problem is fixed.

Today we're headed to Bayfield, Ontario which is about 58 miles from here. We have very light winds out of the SE, which will be great for the sea state, but not for sailing...

-- Geoff & Sue

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For the cruiser:

St. Clair Shore: We stayed at the Johnson Beach Marina, which was nothing special. Fuel was $0.30 more expensive than here and pump out was $10. The docks are very tall and narrow. It's also a huge marina and it's about 2/3 of a mile walk to the road! There is a West Marine located about 3/4 of a mile down the road.

Pt. Huron: The Michigan State marina was very nice and cheap. $1/ft + $3 for a 40' boat. They also have a laundry that you can use for $3 for all of the laundry that you want to do. For food we highly recommend the Black River Cafe. The Quay Brewery is also good and the Vintage Tavern serves excellent food, but in small portions.

Log ID: 1373