Sunday, June 30, 2013

Arrgh, there are pirates afoot in Put-In-Bay


Arrrgh there are Pirates afoot in Put-In-Bay

As luck would have it (or not) we arrived in the village of Put-In-Bay on South Bass Island amidst cannon fire to discover the annual Pyrate Fest was in full swing.  We had been warned to anchor well out in this bay since the nights here belong to the party crowd.  Our first walk around had us wondering if we ever left PCB (Panama City Beach, Spring Break Capital of the World?).

 
 
 
 
 


Or had we been beamed back to Key West?

 
 
 



The charming cottages and wineries plus the massive monument to Perry’s battle here in 1813 combined to make this its own unique crazy place.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


The frequent cannon fire did keep us from dozing off for an afternoon nap, but the festivities entertained all weekend including a car parade along the shore road we were able to view from the boat. The water taxi provided transport to shore on demand and the ferry from Port Clinton delivered several West Marine orders.
 
 




 

 



 







 

 

 
 
 water taxi unloading
 



 
 

The local nautical antique store (Cargonet.com) yielded new teak folding chairs needed since one of our plastic chairs purchased many, many years ago for Saudi desert camping gave up the ghost. Now, we were prepared to carry the chairs back to town on the bus, but locals Connie and Jim gave us and the chairs a ride to the water taxi dock. Just the friendly Put-in-Bay way, they said.  Yet another example of the friendly and kind folks we have met on this journey.
 
 
 

Parallel park that boat

Parallel Parking the Boat in Lorain to the City of Flowers - Vermilion

Rain showers and thunderstorms have added drama to our afternoons regularly; nevertheless, we have managed to keep moving.  The rain has again closed the Erie Canal, but on the good side, the lakes are higher than they have been. This may give us more options for stops on Huron and Michigan. The extremely low lake water has closed some marinas to boats like ours the last few years. With ‘weather’, we try to keep our eye on the upside as we dash for cover from the rain drops.


After Cleveland, we stopped in Lorain, OH where on arrival the harbor master instructed us to parallel park on the D dock across from the big blue tug.  Well, I was very confused about how to parallel park a boat and more than a little confused about what she meant, but Steve, the expert captain that he is, figured it out – even though the big blue thing had departed before we got there.  In general, most marinas need to make their dock numbering easier to read from the water – in Lorain the dock numbers were massive on the parking lot side and miniature from the water! At least we never had trouble finding our boat from the land side!

 Our stop in Lorain was primarily to visit friends Jan and Bryan who we met in Marathon many months ago. (You can review our arrive in Marathon to remember why we are deeply grateful to those two who saved us from running aground and helped us safely tie up to the mooring ball – risking life and limb in front of our prow.) We owe them yet another debt since they ferried us to errands not easily accomplished from boat docks in one afternoon – trips to Target, World Market, superior grocery stores and butchers, hair cutters, and discount warehouses plus toured us around the area to see the views from the land. More than all the help, it was wonderful to sit and catch up with fellow boaters who understand our attraction to life on the water.  They also have advised us on many great stops along Lake Erie. So, from Lorain we moved a few miles further west to Vermilion, OH.  These two towns, though barely 10 miles apart, are a study in contrasts. Both have very accessible rivers and a downtown core with attractive vintage buildings close to the harbor. However, Vermilion has managed to redevelop their waterfront and refurbish the downtown facades.  In addition, they have a very active group that organizes free activities and beautifies the town with more than 144 hanging planters plus pots and flower beds.  The place is in bloom and too cute to boot. While Lorain has all this potential including a cute restored lighthouse, it seems to lack the sustained civic energy that has revived neighboring Vermilion. It does look like things are beginning to happen in Lorain, and we were sorry to miss the International Festival with music and food setting up on the river front park.  We also missed the Saturday Market in Vermilion as we left early to get a mooring ball on South Bass Island in Put-In-Bay where we discovered the weekend events include the Pyrate Festival – insert cannon firing. More on that next time.