Canada the beautiful
On July 4th
we tripped up the St. Clair River against the current at an average 4.9 knots and
landed in Sarnia, ON where Steve got us legal for a few days in Canada. (Only
the captain can get off the boat until we have cleared immigration and
customs.) At Sarnia Bay Marina we
enjoyed another resort style marina – this one was “dying to meet us” and would
do anything to keep us happy. (Their words not mine) Services included a shuttle bus with a
liveried driver, pool, community room, WIFI and onsite restaurant. We opted for
a walk along the riverside park and back through the old main street under
revitalization. Sadly for me the antique store was closing when we got there;
Steve was over joyed! We did enjoy the contrast between heavy industry smack on
top of apartment towers, marinas, parks and river excursions. Although we heard
lots of fireworks from the Port Huron side of the river, we did not see the
displays. The “boys” on their way to the annual 10,000 boat raft up did keep us
awake off and on as they warmed up for the weekend.
As a small revenge we
revved up our engine at 6:45 AM, leaving at (for us) the civilized hour of 7 AM.
We putt-putted up the river a mere 3 miles and under the Blue Water Bridge
where the current briefly held us to 2.3 knots – and we were well to the side
of the river. Thankfully the speed picked up for our run of 50+ miles across
Lake Huron to Bayfield, ON. The early
morning low clouds/fog meant Steve got to play with the radar, but the silver
lining here is these dense conditions also meant little to no wind which equals
NO WAVES! Just like our first day on Lake Erie, we were delighted to enjoy a
few hours of flat water. All of these lakes can get very nasty so we appreciate
the days when nature gives us a break. (Frank is especially grateful since he
has continued to get sea sick when it is “rough”.) We did stop about 45 minutes
out to check the prop as our shallow dock in Sarnia was heavy with grass. Doing a reverse move lots of green stuff
floated up so Steve donned his wet suit to take a look. While he was down there he gave things a
scrub and removed a few more blades of grass.
The early morning swim both woke him up and tired him out. He could take
a few naps as we only saw two boats all day – one big “Laker” from miles away
and a fast boat that arrived in Bayfield shortly before us – and happened to be
in the slip next to ours. After tying up we hiked up a shaded woodland path on
to Historic Main Street – with 50+ shops and restaurants amidst a charming tidy
village with big cottages. This is one
of the oldest towns in the area and has turned its heritage into a tourist
destination. The harbor is deep and
handy to town so this is an A+ stop for scenery, friendliness and convenience. Bayfield provided a small foretaste of Kincardine to come.
Bayfield is famous for sunsets on Lake Huron - you can see why
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