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Put-in-Bay

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dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Initially Posted - 03/06/2002 : 22:09:49

I'm planning to go to Put-in-Bay in Lake Erie this summer on my newly aquired Cat 25. I know that the bay is somewhat crazy on the weekends(beer guzzlin' stinkboaters), and since I have two small children, I may go there with them in the middle of the week and then at another time, me and the guys(beer guzzlin' sailboaters) will probably hit the bay on a weekend. I've found a couple of websites and also looked at some cruising guides that had some information, but it is hard to beat local knowledge. Since I've never been there before, does anyone have any helpful hints?

Don & Jennifer, Northstar
C25 SR/FK

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OJ
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4382 Posts

Response Posted - 03/07/2002 : 09:14:13

There is a nice row of state owned docks in what I would call the heart of the town. Very resonable and secure. Public showers in center of town. Lot's to see - rent a golf cart - for even half a day. My opinion of Perry's victory - I think the dude got a lucky wind shift! There's also a nice state park near Cedar Point where you can launch and then leave your vehicles for free. I wouldn't travel from Put-In-Bay back to the mainland on Friday afternoon - all the party animals start heading North in their cigarette boats at full tilt. If you can, go the Northern most island (Pele?) and spend a night at a small, quiet and peaceful marina - the name escapes me right now - I think it's called Scudder's?
It's a fun area.

Steve Madsen
#2428
OJ(Ode to Joy)

[url="http://catalina25-250.org/photo0.htm/"]<img src="http://www.catalina25-250.org/photo/ode075.jpg" border=0>[/url]

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Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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6855 Posts

Response Posted - 03/07/2002 : 09:23:29

If you are looking for a place to take the kids, you may try Kelley’s Island instead of Put In Bay. Its not as big, just as pretty, but the attitude of the visitors is much different. The bar scene consists of only 4 main bars and plus one or two on the other side of the Island so it doesn't get as rowdy. The kids can check out the Grooves in the Rock formed by the glaciers, play put put, cruise around in a golf cart… Stay the night on Kelley’s and either take the ferry or sail over to Cedar Point. Any youngster would love that. When the kids go to sleep, get yourself a famous Brandy Alexander at the Village Pump (usually more famous on a hot sunny afternoon, but with littluns it would have to wait…) Head over to Bag the Moon Saloon and find the dollar bill I stapled up on the wall.

Dockage is reasonable, I would recommend one of three locations: The Seaway Marina (most amenities plus the best depth), The portside craft and Gift shop docks, if you stay toward the outside (but not on the outside) then you should have enough depth here. If you crank up the keel, you should be more than fine. Last choice is a Yacht Club between the two others, the name escapes me, but I always use this as the last resort. They are all on the Southern side of the island...a three hour jaunt from Sandusky. Check out...
www.kelleysisland.com

Now, for Put-In-Bay:
Bring a lot of money when you decide to go there. If your planning on hitting the bars you can lose 200 dollars quicker, than you can at a black jack table;and you will have no idea where you spent it. After all it is an Island and everything is brought in by Ferry.
As for your approach to the Island – if you are coming from the east, you have two options. Over Kelley’s Island or Under Kelley's Island. Take the Under, there are a number of shoals to the North of KI. If you have a good and recently updated mapping GPS may show more detail than the charts. If this is the case going the northern route should be quicker. Just thread your way through the shoals and keep your eyes open.

If you do go below Kelley’s, do not head due north until you find and round the Red buoy off the South West Corner, There is an old rock wall that is submerged there and you don’t want to cut it short.

Between ballast Island and South Bass Island (Put-In-Bay) there is a series of buoys, red, green red. Stay in that channel you will have to tack back and forth...I would suggest even motoring this if you are not familiar. The depth drops to about two feet (The Lake depth is way down) on either side. If you want to add an extra hour to your trip, Round Ballast Island to Port and you will not have any depth problems.
Docking – Unless you are lucky enough to get a dock at the Yacht Club (only 2 transients) you will be stuck at a mooring ball or the public docks. Choose the public docks….The mooring balls are fine, but the tender only runs until midnight. I advise against taking your own dinghy onto shore. 1 – it could get taken for a joy ride by some drunk landlubber and 2 – There are a lot of idiots when you put that many stink boaters in one place. If you do take one to shore, make sure you have the requisite running lights and licensing.
Dockage should be about 40 bucks a night. You want to avoid an inside spot for 2 reasons. In most cases an inside boat will be stuck there until Monday in most cases and Secondly your boat becomes the boarding ramp for the other three tied off to you. When I say inside, I mean the inside of a raft. Under no circumstances should you dock on the outside of the Public docks, The wake in the bay from the ferry's and other stinkboaters will bash you to peices in one night. Stick to where you are protected...Sounds like I am contradicting myself, but you will understand what I mean when you get there.
As for the island…in the afternoon, rent a golf cart and drive around. Check out the monument, the public campground etc. There are two interesting bars on the south side of the Island. One used to be called the baby barrel, but now the name escapes me. Just take the first right after the airport…The other neat place is the bar at the airport….This is where you will be going after all the bars on the main strip close later that evening. Check out the Winery as well as the caves too.
There are numerous prime dinner locations, included are the bar food at the local brewpub, the Crescent Tavern dinner menu, the lobster bisque at the boardwalk. There is also a good restaurant on the North West Corner of DeRivera park called Mossbacks
In the evening, the Sail boat hang out has always been Frosty’s Tavern. (I am not giving directions here mind you because its an Island, you will find everything….easily) The boat house is also another good choice. If it’s a Saturday go see Pat Dailey at the Beer Barrel (home of the worlds longest bar). (By the way, there isn’t much to do other than drink and hand out beads to women who flash you once the sun goes down)….When the main strip closes down, catch a $2.00 Cab ride to the Sky bar at the airport.

Words of Wisdom: 1. Do not under any circumstances carry your beer can on the dock, put it in a cup or you will get an open container violation. 2. Avoid Jaywalking especially after dark. 3. You can get a DUI in a golf cart and you can get a ticket in a golf cart for not wearing a seat belt. 4. Don’t buy your gas at the BP Station…head toward the airport (South on Toledo go right at the fork) there is a speedway next to the hardware store you'll save a few bucks. 5.Get your boat supplies at the store next to the boardwalk…6.If you rent a golf cart, park it no more than 1 foot away from the curb or you'll get a ticket.

Have Fun

Duane Wolff
"The Flying Wasp"
C-25, #401 std,sk
Chief Measurer C-25/250 national Org.
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2dc20b3127cce9cd2f45b211a0000004010" border=0>

Edited by - Duane Wolff on 03/07/2002 14:14:14

Edited by - Duane Wolff on 03/07/2002 14:16:45

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 03/07/2002 : 09:26:21

where do you keep the boat steve

Duane Wolff
"The Flying Wasp"
C-25, #401 std,sk
Chief Measurer C-25/250 national Org.
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2dc20b3127cce9cd2f45b211a0000004010" border=0>

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 03/07/2002 : 21:10:07

Thanks for the info!

Don & Jennifer, Northstar
C25 SR/FK

Edited by - on

Sabur
Deckhand

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8 Posts

Response Posted - 03/07/2002 : 23:50:53

About the state owned docks mentioned by Steve in the second post. If you have a fin keel (according to your signature you do) you may not have enough depth at those docks. I stayed there overnight with my fin keel during the week before Labor day weekend in 1999. This was the year before the water level dropped and I probably had only a couple of inches below my keel (the bottom was soft). Last year in July my brother and his family came to visit and we took a ferry to Put-In-Bay. Before we left I thought to put a tape measure in my pocket in case I got a chance to measure the depth at the docks during our visit. Well I did get a chance and the depth was 2 or 3 inches short of 4 feet, 4 feet being the draft of our fin keel Catalinas.

You have to go by all the other marinas to get to the state docks and the channel ends at the state docks; don't go beyond. The water between the point that the docks are on and Gibraltor island is very shallow and with the water as low as it's been it may be obvious(i.e. rocks jutting above the surface)!

Mike Bur
Excalibur
#3959
1983 SR/FK

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 03/08/2002 : 08:30:26

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
About the state owned docks mentioned by Steve in the second post. If you have a fin keel (according to your signature you do) you may not have enough depth at those docks. <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

Mike,

They dredge that area every year. We stayed at the public docks every year for the past 5 for the Bay Week Regatta. It is shallow, but you can get a draw of at least 6 in almost all areas.

dw

Duane Wolff
"The Flying Wasp"
C-25, #401 std,sk
Chief Measurer C-25/250 national Org.
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2dc20b3127cce9cd2f45b211a0000004010" border=0>

Edited by - on

Ray Seitz
Captain

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USA
416 Posts

Response Posted - 03/08/2002 : 11:55:42

Don: Thanks for starting this topic, I too am interested in making a trip up that way sometime this summer. Thanks also to the responses thus far. Duane you have answered most of any questions I would have had, with the exception of one. I am thinking about a mid August trip hoping to escape some of the typical Aug. heat around here. I was unsure if it would be better to head up to the eastern shore of Michigan with the thought it might be cooler. Any thoughts or experiences with southern Lake Huron? Or is the put-in-bay area cooled enough by the lake that my concerns with the heat unwarrented?

Ray Seitz C 250WB

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Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 03/08/2002 : 12:19:45

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
Any thoughts or experiences with southern Lake Huron? Or is the put-in-bay area cooled enough by the lake that my concerns with the heat unwarrented?

<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

Ray,

In Mid August you are going to sweat almost wherever you go. The first week of August every year is the Bayweek at the bay. In good years 200 plus sailboats invade Public Dock C and I am usually one of those boats. While out on the water it gets breezy in between the islands, however does calm down a bit in the middle of the day. As for the land.....Hot as you know where. Anything can happen of course, but it is usually consistently hot and humid around that time of year. If you have never been there, its something you should still try and experience.

Most of the good sailing is between 6:30 am and 1 pm...after that everything gets so darn hot that you want to sit in an air conditioned bar....

dw

Duane Wolff
"The Flying Wasp"
C-25, #401 std,sk
Chief Measurer C-25/250 national Org.
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2dc20b3127cce9cd2f45b211a0000004010" border=0>

Edited by - on

Sabur
Deckhand

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8 Posts

Response Posted - 03/10/2002 : 00:42:03

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>They dredge that area every year. We stayed at the public docks every year for the past 5 for the Bay Week
Regatta. It is shallow, but you can get a draw of at least 6 in almost all areas.

dw

Duane Wolff <hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

Duane,

Whoops(insert exclamation point: keyboard not's working). I believe we are talking about two different places. When OJ mentioned "a nice row of state owned docks" I thought he was referring to the row of state park(?) owned docks on what I believe is called Oak Point at the end of the channel past the Crews Nest and not the municipally(?) owned public piers in front of the park which I do not think of as a "row of ... docks" but does better fit the description of being near "the heart of the town". Oh well, I'm sure that if Don & Jennifer are smart enough to by a Catalina 25 they will figure it out.

Mike

Mike Bur
Excalibur
#3959
1983 SR/FK

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 03/10/2002 : 09:08:35

Mike,

I am not sure to where you are referring; So I would have to take your word on that.Here is a good listing of docks available at the Bay...

http://www.put-in-bay.com/dockage.htm

DW

Duane Wolff
"The Flying Wasp"
C-25, #401 std,sk
Chief Measurer C-25/250 national Org.
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2dc20b3127cce9cd2f45b211a0000004010" border=0>

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 03/11/2002 : 09:00:17

According to a Detroit Free Press article on March 8th, Lake Erie should be 5 inches higher than last year. It's not much, but it is a lot better that 5 inches lower! To read the article go to
http://www.freep.com/news/mich/lakes8_20020308.htm.

Again, thank you for your input concerning this topic.

Don & Jennifer, Northstar
C25 SR/FK

Edited by - on

hull3551
Deckhand

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USA
8 Posts

Response Posted - 03/19/2002 : 12:12:20

my two cents:
I'm an person who anchors over docking and find both Kelley's and PIB offer adequate areas to drop the hook. The last time I tried the state owned docks, I ran aground - that was 99. On PIB, I usually anchor near the monument and have never had problems. At Kelleys it's the North Bay and row in (you'll need a dinghy obviously). Pelee is my favorite island and is desolate (and this may even be an understatement). Quiet, friendly Canadians and an all around relaxing time. Time stands still at Scudders. And the recently restored lighthouse is a nice walk from the marina. My vote is for Pelee Island.

<BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>quote:<hr height=1 noshade id=quote>
I am thinking about a mid August trip hoping to escape some of the typical Aug. heat around here...or is the put-in-bay area cooled enough by the lake that my concerns with the heat unwarrented?
<hr height=1 noshade id=quote></BLOCKQUOTE id=quote>

Ray - It seems the last few years on the lake, the wind and weather has been predominantly out of the north, which has made for cool days. I cannot recall many sweltering nights at anchor, or even 100 degree days. Now 98 and 99 - there were plenty of windless August 90-100 degree weekends, while other times had a nice wind out of the SW, as the normal weather pattrn seems to be. Where we'd have full sales and be dead in the water and jump in for a swim. I guess I'm saying you just don't know what the weather will be like.

In case you want the big picture, here is a neat link:
http://www.leihs.org/360view.html

<img src="http://www.jwestcott.com/sail2/wind1.jpg" border=0>

Jeff Westcott
#3551 Stella Blue

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 03/19/2002 : 15:28:02

Jeff,

When you go to Pelee, how do you clear customs? Do you use the CANPass program or do you report in at customs proper? Additionally, when you leave and return to the U.S., how and where do you clear U.S. customs? I would like to go to Pelee Island this summer, but I have not found that much information for the island.

Don Lucier, Northstar
C25 SR/FK

Edited by - on

hull3551
Deckhand

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USA
8 Posts

Response Posted - 03/19/2002 : 17:47:45

Hi Don,
Well there's really not much to do on the island, maybe that's why there's no info. <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

But there is a web site: http://www.peleeisland.com/

To clear Canadian customs, call 1-888-CAN-PASS when you arrive. I never did, but the cute friendly customes agents gave us a warning. So anymore I definitely will going forward, as they can fine you or sieze your boat. Upon returning to the US there is another number, but I can't remember what it was.

I love the fact there is nothing to do there. Just relax and watch the sun set and swim off the pier where there is an old grain loading facility you can jump off if you feel really daring. I never did. The western side of the island had a few mediocre restaurants/bars and there is one very nice place (but we didn't eat there) where they have a big, inexpensive buffet. You need to take a cab there from Scudders and you get to see that the island is really nothing but grapes, soybeans and some type of hybridized corn that only grows there (so we were told) as experimental...and dusty flat roads. The general store closes early and it really feels like you're in the nineteen forties (or earlier). It is one of the top bird migration points in the US though.

Be careful off the east side of the island - it's shallow pretty far out. And heading south back to Kelley's requires some decent navigation (ie, dead reckoning or GPS), as it's pretty shallow. And rocky. And the weather too can be entirely different than further south. That is where I'll be Memorial weekend. Have fun!!

Jeff Westcott
#3551 Stella Blue

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hull3551
Deckhand

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Response Posted - 03/19/2002 : 17:49:58

And I never really answered your question...
Give customs your vessel name, number of occupants, registration number, state. dates, etc. They may ask for certain things like birth dates and ss#'s, but they didn't ask us.

Jeff Westcott
#3551 Stella Blue

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Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 03/19/2002 : 21:11:00

I have to agree with Jeff as far as Pelee Island, very quiet and not much to do. I haven't been there in 5 years. I do know that some of the best fishing guides for walleye and perch on Lake Erie make their home there. My grandfather used to go up every year to go fishing.

I can't say I've had the same results with the weather that Jeff has had, for the past two years I was sweating like crazy in the heat. That is all a crapshoot.

As for the depth, I have never had a problem in the muny dock, just keep in mind that if you enter the C dock area to stay close to C dock when rounding. If you head dead center between A and C there is a substantially large rock. Also, be prepared to go swimming to take the kelp off the keel....

dw

Duane Wolff
"The Flying Wasp"
C-25, #401 std,sk
Chief Measurer C-25/250 national Org.
<img src="http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b2dc20b3127cce9cd2f45b211a0000004010" border=0>

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