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Sailng on Lake Erie by
We began our boating adventure with a 17 foot day sailor, trailering it to inland lakes where we could hone our sailing skills before moving to the deeper waters of Lake Erie. It was so much fun just puttering around, learning to jibe and tack the boat, sailing it under heavy winds and light winds. One day we made the big move and launched the boat at Cleveland’s Edgewater public boat ramp to begin sailing Lake Erie. Scared, nervous, but proud of our accomplishment to sail the Big Lake, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Over the next couple of summers our confidence grew. So we sold the day sailor and moved up to a 26 foot MacGregor sailboat, docking it at Cleveland’s Edgewater Marina. Our typical sailing adventures were to sail west bound towards Sandusky, rarely venturing east on the lake due to one very important fact: the opportunities for shelter, should the need arise, were few and far between eastbound. We sailed across the lake to Ontario and our confidence grew each major trip we took. We can attest to Lake Erie’s reputation of being a difficult lake to sail because of it’s choppiness of water, Erie being the shallowest of all the Great Lakes, the situation can quickly go from a calm lake to ten foot waves and heavy seas. In the sailing community it is a known fact that if you can sail Lake Erie, you can sail anywhere in the world - Lake Erie is that unpredictable and difficult to sail.
One particular sunny July day, we motored out of Edgewater, cleared the break walls that line the city shoreline, hoisted the sails and off we went. It was sunny, clear, with a zero chance of rain. Our sail plan was head to the 5-mile crib (a large water intake system with a mechanized lighthouse and navigation system on top, and located due north of downtown Cleveland), then swim for a while, have a snack and return back to the marina. This ‘cribbean cruise’ was a favorite destination for many boaters, whether they came to fish or swim. Freighters used the crib as a navigational mark, beginning to make the turn and slow down, finally moving towards the Cuyahoga River to load or unload their cargo.
As we were swimming near the crib, we noticed the sky darkening to the west and decided to head back to the marina. Under normal conditions would have taken us about 3 hours. We started out with the sails up, but quickly decided to drop the sails and secure everything and motor in once we realized how fast the storm was approaching. Life jackets donned! Sails lashed down! Everything secure below! Motor on and underway! Motoring would drop the time down to about 1 hour instead of the usual 3. Dave was at the helm (steering). Suddenly the front of the storm hit. BAM!!! The front sail blew out of its ties and Dave scrambled up to re-secure it. His efforts proved fruitless with the howling wind. Instead, he used his body to hold it down on the deck. I had taken over the helm when he scooted forward. It was raining so hard that we could not see 5 feet in front of us! There were many boats on the water that day, and when the storm came in, all were scrambling to get back to shore, as was our goal. We were going to hit someone for sure! We had to make a split second decision: either continue heading to shore, trying to find the entrance at the break wall into the marina, possibly hitting another boat as it rushed to shore and shelter… OR turn around and head back out into open water. I yelled up to Dave that I was coming about and turned the boat 180 degrees directly into the storm, back out into deeper water and less traffic. By then lightning, heavy rain, strong winds seemed to envelope us. We both were absolutely petrified! Within 15 minutes the storm had passed, the sun came out, and I turned the boat around towards shore again now that we could see. We were stunned … but happily relieved! The storm’s high winds had wreaked havoc - many boats had capsized, some were turtled (upside down) in the water. We could see Coast Guard rescue boats on their way to check out the boats. And as they neared us, we gave them a thumbs’ up, A-Okay sign, and they moved on. What a remarkable day that was! We both felt a renewed and total respect for Lake Erie. Currently, Dave and I are land-sailors, moving across the country in our Class A motor home. But we value our times and adventures on the water. To follow our travels, visit us on: http://lvngrdream.blogspot.com
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