Finally on Lake Erie. (More) Pictures Included

[wahoo33417]

Thanks to the help and advice provided by several members here, I’m on my way to running the length of Lake Erie. All the predictions of the short, steep chop are true.

Running from west to east and waiting out some weather in Erie at the moment. I’ve met wonderful people and made great memories already.

Restored original image, just figured out how to shrink it to a much smaller (maybe too small) size. Doing this from an iPad is still a work in progress for me.

Rob

 

[Halfhitch]

Re: Finally on Lake Erie. Picture Included

Wahoo,

When using IMUR to post photos, you can choose the size you want by clicking on one of the choices in the lower right corner of the screen. I use "Large thumbnail" or "Huge thumbnail".

I'm looking forward to your pictures.

 

[wahoo33417]

Re: Finally on Lake Erie. Picture Included

Thanks Halfhitch. That’s the part I can’t get to come up from my iPad. Thinking that Imgur just isn’t ios friendly, I downloaded the app and tried that way. I could find no similar option to resize images for bulletin boards in the app.

Perhaps another member can repost a smaller version of the image and then I’ll try to delete my original

I’ll search the web for a solution.

Looks like I’ll be able to resume running either this afternoon or first light tomorrow.

Rob

 

[wahoo33417]

Re: Finally on Lake Erie. Picture Included

Well, it’s a rainy day with small craft advisory, so still trying to solve this Imgur thing...

Loses a lot, but there is the Cleveland skyline as I passed by.

Will try to post more as time allows. And if I can remember how I did this one...

Rob

 

[Halfhitch]

Re: Finally on Lake Erie. Picture Included

Thanks for that picture of Cleveland wahoo. I guess Cleveland didn't crumble down when Lebron James left....Whew!

How are you deciding on your next leg and where you will stay?

 

[wahoo33417]

Re: Finally on Lake Erie. Picture Included

Hopefully will be in Dunkirk tomorrow. I try to focus on marinas with hotels within a short walking distance. I’m prepared to stay on the boat if I have to, but if holed up by bad weather for a few days, a hotel room is nice.

Poor quality picture below is from earlier in trip as (I believe) I was passing by Sandusky. I could see Ferris wheels and roller coasters. They are sort of visible in right side of photo.

Rob

 

[wahoo33417]

Re: Finally on Lake Erie. Picture Included

Another from earlier in the trip. Morning departure from Huron muni boat basin. Great place. I would stay there again.

*deleted oversized pic*

I don’t recall exactly where this is, near Cleveland,I believe. Any two nuclear cooling towers should make it identifiable for folks from that area?

Seas (waves) finally laid done just as I approached Erie, PA. Presque Isle Bay is just on the other side of that tree line.

*deleted oversized pic.

Entry way into one of Erie’s boat basin's is bridged by connection between hotels.

Weather hopefully is getting better, so may be a couple of days before I post more.

Rob

 

[family affair]

Re: Finally on Lake Erie. Picture Included

Yup. That's Cedar Point!
Did you stop in at the islands? Great place to visit, especially during the week.
How would you rate how well your Journey handles the Erie chop compared to the ocean? What size waves have you been running into and what speed have you been able to maintain?
The nuke plant is Perry.

 

[Halfhitch]

Re: Finally on Lake Erie. Pictures Included

wahoo....are you still floating???

 

[Halfhitch]

Re: Finally on Lake Erie. Pictures Included

wahoo....are you still floating???

Where are you? If you are going to take us along on the trip then you gotta keep us up to date.

 

[UCPA111]

Re: Finally on Lake Erie. Pictures Included

Walleye fishing (and catching) off Erie, PA is on fire. Not sure if you had a chance to drop a line, but catching 30 walleye in 3-4 hours has been routine.
Hope your trip goes well!

 

[wahoo33417]

Re: Finally on Lake Erie. Pictures Included

Will post more in next day or two - with pictures.

Took advantage of south winds and completed trip. Left Erie three days ago at sunrise on SE 10-15. Seems to me (based on a scant 7 days of experience!) an Erie 10-15 is a short period chop that gives me a bumpy ride. Most would say it’s fine, but I’ve got some pinched nerves in my neck that let me know when it’s not. So I hugged the shoreline as much as I dared and prayed my Garmin charts are accurate. That took down some of the wind some of the time. Couldn’t always hug the shoreline.

Arrived Dunkirk by 7:30 am. So... headed to Buffalo. Only 33 miles to the harbor breakwater. Halfway there I called to see if I could get a slip and a hotel room. I could not get a room and I knew I had a room in Dunkirk at a hotel adjacent to marina. I'm not a hearty soul, I’ll take a shower, real bed and air conditioning over the berth in my Journey when I can get it.

So I went far enough to lay eyes on Buffalo. Then turned around to take a SW heading into that SE wind. I was beat by the time I got back to Dunkirk. Ran back to Erie where I am now waiting on truck and trailer to come get me. Should be here in a few hours.

From what I’ve seen so far, Journey rides very comfortably, no tabs, engine trimmed up, in up to 10 knots of wind. I can run at any speed, but 25-26 mph is most fuel efficient when I’m heavily loaded. By 15 knots of wind and 2' chop, it of course depends on direction. Heading straight into, I’ll want to put tabs down some and stay on slow plane of 22- 23 mph. The day I passed by Sandusky, it was a sloppy 2’-3’. I could not run on plane that day. I only had a short distance and I just slogged along.

Hard to give one answer as to how she handles Erie chop. To a point, wave period affects ride as much as wave height.

 

[wahoo33417]

Re: Finally on Lake Erie. Pictures Included

'Journey' sitting pretty in Huron municipal boat Basin after that nasty run from Cedar Point.

 

[UCPA111]

Re: Finally on Lake Erie. Pictures Included

Nice! Lake Erie is tough. Very short period typically so it leave a lot of "potholes" in the water. You can be in 3'-4' chop and there's no apparent back side to them and you slam. Definitely not the ocean...where you can run up a large wave and down the other side.

 

[family affair]

Re: Finally on Lake Erie. Pictures Included

Thank you for the update. That's a lot of rough water to cover in a short period of time.
Looks like your experience and performance of your Journey aren't much different than our Voyager. I've come to the conclusion that the only way I'll ride smoothly on Erie chop with a stable drift platform is if I get a cat. Too bad there aren't any out there that check more boxes than what I have now.

 

[wahoo33417]

Re: Finally on Lake Erie. Pictures Included

Family: in answer to an earlier question, I did not make a stop at any of the islands. I had intended to, but... When I start these trips I’m usually anxious to cover ground, since I have limited time. And when I was in that area is when I was slogging along. I just wanted to get to Huron and hope for better weather.

When I planned this trip, in my mind, seas were flat calm every day and each day I made every stop I wanted to and saw every sight...

So, instead, I cherish what I really did see and experience.

Pre-dawn departure from Erie, headed to Dunkirk.

A bit later as the sun came up. All these photos are from an iPhone, so I have to play with the light balance in order to have a photo directly into the sun.

Still on the way to Dunkirk. I'm usually getting a pretty good ride when you see photos worth posting. iPhone photos attempted when bouncing along usually don’t come out too well

At this point, I’ve passed up Dunkirk and headed to Buffalo with the curtains up. First time putting the curtains up. You can see a bit of reflection. Not very evident here, but I found I can’t see well (safe) enough with the curtains up even when it’s not raining.

 

[wahoo33417]

Re: Finally on Lake Erie. Pictures Included

Sorry, I find I’m taking things out of order here.

My one really calm water stretch was the afternoon of a long day when I went from Huron, OH to Erie, PA, a distance of about 160 miles on my GPS. I followed curve of the shoreline, not point-to-point. Day started out bumpy, but got calmer and I like calmer.

Photo is approaching Presque Isle Bay, on which sits Erie, PA.

And when you’re a non-hearty soul like me, you opt for the hotel over looking your Grady (smallest boat in the harbor) in Presque Isle Bay.

 

[wahoo33417]

Re: Finally on Lake Erie. Pictures Included

But, each trip ends and planning the next begins. My hauler met me with a slightly over-sized trailer. He had delivered a 39’(?) Midnight Express on his way to get me. He had the rear bunks narrowed up just right for me. In the photo he was in the process of dropping the forward bunks some to get the boat to sit correctly.

Lastly, I’ll add a photo (not from this trip) of my helm set up. I don’t have radar, but instead subscribe to XM Satellite Weather on the Garmin. IPhone is backup weather radar. IPad has Marine Traffic app and has Garmin BlueChart app to backup the Garmin chart plotter .