039 - Heavy Industry Just Has a Look

Why can’t industry spend a few bucks to make it look pretty? It always looks like it’s in a state of disrepair or they’re squeezing every last nickel out of it. Why don’t they throw away the trash and rake the yard so it’s at least tidy? The Detroit River has many of these places, most look abandoned but some not, like the ones above. It makes for a very entertaining passage imagining what goes on in these places and the people who had the vision and ambition to build them. How did they sell the concept for such vast expenditures in capital? It’s really a marvel it ever worked but it would all the better if they looked a bit more tidy.

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034 - USS Niagara

What a beautiful working replica of this historic ship. It is used today as a training ship and offers 10day expeditions for youth to learn the ways of sailing a Brigg. It is about as exact as you can expect. I loved their use manila rope, linseed oil, and other items that gives it the smell of an old ship – I don’t know what it is but it’s very familiar. Below decks were tight, it only had a 5ft ceiling in the galley area – how anyone could operate in that space long term was beyond me but the professional crew does. Galley stove and 5ft ceiling - how do they do it? Watching it sail was like stepping back it time. It passed us on the breakwater silently, tall, and majestic. It was easy to imagine the awe seeing this come into an isolated harbor like Presque Island 200 years ago. Something so big and complicated carrying so many men and cannon would change the balance of power with its arrival. It would intimidate the strongest and lure the wondering spirit t

049 - Currents

I admit the picture doesn’t show much, but this was 5.5kts underneath Peace Bridge near Port Huron. We were doing 1/2kt against the current. People on the shore were walking faster than us. It was impressive. I’m glad to be on Lake Huron where there are no currents. The lake does slosh around with wind but I can handle that, I really don’t want to fight 5.5kts of current again, it was taking the boat and tossing it all around like a cork. I was working the tiller harder than in a following sea. You can see a bit of an eddy in the lower right but you’ll have to trust me on this one. The dramatized blurry picture below shows the turbulence and terror of the experience. It also captures the Loch Huron monster in the middle left – it’s unexplained what that silver hump is. Yikes!

038 - Avoiding Customs

The waterway from Lake Erie to Lake Huron is a bit confusing. The Detroit River is more like a fast-moving delta region with “the river” breaking up into 3 channels at one point with multiple islands. The USA/Canadian border winds its way around these waters and it is very difficult to keep track of what country you are in at any one time. Lake St. Clair is straight forward enough, but the St. Clair River which is the outflow from Huron to St. Clair is similar the Detroit River, more a flooded delta region that makes it difficult again to know what country you are in. The basic rule is you can transit each other’s waters as long as you don’t anchor, transfer people or cargo to another boat, or touch each other’s shore or facilities. If any of the three occur you must report to customs within 24 hrs. The Canadian’s make this relatively easy with a phone call, the American’s not so much, they require a face-to-face in one of their “conveniently” located offices. I’m not sure w

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