Joys of a quiet Anchorage

Nov 8, 2007
1,523
Hunter 27_75-84 Sandusky Harbor Marina, Ohio
Here is the view over our bow, anchored near East Harbor State Park, Catawba Island, Lake Erie. We saw bald eagles all three days of our recent cruise, as well as professional bass fishermen in The Lake Erie Tournament. There were around five fishing in in East Harbor at any given time then they would speed off to try another place. As we sailed around Marblehead Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon, flights of them would converge racing to the weigh-in at Sandusky from as far away as Lake St. Clair. We enjoyed good sailing, a dip in the 77 degree water, and the mid-week quiet once the fishermen were gone each day.
 

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Jun 14, 2004
30
S2 9.2A Marblehead Oh
David
I dock my S2 in East Harbor at Bass Haven marina. We’ve been there since 1988 and don’t plan on going anywhere. A couple of years ago my wife and I were sightseeing around the harbor and probably where you were anchored we saw this young bald eagle
No more than 15 feet away just sitting in a tree watching us as we watched him . It was a very cool sight we’ll always remember . Did you make it over to the beach ? We probably will be there this weekend with our white Brig RIB with an American flag , if you’re around stop by .
Tom
 
Jul 1, 2010
962
Catalina 350 Lake Huron
Looks really nice. I'm glad you were able to find a quiet anchorage there.

We went through your area on our way back to Erie from Lake Michigan a couple of weeks ago. Anchored overnight at Middle Bass Island, where the local kids did laps through the anchorage with jet skis towing tubers. Our next anchorage was Fairport Harbor where every imaginable power boat, jet ski, and tuber did laps by and through the anchored boats, throwing cruiser sized wakes. The lake was dead calm that afternoon. They could't run full throttle out there instead of in the small enclosed bay? Luckily, both places calmed down after night set in, but I really was left kind of disgusted by the lack of concern people have for each other these days. Never in my power boat and water skiing days would we have done such things. Not sure what has changed. Rant over.

We did have a great cruise up to Lake Michigan, though. We spied several bald eagles, and an almost unheard of sighting of a whooping crane who took a nice long flight over one or our anchorages up on Lake Huron.
 
Nov 8, 2007
1,523
Hunter 27_75-84 Sandusky Harbor Marina, Ohio
A whooping crane is special! We’ve seen pelicans in the Lake Erie Islands. Jet skis and skiers are always a hazard! But mid-week is often quiet even during the day. We used to be able to escape the madding crowd on Fairport Harbor by anchoring near the wall in the northeast end. We hope to get up to Erie in a summer or two. Love the State Park marina anchorage there.
 
Jul 1, 2010
962
Catalina 350 Lake Huron
A whooping crane is special! We’ve seen pelicans in the Lake Erie Islands. Jet skis and skiers are always a hazard! But mid-week is often quiet even during the day. We used to be able to escape the madding crowd on Fairport Harbor by anchoring near the wall in the northeast end. We hope to get up to Erie in a summer or two. Love the State Park marina anchorage there.
We saw the pelicans on the way up. Thought they looked so out of place on a lake. BTW, we did anchor next to the wall on the northeast end. They were running power boats between us and the wall! Yes, the state park looks kind of nice, though we've never anchored there.
 
Oct 29, 2016
1,915
Hunter 41 DS Port Huron
Wish we would have made it that far, the wife and I were in the area for a couple of days (Toledo Beach Marina) last week, we took a trip down from Port Huron, but last Sunday the winds were blowing nicely out of the South so we decided to sail back up the river(s), we made Toledo beach to Port Huron in 16 hours which I thought was real decent time.
 
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May 25, 2012
4,333
john alden caravelle 42 sturgeon bay, wis
have not ever seen whooping cranes on the great lakes. that must of been special. they are in sw wisconson i know. we do see sand hill cranes all the time up north. wild swans too.
 
Jul 1, 2010
962
Catalina 350 Lake Huron
have not ever seen whooping cranes on the great lakes. that must of been special. they are in sw wisconson i know. we do see sand hill cranes all the time up north. wild swans too.
Yeah, from what I could tell, it should not have been there (False Presque Isle bay). Definitely out of the traditional breeding area in Wisconsin. However, it gave us plenty of time to tell it was white, with black wing tips, so definitely not a sand hill crane. It was probably the largest bird I've ever seen flying (and the outstretched neck was huge). Took off from the water's edge across the bay, and made a long slow circle over it.
 
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WayneH

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Jan 22, 2008
1,039
Tartan 37 287 Pensacola, FL
I'm on the migration path of the whoopers. So we hear them and sometimes can see them as they pass by going both directions. Usually, they are way up and we can barely catch sight of them. But one year it was foggy and they were a lot lower and although we never saw them, they were really close if the loudness of their calls was any indication.

We also get to see white pelicans migrating north and south over our place. Them, I understand coming over my place but we are west of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge where the whoopers stay for the winter and so I thought we were out of the flight path.
 
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Nov 8, 2007
1,523
Hunter 27_75-84 Sandusky Harbor Marina, Ohio
My daughter (PhD. Forester) tells me that the Pelicans are native to Lake Erie - we just hunted them to nothing here. The south bay of Pelee Island is their roosting area, and there are supposed to be around 100 there in the summer.
 
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Jan 22, 2008
8,050
Beneteau 323 Annapolis MD
It's always reportable to our sailing club, SOS, when someone spots a pelican or porpoise in the northern Chesapeak Bay area.