Lake Erie Cruise-suggestions needed

Steve36

Member
May 17, 2007
177
Lake Ontario
Boat Info
2010 540DA
Engines
Cummins 8.3L Zeus Drives
Good morning.
I just put away our boat but started dreaming about summer 2019.
My buddies and I are planning to do a trip to Lake Erie during August 2019.
We currently boat out of Lake Ontario and dont know any sights or places that are a must visit.
I am hoping that the good folks here can lend a hand and give us some suggestions.
Here is some info on our group of boats.
We have mostly large cruisers 48-54 feet long.
The people going are mostly adults and a few teenagers.
We all love to have fun, socialize and party.
Would love to see some live music and visit some great restaurants
Some nice anchorages would also be welcome.

I know that Lake St. Clair is close by and we dont mind going there if there are some great spots to go to.

Thanking everyone in advance for all their input.

Be safe..
 
Cleveland. The Rock & Dock has a great location, but accommodations for larger cruisers is limited, depending on how many boats are going.

Vermillion. Chez Francois is one of the best restaurants in the midwest. Very nice beach. The canal-front homes and river provide for outstanding dinghy tours.

Cedar Point. This is a no-brainer, but the town of Sandusky also offers more and more bar and restaurant options.

Kelleys Island. A large, attractive island with some restaurants and bars, and a nice beach.

Put-In Bay, South Bass Island. Bring an extra liver and set firm rules for the teen-agers. Come to think of it, you'll be best-served during a weekday visit. (when the Crews Nest accepts non-members)
 
The western basin is short on anchorages. There aren't really any that offer more than 270º of protection.

If you continue up to LSC, it's a different story. There are large protected bays packed full of anchored partiers.
 
Catawaba Island Club - Nice facilities, top shelf restaurant & golf

Port Clinton Yacht club - along the wall on the river is a good spot, some nice bars and restaurants on main street.

Leamington Ontario Municipal marina if you want to see the Canadian side, nice marina and town

Put-In-Bay is a must stop... or we are not going to let you back in... Concerts, Live bands, Good restaurants, pool bars... Hotels if you book now. Stay at Crews nest its a private club ... great facilities and food. In August your best chance of getting in is M-F... It would be an easy 2 night stay.

+1 ..All the previous posts...
 
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Agree with previous comments plus I'd add:

Port Dover on the Canadian side along with Port Stanley.
Leamington is a special place for us - great docks and staff. I'd stay away from Peelee - docks are terrible especially for a big boat.

The Islands are a must see. Kelly's has good dockage (Seaway marina) and decent food. Middle Bass has great dockage but food is bar fare at best. South Bass (PIB) think Key West. Miller's Marina and Crews Nest are best bets. I'd stay away from town docks especially on the weekend. Note they also have morning balls with tender service.

Catawba island Club is a definite must - same with Grosse Point YC. ON Lake St. Clair.
 
If you are considering PIB you have the option to stay on Middle Bass Island state marine where you can get reservation for dockage and ferry over to PIB.
 
If you are considering PIB you have the option to stay on Middle Bass Island state marine where you can get reservation for dockage and ferry over to PIB.


Also if you're stopping in Canadian ports - coming back into the US - the CBP Roam app is awesome for checking in. Be sure to register in the app before hand.
 
CIC will accept transients.

Grosse Pointe YC can be a different story. Sometimes they'll accept ILYA transients, other times they're not so much. When I was at the DYC, we welcomed GPYC members, but our hospitality wasn't returned with any degree of fidelity. I prefer the DYC anyway.
 
CIC will accept transients.
Roller Coastr - Is this something new for CIC? When I worked the docks there during my college years (we won't say how long ago that was!) it was strictly members only. All purchases, meals, guest dock fees for members, etc were charged to the members account. They always had transient docks available on weekends, but they were for CIC members.
 
Last year I called CIC and asked for a transient slip they said they would accept transients but only if room and no reservations. This year we belong to a reciprocating yacht club that pretty much gets us into all yacht clubs on Erie and St Clair.. DYC, GPYC, CIC, PCYC etc. etc. The dues are $108/yr... For some of you it might be worth the investment to make getting in yacht clubs a lot easier.
 
RollerCoastr - Is this something new for CIC?

I think it's a policy they've had for quite a while now.

I've found that clubs want money and if they have space, most are pretty willing to rent it out. I'm basing that on experience of visiting countless clubs leveraging membership to another club without ever producing proof of said membership. ever! I suppose it would be different in those rare cases of reciprocity where they don't charge for dockage.
 
The CIC website offers transient dockage at Catawba Island Marina South - which is under common ownership with CIC. The main marina at CIC has seasonal dockage for members only and transient dockage for Associate Yachtsmen (members that don't have a permanent dock) and their guests.
 
The CIC website offers transient dockage at Catawba Island Marina South - which is under common ownership with CIC. The main marina at CIC has seasonal dockage for members only and transient dockage for Associate Yachtsmen (members that don't have a permanent dock) and their guests.
CIC dockage depends on availability. On weekends there is a high demand given that a number of Clubs have trips scheduled there - best shot is week days and call the harbor master well ahead of time (pm me if you want the details). If you do get a dock here you can pay by credit card - there is an additional credit card charge (no different than Crews Nest at PIB). FYI they do have gas/diesel and pumpout available
Marina South does have docks but be forewarned that dockage for large boats is extremely limited. There are no restaurants at this marina.
 
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We currently boat out of Lake Ontario and dont know any sights or places that are a must visit.....

Have you guys done any weekends in Wilson? Always a party there during the Summer.
 
We used to do Liquor runs to Wilson from Oakville Ontario. That was a crazy party place back in the day.
 
Yep, I love it there. Our dock is right in the middle of the summer craziness. Restaurant is a few steps away, bands there Fri-Sun, three bars within about 200' of us. Yeah, it's a damn good time.
 
Have you guys done any weekends in Wilson? Always a party there during the Summer.
Thanks for all the replies. We will definitely check them all out.
As far as Wilson, yes we go there every August long weekend for the dinghy poker run.
We always have a blast.
 
Oh no kidding? I'm sure we've met along the way. We're docked on the T dock off of The Boathouse
 

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