Middle Bass, OH to Grosse Point Yacht Club, MI

It is our last day on Lake Erie and, once again, we have great weather and smooth water. She has been very kind to us, except perhaps outside of Buffalo, and we are very appreciative!

The Great Lakes are home to thousands of freighters. But among all the freighters, there are only 13 “Goliath” freighters in the Great Lakes, each measuring 1,000 feet or more in length. For reference, 1,000 feet is 3 1/3 football fields, 1/5 mile or 92 stories. We have the luck of passing one such vessel, the Indiana Harbor, on a narrow stretch of the Detroit River. The Indiana Harbor, at 1,000 feet, was launched in 1979 and her claim to fame is that she was the first US flagged vessel equipped with satellite equipment.

As we get closer to Detroit, the houses along the river are quite magnificent.

We approach Detroit and there are a lot of things to see!

We view the construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge that will provide the first seamless highway connection between Detroit, Michigan and Windsor, Ontario. The bridge will link I-75, I-94, and I-96 with Highway 401 in Ontario. The bridge is being funded by Canada at a cost of 4.5 billion. It is the largest infrastructure project in North America, scheduled for completion in late 2024.

Detroit skyline is in view as is the iconic GM Headquarters.

Once past Detroit, we head out of the Detroit River into Lake St. Clair. A relevant question seems to be, ‘Why isn’t Lake St. Clair considered a Great Lake?”. Basically it comes down to size. It is roughly 17 times smaller than Lake Ontario by surface area and 80 times smaller by volume. It also is very shallow with an average depth of just 11 feet. Although it is small, its waters account for 1/3 of the entire annual Great Lakes sport fish catch. I suppose it will just need to accept its nickname of the “Sixth Great Lake”.

We arrive to Grosse Point Yacht Club off the shores of Lake St. Clair. We will stay here for two nights.

The yacht club is very welcoming and we are greeted with a tour from the harbormaster.

Of course, making our stay pure Michigan perfection, is enjoying our time here with our daughter, son-in-law and grandson.