Friday we said goodbye to Cleveland. It was such a beautiful day and cruise along the lakefront and past Cleveland Stadium (Go Brownies!) The beauty of the lovely coastal suburbs of Northeast Ohio, Bratenahl, Waterloo, Brookwood, are amazing. Many new homes, but so many lovely homes that were built almost 100 years ago. We got a late start and decided not to go too far this first day out.
We traveled ~ 40 miles to Fairport Harbor, OH. This anchorage, just inside the lighthouse, looked great and was well reviewed, so we felt confident in our choice to anchor there for the evening… bad decision! While it looked pretty, all we can say is “do not anchor near the lighthouse at the entrance to Fairport Harbor, OH”. It was crazy with boat wakes and literally dozens of jet skis flying around well past dark – often just yards from ROBES. Never hostile, but just out of control! We never saw a water cop…
BUT this was far from the only issue Friday… as we pulled into the anchorage the engine alarm went off – overheating. So our elective anchorage became an emergent one – anchor down, engine off, we’re staying here. A bit of troubleshooting revealed a blown coolant hose. Luckily, we had a spare hose aboard and the best diesel guy in Northern Ohio on the phone, Tom Hill of T. Diesel. But… no extra coolant! Extra oil, extra transmission fluid – no coolant! Another lesson learned – we’re already over a million of those! So while Julie and George protected the fort from the Jet Ski Invaders, Bob put the folding bike on Snap! (our dingy), cruised a mile upriver, jumped on the bike and after a 12 mile round trip later, arrived back on ROBES with coolant. Now dark out, we set out the flopper stopper (anchorage stabilization) and the world got quiet…
At dawn, with the coolant back in the engine, we crossed our fingers… and fired ROBES back up – good to go!
Eighty miles and eight hours later – under misty skies with little wind – we gratefully arrived in Erie, PA. What a lovely town and marina (Wolverine Park). Very cool waterfront area. Storm just passing through now – out for a walk to explore….
Off to Buffalo, NY tomorrow, weather permitting!
YAY!!!!!! Love the post and pics of Cleveland 😍
LOVING your narrative and visualizing this fabulous journey…John logged many miles on his “Brompton” seeking parts/mechanics/fluids while cruising on WINK IV to Southwest Harbor, ME…sending smooth seas and sweet breezes to you and Julie…❤️ all the Z’s