Day 216 07/09/2010
After three days with no cell service I finally got days 14 and 15 posted. Be sure to check out those posts below as well.Daily stats Start: 6:00 AM - Near Redbird, OH Break: 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM Chagrin River Marina Finish 6:00 PM - Cleveland, OH Time: 11:00 Daily dist: 35 miles Total dist: 4200+ Companions: None Weather: Overcast, showers, windy (west then north), temp in 70’s Notes: A rougher day on the water but got a great tail wind all afternoon By my count I’ve gone 172 nautical miles in 5 days. I never intended to go so far so fast but the paddling this week has been so nice, I just didn’t want to stop. Everything I’d ever heard about Lake Erie was that it was windy and rough. Today was a bit of that, but certainly still tolerable. Overall though the lake has been amazing with beautiful scenery and clear warm water. It doesn’t get much better. After the last three days of placid water and hot temperatures today was a bit of a switch. Today started for me at about 12:30 AM when I woke to the sound of building surf franticly hitting the beach. A quick look with the beam of my flashlight revealed only one foot waves but they were already washing up the beach uncomfortably close to my tent. Knowing that there were storms on the way in that could push up much bigger waves, and not wanting to be re-awakened by a cool wash of water entering my tent, I got up and moved my camp as far back up the beach as I could. It was really only about 15 feet further but it was all I could do. The storms and wind held off throughout the night but my launch was delayed an hour as I waited for a storm to pass (not that I minded after such early starts earlier this week).  Looking over my shoulder at a storm passing behind me Throughout the morning I cautiously eyed they sky scanning the northwest for any dark cloud that looked like it could give me trouble. Numerous rain clouds did pass bringing with them strong downpours and momentary strong gusts of wind but no more lightning. After six hours of paddling, in a downpour of rain with building headwinds, I pulled into the Chagrin River marina to take a break. Up to this point I’d only made it 16 miles which means my speed was well below the 3 mph I hoped to maintain, the days paddling was turning into a bit of a slog. With the wind whipping and rain falling I called Mark Pecot to check in. Mark owns “41deg. North” a local kayak rental, tour, instructional company. I had contacted him a couple weeks ago looking for info about the lake and he offered up a place to stay when I got as far as Cleveland. The way it was looking I figured it might make sense to call it a short day and stay at the marina for the night if they would allow it. I told Mark I’d check into it and let him know either way. After talking to the young woman running the fuel dock about where I may be able to pull out and get out of the weather for a while (and worst case put up a tent) she directed me to the yacht club clubhouse where I could certainly get out of the rain for a while and ask the marina manager about camping. With only very high docks all around getting off the water would require going back outside the breakwater to land on the small beach just to the west. So I paddled back out of the marina and started setting up to land on the steep beach with moderate but dumpy waves rolling in. Just before I committed to a run into the beach I realized that the wind was blowing on my left ear, from the northwest. In the hour I had played around in the marina the wind had changed from a strong headwind to a nice tailwind. Not wanting to pass up on a helping push from mother nature, I abandoned my plan to wait out the weather (which was already starting to break up anyway) and continued on, now going almost twice as fast as I had been.  Cleveland from the water After a few more hours of paddling in choppy and exciting waters I passed behind the outer breakwater of Cleveland’s harbor and took in the view of the city skyline. The tall ships were indeed in, just like everyone had told me, so I got a chance to see them as I paddled into town. In addition I saw the first great lakes freighter of this trip. It came in the harbor entrance and up the impossibly narrow river that winds through Cleveland. I followed in behind the freighter (with a lot more elbow room than him) and continued about two miles upstream to the rowing club where Mark keeps some of his kayak fleet for 41degrees North. Waiting for me there was one of Mark’s coaches named Jason who helped me get the Ikkuma tucked away in the enormous boat house and gave me the key to the company truck which I then drove back to Mark’s house. Once again I was blown away by peoples hospitality and trust, after all I was given the key to a truck by a person I had just met, that belongs to a person I’ve only e-mailed twice and called three times, to be driven through a town I’d never seen before. The sense of community in the kayaking world is tight for sure.  The tall ships are in port  Great lakes freighter Mark is a full time history teacher at a local high school and after working for outdoor stores and in other kayak instruction programs and (in a sense) he got his start with his kayaking business by running lessons for the kids at his school. Now the business has grown to include an active rental program on one of the local rivers that keeps seven seasonal employees busy. In addition he and a staff of instructors run lessons and trips on the weekends throughout the summer. Mark has admittedly but the business aside (just a bit) to make time for his 21month old son William. When I arrived at Mark (and his wife Patti’s) house talkative young Will was eager to show me all of his toy balls and demonstrated his amazing ability to shoot hoops from across the room into the miniature basketball hoop that was set up in the living room… Definitely worth making time for. CommentsLyn Stachovak Sat, 10 Jul 2010 11:55:26 am Ahhhh! The sight of a Great Lakes freighter - what a beautiful ship. I can never get enough of them. OK, the tall ships are pretty cool too, but not as cool as the freighter!!! Some people say that I just don't know what a good looking ship looks like. I don't agree. A Great Lakes freighter IS a good looking ship (to my eyes). Neil B Sat, 10 Jul 2010 12:58:55 pm Jake, Neil B Sat, 10 Jul 2010 1:00:23 pm oops. sorry about the blue box. Jan Kleck Sat, 10 Jul 2010 6:20:27 pm I continue to follow you daily Jake - have been so interested in this part of the trip for you - can only hope that it continues to be so positive for you, and I eagerly wait for more news. David Stachovak Sat, 10 Jul 2010 8:15:07 pm Hi Jake, Bill Sauer Sun, 11 Jul 2010 5:53:16 pm In a couple of days you can ride the rollercoasters at Cedar Point in Sandusky. Have fun Leave a Reply | Best of the Blog
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