Today was the day we chose to kayak across the river to Canada. We set the date a couple of weeks ago, and it's a good thing we did--we get so busy that if it's not on the calendar it doesn't get done. As it was, only 3 of us were able to go. We all met at 7 AM, dropped off the boats at the foot of Church Rd., drove to Grosse Ile Yacht Club and staged the trucks and van, and Bill drove us back to where we left the boats. Otis, Dick and I were on the water by 7:30, just as planned.
It was the smoothest crossing ever! The wind and water were both very calm, and we made the 5 mile trip from Grosse Ile to Amherstberg, Ontario in 45 minutes. There was little boat traffic. Otis made the call to customs, pretty much a non-event when you enter the country as we did--in unregistered kayaks (no MC number), no luggage, and planning to stay an hour for breakfast.
We pulled our kayaks up on the ramp and left them there, since the ramp is closed. Had a nice breakfast and a lot of coffee, and paddled away at around 10:30. We encountered a lake freighter in the upbound shipping channel, which was fun. It's amazing how small a wake those large boats create. We portaged the boats up a bank and stopped at a nice sandy beach for a while. Once we got back in the boats,the wind picked up. That was good news and bad news--it was from the south, which put it at our backs on the long open water section of our trip, but it also kicked up the waves in Lake Erie. We had 2 foot swells on the way in. We all arrived safely, loaded the boats and were home by noon.
What a great day! This was the shakedown cruise for our week long kayak trip down the Mississippi next week. Unfortunately Bill did not get to go today, but we'll be fine on the big river--we're taking the tandem this time. I plan to blog the trip as we go along... as long as I can get a wireless signal.
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