Zatarra Cruise - Ashtabula to Fairport

Ashtabula Yacht Club is a serious sailboat club with just a small lagoon for powerboats.

There's a pretty good mix of racers and cruisers. These fish and parrot clothes pegs were spotted on a cruiser. As you can see, we had rain.

We stayed in Ashtabula for a couple of days, watching the wildlife

 and walking downtown, which included

a trip to the chocolate/fudge store and

 the ice cream store. We also had a lovely dinner at a friends house.

 
We decided to break the trip to Cleveland (which would have been at least a 10 hour transit) into 2 shorter hops.

Out past the lighthouse

and the flocks of cormorants on the breakwall.

We motor-sailed as we couldn't get enough speed with just the sails.

We watched as this nuclear power plant got closer and then receded.

At another cruisers recommendation we went into Fairport Harbour, using the chart for guidance.

A lighthouse and extension at the entrance looks similar to Ashtabula's entrance.

But the lighthouse is in much better condition and a resident told us that it is being fixed up to become a B&B.

Inside the harbour there is another, old, lighthouse and a museum. We didn't go as we were only there overnight and it was on the other side of the river.

It's a busy, industrial little port with piles of sand, gravel

and salt (mined nearby)

Tugboat and barge

serving this huge dredger, that we had to negotiate, in the middle of the river.

We could hear it working all night.

The herons will use any vantage point to fish from.

We docked at the Grand River Yacht Club (on the recommendation of a fellow sailor)

and friendly members welcomed us and docked us right in front of the clubhouse/washrooms.

There wasn't much to see on this, the West side, of the river, but this restaurant had also been recommended

as opposed to this huge bar/restaurant across the street.

The busy railway line came right down the street and beside the yacht club, with blowing horns and screeching wheels.

Lots of evidence that the shuttered buildings, for sale, had previously been part of a bustling shipbuilding community.

Not sure what to make of this strange coloured Canada Goose.

Supper at Brennan's Fish Restaurant was fabulous. I had perch, crab cake, scallops, shrimp, whitefish, vegetables and coleslaw.

Paul's banana cream pie was a monster and Sharon and I split a Key Lime pie.

We all waddled back to the boat, absolutely stuffed.