We always enjoy going to United States by boat but since our beloved boat (the Phoenix) burned up last December this option seemed less likely to happen this summer. That is until I realized that the Dinghy would be perfectly capable of making the trip across the St. Clair River.
Wendy and I have, for several years, held a commuter's NEXUS card which allows us as "trusted, pre-screened travellers" to enter the united states without some of the usual red tape. I contacted U.S. immigration by phone and upgraded my "boater's registration number" deleting the 38 foot Phoenix and adding the 10' 6" dinghy. Customs Officer Walker snickered when I told him the changed length and he asked me if that was the beam (width) of the new boat.
FYI: A boater's registration number allows a Captain to call in up to three hours before departure and pre-clear through customs. This means that I do not have to call them once I arrive in the United States. Very amazing in these days of over-zealous security measures don't you think? Anyway, the boater's registration number verification allows us to travel to the United States without going through the prohibitively, unwieldy, formality of taking a taxi cab to the Bluewater Bridge Customs office and clearing customs there.
I called in to US Customs at 10 am this morning and we headed out an hour or so later. Read on. It's really quite amazing what waits for you just a short dinghy ride away.
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| Our route through the heart of the USA (11 Miles) |
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| An abandoned railway lift-bridge marks the mouth of the Black River (Rail bridge 1) |
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| This weekend is "Boat Week" as 250 sailboats get ready for the 88th Port Huron to Mackinac sailboat race. |
2012 Bell's Beer Bayview Mackinac Race
This year's race starts on July 14, 2012. In the nine decades that the Bayview Mackinac Race has been sailed, much has happened. Wars, economic depressions, and other significant events have transpired, yet the Race has gone on. In fact, President Franklin D. Roosevelt wired a message to Bayview during World War II when word reached the White House that the Club was considering canceling the race. That message read: "Sail your race." Even then, it was clear that this race was and is important for sailors and for the State of Michigan. Bayview did sail the Mackinac Race that year, and has done so every single year since the first Bayview Mackinac Race in 1925, making it the longest consecutively run freshwater race in the world. Read more?
CLICK HERE
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| One lonely gas boat at the fuel dock. Not a good week for gas sales with 250 sailboats jamming the river. |
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| Sailboats streaming in for the big race Saturday |
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| Several lift bridges, for both rail and roads. (Rail bridge 2) |
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| Lots to look at on the Black River on the backside of Port Huron. |
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| Pon Tiki Bar. A floating commercial bar/party boat. You'll never see that in Canada! |
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| This narrow canal leading back to the lake has an interesting history. |
In the late eighteen hundreds the odor from the Black River became so strong that Port Huron became almost uninhabitable, especially in the summer. In 1908 a canal was constructed to bring water from Lake Huron to the river in an attempt to dilute it and thus reduce the stifling smell. There were plans to construct locks which would enable sailing ships to navigate through from the Black River up into Lake Huron thereby avoiding the narrows (where the Bluewater International Bridge [1938] stands today) but this plan never materialized . The advent of the steam engine enabled boats and tug boats to run up river under their own power, so locks avoiding the rapid waters of the narrows were then considered unnecessary.
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Running against a very strong current from the lake |
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| It looks calm but the water actually runs quite fast from the lake ahead. Still waters run deep? |
This is a 1908 photograph of the Black River Canal in Port Huron, with the Grand Trunk Western Railway upper bridge in the background. A river dredge is working on the canal.
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| White sandy beaches from the canal to the Bridge. |
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| A Salty (Ocean-going ship) races us to the bridge. |
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| We took on a little water as we hit a large wave under the bridge. |
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| Two freighters raft off the "Winter Harbour" moorings at the entrance to Bridgeview Marina. |
And back to Bridgeview Marina, our home port in about 2 1/2 hours. Nice trip!
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