St Clair Info
 

Leaving the 1000 Islands area July 6, heading toward Sarnia with a few days to kill before the next weekend which is Bayfest Rock weekend. Thinking about launching in St Clair and boating up the Sarnia, any good spots to start from on the Canadian side, that you can leave the truck and trailer for 4 or 5 days. Also looking for any good marinias to spent a few nights at, and waterfront bars, any info would be great ...........Thanks

I boat in the 1000 Islands area as well, would appreciate the same Info as "Mikeo" requested, sounds like a really good time!

Hi Guy's!

You could come down to Windsor and put your boat in at Lakeview Park Marina in which is owned and operated by the City of Windsor. Ramp in good, parking lot lite up and they have a Security Guard at night there. You could leave your boat there for 4-5 days and should have no problems. If you wanted to cruise to Sarnia Bay Marina from Windsor it would take you about an hour and a half to two hours depending on the water conditions and how fast you cruise. There are a couple of Waterfront Bars on the Canadian side of Lake St. Clair, Lilly Kazzilly's at LakeView Park Marina and the Sandbar Bar and Grill Restaurant on the Puce River. There are many great bars on the US side of the Detroit River and on Lake St. Clair such as the Roostertail Restaurant, Sindbad's and Jack's Waterfront Restaurant to name a few, you will need to report to US Custom , if you go there and an I-68 Permit or Nexus Card. Downtown Windsor is hopping on the weekends but it is a very young crowd and there is also Caesars Windsor Casino. If you decide to come and launch in Windsor, let me know and I will help you anyway that I can.

Andy

Thanks AB
Now you got me thinking about driving straight to Sarnia on the Monday launch and leave the truck and trailer at Sarnia Bay Marina, and come down river. I will spend some time in the Detroit area staying the marinas you mention and check out the bars as well. We can head up river Thursday after noon the Sarnia for the concerts..........Thanks again for the tips
Mike .....89 Formula 272...

My pleasure.

there is a group of us (4 boats) leaving Belle River Marina on Thursday heading up to Sarnia Bay Fest, Belle River has a nice clean marina with good facilities & the town has a sportsbar , entertaining enough for a night or so

Ran Dom32
thanks for the info, just may take or suggestion re: Belle River
May even see you guys there.......Mike

The Canadian side of the river is pretty tame but the American side has a plethora of sin. Make sure you have your Nexus or I68 (which are regional I believe) before you touch the American side. An alternative would be to cross customs and launch from the US side, then you are already cleared.

I'm on the Canadian side of the St. Clair River (Sombra) and have been loving and touring this area for some time. PM me if you like more info.

BTW, your '89 272 is a perfect fit for this ride. Also, I'll be moored up at Sarnia Bay for the week as well.

m@

m@....
Thanks for the tip,
we will be landing on the US side sound like fun. We are also Canadian and in the region we boat in the most, 1000 Islands/ St Lawerence River we just land on the US side go the US Customs and check-in with our passports. Would that not be the case in the Lake St Clair area. We do not have a nexus card and I got up my I68 card five years ago.....we should stay in touch and have a beverage or two in Sarnia on that weekend..........Mike

Mikeo, You have lots of options once you get here. But if you want some great boating stay in the 1000 islands. Maybe its just home sickness setting in. Any way doing the cross border thing I'll leave to you on deciding, myself it seems easier to just drive thru customs and boat on which ever side you end up on. some options you may consider since coming out here early: Lake huron Lexiongton is 20 miles north of Port Huron and has a really nice marina and a short walk up the hill to 3-4 bars and a few more places serving food. head a little further north you have port sanilac 1/2 mile walk to the bar. The run down the river from Sarnia to st. clair assuming you abide by the 55mph rule is about an hour, another hour gets you across lake st. clair to the detroit river. north end of the Lake St. Clair has a lot of sand bars, watch out for them. A buddy of mine spent the night on the one he hit. Any way big boat hang out ares are gull island and muskamoot bay. Both of which I would suggest as a must visit if you've never been there.

In this area you can only cross by bridge or by ferry. Customs will not let you dock at the ferry crossing and walk up. You have 'ride' the ferry across and check through. I'm not sure why, but I've tried this and they get pretty irate.

Definitely keep in touch, you're going to love this area.

All said and done, you could probably get away with not checking in, but the consequences aren't the best if you get caught.

So you are saying that if I were in a boat departing from a canadian port and crossing into US waters in the Lake St Clair area and looking to find the nearest Town or marina to land, I would not find a US customs office or video phone to check-in at.... Mike

I keep it on speed dial 1-313-393-3949 providing you had a valid I68 or Nexus card you can just call in before or once you land in the US & your done with it. in case you are approached by the US customs - no worries

There are customs offices in Algonac, Marine City, and Port Huron. Algonac and Marine City's offices are on the water but you can't just pull up to them by boat. They don't really have docking facilities short of where the ferry lands. Port Huron's office is at the base of the bridge, about a mile from any water.

Getting an I68 and a phone call is probably your best route. Like I said though, I think I68's are regional and the one you would get on the St. Lawerence might not be valid for the St. Clair and Detroit area.

Having a Nexus card is better but you probably don't have enough time to get it.

Just being proactive, you don't want Border Patrol to ruin your trip unnecessarily.

Hey guys thanks for the info so far, we are spoiled in the 1000 Islands US Customs being at Bodlt Castle. Lots of dockage and agents are friendly and efficent, never had a problem checking in at that location. I will speak to the Harbourmaster at Sarnia Bay Marina as well before heading down river. Hopefully we get a chance to say hi to you guys while we arein the area. Black hull, white topsides on a 89 272 Formula ...........Mike

I call US Customs at Bluewater bridge today and told the agent that wanted to cross the river and check in. He said the best thing is to cross the river and head up to River Street Marina. He said I am to tie up and call the office at the bridge 810-985-9541 and pick option from the message that asks for boat check in and inspection and agent will drive down and do the check in. He mentioned more than once that only the skipper can step out of the boat until they arrive............Mike

As long as they know you are there, and you can prove it if the border patrol comes along, you'll be fine.

At the end of the day it's not really that big of a deal but they do take the border here very seriously.

Keep in touch.

Just another reason to boat in the good old St. Lawerance:drink:

Hot Stepper
Sounds like you need a St Lawerance fix,
did you live in the area? If I can trailer there you should be able to trailer back down. Abay, Lake of the Isles, Picton Island, Pirate Days, Potters Beach, Rockport, do those names bring back good memories for you.
JoAnne and I will be in the T. I`s five times this summer, starting June 19 for the Abay Poker Run. Jo has family in Sarnia and we always wanted to attend Bayfest ( Rock or Country) weekend. We have boated all over Ontaio and Quebec, the port of Old Montreal is great, so is Ottawa. Thanks again for all the info, hope to catch up sometime....Mike

Names all sound familiar,, let me add one how about a proud member of the purple ghosts, ever heard of them? As for the fix, it's already scheduled weekend before the forth thru the fouth and then both weekends of pirates weekend. As for trailering, well I can honestly say my boats has been in all five of the great lakes. some short ventures others include west coast of Mi to Chiacago 70 miles one way as the crow flies:drink:

Hot Stepper

Sounds like you are all set, we will be at the Boardwalk in Abay for the 4th, come by and I will past you a cold one. Good the hear you are an active boater, I have been boating one way or another for 25 years, had all shapes and sizes, the thing that got me the most was when I had a big fat boat at the marina my nieghbours went nowhere just sat around drinking and chasing the other guys wife. The trailer thing works well for us, we get to see alot of different water...........Cheers

Probably heading to Sarnia Bay Thursday afternoon. I'll be in a 300 Sundancer, buddy will ride up with me in '89 272, yellow and black.

Maybe see you there.

m@