Ashtabula, OH

The first thing we did on Saturday, September 15 was to have breakfast at the Lakeside Yacht Club in Cleveland before we resumed our cruise.  Because Stephen couldn’t find a viable ride from Ashtabula (our next stop) back to Cleveland for his Sunday morning flight, he would stay overnight in Cleveland on his own.  After saying our goodbyes, we shoved off by 10 a.m. for a long day of travel.

The day was stunning with blue skies, perfect temperatures in the 70’s and calm seas.  We passed a few boats whenever we cruised through populated areas but for the most part it was pretty quiet. 

We passed a lighthouse and an attractive bridge as we arrived in Ashtabula. 

We had to wait a bit for the 5:30 opening of the very interesting looking drawbridge.  While waiting for the bridge to open we attempted to tie up at the town dock but it was too crowded and miscalculating the current we almost got tangled in the lines of some fisherman at the dock.  

Once the bridge opened we went up to the Ashtabula Yacht Club which we had been trying to contact all day for a reservation.  Upon arrival, we decided that the set up did not look very attractive and neither did what we could see of the town.  We were clearly the largest boat around so we decided to to do a 180 and anchor out in a nearby anchorage.  Of course we had to wait for the bridge to open again, which we did, then proceeded to the anchorage which was between the two breakwaters for the town.

We were one of only two boats in the large anchorage. Our view on one side was not the most attractive as what appeared to be a big mining site lined the shore.  There was a concert of sorts on shore and the music wafted across the water as we ate leftovers on the aft deck.  After sunset we were treated to long fireworks display which is always a treat!