| Cleveland Rocks
 Drew
Carey said it first. Now boaters across the country are saying it too.
Cleveland has had some rough
times. In 1969, the Cuyahoga (Indian word for "crooked") River
caught fire because so much petroleum was floating on its surface. This
in turn "sparked" an old joke (still being told today) about
the tornado that hit Cleveland, doing $100,000 worth of improvements.
And as has happened throughout every rust-belt city with its industrial
base, manufacturers have had to leave town in search of cheaper labor
and materials in other parts of the world. Those days, all of them, are
over.
Today, the 15th largest city
in the United States has a Lake Erie port handling more than 1,000 ships
(900 travel the Great Lakes while another 100 come from international
ports). 110 corporations are based here. And tourism has made a sharp
rebound since the city began developing its waterfront with parks and
museums, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum which opened
its door in 1995. George Washington was right when he visited the area
and said where the river meets the lake is where a great city will someday
be.
Visitors and tourists who come
to Cleveland with a boat in tow aren't going to be disappointed. In fact,
one can visit the Rock and Roll Museum or the Great Lakes Science Center
in their boat by tying up in Voinovich Park a few blocks away. Cleveland
resident and Trailering Club Member Jim Faddoul says it's a great way
to see the city: "There is no charge to dock. I was there recently
and there was only one other boat docked. I have never seen a crowd of
boats in this area so I can say that it is always available and it's got
to be one of the most under utilized dockages in America!"
Voinovich Park (named after
former Cleveland mayor and current U.S. Senator from Ohio George Voinovich)
is part of the North Coast Park Project which was begun in the 1980's
to redevelop Cleveland's rusting waterfront to a more user (and tourist)
friendly environment. Today, besides interests in rock and roll and Great
Lakes science, the park includes a museum about the lake's bulk freighters
with the William G. Mather Museum-a 618-ft freighter built in 1925 that
was on the job until the end of the 1980 season. The William G. Mather
was a ship of firsts: one of the first carriers on the Great Lakes with
a single marine boiler and steam turbine engine, one of the early ships
to have radar and one of the first ships to use dual propeller bow thrusters
for maneuvering into and out of docks.
Erie Ery
Lake Erie has three basins:
the western section is the shallowest with an average depth of 25-30 feet.
In front of Cleveland's shoreline, the lake averages 61 feet and in its
most-eastern basin, water depth runs an average of 210 feet. That said,
this is the fourth largest of the five Great Lakes (St. Claire is the
smallest) and the most shallow. Because of the general lack of depth,
weather forecasters-experienced boaters-marina operators and-of course-freighter
captains-are aware of how Erie can be placid at one moment and terrifying
in the next.
As a result, Jennifer Codeluppi,
who operates the TowBoatU.S. Cleveland facility says every Lake Erie newcomer
needs to understand (and respect) how fast the weather can turn on this
shallow Great Lake. "Everyone who is on the water has to always keep
one eye on the sky because when the weather turns bad, it happens very
very fast. We have brought in folks whose anchors weren't large enough
to hold their boats in a strong wind. In fact, in one instance, a boater
was about to hit the breakwater because his anchor was being dragged in
a high wind. That's why it's so important to listen to the marine forecast."
The other caveat given to new
Lake Erie boaters centers on the Cuyahoga River and freighters. Trailering
Club Member Jim Faddoul says good seamanship can sometimes give way to
curiosity when a freightor is moving slow in the river. "There are
times when you may need to share space with a freighter and if you get
in the way, you lose! They have powerful side thrusters (remember the
nearby William G. Mather started this trend) and this creates a lot of
turbulence if your boat gets too close while they are maneuvering."
TowBoatU.S.'s Codeluppi echoes Faddoul's Cuyahoga observation.
"Usually it's brand new boaters who don't realize the thrusters are
used when an ocean going freighter has just come in or is just leaving
port."
Things to Do-Places
to Go
 But
these concerns aside, and common sense is always the antidote, the Cleveland
area has numerous trailer boat-related activities. Some can be accomplished
in just a few hours while others can be done over a few days. Regardless
of the destination, launching a boat near the waterfront will provide
good experiences as a result of the diversity .
"Lake Erie is known for
its fishing," says Faddoul who can make that statement based on his
years on these waters. "Walleye are caught here as are yellow perch
and small mouth bass. If I'm not sure where to go, a good source is always
the local bait shop or sometimes I just ask any returning fisherman at
the boat ramp."
Making a trip up the Cuyahoga
is always worthwhile. When Jim Faddoul is giving a tour of his city, this
is one of the first things he'll do with visitors prior to visiting the
museums. "The Cuyahoga is a waterway that 30 years earlier harbored
not a single pleasure boat is now sometimes so crammed with boats that
maneuvering takes considerable attention and skill. It's because there's
a fantastic mix of old and new, industry and entertainment along with
the historic. There are many interesting bridges-in fact-Cleveland has
been called "the city of bridges" since there are more than
20 crossing the Cuyahoga. At night, eight of them in the "flats"
area of the city are lit up in blue, red, and white lights making for
a colorful view from the river (two of the bridges-the Hope Memorial and
Main Avenue) are featured (briefly) in the opening of the Drew Carey Show.
The Veterans bridge once carroed cars on its top level while streetcars
ran on the lower level (cars still run along the top lanes but the lower
level is used to store maintenance equipment).
"The Norfolk and Southern
Railroad Bridge can be tricky," says Jennifer Coppalucci of TowBoatU.S.
in Cleveland. "Small boats can pass beneath it if they don't carry
high biminis or antennas or towers but larger boats have to hail the bridge
operator to raise it (this is a lift bridge).
Trailering Club Member Jim
Faddoul spends both Labor Day and Memorial day on his boat. "That's
when we watch the air shows that originate from Burke Lakefront Airport
(very close to Voinovich Park), There's nothing like having an F-18 with
afterburners lit doing a hard bank 300 feet over your head (some may argue
with Jim on this one). The 4th of July fireworks are great to watch from
the boat as well. In June, the tall ships sail into town and dock inside
the breakwall."
If the weather forecast cooperates,
Put-in-Bay is 60 miles to the west (BoatUS Trailering Magazine, April
2000). This is home to wineries, an antique car museum and the 364 acre
Cedar Point Amusement Park. Many boaters take a long weekend and make
the trip from Cleveland.
For trailer boat owners, this is a destination that is going to deliver.
Cleveland Boat Ramps
 Rocky
River (at Emerald Necklace Marina). This ramp has 6 lanes, lost of parking
and is free. Access to Lake Erie takes about 10 minutes (no wake area).
Located near the Cleveland Yacht Club. Downtown Cleveland is 8 miles east
of here.
Edgewater Park-A very busy
boat ramp with 10 lanes. Launching here provides direct access to Lake
Erie or to a sheltered area behind the breakwater in the Port of Cleveland.
Good parking but you have to walk a little to get back to the ramp. Downtown
Cleveland is 3 miles east of here.
Gordon Park-- Well maintained
with 6 lanes. Popular with fishermen because of warm water discharge from
nearby Cleveland Electric and Illuminating Company. Gordon Park is just
east of the 55th Street Marina.
Wildwood Marina-Fishermen use
this ramp when going after coho salmon every spring. It has access to
Euclid Creek (and is located just outside the city of Euclid). Wildwood
has ample parking and 6 lanes. It is about 9 miles east of downtown Cleveland.
Positively Cleveland www.positivelycleveland.com
William G. Mather Steamship Museum www.mgmather.nhlink.net
Cleveland Lakefront Park 8701 lakeshore Avenue 216-881-8141
Rock and Roll hall of fame and Museum www.rockhall.com
Great Lakes Science Center www.greatscience.com
|
