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Island Diary March 2026
Sun., Mar. 1st – The weather forecast for March shows daily highs above freezing for everyday except for today. Island families are returning to the island after being away for the mid-winter school vacation. Wendy Chambers celebrates her fifth year anniversary with the PIB Chamber & Tourism Bureau. Mar. 1st is deadline day to renew your PIBYC membership, and deadline day for ads and sponsorships in the PIBYC yearbook, deadline day to apply for an English Language Arts and Career Technical Education teacher at Put-in-Bay School.
Mon., Mar. 2nd – PIB School is back in session after the winter vacation.
Tue., Mar. 3rd – The day starts off gloomy with a low cloud ceiling. Jim and Sandy Yelensky are out trimming the Duff vineyards for the Park District and Heineman winery. Six deer are spotted grazing on the lawn at the intersection of Doller and Catawba Ave. PIBYC Club Manager Dona Mitchell has informed the board that due to mainland commitments, she will be unable to serve as their 2026 manager, and the club is looking for a General Manager and Assistant General Manager for the 2026 season.
Wed., Mar. 4th – The Village Fiscal Officer posts that the scheduled Village Council meeting for Thursday, Mar. 5th, is cancelled due to no quorum. It’s a foggy day.
Thu., Mar. 5th – Wintery rain and fog isolate PIB from the mainland.
Fri., Mar. 6th – It’s a foggy morning. The last of the West Shore stable ice breaks away from the shore. The PIBHS students fortunately get off the island to attend the Northwest Ohio Science and Engineering Fair. Over on Middle Bass, J.F. Walleyes has a beer battered cod Lent special.
Sat., Mar. 7th – The morning fog is gone as the temperature at 9 a.m. hits 63 degrees, 29 degrees above what it was 24 hours earlier. Jay Murphy wins the PIBYC Rolling Raffle for this week. Joan Booker draws the winning ticket. The PIBHS kids knocked it out of the park at the Northwest Ohio Science and Engineering Fair (See results in School News on Page 14).
Sun., Mar. 8th – The ice in Put-in-Bay harbor blows out.
Mon., Mar. 9th – The Miller Boat Line crew is called back to work. The temperature is in the low 60s.
Tue., Mar. 10th – Bob Gatewood goes live on Facebook as videos while driving his golf cart from one end of Delaware to the other. Terry Linn from Jeris Lane mows for the first time. At Heineman Winery, they are working on a batch of Pink Catawba. Melinda Myers is with her mom Mary Ann McCann and they meet for lunch with Moo Moo Biederman in Florida.·
Our Top Picks For 2026!
- Put-in-Bay Attractions
- Put-in-Bay Event Calendar For 2026
- The Best Put-in-Bay Bars and Dining
- How To Get To Put-in-Bay
Wed., Mar. 11th – There is still some floating ice off the west side of Middle Bass. The ice has melted around Gibraltar Island. Baton twirlier Norah Blumensaadt is the star at this year’s Island Talent Show taking home first prize amongst all contestants.
Thu., Mar. 12th – The Put-in-Bay Village Council meets. Among the topics the mayor discusses is the Township is looking into potentially moving the fire department, the township offices and the senior center to the Niagara Event Center. The school would purchase the current fire department/senior center and use it as a civic center with other recreational attributes. The M/V Put-in-Bay shakes off its winter slumber, leaves its downtown dock at Put-in-Bay and makes a run to Catawba Island.
Fri., Mar. 13th – There’s a coffee social at the Senior Center. It’s Pizza & Wing Night at the PIB Yacht Club. As the Sun sets, the gale force winds continue to blow!
Sat., Mar. 14th – Lisa Brohl is giving away grapevines at her vineyard on Mitchell Rd. They are great to make wreaths or for grilling. By dinner time the lake is flat. This week’s PIBYC’s Rolling Raffle winner is Commodore, Kristin Wygant.
Sun., Mar. 15th – Lisa Brohl reports seeing Maple flowers blooming by the lake, and she sees her first morning cloak butterfly coming out from winter slumber. High for the day is just a pinch shy of 70 degrees.
Mon., Mar. 16th – The wind blows the water level low enough to allow Barry Koehler to ride his ATV from the end of Chapman Rd. to Buckeye Island on the lake bed. His wife Phoebe hosts a surprise birthday party for Maddie Pugh.
Tue., Mar. 17th – The explosion of the 7-ton asteroid that came over Ohio about 9 a.m. is heard at the Bay. Topsy Turvey’s is the place to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. The menu includes Reuben Rolls, Irish Stew, Corned Beef on Rye, a Rockin’ Rueben and a Jigg’s Dinner, plus you can top things off with Irish libations like Guiness Stout, Conway’s Irish Ale and Harp Irish Lager. Unlike years in the past, there is no polar plunge off the dock by Topsy’s. Some of the island Girl Scouts are selling cookies in the afternoon at the Town Hall.
Wed., Mar. 18th – The day everyone has been waiting for comes. The ferries start running on an abbreviated schedule, and Fr. Bob Solon and Deacon Jim O’Donnell bless the first ferry as it leaves the Lime Kiln Dock in mid-20 degree weather. The first passengers are greeted with plenty of ice on the Catawba Dock. Work is underway setting a crib for the new DeRivera Park Dock.
Thu., Mar. 19th – One of the Kelleys Island ferries arrives in the morning with a section of steel cribbing for the DeRivera Park dock (B Dock) project. Miller Ferry begins running its regular 2026 season schedule. Mike and Susan Byrnes and Lisa Brohl are kayaking under the overhanging rocks of West Shore in a nice flat lake.
Fri., Mar. 20th – Temperatures rise through the night from the 30s into the 50s. One of the students at PIB School has measles. The Health Department is tracking anyone who might have had contact with the student.
Top Lodging Picks For 2026 At Put-in-Bay
- Island Club Rentals (islandclub.com) – 216-898-9951
- Commodore Resort (commodoreresort.com) – 419-285-3101
- Bird’s Nest Resort (birdsnestresort.com) – 419-285-6119
- Put-in-Bay Condos (putinbaycondos.com) 216-898-1105
- Victory Station Hotel (putinbayvictorystation.com) 419-285-0120
Sat., Mar. 21st – At PIBYC you can have breakfast with the Easter Bunny and enjoy an egg hunt. The Easter Bunny is later spotted visiting other places around town. Toby Landreth is the lucky Rolling Raffle winner at the yacht club.
Sun., Mar. 22nd – Islanders enjoy one of the last Sundays they have before the season starts seeing tourists. One person writes, “During the off-season, Put-in-Bay is one of the quietest places in Ohio. No ferry lines. No crowds. Just the lake, the island, and the people who love it year-round.”
Mon., Mar. 23rd – There’s a town hall meeting in the morning at the Yacht Club for Shores and Islands and the Ottawa Co. Visitor’s Bureau. Among topics discussed are the joining of Shores and Islands with the Greater Sandusky Partnership. Jill and Mike Koch, owners of the Brewery, are busy getting the bar and restaurant open for their 2026 opening day on Friday the 27th.
Tue., Mar. 24th – Islanders gather at the yacht club in the evening to enjoy pizza with the island cops. Mike Dillon, the new PIB Village police chief, is there with his officers.
Wed., Mar. 25th – All the Austrian pine trees at the base of Perry’s Monument are being cut down and removed. The last one is taken down shortly after 8 p.m. Dustin Heineman is racking 2025 Cabernet Franc at Heineman Winery. At the yacht club, the dinner special is Chicken Enchilada, refried beans and Spanish rice.
Thu., Mar. 26th – As the sun rises, the Monument looks so different with no trees at the corners of its base. Ferry service to Middle Bass begins. A rain and lighting storm goes through the islands after dinner.
Fri., Mar. 27th – The Put-in-Bay ferry schedule changes. The Put-in-Bay Brewery opens for the season. On this date in 1945, Lee Miller’s M/V South Shore was launched in Cleveland
Sat., Mar. 28th – The galley at the yacht club serves its last dinner of the winter season and will reopen May 7th. The Shirt Shack is the first business to open on Delaware Ave. for the new season.
Sun., Mar. 29th – Trucks and boat trailers are parked around the downtown park. The spring walleye fishermen are beginning to arrive.
Mon., Mar. 30th – Work on the DeRivera Park dock (B Dock) continues. They’d better speed up as the first boats that want to use it are coming soon.
Tue., Mar. 31st – Warm 60 degree days are nice, but without electricity they’re not so nice. At the end of March, the precipitation on the islands over the last year is about 1” above normal.
Putinbay.com is proud to present the Put-in-Bay Gazette’s Island Diary for March 2026, in the April 2026 issue of the Gazette.
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