Port Colborne, ONT to Erie, PA
02 July 2015
We spent two nights at Sugar Loaf Marina in Port Colborne waiting out the weather. It rained the entore time we were there. The marina was nice but we were a long walk to the beach from our slip. There is a resturant, Don Cherry’s, and we had great chicken wings and pizza. Mostly we rested although we did get a break in the rain Sunday afternoon and walked around town in the drizzle. There was a wine and food festival in the park, but it was pretty much rained out. And I got some laundry done!
On Monday we set out for Erie, PA. Of course the wind was out of the west at 10-15 knots and the boat was pitching quite a bit for the first few hours. Poor Dorito threw-up and assumed his sea sick position on the starboard bench in the forward cabin. Which is the worse place he could be as it turns into an anti-gravity chamber when the boat pitches. Eventually he figured out that the aft cabin, dispite the engine noise, was prefereable and went under the comforter for the duration. About halfway across the lake the winds died and the ride became more comfortable...until the bugs showed up. Again, it was just awful!!! Worse than the bugs on Lake Ontario. In desperation, I called a canvas maker that had been recommended to us in Erie, but of course no one can do a cockpit enclosure at the last minute in the time frame we would need. LIke the pain of childbirth, the memory fades but I am praying for good wind for the next leg of our journey.
We came into Erie Monday evening and anchored in the little bay where the state park marina is located. Chris wanted to change the engine oil so the next morning we motored across Presque Isle Bay into town. We were looking for a place called Anchor Marine and turned into a channel next to a bar called Rum Runners. We were a little lost and looking for a place to pull in when a gentlemen came out and said we could tie up at the dock next to the bar. It turns out that he had been active in the Coast Guard Auxilliary and knew some of the same people that Chris knew when he was the officer in charge at the small boat station in Buffalo. It was a great wrong turn!!
Jim took Chris to get oil then took me to the grocery and liquor store! We stayed at their dock and Chris changed the oil. The bar manager,Jim who is Jim’s son, let us dump our oil in his oil can and we were able to off-load trash as well. They offered to let us stay at the dock with shore power but we liked our quiet little anchorage and after some drinks and food we departed. That evening, Chris got the dinghy engine working and we took a ride with a bottle of wine to watch the sunset. So much fun!
The next morning, Wednesday, we cleaned the boat. I did below decks and Chris did above decks. It’s amazing how filthy it can get. Chris had been doing research on a generator so that we could be more independent and not have to stay in marina’s. It’s expensive and we prefer to be on the anchor anyway. He called aorund and found a place in town that had the generator he wanted. We were planning to go into the state park marina and call a cab when our friends from Road Runner’s showed up. They were bringing us a present, two electronic bug zappers!! So thoughtful. Before I knew it, we were on our way across the bay int heir power boat and Chris was off to the store while I found myself drinking once again at Rum Runner’s. I’m not sure how much more my liver can take... Jim and his granddaughter mackenzie and friend Brian came back with us and our new EU Honda 3000is generator. It’s a little heavy at 138 pounds, but it will fit in our starboard lazzerette and we can put it on the swim step to run. It powers everything, including the air conditioner! And we got it on sale. Our friends stayed for a drink then were on their way. We will look for opportunities to help other boaters and pay their kindness forward.
Dorito has had a great stay too! We can leave the companionway open and he roams aorund the boat at will. So much better than trying to keep in on the boat when we are at a pier. He did seem a little worried about us when we took off in the dinghy! He likes to lick the rainwater off of the hatches and out of the gutters. I started his seasick medicine aggian in preperation to get underway. The wind is supposed to be light out of the east so it ought to be a good ride. Maybe we can even sail!
Erie, PA is only 3 hours from where Chris’s mother lives, and his sister Kathy had a great idea to bring her to see Davali and then they are going to Granville, OH for the 4th of July. Brilliant idea as who knows when we will have the boat so close to her again. So it is a beautiful sumemr morning and we are having coffee in the cockpit and awaiting their arrival. Our next stop will be Put-inBay, OH which will probably be a zoo. But I love fireworks and really want to see them from our boat. It is 120 miles and about 20 hours. Once we arrive, we will anchor somewhere hopefully in time for the festivities.