Day 74, Wednesday Sept. 4 Erieau to Port Stanley

Leaaving Erieau

Woke up to blue skies it was a nice change as for the past few days it has been overcast.  By 9:30 we were off the dock and underway.  The winds are forecasted to be out of the Northwest which should be favorable for our sail.  We have the main sail and Genoa out as soon as we clear the breakwall.  The windspeed is forecasted for 15-17 knots but with a following wind that is tolerable.  We are full sail for the first 5 hours, but winds pick up a bit so we furl in some of the genoa (head sail).  The waves are building and we are challenged to keep the sails from flapping cause the waves toss us around a bit.



We veer off our course about 20 degrees and the waves move us more comfortably and the sails stay filled versus flapping as we zig zag down the waves.  The waves are about 2 meters.  The 10:30 weather update had strong wind warnings for eastern Lake Erie and we are on the cusp between east and west Erie.  The winds were forecasted 25 for the East part of the lake and I believe we got up to that speed.  By 4:15 it was time to take in the sails.  The genoa was easy, but for the main we had to turn into the waves to drop the sail.  Facing the 2 meter waves then turning sideways to them was a bit intimidating.  We managed just fine.  Then came getting into the harbor between the breakwalls.  Surfing down the waves causes us to lose some steerage and go careening down the wave.  Again we stayed in the middle and managed just fine. 


Port Stanley lift bridge

We had to wait 15 minutes for the lift bridge which is another first for us.  We have never sailed through a lift bridge.  We had to stay right in the middle so our mast would not hit.  Our dockage was just past the bridge.  The marina staff are gone but we had phoned ahead and they described where we should go.  The finger docks were lined with goose poop and were old and rickety.  No horn cleats, just posts to tie off to.  Luckily they have a reduced rate as their regular rate would be $100 for us to tie up and that would be ridiculous given the facilities.  We get squared away although our fenders are taking a beating as there is a surge here from the high waves out on the lake.  We head to town to find some internet service but everything is closed by 6:00, so we head over to the sailing club and they generously allow us to use their wifi.  We get a few posts done and head back to the boat for a lovely lamb dinner and some charting and weather preparation for tomorrow.

At dock Kettle Creek Marina after Dawson chased away the geese

We may have to stay an extra day as the next leg is 76 nautical miles which is about 15 hours of sailing so if we get going by 6:00 we would land at 9:00 which is now dark!  If we could average better than 5 knots then it would shorten the time, but with a northeast predicted we would possibly be slower.  Hmmmm, we will have to see.

Cheers
Julie and Dawson