A LONG AND WINDING TRAIL

We last left you in Brockport, New York, where we spent two nights. We were having some difficulty loading pictures on the slow internet, so I thought I would devote this blog to adding some of the interesting and wonderful pictures Denise has taken. Main Street in Brockport

The falls at Holley

A view from a "low" bridge that had been lifted for us.

These are our friends in BRIO that we met at Brockport.

This is the low bridge at Fairport. It is in the Guiness book of world records for not having any square angles anywhere. It seems we are still having trouble uploading pictures. They are taking a long time to load, so I have notified the Google Blogspot people and maybe we can get caught up with more pictures later on. After Fairport we made a relatively long trip all the way to Lyons, New York. At first glance, it didn't look too exciting. The docks were on what they call the terminal wall for the lock that we had just come out of, but they had electric and water, and the Lyons Fire Department up the hill allowed boaters to use their pristine restrooms and showers in the firehouse. We took a walk through the town and were impressed with the beautiful old buildings everywhere. Here is one street view.

Again, more pictures if we can get them uploaded. The next morning, we took a tour of the Peppermint House. Apparently Lyons was noted for one of the award winning Peppermint Oil production facilities in the world. The factory where they made and shipped the oils from was right along the canal and was able to ship to the entire world from their small facilty. We found it very interesting, and, again, lots of pictures if we can get them uploaded. From Lyons, we went on to Baldwinsville, New York. This was a little disappointing. Although they only charged $5.00 for the night, there wasn't much to see or do. The next leg was a long trek through several locks and many winding paths through the Erie Canal. Denise did find some distractions along the way. Let's see if we can get this one uploaded.

You figure it out! The biggest challenge on this leg of the trip was crossing Lake Oneida. Lake Oneida is small compared to the Great Lakes, but it is also very shallow. The least bit of wind creates very confused waves and makes it hazardous for people like us that are carrying a huge mast on the deck. It took about three hours to get across the lake and the further East we went, the higher the waves became from the West wind behind us. Of course, the power boats had to come as close as they could to us (I guess they wanted to see what a cruising sail boat looked like) and aggrevated the situation even more with their huges wakes. We finally made it it across and tied up at the wall on Sylvan Beach, New York. This was kind of like a "Carny" town with an amusement park and lots of bars and restaurants. We had dinner and retired for the night with music blasting from every bar along the beach. We were awakened by the fisherman racing out into the lake at 4:30 in the morning, apparently with total disregard for the "No Wake" speed limit that slapped us up against the wall. I took a walk in the early morning while Denise tried to sleep through all the fisherman wakes. As we were getting ready to leave we were invited to tour the Urger, an early tugboat that tours around the canal.

Our trip from Sylvan Beach was the beginning of our Eastern portion of the canal. This portion has more rivers than original canals and the locks lift us up into the Catskills Mountains and back down again. With more rivers comes more debris and many winding paths. Here is an example of the stuff we had to constantly be on the watch for.

We wanted to get to Little Falls before night fall, but we had some delays in the locks, we were being chased by some nasty looking rain storms and it was getting tiresome dodging the debris, so we opted to stop at Illion, New York. I don't know if this will work or not, but here is a link to a Google Earth map that I have been making. If you cannot link to it, cut and paste it into your browser. You will find that there are two pages of maps. I guess our trip is a little longer than some. The first page ends at Sylvan Beach, New York and if you scroll to the bottom of the page with the markers on it, you'll see the number 2 or next. Click on that and you will see where we are now. https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=203325410136649679112.0004c4b7438c8827e9f61&msa=0&ll=43.036133,-74.865475&spn=0.007371,0.015278

THE ERIE CANAL

We were up early on Thursday morning to start our adventure on the Erie Canal. We had planned to go to a nearby marina for fuel and to pump out, and then head over to First Buffalo River Marina to take the mast down. As I was walking back from the showers, I saw Marty and Doc and told them our plans. Doc said the gas dock would not be open until about 9:30 and there wouldn't be anyone to help us with the mast until after 10. So much for getting up early. We had our coffee and then got our fuel and pump out and headed to the marina to take the mast down. The dock we had been told to tie up to was very low, rickety and narrow. We could not get ourselves tied up securely and had to keep fending the bow off of the steel frame of the take out well. The "mast crew" showed up and helped secure us in the well. After an hour or so of discussion while removing the boom and kicker, we loaned the workers our top climber and hoisted one of them up the mast to secure the crane sling using our electric wench. We loosened one side of the stays on the mast and then began removing the rest of them as the pressure was taken off of the others. As we lifted the mast, they stopped the process to allow me to disconnect the electronics. To my surprise, there were no plugs to disconnect at the base of the mast. All the connections were below in the bilge! We frantically started disconnecting the wires while the mast dangled above the deck. By this time, the wind was starting to pick up and the crew was getting concerned about being able to control the mast on the crane. From that point, it was a race to get the mast and the boom in the cradles we had and getting the boom back on board. By the time we were done, the rain started. This was a problem and a blessing at the same time. We had not secured the mast and boom enough to start our trip, but we were both extremely tired and need some rest anyway. The rain continued off and on, so we stayed in the well overnight. The rain continued on Friday morning, but we decided we had to get this done and, at the very least, get out of the take out well. We finished securing it and pulled out of the well with the rain still coming down. It felt weird with the mast draped over the boat, but it also felt good to be on the water and moving again. We headed out of the Buffalo River and made a right turn into the Black Rock channel. Our first experience with the locks was the Black Rock Lock. (Try saying that three times fast!) We were given the option of hanging on to ropes on the side of the lock or just float in the middle. Since we were only going down 5 feet, we opted to float in the middle. Piece of cake! Now we headed into the Tonawanda channel around Grand Island to the Erie Canal. A power boat came roaring past us in his power boat and his wake sent us rolling. Nothing moved! We felt a little more confident we had secured everything well and nothing was going to roll off the boat. As we entered the Erie Canal, we were a little surprised at how small it seemed and the number of what appeared to be "shanty" type buildings on both shores at Tonawanda.

It didn't take long before the shores became lined with trees and farm fields. It took about two hours to get to Lockport, which is the first lock and where you get your permit to transit the canal. We called the lock operator and he told us to go into the lock and secure the boat after he opened it. I began motoring forward and entered the lock with the doors about 80% open. There were a lot of people watching us come in and I headed to the wall to tie up. Although I didn't know it at the time, the water rushing out of the lock created a whirlpool affect and virtually spun the boat around. I was trying to back up and go forward to keep it under control and wound up landing on the opposite wall. We were both completely baffled as to what happened and I felt like an idiot as the crowd around the lock watched our out of control landing. The lock master then explained that we needed to wait before entering or leaving the lock until the turbulance died down. After all, we were going to be dropping almost 50 feet, and that takes a lot of water to pump in and release again. After recovering some composure, we were back in the boat to begin the locking process. It was a little scary but very impressive as our boat began to drop down the first 25 feet.

All we had to do was hang on to some lines and keep fending the boat off the wall. After waiting an appropriate time to let the turbulance die down, we motored into the next section of the lock. As soon as we had the lines in our hands, the water began it's descent for the second 25 feet. The view was incredible as we looked 50 feet above to where we had started.

The original lock had a series of five 10 foot drops called the staircase that is alongside the existing lock. Although they removed the flood gates, you can still see the 5 levels as the water pours down them.

From this point on, we did not have to deal with anymore locks until we got to Rochester, New York. We did have to deal with the low bridges though. The canal guide says that you have a vertical clearance of 15.5 feet. Most of the permanent bridges are over that. There are, however, very low draw bridges in almost every little town and port. This had been a concern since it is difficult to get an accurate measurement from the water up. We passed with 3 feet to spare! The low bridges are in the towns and are a novelty in themselves. The bridge tenders keep track of what boats are coming through and generally know when to expect us. We will tell them how far we intend to go for the day and they will alert the bridges along the way. Many of the bridges are operated by the same person and they will hop in their car (or bicycle)and race to the next bridge to let you through. They are very friendly and helpful with local information about their towns and their history. Although you have to be alert for large debris that may be floating in the canal, it is very quiet and peaceful with much scenery, wildlife and historical sites along the way.

The origianl canal was completed in 1825 and many of the towns along it benefited from the commerce it created as it opened up the great lakes to the East coast and New York City. The barges were originally pulled through the canal by mules that used a tow path along each side since they couldn't sail in the confined areas and there were no mechanical engines at that time. This path has been preserved along the canal and is a constant reminder of almost 200 years of history. Our first stop was Middleport. Docking Manana is a bit of a challenge. Our 38 foot boat has been transformed into a 55 foot boat with the mast hanging out the front and the back. From the helm, I can't see the the bow or how far the mast hangs out in front. There have been some scary moments but, so far, the fenders (and Denise) have prevented us from any major contact with the canal wall as I blindly try to manuever as close as I can.

Middleport is a typical town along the canal that provides free dockage, electric, water, restroom and shower facilities for boaters. We took a long walk for our dinner and retired to a very quiet and peaceful nights rest. On Saturday morning we had breakfast at the local restaurant and made some finishing touches to protect our mast and electronics hanging out the front of the boat. We were on our way by 12:30 with our final destination as Brockport, New York. We had heard some rumors about kids playing pranks on boaters by untying the dock lines and unplugging the electric at some stops along the way, so we wanted to find the nicest, and safest stop. More beautiful scenery, low bridges and historic towns along the way. One of the stops we were considering was Holley, New York. The guide books described a cute town, beautiful parks and walkways and a waterfall that then flowed back under the canal so we decided to take an ice cream stop and take a look. Holley did have a nice wooden deck with a gazebo, a path through a park area and down to the falls. The downtown area was centered around a small square and the ice cream store was our first stop. After enjoying our treat we walked back to the boat and continued on. The bridge tender had been concerned when he saw us tie up at Holley, so we called to assure him we were headed for Brockport for the night. Brockport is a college town and has a great welcoming center that is manned by enthusiastic and friendly volunteers. The docking is the best we have seen so far with restaurants and bars right along a very neat and clean canal walk. They did charge a nominal fee of $12.00, but it is well worth it. We decided to spend Sunday exploring a farmers market and the rest of town. We are having difficulty uploading pictures because of a weak internet connection, so I will update this post with more pictures when we get better service. Enjoy!

BUFFALO

It's been a while since our last post, and a lot has happened. The sail, or motor to Buffalo was uneventful as the wind was on our nose and arrived much earlier than we had anticipated. Active Captain had great reviews for the Buffalo City Marina, but we could not find it on our charts. Apparently they have just recently ramped up to offer dockage to transients with full amenities, so we found a phone number and called. We had also called several other marinas, but could not get a live person, so we decided to use the City Marina. You tie up on floating docks with water and electric that allows you access to the park that is within walking distance of some very reasonable (even free) public transportation, great restaurants, and many historical sites, including a Maritime and Air Museum with USS Little Rock Cruiser and the Sullivan Destroyer as well as a submarine and many other military displays. The park also has a variety of entertainment and activities almost every day including concerts, exercise classes and educational programs. After getting the AC going to cool off the boat we explored the City and had a nice dinner. This is our "dock mate" USS Little Rock. You can see Manana in the background.

Tuesday was our day to go to Niagra Falls. Denise had been there a few times but I had not. It took us a while to figure out how to get there, but, after a few calls, we found we could take the public transit bus all the way to the park entrance. We were amazed to find that the hour long trip would cost us a total of $10.00, and that was for an all day pass that would allow both of us to ride any bus, anywhere, all day long. The bus ride also gave us a bit of a tour of the area that we would be taking our boat through on the way to the canal. Niagra Falls was very impressive and we were able to see just about everything. I won't bore you with the details but we've included some pictures. You probably heard about the guy who walked across Niagra falls from the US to Canada, but we saw a man on the Canadian side that walked a tight rope every day from one hotel top to another. The amazing thing about that was the fact that he was in his mid 60's!

See the man on the tightrope?

On Wednesday, we toured the Maritime Museum and started preparing to leave the boat while we went to Denise's family reunion in Port Huron, Michigan. One of the things we were concerned about was that the Marina allows other boats to raft up to you, especially on the concert nights on Thursday and Friday. We didn't realize that when we first docked there, but we were assured that they would take every precaution to make sure nothing would be damaged. We met Marty and Sue, and found they both worked for the Buffalo Police department and Marty was a Police Officer. He also introduced us to Doc, who he was in partners with in a Marine Assist business and was involved with three of the marinas, including the City marinas. They, and all the dock hands at the marina assured us they would look out for our boat. Doc also offered to take our mast down for about half the price of the place we were originally planning to use. Even Active Captain gave him great reviews for taking the mast down and it would save us some delays on getting into the canal. So, we reluctantly left our boat early Thursday morning to catch a city bus to the airport ($2.00 per person!) The commuter jets we flew were small but they flew low enough that we could see ports on Lake Erie and Lake Huron that we had visited and also flew over the port we left from on Lake Michigan. Yes, that's right. In order to get to the Detroit airport and on to Port Huron, we had to fly to Chicago first. The reunion was held at a hotel near the entrance to the St. Clair River that we had gone through on our way down. Although the hotel had messed up the reservations, we were finally settled in with a view of the Blue Water Bridge to Canada and the River. Our trip just happened to conincide with the Port Huron to Mackinaw race, so we got to enjoy all the festivities and entertainment as the racers gathered. We even ran into some people we knew and were invited on some of the boats. Denise's family began to arrive on Saturday and the reunion was held Sunday. Denise's son had us on a flight for Monday morning that would fly us back to Buffalo via Chicago. It originally had 17 empty seats, but by the time we got there, it was filled up and we couldn't get on. We decided to drive our car back home and get a flight Tuesday night back to Buffalo. The only problem was, our luggage was in Buffalo. We finally got back to the boat a little before 1 AM on Wednesday morning. We had a short nights rest and got up to prepare the boat for taking the mast down on Thursday. It was a very hot and long day, but we have just about everything ready to go. This will be a new experience, since we have not had the mast down on Manana, and we have certainly never carried a mast on the deck. A view of the racers going under Blue Water Bridge

The Party Port

A few Manniquins

Buffalo has been a good stop and all the people have been great. We would highly recommend this as a stop and one of the best ways to see Buffalo and the Niagra area.

DUNKIRK YACHT CLUB

We started Friday morning trying to get some more information on taking our mast down. In reading some different blogs and information from the internet, we thought it may be worthwhile to look at some of the other options for taking our mast down. Wardells seemed to be the place mentioned the most and there were some mixed reviews. Some of the people we talked to personally said he was the best place to go and, although his equipment was not the most up to date, he did a very professional job. We wanted to see what other places charged. The way it worked out, there were'nt that many options and the prices appeared to be similar. After deciding we would go with Wardell I called him to make sure we would have no problem finding cast off lumber to build our braces for the mast and to see what we needed to do to get the mast down. To my surprise, he said he didn't have much lumber and said we needed to have our bracing done before he would let us come in to take the mast down. By the way, he does not work on the weekends, so don't bother coming up until Monday! Now we had to figure out how to get lumber and materials to our boat and build our bracing before we got to Wardells. I was asking several people for ideas and one boater offered to take us to the local lumber yard. Another alternative would be to get closer to Buffalo and get more local information. We decided to stay another day at the Chadwick Marina and finish some of the chores, including the laundry. The marina people offered to drive us to the laundromat. There were two in town and we went to the one we thought would be the nicest, and hopefully with air conditioning. No such luck. Neither had AC and it was a scorcher of a day. When we were done, we decided to walk back to the boat. It sure didn't seem that far when we were driving there, but it was a very long and hot walk while carrying three weeks of laundry. We had left the air conditioning on in the boat, so it was nice and cool when we finally got back. I did some more searching on the internet and the charts but still did not find any solutions. We decided to walk over to the Dunkirk Yacht Club to see if we could find someone who had taken the canal recently. We were greeted by Jim Christy who looked vaguely familiar. We learned that he had gone passed us in a small boat while we were waiting to get into the gas dock and asked why we didn't go to the yacht club. Our friend Bob in Erie had told us that it was too shallow at the yacht club and that the docks were old and rickety. Apparently Bob must have mistaken the yacht club for some abandoned docks (that had recently been purchased by the owners of Chadwick Bay) that were to the East of Dunkirk Yacht Club. We were greeted enthusiastically by everyone at the club. The clubhouse is built entirely over water, which they believe is the only one of it's kind. We were offered drinks and to join them for dinner. The docks were in great shape and much nicer than the Chadwick Bay Marina. We were immediately informed that they had 7 to 10 feet throughout most of the marina. There were plenty of people who had done the canal and we were introduced to Jim and Ardy Atkins who gave us all kinds of information about the canal and their travels. Somewhere in the conversation,I mentioned I played guitar and sang. The next thing I know, I was the entertainment for the night. It was a lot of fun and everyone seemed so appreciative. What they didn't know was that I was enjoying it as much, if not more than they were. They insisted that we belonged at the yacht club and should move our boat over first thing in the morning. Jim Christy said he would take us over to the lumber yard on Saturday and would bring his tools and help us build our bracing for the mast. We should have listened to Jim when he asked us to come to the club on Thursday. They even offered the slip at no charge. How great is that?

A view of the town from the docks and the abandoned marina to the East.

As we prepared to move to the yacht club on Saturday, the winds started kicking up from a cold front and small storm that was coming across the lake. When it finally fell below 15 knots of wind, we powered ourselves out of the slip and headed to the club. There were about a half dozen people there to greet us and help us in. When Jim arrived, he told us he had found enough lumber at home to complete most of the project. After giving him an idea of what was needed, we only had to get two 2 X 6's. Jim Atkins joined us and, with his experience and Jim Christy's expertise, we now have some very sturdy mast supports and bracing. They were so fast and efficient I was amazed at how they put it all together. It would have taken 3 or 4 times longer for me to figure out how to do it in the time it took them to figure it out, design, build and install it. Everyone we met at the Dunkirk Yacht Club was extremely friendly and helpful. We had mentioned that we would like to get some diesel fuel just to make sure we had enough to get to Buffalo, and everyone just pitched in and offered to help. Jim Atkins happened to have a five gallon jerry can in his truck and he wound up letting me use the fuel he had and drove me to the gas station for another six gallons. He also saved the day (and perhaps a bit of a mess) with a siphon hose to get the fuel in the tank. We will be leaving Monday for Buffalo. We will be refreshed, fueled up, filled with local knowledge and ready to take our mast down, thanks to all the wonderful people at Dunkirk Yacht Club. A very special thanks to Jim and Chris Christy and Jim and Ardy Atkins. As we spent our last evening having dinner at this one of a kind club built on the water, we felt as if we were preparing to leave family and friends. Once again, the people we meet have been the highlights of our trip. Dunkirk Yacht Club seems to have raised the bar even higher!

Pennsylvania to New York

Presque Isle was everything the guide books said, and a lot more. The bay in the middle of the State park was peaceful and well protected. The park includes the entire peninsula and has dozens of trails for bikes, roller bladers and hikers as well as a road to traverses the entire peninsula by car. There are 11 different beaches along the Erie shore line and bays and lagoons where you can kayak from the bay side. There is also a lot of history. Commodore Perry had defeated the British in the War of 1812 at Put in Bay, but he had built his ships and prepared his men in Misery Bay on Presque Isle. After the war, his ship the USS Niagra was sunk, along with some of the other war ships, to "preserve" them. They resurrected what was left of it in 1913 for the 100th anniversary of the victory and then wound up building a replica that now travels around the great lakes and the world. What the guide books didn't talk about, was the wonderful people we met there. On the first day, a local sailor gave us the keys to his truck so we could get supplies and see part of the city. We became friends with Bob and his wife Ruth and wound up inviting them to our boat,going out to dinner and even watching the fireworks on the 4th on his boat. Bob was a great help and showed us all around the park and part of the city. A storm came through on the 3rd of July that left us stranded downtown. The ferry had quit running due to the storm. We had joked around with Bob about "boat sitting" while we explored the city, but he did even more than that. When he heard our delima, he immediately offered to come pick us up. It was then he took us on a tour of the park and later met his wife for dinner. A highlight of the tour was the Maritime Museum. The Niagra had been up in Canada and was supposed to return at four o'clock, but never made it. (Bad forecast?) Below is a picture of Misery Bay where Perry built his ships. Many of his crew were buried in the snow, only to find out that it was actually over the water in the bay when they sank to a watery grave in the spring.

The Perry Monument at Misery Bay is similar to the one in Put in Bay, only smaller.

We also met two couples from Canada that gave us a wealth of information about the Erie Canal and maintaining our batteries. We had cocktails on Mark and Julies boat along with Phillip and his wife who were their cruising friends on another boat. We had a great time and good conversation. If this is an example of the kind of people we will meet along the way, that alone would make our trip a great success. Of course, keeping everybodies names and boats straight is difficult to do without boat cards, so we are trying to make it a point to trade boat cards with every cruiser we meet. One of the reasons we stayed through the 4th in Erie was to try to get more information about the Erie Canal, wash clothes and take care of a few maintenance items. We did get some information about the canal and we got a few small projects done, but just could not find a place to do the laundry. We wanted to get a little closer to the Erie Canal, in hopes of getting more local information. Besides that, there seemed to be one storm after another coming down from Michigan that was either hitting us or going just to the West and South of Erie. We felt it would be a little more stable weather further East on Lake Erie. Next stop, someplace in New York! We snapped this picture of the Niagra sitting in her slip in front of the Maritime Museum.

We got up early on the 5th and were greeted to severe lightening and thunderstorm watches for the area on the weather reports. After getting our shower and studying the radar and storm tracks, we decided it was another day of near misses to our West and South. We hauled up the Kayak, dingy and outboard and were on our way by 10:30. There are few deep water ports on Lake Erie's South Shore, so our next stop would be Dunkirk, New York. Of course, the wind was on our nose and less than 10 knots, so, once again, we were motoring. I had gone below to make some lunch and Denise was talking to her mother on the phone. The next thing I know Denise was calling for me to come up to the cockpit because we were being boarded! I came through the companionway to see an official looking aluminum boat chasing us! I slowed down and the boat came alongside with several armed agents on board. It was a Homeland Security Boat! They asked us where we were coming from, where we lived and where we were going. They asked us if we had been in Canadian waters and I told them we had cut across some Canadian waters but had not stopped or talked to anyone. They continued to cruise along side us as they checked a few things and then told us to have a great trip! That was it! I think Denise was disappointed we didn't get boarded. As we got within 5 or 6 miles of Dunkirk, I noticed there was a decent wind on our stern, so we threw out the genoa to give us a boost. The wind kept building and by the time we doused the genoa and headed into the channel for the marina, it was hitting close to 20 knots. We had planned to go to the gas dock and top off the fuel before going to our slip but I was already wondering how the wind would affect the docking. When we finally got into the marina, there was a boat sitting in front of the gas dock, taking up what little space there was for docking. We slowed down and waited but decided I needed to turn around before the wind turned us on it's own. We made a circle and decided to tie up to a municpal pier. The wind had a different idea as it kept blowing us off before we could get close. Luckily two people on the pier saw our predicament and helped us get tied up. We waited and waited while the power boat seemed to be settling in for the afternoon. I finally got off the boat and walked down to the marina office. After seeing the tiny space available to turn and dock, I told him we would just go to our slip and get fuel before we left. He showed me the slips and I told him we would appreciate help with docking in the wind. He said he would come down with another person and help. We sat on the wall and waited for the power boat to leave so the dock master could come help us, but it still didn't look like they were leaving soon, so we made our way over to the slip, hoping we wouldn't need the help. We were doing pretty good until, after committing to turning into the wind and the slip, we realized the slip was about 10 feet shorter than our boat! There was a little bit of excitement, but we finally got tied up with about 10 to 12 feet of our stern sticking out in the channel. When we complained, we were told that was the biggest slip they had. As a compromize, we offered to pay for the length of the slip rather than the length of our boat. He agreed. It seems that Dunkirk has a festival every Thursday night with lot of food and drink booths and a live band on the municipal pier. We wound up having a nice evening listening to the music and having dinner at a Greek restaurant on the lake. The next stop will be Buffalo. We are hoping to find more options for taking our mast down and making arrangements to leave the boat for a little while for Denise to go to a reunion and for me to get back to take care of a few things at the office.

ACROSS LAKE ERIE

We took advantage of the extra night at Edgewater Yacht Club. We had planned on going downtown but we spent most of the day researching our next destination and watching a pretty violent storm that was coming across from Indiana and making a bee line towards us. Edgewater was a big sailing club with a high ratio of sail boats as captured in Denise's photo.

The way it turned out, the storm went south of us and created havoc all the way to Washington D.C. Many areas still don't have power and there were several deaths. We decided that Saturday was going to be a travel day. We had several possible stops on the way and would decide which one to stop at once we got going, depending on the weather. Although Friday's storm missed us, when they come across Indiana like that, there is the possibility they will keep going East and hit us too. We wanted to have several stopping points in case that happened. The closest stop was Mentor, Ohio. It was about 4 hours away and we were told it was a great place to stop with a great yacht club and grounds. With that in mind, we took our time in getting going and topped off the fuel and pumped out and left about 12:30.

The winds were predicted to be 10 to 15 out of the Northwest. Heard that before? The winds on the lake were less than 10 all day and less than 5 at times. We tried to sail for a while, but as the winds continued to weaken and shift around, we started up the motor. By 4:30, we were approaching Mentor. Being a Saturday, it was a very busy place, with big and little boats scurrying in and out of the narrow entrance that got even smaller the further you went in. Mentor on the Lake was a developers dream during the late 1920's. He had envisioned a community by the lake with a series of canals and bridges to give it a Venice type atmosphere. The crash came and all that was left of his dream was a few houses, the canals, a bridge to nowhere (it made Guiness World Records) and a beautiful clubhouse. We were assigned a slip and, after dodging all the little power boats rushing everywhere, were helped tying up by some club members. We tidied things up and decided to go check everything out. We were across the channel from the clubhouse but they had a 24 hour shuttle service on demand. All you did was ring a bell and the shuttle would come pick you up. The club house was beautiful. Ornate wood, a wooden ship's hull for the bar, a swimming pool, patio and deck. Everyone raved about the chef and told us we had to try the food. We had eaten a late lunch on board and weren't quite ready for dinner but did try a sandwich later on and it was very good. All the club members encouraged us to stay a few extra days until the 4th for their big fireworks display, but, at $75 per day, we had our eyes on Presque Isle in Erie, Pennsylvania, where we could anchor in a protected lake for free. Presque Isle was about 70 miles away, but once again, we had 2 or 3 other places we could hop off. We left Mentor at 10:30, expecting to stop somewhere in between. The winds were forecast to be 10 to 15 from the Northwest. You guessed it, less than 5 most of the day. We began motoring and did throw out the Genoa to give us an extra knot or more of speed. With that, we were averaging more than 7 knots and made it to Presque Isle by 6:30. By 7 we were anchored on in a very peaceful bay in the State Park. Erie Bay is a large inner bay protected in all directions with a narrow entrance on the East side. Presque Isle is a Peninsula coming off the mainland that encircles and protects the bay from Lake Erie. There is another Presque Isle in Lake Huron with the same configuration. We were told that Presque Isle means "almost an island" in French. The state park marina is in a small lake on the peninsula and allows you to anchor in the Northern portion of the lake. We are fairly close to shore, and one of the first things we saw was a deer come out of the woods and walk along the lake shore and greet us.

We found we need to do a little more preparation for the Erie Canal, so we will probably stay here till after the 4th before heading further East.