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Woolamaloo in Ontario 2015

: 9/17/15 – Time to spend some time on the boat. This year’s sailing season was not as complete as I would have liked. But I’ve got a few weeks before it gets too cold. It’s time to go. I left around sunrise and headed East.

: Cleveland is the best skyline on Lake Erie.

: When I started getting closer to the Perry Nuclear Plant, I was buzzed by this Coast Guard boat five times. I would have been delighted to welcome them aboard for an inspection. This was the closest they got.

: Perry Nuclear Plant

: Today was a perfect sailing day. 10-12 knots of wind – minimal waves. I spent some time on the foredeck.

: I got to Geneva-on-the-Lake in a little more than 8 hours. I walked into town but on a Thursday in September, nothing was open. I had a burger at the Lodge and got to bed early.

: 9/18/15 – I left Geneva at sunrise.

: Another great sailing day. 15-20 knot beam reach. Beautiful.

: Entrance into Presque Isle Bay

: I docked at the Commodore Perry Yacht Club in Erie, PA. This was a great club with very friendly people. It was a perfect place to sit out the storms over the next two days. The members of the club invited me for a Soup Cook-Off on Saturday night.

: 9/19/15 – One of the best parts of my trip was visiting the Maritime Museum and the Brig US Niagara. It was the decisive vessel in the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812.

: The capstain on Niagara

: Tiller

: The guy on the left is the current captain of the Niagara. They were making preparations to get underway.

: The flag on the left is the “Don’t Give Up the Ship” flag.

: In the museum, they reconstructed a section of the ship and then took it out to a field and blasted it with cannon common in the era.

: This was the resulting damage.

: Had a great late lunch here before walking back to the yacht club in a downpour. Kathleen drove up from Akron and we had cocktails on board Saturday night. Sunday we went out for breakfast before she drove back home. Fun.

: 9/20/15 – I worked in the boat for a few hours before walking into town to go to the Erie Art Museum.

: It was a fun museum – small and eclectic. They had Chinese pottery, comic book art, Hindu god statues and goauches, and a room of local artists.

: 9/21/15 – After working a few hours in the morning, I left Erie around 11 am.

: I was heading to Port Stanley, Ontario which is about 60nm. I’m considering participating in the Great Lakes Single-Handed Society. To do that, I have to do a qualifying sail of over 87 nm (100 statute miles) and over 24 hours. Today is the day. I had to jibe a couple times to make my course be over 87nm.

: What a great sailing day. I was getting solid 20-25 knots of winds with gusts to 30. Waves were generally 4-6 foot with the occassional 8 footer. I double reefed my main and had almost no jib out and was doing a steady 7 knots.

: Sunset on Monday. My plan for the night was to have as little sail up as possible and get the 87nm done as quickly as possible. Then, I’ll just have to wait out the 24 hours to finish the qualifying sail. I finished around 4:30am. That’s an average 6.2 knots. That was flying. It was a beautiful night. Even with the heavy wind and waves, the sky was perfectly clear. I felt that I could scoop handfuls of Milky Way right out of the sky.

: 9/22/15 – Sunrise the next morning. Now, I just had to wait until 11:30am to complete the 24 hours. I’d sleep 15 minutes at a time about 5-6 miles from Port Stanley. By 9am the wind had dropped dramatically even though the waves were still fairly bumpy.

: Port Stanley. This is about 11am. I’ve got a half hour to go. The wind has dropped to a few knots but it doesn’t really matter. I’m just trying to get closer to the harbor for when I start my engine at 11:32.

: Port Stanley is a commercial fishing port. These boats scared the crap out of me around4 in the morning when they were steaming towards me with huge bright lights. They never got within a mile of me though.

: By now, of course, I’m exhausted. But I still have to wait for the noon opening of the bascule bridge.

: Docked in Port Stanley. I docked right on the other side of the bridge.

: After clearing Canadian Customs, all I need is some food and some sleep. I had a perch sandwich and a couple beers at Roxy’s. Then, I slept for 16 hours.

: 9/23/15 – Wednesday morning, I walked over to the beach. It was the nicest I’ve seen on Lake Erie.

: I had breakfast at the Buccaneer

: Perch, eggs, home fries and tomatoes. Great.

: Kettle Creek Marina

: I walked back across the bridge to the Lion’s Park.

: I spent two hours here drinking coffee, watching the boats come and go and reading. It was one of the several high points of the trip.

: Downtown Port Stanley.

: I had some Perch Bouillabaisse and a few beers for lunch.

: I loved Port Stanley.

: 9/24/15 – I left in the morning to sail to Rondeau Bay. It was another great sailing day. I sailed SW along the Ontario coast which comprised of these cliffs most of the way. Beautiful.

: Docked in Erieau. It took me a little less than 8 hours to sail here. But the seas really built. My entrance into the very protected Rondeau Bay was the roughest harbor entrance I’ve ever done. I was glad to be here.

: For dinner, I went to Bayside Brewing. Great beers and a decent wood fired pizza.

: 9/25/15 – For breakfast, I had the peameal and eggs at the Eau Buoy diner. Excellent.

: Erieau’s beach is nice – just not as nice as Port Stanley’s.

: Looking SE out of Erieau. The day before when I came through there there were 6 foot waves and confused seas. It wasn’t fun.

: For lunch – Poutine and Perch at the Sand Bar.

: My plan for lunch was to drink “one more beer than would be prudent” and then go back to the boat for a nap. I sat out on the patio of the Sand Bar and enjoyed the beautiful weather. I met some fun people there and I overshot prudence by a couple. Fun afternoon.

: 9/26/15 – I left Erieau in the morning to head back to Cleveland.

: The forecast was for East winds of 20-25 knots and 2-4 foot waves. That’s exactly what I got – all the way back to Cleveland. Wind was blowing spray high onto the main.

: Completely out of sight of land, I passed another sailboat heading North.

: It was a wet and bumpy ride but the sailing was great. I caught a little spray now and then but didn’t wear my foul-weather gear. (I wore my PFD the whole time.) About four hours in, a wave hit the boat just right and it got me squarely in the chest. I was soaked head to toe and had to change clothes.

: This was my closest pass to any commercial shipping on this trip. We passed about a half mile from each other.

: Cleveland is popping up in the distance. I’m about 30 miles out.