Back in the U.S. of A.

Rochester, NY – Genesee River

43 degrees 15.125 min N

77 degrees 36.506 min W

An uneventful, relaxed 46 nm crossing of Lake Ontario today from Cobourg, ON to Rochester, NY. Wind was good (10-14 kts, SW ) for sailing for 65% of the transit, but it died 10 miles off shore of Rochester. It became what we like to call, 'water-ski water'. We powered on toward the marina.

Based on weather reports we wanted to get in the marina before 2:00 - 3:00 pm as thunderstorms were predicted for late this afternoon and they most certainly did materialize, but after we were tied up safely at Shumway Marina.

Clearing into U.S. Customs was as easy as clearing into Canadian Customs and we did it via videophone. Best part- I didn't have to fill out a form! When was the last time you did ANYTHING with or for the government that did not require you to fill out a form?

We'll update this blog entry with photos and additional information in the next few days before we head to Oswego, where we'll pull down the mast and head south on the Oswego and Erie Canals to the Hudson River.

Down the North shore of Lake Ontario

08/18/2010

Cobourg, Ontario, Canada

Latitude 43.95689 degrees North, Longitude 78.16592 degrees West

We left the marina at Port Credit Tuesday morning at 6:45 am. The sail from Port Credit to Cobourg yesterday broke down like this:

Hours 0-3, motoring past Toronto as wind built.

Hours 3-6, flew just the genoa with 10-15 kts of wind (almost on the stern) and a bit of a following sea. Wind moved a bit more to the SW which was perfect for our point of sail.

Hours 6-11, we stayed with the genoa as the SW winds built to 15-22+ kts and as the day progressed following seas built significantly. Boat speed was 5-6+ kts, but SOG was 6-7.5 kts. Fortunately, the wind direction never really shifted to the West, as forecasted, so we kept the same point of sail for a very long period of time. We saw 1.0-2 kt SOG boost from the following seas for most of the afternoon.

Just as we approached the entrance to the breakwater at Cobourg the wind was 21-26 kts and large waves were rolling across the very narrow entrance (rocks on both sides of course) which made for an exciting transit. I used nearly full power on Yani to punch through and prevent from being pushed onto the rocks. Once inside, waters were quite calm and we relaxed a bit.

The Cobourg Village Marina is reasonably nice marina ($56/night for us). There are quite a few sailboats (unlike most of the marinas we have been in so far) and the downtown are is very nice town with all the amenities.

Far Niente is currently docked at the Port Credit Village Marina in Port Credit Ontario. We'll be here several days as we visit with friends and take in some of Toronto (15 miles east) via fast commuter train. We'll next head south back into U.S. waters and stay in Rochester, NY where my wife has family prior to our last Lake Ontario stop in Oswego, NY.

We left Port Dahlousie (south shore of Lake Ontario just west of the Welland Canal exit) about 10 am to 5 kts of wind and a flat lake. An hour out, in a mixture of fog and haze, winds picked up to 10 kts and we hoisted the sails. Thirty minutes later we had 0.00 & 0.00 on the knot meter and wind indicator. We pulled sails in and motored to Port Credit. A few miles off shore, about 90 minutes later, it was blowing 15-19 kts! Drives you crazy sometimes.

We had planned on docking at the Port Credit Harbor marina which has the most unique breakwater separating it from Lake Ontario one has ever seen; a sunken freighter of some 300'. We called them to request a slip and they said they were full and could not fit us in (about 900 boats in this marina - it is huge). So we called the little and uncharted (at least there were no descriptions in the 2 cruising guides we had on board) Port Credit Village Marina right off the Credit River and just in front of a bridge with less than 50' clearance.

The ride in was tense as the river/channel is silted up and very shallow in spots, but the attendant we spoke with on the VHF said we could make it with our 5' draft. So we followed the seawall, hugging it all the way, and I watched as the depth meter ticked down from 9' to 0.3' below our keel. Tense is the only way to describe it. Oh, and then there were the 2 outbound powerboats that only stubbornly gave way. (Biting my tongue about some of these yahoos.)

We are the only sailboat in this marina of about 40 slips. There are about a dozen other power/fishing boats and many empty slips. We understand they will fill up on the weekend. It is a basic marina: restrooms, 1 washer and 1 dryer and gated access. It is in a busy area and very urban, but not as offensive as Jefferson Beach Marina in St. Clair Shores. The marina is situated around a park-like setting with benches for landlubbers to watch the boats come and go.

There are more than a dozen bars/restaurants within a few minutes of the marina. There is a marine chanderly right around the corner, a Starbuck's across the bridge that spans the Credit River and a big grocery store 10-15 minutes away. You can catch the high-speed commuter train to Toronto across the street as well.

We are staying at the Port Dalhousie Marina until Tuesday. Weather will be much better then and we had plenty of chores and odds & ends to take care of so we are not just sitting around on our hands.

We went into town yesterday afternoon and stumbled upon the famous Royal Canadian Henley Regatta. These are races of 1, 2, 4, and 8 person rowing skulls. They race on a course that used to be the old Welland Canal.

The regatta, sometimes referred to simply as "Henley," was established by RCA (then known as the Canadian Association of Amateur Oarsmen) shortly after the association's creation in 1880. The regatta was hosted by different clubs in Quebec and Ontario until it settled in St. Catharines in 1903. It is, in effect, the Canadian club championships and has grown to become the largest of its kind in the western world. The Royal Canadian Henley regatta is held each year in early August on the Henley Course on Martindale Pond in the former village of Port Dalhousie in St. Catharines. The course is recognized as a FISA category 'A' rowing venue.

We watched a variety of final heat races and it was all quite fun.

The rest of the 'downtown' area has a few tourist shops, pubs and restaurants. While sitting at an outdoor bar drinking a cold beer, we could hear a duo performing in the bar across the street. It was, without question, the absolutely worst singing performance we have ever heard. We could not stop laughing it was so bad. Look for this dude on American Idol next season!

PHOTO: Marjorie tending the bow line on Far Niente after we descend some 40’ in about 6-8 minutes. The lock is now opening. Photo taken in Lock 5 at 43.15488 degrees north and 79.19345 degrees south .

Current Location: Port Dalhousie Marina, Port Dalhousie, Ontario, CN

We successfully transited the Welland Canal today and did it in less than 8 hours, which means we were really lucky. We spoke with fellow sailors who have taken upwards of 17 hours due to freighter traffic. We entered Lake Ontario around 5:30 pm EDT and headed west to Port Dalhousie to dock and rest.

We left at our slip at the Sugarloaf marina at 9:45 am and hit the bridge at 10:00 am. Normally we would have had to tie up at a small dock right in front of bridge 21 and await Welland traffic control’s instructions, but some knuckle head decided to tie up his 40+’ motor cruiser at the free dock for the weekend. This meant we did not have a place to tie off because of our length. So we called traffic control at the kiosk next to the public dock the night before and explained that we could not stage at the dock due to this guy tying up the only spot we could wait at. We spoke to Welland traffic control that evening and they were very cooperative and let us pay then and instructed us to early in the morning and remain at the marina. We called them at 6:30 am and they told us to we’d need to wait until about 10:00 am and travel with 3 other boats. So we relaxed and had coffee and breakfast. We traveled the 21-mile length with 2 other sailboats and a motor cruiser who had taken on a professional captain for the transit. The motor cruiser led the group and we sat at the back of pack.

We only encountered 2 freighters on the way and in both cases they were up bound (Lake Ontario to Lake Erie, which is a higher elevation) and we reached the locks they were in just before they emerged from the lock. In one case we tied of on a very industrial wall, which was an interesting experience I’ll comment more on later and in the second case we simply floated around 10-15 minutes as the ship passed out of the lock and by us in a very wide part of the channel just south of Lock 1.

The first 11-12 miles are simply canal motoring. Not much scenery and a couple of bridges that we had to wait for, but only for a few minutes. Once you hit lock 7, the locks take up the next 6-7 miles and it is one after another with about a 40+’ drop in each lock.

Our first real lock (lock 8 right after we entered the canal is called a control lock and the water level does not change) was a bit of a challenge because the canal authority asked us to try out a new mooring system. Instead of being handed 2 lines by handlers that you then use to hold you boat on the lock wall as the water level drops, they had some experimental automatic floating tie offs that would adjust with the water level. Now these are clearly prototypes and could not manage to get a bow line around a recessed bollard. So we were instructed by the handlers to skip it and just pull between the other 2 sailboats and take the conventional lines. That meant parallel parking in the narrow lock, which is not Far Niente’s strong suit. So we had a bit of difficulty and ended up backing up to back of the lock, always fun on big fat full keel boat in a tight area, and getting our lines behind the other 2 boats. Fortunately, only this lock, #7, had these prototypes and we used the conventional approach for the last 6 locks without much trouble.

One thing we were not prepared for were tying off on these commercial walls. The bollards are 60+’ apart and a good 30’ from the side. You need 60’ bow and stern lines to lie off. We managed, if rather in a clumsy manner, to tie off by doubling the lines up, but it did catch us unprepared. So if you are planning to transit the Welland, have your fenders just above the water line, on both sides of your boat, and 60-100’ lines ready on your bow and stern. That should enable you to tie off most anywhere.

We exited the canal and after we could not reach the St. Catherine’s Marina on the VHF we headed for Port Dalhousie Marina (pronounced “daloosey”). We arrived to strong winds but a dock full of sailors who eagerly assisted our docking. We enjoyed a few cocktails with them and then cooked burgers and corn on the grill on the boat and enjoyed a good nights rest. We’ll likely stay here Sunday night and head for Port Credit Monday.

Lake Erie Transit

For followers of this blog, due to spotty internet coverage the last several days I did not post all our updates here but you can find them at our sailblogs site: http://www.sailblogs.com/member/farnientelog2010/

Location: Sugarloaf Marina, Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada

We completed our trip across Lake Erie last night. We left Put-in-Bay, OH around 8:30 am Wednesday and arrived in Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada before 11:00 am today. Winds did not cooperate at all (on the stern at a measeley 4 kts until 3:00 am) so we invoked the "3 knot rule" and we motored all 26+ hours.

About 3:00 am thunderstorms hit as we passed by Erie, PA and we rode out 30+ knot winds and a following sea that pushed up another 2 knots. Storms blew over by dawn and we changed course and headed north to Port Colborne.

We motored into the entrance to the Welland Canal and then immediately docked at the Sugarloaf Municipal marina.

One cruising guide we have claimed Sugarloaf to have "resort style amenities." Really?

Port Colborne is a very industrial area serving as the entrance to the Welland Canal. It is an ideal place to stage for transit of the canal, which will take all of one day. The facility is fairly average. It does have a restaurant and bar above the marina office. It is more expensive than the Michigan DNR marinas by quite a bit ($1.50/ft/night). The internet service, which has been problematic in other marinas, seems to work well.

We took a walk to the city center, which has seen better days. Not a destination point whatsoever. This marina will serve our purpose; rest up from the overnight run across Erie and prep for the transit of the Welland Canal sometime this weekend.

PHOTO ABOVE - Most of the the Lake Huron shore is rocky with few of the very nice beaches the west side of Michigan enjoys.

29 Hours Down Huron

Position: 42 degrees 28.132 minutes N / 82 degrees 52.781 minutes W

Jefferson Beach Marina on Lake St. Clair, MI

The weather window was there and the weather was almost perfect to make the 189 nautical mile sail from Presque Isle to Lake St. Clair north of Detroit. Wind was light and variable and we only managed an 1.5 hours worth of sailing on Sunday morning. The rest of the time there was either too little wind or the direction was problematic, so we called on "Yani" the diesel engine to propel us for more than 28 hours down the east coast of Michigan on Lake Huron.

There really is not much on this side of the state at all, unless you are into sailing or camping. We dodge and ducked freighters most of the night and this morning when we transited the St. Clair River to get to Lake St. Clair.

After 29 hours sailing/motoring we are beat and will take some naps today. Marjorie will be traveling to Rockford to see Emma Joy this week.

Jeff will be managing the heat (give me Northern Michigan weather again!) cleaning the boat, working on the boat, etc. and getting all in order for the next stage of the journey, Lake Erie.

We'll post more photos in the gallery on http://www.sailblogs.com/member/farnientelog2010/ later this week.