Thank you to all
those who gave us a warm heartfelt send off!
The lunches, the dinners, the coffees, cards and gifts! Those at the Suncor curve on the way to Corunna and beyond waving goodbye ! We are so touched!
Special thanks to the
SYC for the “goodbye party” they hosted for Guy, myself, George and
Jackie! We are blessed and
grateful for all the good wishes from our friends at the club! Thank you all so
much! We proudly fly our SYC burgee as well as our Canadian flag!
Tuesday August 28th,
up at 0700, we are feeling anxious about our departure. After downing some
coffee and toast, Guy (the captain) rolled up our dock hose, removed the
electrical cord while I (the first mate) kept busy down below stowing anything
loose. By 0830, we gave each other the “this is it” nod and cast off our dock
lines for the last time in Sarnia.
It was a clear sunny day with 10-15 kts to the north. Perfect for going south!
We were overwhelmed
with mixed emotions as we went through our Sarnia Yacht Club entrance and into
lake Huron where we have sailed for the last 10 years! By the time we were under
the Bluewater Bridge, we each had visible tears running down our cheeks.
We enjoyed the scenic
St-Clair River !
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| The "Cruickshank's" boat house on the St Clair river |
Picture of Guy's "Frog Point" homestead when he was much younger as we motor sailed by!
The "Goodfellow" Boat House
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| Trevor, Louise and Guy |
Once we entered shallow Lake St-Clair, I went down below and
noticed that the bilge pump had gone off 9 times…..Yikes….we have a problem! By
the time we arrived in Windsor it had gone off several more times and all the
while we were being attacked by little black flies. The little buggers had
landed on our boat by the hundreds. They disappeared as quick as they had
appeared. (a couple of hours). I got my aroebic workout just jumping around
behind the wheel to keep them off my legs! Once we got to Windsor, we tied up to a dock at Lakeview
Park Marina for the next two nights. The boat stunk of diesel so my handy
little captain, cleaned the bilge as best he could knowing that the diesel only
leaked when the motor was on. We kept all the hatched and ports open. Trevor
(our godson) and his girlfriend Mandi arrived on our dock armed with friendly
smiles and a couple of bottles of wine. We went down to the other end of the
marina to a popular restaurant and enjoyed their company for a few hours. Back
to the boat…still a little stinky but tolerable. We will deal with our leak in
the morning!
Wednesday August 29th
Turns out our
leak came from a faulty fuel pressure switch on the timing pump. We had leaked
diesel into the bilge! Lasalle
Marine (Jose the mechanic) were quick to diagnose and resolve our dilemma. Back
in business, walked around a neighborhood while waiting for George and Jackie
of S/V Heritage to arrive. They will be our buddy boat to the Bahamas. They
arrived at 1700 hrs. We had dinner together at one the picnic tables that lined
the well kept and attractive dock.
Thursday August 30th
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| Sunrise |
Left the dock in Windsor early 0700 hrs. With clear sunny
skies we motored down the Detroit river passing factory after factory in some
less than pleasant smells. We were cruising at 6 kts with the wind on the nose
when we passed under the Ambassator bridge heading for Lake Erie in the near
distance. Our destination, Put-In-Bay Ohio, approx. 40 NM away was our first
endurance test. It was pretty lumpy for the first few hours! About 5 NM from
Put-In-Bay in calmer seas now, the engine made a strange noise and once again
we had a problem….Luckily Guy was familiar with the sound and had it fixed in
within a half hour as I kept sailing the boat on course. The three bolts holding
the shaft coupler to the V-Drive couple plate had sheared off. Luckily we had
spare parts on board! Once in the bay, we topped up our fuel tank, tied off a
mooring ball for 30.00, called for a water taxi and zoomed into the little
village to report to cutoms and grab a bite to eat! Wow……what an exciting?
unpredictable day!
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| Detroit skyline |
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| Freighters on the Detroit river |
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| Sailing under the Detroit Ambassador bridge |
The light house at the entrance of Lake Erie
Friday August 31st
Left Pu-In-Bay Ohio at 0700 hrs. Destination Fairport Ohio
78 NM away in a south west 10-15 knots of wind. Temperature is 94 degrees! We
arrive at Grand River yacht club without incident at 8:00 p:m . The docks here
were free due to reciprocal agreements set between yacht clubs. This is the
first time we have had a decent Wifi connection.
This Goodyear Blimp flew over us as we sailed on Lake Erie
The light house at the entrance of Fairport Harbour Ohio
Wildlife along the 4.0 NM entrance on our way to Grand River Yacht Club!
Early morning fishermen on our way out of the entrance
This vessel was outside the entrance of the Harbor as we arrived 
So was this ....
Saturday September 1st
Leaving Fairport @ 0715 Hrs, we motored out of the channel
lined with early morning fisherman. Our destination is Erie Pennsylvania 75.4
KM away. The wind is light so we motor sail an average of 6.5 knots. We spent
the day reading, preparing meals, knitting for me, some maintenance projects
for Guy. Life is good at 22:30 Hrs as we arrive at Erie Yacht Club, a very
large facility that was lit up like a Christmas tree. Huge yachts, beautiful
docks, and an outstanding club house filled with members, guests on a patio
filled with music of a live band!
All this for free as it was a reciprocal yacht club. We were to pooped to go
anywhere but to bed after our 13 hours on the lake.
Sunday September 2nd
It’s still a little dark as we leave 0630 Hrs for Dunkirk
Yacht club (another reciprocal facility) in 10 -18 knots of ENE winds. With
this direction, the wind is on the nose and the ride is not so comfortable. We
tolerate the 48.3 NM arriving at our destination at 15;00 hrs. This yacht club
is so shallow “Miss Ellie” could not get near a dock due to our 6 foot draft
(Guy claims it must be 6.2+ resulting from the amount of “stuff” we loaded on
before we left for our trip! We ended up anchoring out in the middle of the
harbor with permission of the many members we had entertained with our kedging
skills to get us off the bottom and the many attempts at getting our 65 lb SQR
anchor to hold in the dense weeds. Confident the boat would stay put behind a
large breakwall and the shallow water, we dropped down our dinghy and joined
the Labor Day annual barbecue the yacht club members had invited us to. George,
Jackie, Guy and I were welcomed and treated to a huge buffet style dinner,
beer, wine, desserts, ticket raffles, interesting characters and conversations
all for 10.00 each.
On our way to Buffalo NY
Monday September 3rd
We pulled up the anchor and set out at 07;30. Once out of
the channel, both Guy and George turned off the engine and proactively emptied
their weed filled strainers to avoid overheating the engine. Once the engine
was turned on again, they put it in reverse to rid the prop of the weeds wrapped
around it. Out destination today is Buffalo New York 35.9 NM away. A great day on the lake. Arrival at RCR yacht club in the
industrial section of the city is at 1300 HRS. We docked at a floating dock and
in blistering heat we prepared Miss Ellie for un-stepping her mast in the
morning.
Buffalo Skyline as we approach
The Buffalo lighthouse
A battleship along the wall as we entered the channel
Tuesday September 4th
Today the mast is out by noon and all bundled up for the
truck ride to Hop-O-Nose marina on the Catskill River off the Hudson River. We
find relief from the heat as we cast off our lines in the rain and head for The
Erie Canal at 14;30 hrs. Our “motor boat” (sans mast) motors 10.5 NM to
Tonawanda after our first canal lock experience in the pouring rain! It was a
baby one at less than a six foot drop. Not yet experts at it but building
confidence.
un-stepping the mast
Guy
It's out!
The entrance to a lock (not part of the Erie Canal)
