Sailing to Buffalo

July 5, 2006
Shortly after 1:00 PM Wednesday we departed Chillicothe, Ohio for Anchor Point Marina preparing to set sail at 6:00 AM Thursday for Buffalo. I won’t bore you with details of all the preparation and work entailed in sailing (A lot of schlepping) I’ll just tell you about the fun things…well, some fun and some interesting.

July 6, 2006

We set sail at 7:30 this morning after coffee and a pump out (the boat that is) at Meinke Marina (not a fun thing, I carry disposable gloves for the occasion). Sarah, daughter of owners of Meinke Marina was ready with fresh coffee, a weather update and a smile. No wind in port at 6:30 AM but after 7:30 there were 10 to 12 mph winds with lots of whitecaps. We sailed 6 to 7 miles an hour with a 60% reefed Genoa. Mike always points out to me we have no collapsible prop and need a new bottom but this boat is really fast. I point out to him it’s too bad the captain has no interest racing. Our course took us on the leeward side of Bass and Kelly Islands and it was downhill for the next hour. Ultimately we motored for the next 4 hours to Vermillion. The last time we were at Vermillion we stayed at the municipal dock and we were not the least bit impressed. The cost was $54.00 to dock for one night with electric but no water hook up. This time we called the Toledo Yacht Club on a lark because we do not belong to a Yacht Club that has reciprocal agreements and they had a slip available and were most gracious. It was a little pricier than most marinas we have frequented ($1.75 a foot) but well worth it; a great protected dockage with comfortable facilities, showers, TV, computer access, and a deck on the river to watch boats passing by and enjoy sunsets on the lake. The surroundings were scenic and peaceful, set in the quiet residential community of the Vermillion Lagoons. The docks were great (brand new and fixed) with connections for power, water, phone and cable. Cruising is not always easy and definitely not always comfortable and a stop at a place like the Vermillion Yacht Club goes a long way. Tom, the on-site manager was on hand as we pulled in to greet and assist us. He was very patient with my questionable docking skills. Vermillion, named after the red clay used by the Indians, is unique and has made the most of its waterfront and is a great place to stop when cruising Lake Erie.

Two boats down from our dock at Vermillion is one of the most outstanding sailboats I have ever seen. It is a 53' Little Harbor Sailboat. Mike said it is 53' of gold. It displaces 62,000 pounds and took 16,000 man-hours (I prefer person hours) to build versus our boat that displaces 13,000 and we estimate too 420 person hours to build. The Little Harbor was designed by Ted Hood and built in Taiwan. They are headed out Monday For the Mackinaw Race and the boat's name is Canvasback.

A lovely sunset, a bike ride on the Vermillion canals, Beefeater martinis and Mike.....I'm a lucky girl! (I'm using the term girl rather loosely.)

Friday, July 7, 2006
We left Vermillion heading to Fairport at 7:15 AM taking 12 hours to cover the 62 miles, sailing 4, motoring 4, and motor-sailing 4. The wind and weather surely dictate to sailors. Fairport is known to most sailors as Grand River and although the harbor appears to be commercial a trip upriver reveals several good clubs and marinas and a couple of popular restaurants. We dined at both Pickle Bill's and Brennans Fish House on a previous visit and enjoyed both experiences. This trip we anchored out (we need the practice) next to a Taiwan built double ender from Florida and enjoyed dinner on our boat with a lovely sunset.

Saturday, July 8, 2006

At 6:45 AM we waved goodby to the fishermen and fisherwomen, took a last glimpse of the lighthouse at Fairport and set sail for Erie where we docked at the Woolverine Marina and Mike had "backing-up the boat" lessons.

Erie's Bayfront is undergoing a dramatic revitaliztion. We hope to anchor out at Presque Isle State Park on our return voyage. While docked at Erie awaiting boat repairs last year we had time to explore the lore of the Battle of Lake Erie at the Maritime Museum on the waterfront. We enjoyed an excellent view of the Niagara docked directly across from our boat . Erie is homeport of the U.S. Brig Niagara and we toured of the vessel learning of the operation and sailing of such a vessel and the life of the crew.

The reconstructed Niagara was launched in 1988 to serve as a floating museum and ambassador for Pennsylvania. It has an active sail training program during the summer months.

Sunday, July 9, 2006

A very long day.......Mike, when does the fun begin?

We left Erie at 6:00 AM and arrived in Buffalo at the 1st Buffalo River Marina at 7:15 PM.

We anticipate a great week or more visiting with family and friends.

Sailing is Enticing

May 26, 2006

Here we go...me, Mike and the Ford Dually laden with sails, bottom paint, respirator, boat wash and cleaner, boat wax, buffer, linens, groceries and Beefeaters gin for our martinis. Mike keeps telling me this is fun. We live in Chillicothe Ohio and our 36 Morgan (one of three sailboats) is docked on Lake Erie at Anchor Point Marina, a mere 3½ hour drive.


Our launch date is May 28 and we are hopeful the new heat exchanger and cutlass bearing as well as prop and shaft balancing and alignment were successful after last years fiasco. We plan to sail western Lake Erie until we head out to Buffalo, New York in July in preparation for our big adventure, cruising the great loop this fall. This is the second year we have planned to cruise the Great Circle. Cruising the Great Loop and the Carribean has been a dream of Mikes' and I must admit I have found sailing to be quite enticing. He dreams of the solitude of sunset at sea and I require internet access and a high end mall but somehow, it has all come together.

Last year (July 2005) we headed out of Anchor Point Marina in Curtice, Ohio toward Buffalo with the intent of gaining experience before attempting the great circle. We set sail for Buffalo mid-June and stopped first at the Lorain Harbor. We stayed at Spitzer Lakeside Marina. The next night we anchored out at Fairport and started sailing toward Erie around 6:00 AM. We sailed for a while and lost the wind. While motoring we heard a noise coming from the engine area. Mike investigated; found we sheared a bolt holding the bracket to the alternator. It cracked the aluminum timing gear cover. But my CPA spouse was convinced he could fix it well enough to get us to Erie. The last thing he fixed successfully was his bike when he was 7 years old. Shortly after his temporary fix was completed we heard another noise emanating from the engine area, louder and more violent than the previous one. So here we are …no engine and no wind. But not to worry, we have USBoat Towing Insurance. We called the 1-800 number and thus the saga continues. It was 2:00 PM, we were 25 miles away from Erie and Mike asked the towing attendant how many miles our $350.00 towing package would cover and or how much towing time would be covered and their reply was always the same: “KEEP SAILING”. He was unable to get an answer to that question. The wind was off the beam, very light, 2 to 4 miles and constantly changing. Everyone we spoke with said wind on land was 10 to 15 miles an hour. We sailed for 5 hours and averaged 3 to 4 miles an hour and covered around 20 miles. At this point BoatUS decided to come out for us. They arrived around 8:00 PM; the captain seemed competent and in charge, perhaps even inspirational. He proceeded to back up to our forward quarter with his swim deck and put two holes, two inches wide, 2 inches above the water with two projectiles off the swim deck of the tow boat. We reminded him we wanted to be saved not sunk. He pulled us for five very peaceful, scenic miles until we turned to go into Presque Isle Bay in a dark dusk while the cowboys in powerboats tried to figure out if there really was a 200 foot tow line. We turned into the rumored 18-20 mile an hour winds. Between the music from local bands and the wind we couldn’t hear the tow operator shouting instructions to us as we headed toward Lund Boat Works. They are reputed to be the best in the city dock area for a sailor according to F.L. Davis Cruising Guide to Lake Erie. The towboat tow rope became entangled and both boats veered to the right barely avoiding a collision with boats docked in a Marina next to Lunds. We all decided it was prudent to stay right where we were as the winds continued. Next morning the owner of Bay Shore Marina where we docked was most gracious when he heard our tale of woe and USBoat towed us to Lund. The Bay Harbor Marina management(they provide the USBoat Towing) were very accomodating and provided us with access to their facilities.

Two weeks later we left letting the wind determine our direction. The wind was blowing out of the East so we headed home to Ohio.