She Ain't Pretty but She Gets the Job Done.

No, dear reader, the title does not refer to your author!

Today I cycled around Windsor seeking help for my alternator problem.  Luckily the staff at Part Source were able to put me on to a local auto shop where someone could weld our alternator arm.  The arm has been fixed and reinforced so it should be stronger now.  It looks terrible but appears to work.

Westerbeke sells a replacement arm which I will order one on Monday so we have a spare on board.  All in all this problem only set us back one day.  Not bad. I also got to stock up on my favourite boat supply - Monster tape!  I now have it in black, white, and clear so I think I'm ready for anything.

Detroit Rock City

Well, not really.  More like Detroit Rock City adjacent.

We arrived in Windsor late last night after battling a 10-knot headwind and the Detroit River current.  The views on the river were varied with cottages and big houses on the Canadian side and either protected land or industry on the American side. Once we got to Detroit/Windsor we were treated to a great view of the Detroit skyline to port and the giant Windsor salt piles to starboard.  In my former life I would have been appalled by the uncovered salt that likely just runs off into the river.

I wasn't expecting Detroit to be so pretty.  Although the a portion of the waterline is ruined by the new hockey arena which is an abomination.

The great salt pyramids of Windsor

In addition to the wind and current we also had to deal with fairly heavy commercial traffic and jerks like this one who have more money than manners:

Now it is time for the true confessions part of this post (I did promise everyone I would post the good, the bad, and the ugly) - we have another engine set back.  This time it is the alternator.  I don't think it is supposed to look like this:

The good news is that I spotted this quickly.  If the alternator konks out completely the water pump that cools the engine also konks out and we have an overheated mess on our hands. We will be here for a couple of days while we sort this out but that gives us a chance to do some small chores, provision, and for Reg to do a few days work.

Having Trouble Commenting?

A few people are having trouble commenting on our blog.  Here are instructions on how to do it including how to set up a limited blogger account if you don't have a Google+ profile. You should only have to do this once if you stay logged in to the same computer.

Step 1 - Write your comment

Step 2 - Under "Comment as", select Google account

Step 3 - When you hit "publish" you will be asked to confirm your profile.  If you don't have a Google+ profile create a limited Blogger profile

Step 4 - all you need for a limited Blogger profile is a name to post under.  Enter a name and hit "Continue to Blogger"

TA-DA!!

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They Say It's Your Birthday

We've just finished two days at Pelee Island where we anchored for the first time on this trip. We had read that the sunsets are fantastic and were not disappointed.

Reg was very nervous but with all the technology on board we would have been notified if we started drifting.  We could even leave Reg's phone on the boat and it would text my phone on shore if we drifted although we weren't sure what we would do about it if that happened!

We found this very reassuring!

We took our folding bikes in the dinghy and rode to the Pelee Island vineyard to celebrate Reg's birthday with a tour and, of course, a tasting. It was a lovely day and we had a great lunch in the courtyard to go with our wine.  A ton of old cheddar, pate, and fresh bread for only $17 for both of us.  I guess they make their money on the wine and the rest just requires them to break even.

Do I get to be an honorary Millennial because I posted my lunch?

Red wine makes giant barrels even more fun than usual!

Long may your big jib draw

Wow whee, what a day!

Port Stanley to Erieau (near Rondeau Provincial Park) today.  Winds held steady around 20-25 knots with gusts as high 30.9 knots (56 km/hr for you Canadian landlubbers, 35 mph for the Americans).  We sailed with the jib only and averaged about 6 knots with a high of 7.67. 

Winch wench

The high winds used to make Reg very nervous but he has fallen in love with the idea of putting miles under our hulls without shelling out for diesel.

Next stop, Pelee Island.

Sails Up!!

Finally got to use the sails and not just the engine!

Most of the day from Port Colborne to Port Dover was in light air with the engine running.  As we were about an hour away from our planned anchorage at Long Point we looked at the forecast and saw the wind would be too strong overnight to anchor (25 knot gusts from the north east).  Shortly after we abandoned our plan to stay at Long Point and head for Port Dover the wind picked up and we hoisted the sails.  We had about 90 minutes of a nice broad reach into Port Dover where we tied up and were fast asleep by 9 p.m.

The "sail" (under motor) the next day (Sunday July 23rd) from Port Dover to Port Stanley was less thrilling:

Less thrilling but very tiring nonetheless as we had to put in 12 hours before we found a port with a space big/deep enough for us.

We finally tied up on the wall at Port Stanley which is a charming town with great restaurants, a drug store (thank you, Lord, for Robaxacet), and fresh coffee roasted on-site.

On the wall (free docking!) in Port Stanley

Just one example of the charming touches in Port Stanley - the Fire Hall

Good News and Bad News

The title really should say great news and so-so news but that isn't as catchy.  First up, the great news - we are on our way and heading to Long Point!

Next up the so-so news - it is going to be a wet day. No dangerous storms but not much fun, either.  After 3 perfect sailing days while we've been stuck in Port Colborne this is a bit of a downer.

But the calm winds we have right now give me a chance to blog in the fog.

They say patience is a virtue but it isn't one of mine

Day 5 of the trip and day 3 in Sugarbush Harbour Marina in Port Colborne.  I was able to get in touch with the manufacturer of our drive leg in the UK at 5:30am our time on Wednesday morning and a new prop and 2 prop cones are on their way to us.  When I woke up this morning (Thursday) I was very happy to see this update on my phone from 4:28 am:

I have been impatiently hitting refresh for the past 7 hours but no updates yet.  If we can get the delivery today we should be able to set sail tomorrow.  If it is delayed until Friday then we may be stuck here another couple of days as a storm may be blowing in on the weekend.  Fingers crossed.

On the plus side Reg has been able to work full time for a few days which will allow him more time off in the coming weeks.

An Inauspicious Start

On Friday the 14th we had a party to say goodbye to family and friends.  Reg held court in the family room showing photos and maps on the TV to explain our trip and answer questions about our boat.  Our good friend, Shari, brought a cake which we cut like a wedding cake but refrained from stuffing into each other's faces and wasting it.

Thanks to Diane Freeman for the lovely photo

We moved aboard late Saturday afternoon ready to set sail on Sunday morning. Our crew for the day consisted of me, Reg, Sam, and Riley.  The boys were only with us for that one day for now - they will join us full time in August. After a quick stop for a pump out and to return our access card to Harbour West Marina, we were on our way under motor to make the 9:30 am lift of the old Burlington Bridge.

Once out into Lake Ontario proper we finally felt like we were on our way. The wind was light to non-existent with periods of promise that quickly diminished.  Luckily we managed to dodge some nasty looking weather systems and make it into Saint Catherine's Marina nice and dry.

Chasing the weather

We had a few problems that first day.  The connection I made at the new alternator to the tachometer was loose which caused very iffy tach readings.  That was easily fixed underway.  When we got to dock we discovered a leak in our fresh water system which is easily repaired with $5 in parts from Canadian Tire (I will get to that as soon as this post is completed).

On Sunday night, Tony (my Dad) drove to St. Catherine's to join us for the next leg while the boys took his car back to Waterloo. Monday morning was an early start to head up the Welland Canal to Lake Erie.

We didn't get off to a great start on the Welland.  When we arrived at the pleasure craft check-in dock at 8 a.m. we were told that there would be a wait of 2 hours before they opened the first lock.  The Welland is a commercial system and pleasure craft are granted access as a courtesy (an expensive courtesy at $240).  We had some entertainment as we waited watching an American power catamaran approach the lock clearly having done no research ahead of time.  While ignoring the signs directing them to the check-in dock, they slowly approached the lock, radioed seaway traffic control and asked for the lock to be opened. They were told that they had to proceed to the check-in dock ("see the other catamaran tied up to the dock on your port side? - go there!").  They continued to insist they didn't need to dock because they were in transit, to which traffic control continued to tell them that they wouldn't be getting transit if they didn't tie up to the dock, pay their fee, and phone in. Eventually we realized that they had come from a U.S. port of call on Lake Ontario and were headed for a U.S. port of call on Lake Erie and had no intention of alerting Canadian Customs and Immigration.  They motored to the dock and held themselves there without tying off while someone used the phone and paid for passage as directed.  We had fun speculating what might be on board that they didn't want Canadian authorities to find.  Guns?

We finally entered the first lock at about 10:30 a.m. and quickly learned the ropes (poor pun intended).  We had some struggles figuring out how to hold Binary still while the water rushed in to fill the locks.  Near the end of the system I realized I hadn't but the centerboards down which caused 99% of our struggles.  Live and (hopefully) learn.

 

The trip through the Welland was slow but uneventful until lock 8 which is the final and easiest lock.  With only a small rise in water level, pleasure craft do not tie off but simply slowly move through the lock and out the gate at the far end.  When we accelerated toward the open gate to exit the lock we found we had no forward momentum whatsoever.  After a rather frantic diagnosis we discovered we had no prop. We radioed the lock attendants immediately to tell them what was happening and they radioed to the American power cat (with the unoriginal and tacky name IV Play) who had been with us in the locks all day and exited just ahead of us.  The lock staff requested that they return to the lock and tow us out.  They instantly refused citing insurance restrictions and went on their merry way never to be seen again.  I'm flabbergasted that one boater would refuse to help another boat in distress!

We drifted towards the wall of the lock and tied off (that could get you a $5000 fine but they make exceptions for emergencies).  A lock attendant was able to pull us by our bow line and get us out of the lock and tied off to a wall so they could use the lock for a freighter that was waiting behind us.  While we waited for the freighter to pass us we devised a plan.  We lowered our dinghy and lashed it to the port hull near the stern (a trick I leaned from the Gemini owner's forum and thought I would never need). The 8 hp outboard on the dingy gave us enough power to do the last portion of the canal and limp into Sugarloaf Harbour Marina in Port Colborne. I don't recommend doing this in the pitch dark under any circumstances but it was particularly interesting in a busy shipping canal with incoming freighters.

Things were much trickier once we entered the harbour.  The dingy engine provided enough power to get Binary moving in forwards or reverse but tight maneuvering was near impossible with the engine on one side of the boat. After many attempts at docking we were fortunate to drift gently into a much larger vessel and some local boaters were able to tie us up to the larger boat for the night.  After a quick drink to settle our nerves, Sam took Tony home for some much needed sleep.

This morning we were greeted by a very unhappy boat owner on the dock beside us.  He wanted us untied from him immediately as he had work to do on his boat.  Instead of helping us move our disabled craft, he used a pressure washer to clean his boat and was none too careful about spraying us at the same time.  The staff at the marina were very helpful and were able to use their work boat to tow us to a better dock.

I spent the morning trying to find a replacement prop nut (we already have a spare prop) so we can be on our way again but it looks like we will likely be here a few days so I rode our new folding bikes into town to replenish our beer supplies while Reg stayed onboard working.

I was looking for an adventure when I talked my family into this trip and it looks like I found it!!