Mentor to Port Colborne
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Port Colborne,
Ontario,
Canada
Thursday, August 9, 2001
August 7 and 8
We sailed to Ashtabula, Ohio on the 7th but I have little to report as we anchored in the large area enclosed by the town's breakwater. This allowed us an early start the next day for another long sail to Erie, Pennsylvania.
We read that all along this region the Concord grape "rules supreme". For those of you interested in a little history, I've condensed the following from "Around the Shores of Lake Erie" by Donna Marchetti.
In 1869, Thomas B. Welch was again at work in his kitchen. He was against alcohol consumption and after much experimentation he finally discovered a method of making "unfermented grape juice". His small business grew and he turned it over to his son, Charles, who was also a dentist. In 1892, the Welch Grape Juice Company was born. By 1902, 1,000 tons of grapes a year were transformed into grape juice. Today, from the Ohio-Pennsylvania border to Dunkirk New York, Concord grapes are grown and the vast majority are sold to Welchs, the largest processor of Concord grapes in the world.
In reality, we didn't go into the city of Erie but instead anchored in a totally enclosed bay at Presque Isle State Park. This is a huge park on a peninsula which juts out about 7 miles into Lake Erie. In the enclosed waters of the bay, Commodore Perry had his fleet of ships built for the naval battle off Put-In-Bay. In the city of Erie, there is a marine museum and Perry's reconstructed flagship, Niagara, but unfortunately it was so hot that we had no desire to tie up to docks in a large metropolitan city. It was another record breaking day for high temperatures but by anchoring out, at least we had a breeze flowing through the boat.
That night we discussed our options: a 40 mile sail to Dunkirk and still have a 25 mile sail across Lake Erie or sail directly to Port Colborne, the Erie terminus of the Welland Canal. The decision was complicated not only by the distance which had to be covered but also by the prediction of strong west winds.
August 9
Decision made. Up shortly after 6 a.m., we set a course for Canada - 60 nautical miles away. It would take us over 11 hours from anchor to tie up in Port Colborne. The seas were rough but the winds stayed under 20 knots so it was bearable.
What a relief to be off Lake Erie. We enjoyed the sites we visited and the people were very friendly but we did not enjoy that lake. In our 25 years of sailing in the waters of Lakes Huron, Superior and Michigan none produce waves like Erie. It has been noted in a number of sailing articles that this shallow lake produces short, choppy, confused waves in all strengths of winds. I can't say we had a pleasant sail the entire time we were on Lake Erie.
At Port Colborne, we stayed at Marlon Marina only because it was the first one off the lake. We then went ashore to a restaurant for a well deserved respite from the boat. At the marina/restaurant tuck shop Margaret bought me a ball cap - the official Survivor cap of the Australian Outback. Embroidered on the back of the cap are the words "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast". She said that it was a fitting motto for our time on Lake Erie. (Maybe this is a subtle message that she also thinks it is a motto for this whole adventure?)
That evening, we purchased two large bags of straw ($6 each) which are made up by the marina especially for boats transiting the Welland Canal to use in addition to their fenders. We would soon put them to good use.
