Mile 1380: Port Colborne

We had a wet night at Erieau as a number of cells continued to pass by.  Is made for a nice sunset as we walked along the beach to the pier.   We could hear a low thronging noise as we reached the beach.  We thought it might have been the surf, but as we go closer, it was clearly something else.   Eventually we pinned it down to a fishing/work boat out of the lake booting it to the harbour.   It was only a spec on the horizon when we identified it.  It's incredible how far sound can carry in the right conditions.

We got our act together a little late and were heading back out to the lake by about 9am.   We hooked around the point, headed for long point, found our GPS track, and went on our way.    Ben examined our (my) GPS track in a little more detail, and correctly observed that my waypoint at Long Point would take us aground!  ... wuuups ... We don't leave the helm unattended, or the GPS unwatched, so would have noticed at some point, but it does show that you need to zoom in close when making waypoints, and double check the whole route after assembling the points.

The wind built for a while and then died and stayed dead for most of the night.  We kept the main up, but it did little to improve our progress or fuel economy.  As we approached Port Colborne, in the last few hours of the trip, the wind picked back up again, and the swells increased.  At one point, when Ben and I were below sleeping/napping we passed close to a freighter wake.  I noticed it, but Ben might have gone airborne!

Our night included a lot of time dodging well head marks.  Flimsy looking white PVC tubes that a scattered all over the Canadian waters of  Erie.  Through the night, we passed close to about 15 of these, with hundreds passing a little further away to be of less concern.  We had the big spot light out to try to locate them in the haze.  Most where pretty close to where the chart indicated.  The biggest worry is about new ones that are not yet on the charts.  We had a drilling platform in view for most of the night.

The Nanticoke power station provided us with something to look at for much of the night.  It's a big operation and make for good night viewing.  There appears to be one or more burn off stacks, and other large structures with lots of lights.

We pulled into Sugarload marina just before sunrise.  The sky was beginning to get light but only barely.  We found a spot after motoring through weeds so thick that the boat barely moved.  Once tied up, we all went below to get some sleep.

Tomorrow ... the canal.

Chris