It is amazing how much stuff you can pack on a boat if you try. The pile was growing and so was my concern–but what the heck, I am going to be gone for 3 months so you need a lot of stuff to keep comfortable and happy, eh?
Mike and Sean and Peter were real troopers to put up with the chaos on the boat. Everything was on board but a lot of it did not have a home. That was my job to sort that out. By the way, the skeleton in the background did not come on board. I was afraid if I brought Mr. Bones with me that potential crew and visitors might flee at first sight of him–thinking that he met his end at the hand of my cooking and culinary skills (note the can of Spam and cocktail wieners in my hands 🙂

Even our cats were quite perplexed by the mountain of stuff that had invaded our family room–and what they considered to be mostly their personal space! Now that I had a few days layover in Port Stanley prior to the next leg of my journey, my mission was to properly sort through all that stuff and find a home for it. But first I had to go shopping to buy some more stuff that was on a list that I thought up en route to Port Stanley. Time to head off to my favorite boating supply stores – Wal Mart and and Canadian Tire!

Mike Norton and I arrived in Erieau, Ontario on Monday afternoon around 3:00pm. We had a very long day the day before and we had been pushing hard since we left Goderich so we decided to give ourselves a well deserved rest and stay at a marina in Erieau overnight. We had also arranged for Peter Hammond, a friend from the Goderich Yacht Club to join us for the trip the next day to Port Stanley.

The weather forecast for Monday night was not good, storms were coming in from the west, off Lake Michigan and high wind warnings were in effect for Lake Erie on Tuesday–but the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday was even worse. Early on Tuesday morning we decided to make a run for it and set out. For the first hour or so the going was pretty good so we decided to hoist our sails. We just got the sails nicely set and the wind began to kick up. Next thing we knew we were in the middle of a large number of commercial fishing nets. We had to be very careful navigating our way through that because there was the possibility of catching our propeller on a net. If that happened we would have a very tough time getting free. While navigating through the fishing grounds we lost control of our sails and it got pretty hairy for a while. By the time we finally got the sails down and secured the wind and waves were impressive. The waves were coming at our stern on an angle that was not complimentary to our desired course so we got tossed around quite a bit. Waves had built up to over 2 meters (nearly 7 feet) and the wind was over 20 knots! At one point the boat heeled over so hard that all of the contents in the galley fridge slammed up against the door and forced it open. All of the contents of the fridge fell out on to the floor and a bottle of beer collided with a bottle of wine–you know the rest! Broken glass, soaked and smashed food and a nice mess for the Captain to clean up 🙁

Almost eight hours later we happily arrived in Port Stanley and we were all very glad to see the boat finally get behind the breakwater. Thankfully none of us got seasick but we all felt like we were on the edge of it. I have been out in rough water like that before but it was always during “play time” where some friends and I would go out sailing from Goderich for a few hours fun and bash-about to see what the boat could take and whether or not we could bury the rails or the bow a few times. However, during those times we could head back to port any time we wanted–not the case on this trip!

We tied up at the Kettle Creek Marina in Port Stanley at a nice quiet dock and counted our blessings. It was time for Mike and Peter to go home. Port Stanley is only about a 30 minute drive from London and they were looking forward to a hot shower and a soft bed at home. I have to confess that I was too and was really happy when Catherine came to pick me up after her work was done for the day. It was now time for a few days rest before heading off to the east end of Lake Erie and the Welland Canal.

Friday, June 18 – Frantically trying to finish off all of the upgrades and modifications to Ananda so we can cast off at 6:00am on Saturday morning. The two Eds are on site–Ed Breen working on the engine and electrical systems and Ed Preszacator working on the galley–and me in the middle, mostly getting in the way. We had a sail away pot luck supper party for close family and friends and then rum punch for marina dock mates and sailing club members after that. Around 8:00pm it became obvious that there would be no 6:00am cast off the next morning—just too much to do. We adjusted our departure time to 12:00 noon.

Saturday, June 19 – Back at it at 6:00am–hauling stuff on and off the boat and furiously packing and stuffing things in to lockers, knowing that I will have a tough time finding what I want over the next 2-3 weeks. Oh well, it’s all part of the adventure. Noon came and went without our departure but we were now starting to get close. At about 2:00pm we started Ananda up and moved her over to the mast hoist so I could install the wind instruments at the top of the mast. I am afraid of heights but I figure that if I can’t do this for myself then I have no business heading off on this journey. All the way up the mast there are now indentations like a golf ball–from me hanging on for dear life! 🙂

At long last we were ready to go and at precisely 4:00pm Ananda left the dock on her adventure. It was incredibly hard for me to say goodbye to Catherine–even though I knew I was going to see her again in a couple of days.

Sean Goodwin and Mike Norton have joined me on this part of my journey. I have known Sean for many years and we have sailed together many times–on all the boats that I have owned–but never on a journey like this. I met Mike through my friend Chris Cavanaugh. Mike & I sailed with Chris last year for a day on his boat. Mike was very excited to be joining me on this part of my trip. While we were making preparations for our departure a couple of weeks ago Mike and I talked on the phone. He told me that he had never done anything like this before. I replied “same goes for me too”. Silence on the other end of the line :)……

Back to my story, we left the dock in Goderich at 4:00pm and headed to Sarnia. It was a beautiful afternoon with light winds but we decided to motor only because we were all pretty tired. We traveled through the sunset and into a 3/4 moon. We passed under the Bluewater Bridge at 11:40pm on Saturday night and by midnight we were tied up at the dock at the Sarnia Yacht Club.

Sunday, June 20 – We got up at 5:30am and were on the St. Clair River by 6:00am. This part of the river is very heavily industrialized on both shores. Lots of chemical refinieries and factories. We also noted that the current was helping us along quite nicely. Our speed increased from 7.5 knots to over over 9 knots. Mike and Sean looked after the helm and I made scrambled eggs in the galley–my first cooked meal while underway and it did not include Spam.

We left the St. Clair River about 8:00 am and entered Lake St. Clair. This lake is very interesting because it is only about 15 feet deep and in many places less than 5 feet. There is a navigation channel dug from one end of the lake to the other. This channel is straight as a highway and you need to keep a close eye on your charts and navigation systems to be sure you don’t run aground.

Sean had to go to work the next morning so once we were past the shallow spots we changed course and headed for the Town of Belle River, which is just north of Windsor. We arrived at 12 noon and celebrated with a steak BBQ. The channel in to the marina was no marked on the charts so we anchored about 300 yards off shore and launched the dingy. Sean’s wife Catharine met us there at 4:00pm. After saying goodbye Mike and I headed off to Windsor and Detroit, which was about an hour away. Boating traffic in the area got considerably heavier as we headed in to the Detroit River. We passed under the Ambassador Bridge at about 7:00pm. Lots of traffic and freighters. The current in the Detroit River was much more turbulent than the St. Clair River. Mike was on the helm while I took photos and some video. Once we were past the Ambassador Bridge the river started to narrow and get shallower and we were back to navigating in an engineered channel. Thirty five feet of depth in the channel and 5 feet or less on either side. Pay attention to the helm or you will be sorry!

We entered Lake Erie at 8:30pm! Hooray–we did both rivers without any incidents. We owe a lot of our success to the Tiki Navigation software that I bought for the computer. This software is awesome! It is incredibly easy to use and the GPS shows you exactly where you are at all times.

Mike and I still had a fair bit of energy left for we decided to head to Kingsville and spend the night there at the Town Marina. We were about 30 minutes out of port when we heard a large ship on the horizon calling a “Securite” to let all boaters in the area know that the ship was headed for Kingsville. We assumed that it was the Peelie Island Ferry and that we would arrive in port before it got there. When we arrived in Kingsville we found that the marina there has no dockage for pleasure craft–it is a working port for commercial fishermen and freighters. It was midnight so we tied up on a dock adjacent to some large piles of gravel–figuring that the ferry would not want to tie up there. We just got nicely secured when someone called to us “hello sailboat, I am sorry but you can’t tie up there because there is a 700 foot freighter full of gravel due to arrive in about half an hour!” Whoda thunk it! We moved over to the other side of the marina just in time to see the freighter arrive–lit up like a city and with about the same amount of noise! What do you do when you are docked beside a 700 foot freighter that is unloading at 1:00am in the morning? Why you break out the lawn chairs and pour yourself a very large Rusty Nail–because there ain’t no way you are going to sleep through that noise without some help! After RN # 2 we were both very ready for bed and the commotion from the freighter did not seem to matter much any more.

For the past several weeks I have been working on Ananda while she has been “sitting on the hard” in her cradle. As a result, the only way to get on board is to use an extension ladder. It’s unbelievable how many times I have been up and down that ladder during this time. Inevitably I will just get in the boat and then remember I left something in the car that I need–so back down the ladder I go! Wish I had 25 cents for every trip up and down that thing.

Finally, the big day arrived and on Friday, June 11 Ananda was launched and is now sitting in the water where she belongs. The only ladder I hope to be climbing during the next few months is a swim ladder 🙂