42°52′31″ N 79°15′18″ W

Aug 20 – Port Colborne, Ontario

We left Tonawanda at 7:00am Sunday morning hoping to get a good start on the day. Winds on Lake Erie were predicted to be low in the morning & then building in the afternoon so we wanted to arrive in Port Colborne before the lake got too rough.

It was about 90 minutes from our dock in Tonawanda to the very last lock we had to pass through on the Black Rock Canal just outside of Buffalo. The route was well marked at the entrance to the Niagara River.

However, our early start plans were thwarted because when we arrived at the lock entrance there was a big sign informing us that the locks did not start operating until 11:00am on the weekends. So, we tied up to the lock entrance wall & had our second breakfast.

The lock finally opened just before 11 & we were through in about 15 minutes.

Our next encounter was a massive & ancient bascule bridge & it was slow opening because of mechanical issues.

This bridge had a concrete counterweight on it that was the size of a small house!

Finally we were headed towards Lake Erie but conditions did not look promising as there were lots of whitecaps on the water & that means a rough ride.

I suggested to Catherine that we go out past the breakwater to see what it was like & that if it was too rough then we would turn around & find a marina near Buffalo. Our only problem with Buffalo as the backup plan was that the weather forecast was for wind conditions to get worse each day until Thursday & we were anxious to get “home” to Ontario. (photo below – Buffalo skyline)

Once we were past the breakwater the waves got pretty rough, consistently 2-4 feet high with the occasional 5-6 footer mixed in for some additional excitement. We actually got wet up on the flybridge from waves breaking over the bow. I would have taken some photos of our crossing but I was kinda busy at the helm & Catherine was too busy hanging on for dear life. Our only consolation was that we were coming into the waves head on, which made for a rough (& sometimes wet) ride but at least we weren’t being tossed from side to side.

I told Catherine that we could turn around if she wanted to but she said that if this was as bad as it would get, & we “only” had 2 1/2 hours to go then she wanted to keep going as long as we were safe.

We finally arrived at Port Colborne’s Sugarloaf Marina around 2:30pm & were very happy to be secured to the dock.

After we were tied up I called Canada Customs to report our return to Canada from the USA & to also import the boat into Canada. I was able to do everything over the phone & with the help of a credit card to pay the HST on the boat.

So now our little trawler is officially a Canadian citizen! I think she’ll like being in fresh water but she may not be so thrilled about our winters.

The weather forecast for the next several days is sunny but with strong winds so we will hang out here in Port Colborne until at least Thursday. Then we will make a long day trip to Port Stanley.

The marina here is very nice with great amenities so it won’t be too much of a hardship to stay here for 3 more days. There’s even a Don Cherry’s restaurant here that’s conveniently located above the marina office. Catherine & I had a light dinner there to celebrate our arrival into Canada. The Lake Erie crab cakes were delicious!

Cheers, eh!