42°39′57″ N 81°12′49″ W

Start: Port Stanley

42°46′58″ N 80°11′37″ W

Destination: Port Dover

I left Port Stanley at 6:30am on Thursday & headed towards Port Dover. It’s a 16 hour passage from Port Stanley to Port Colborne, at the Lake Erie entrance to the Welland Canal, so I decided to break the trip up into two segments.

It makes the total distance travelled a bit longer but is easier to do when single-handing. Plus, the weather forecast for the next few days looked good from sunrise to 5 or 6 pm but not so good in the evenings or overnight.

If I was on a sailboat I would be very happy to take advantage of the favorable winds that come later in the day but they may not be so kind to a slow moving trawler.

The segment from Port Stanley to Long Point was very comfortable. The wind & waves were on my stern, making for a smooth ride. There were several commercial & sports fishing boats on the water to keep me company.

The commercial boat in the photo above was headed towards Port Stanley & was all decked out for Canada Day 🇨🇦

All good things must come to an end and so it was for my nice ride. As soon as I “turned the corner” at Long Point to head towards Port Dover, the wind and waves were now coming at me on my port side & the ride instantly changed to major rock ‘n roll. On top of that, the wind was now growing stronger!

As a result I spent the next 3 hours wedged in my seat up on the flybridge while the cupboards in the galley below proceeded to try & empty themselves. Fortunately, my advance “security” preparations held together & the only door that managed to open itself was the spice & coffee cupboard.

After 11 hours on the water I certainly was glad to get into the marina & tied up on the dock. First order of business after that was a tall G&T!

Tomorrow I head to Port Colborne. Only 6 hours away – a piece of cake, compared to today (fingers crossed)

Cheers!