Tomorrow...New York!

We left Erie at 9:00 a.m. in route to Dunkirk, New York. The wind was out of the Northeast and according to the forecast was to change to the north at 11:00 a.m. The wind was blowing 15-18 knots right at us...we are traveling Northeast. Shirl and I decided that if the wind was going to change at 11:00 a.m., we would motor into the wind and sail after the wind changed directions, allowing us to arrive at Dunkirk before dark. The waves were very large. This is not so bad but as is typical in Lake Erie they were very close together. They were so close in fact that at times there were two waves under Serenity at the same time. For those of you not familiar with sailing...like me a few months ago...a sailboat can not sail directly into the wind. Motoring directly into the wind is called beating, and can make for a very uncomfortable ride. Serenity does a great job with waves, but waves this size combined with 15-18 knot winds on the nose do slow the boat down. The waves were running six to eight feet. We had gone only eight miles in two hours. We have a weather app on our cell phones, and when Shirl checked the revised forecast we discovered that the wind would not shift to the north until 2:00. With that delay we could not make it to Dunkirk before dark, and to be honest the ride was very uncomfortable. I do not want to enter an unfamiliar harbor after dark...after all we are still newbies, and there is not a good place to stop in between. We decided to turn around and spend one more day in Erie. We turned, rolled out the genoa. and sailed back at six miles an hour with the waves on our stern. It was a great sail, and very comfortable, even if it was in the wrong direction.
The forecast for tomorrow is for winds out of the Southwest. We plan to leave early and sail all the way. After Dunkirk it is on to Buffalo. I made a tentative appointment at a marina in Buffalo to have the mast unstepped on Monday. We will carry the mast on deck through the Erie Canal.
When we returned to Erie, Shirl had made some calls to find an ethernet Cat 5 coupler so I could finalize the installation of our Rouge Wave WiFi booster. We decided we would walk to Radio Shack. What I did not realize was that the walk was 6 1/2 miles. (she knew) We did walk to Radio Shack all 6 1/2 miles and they did have the coupler I needed. After leaving Radio Shack Shirl wanted to walk back. I decided it was better to take a cab...$20.00 well spent...new shoes are more than that.
I installed the coupler, turned on the router, and we now have Internet on the boat. (more on this later)
Last night we set out on picnic tables close to the marina office to have Internet access, tonight we are on Serenity, nice and warm, (heater running), surfing away. One thing I do miss is not having transportation...6 1/2 miles of missing it.
I am really enjoying cruising. I love living on the boat, the sailing, traveling, visiting new places, meeting people, and the problem solving. It is not all margaritas and sunshine. This is a lot of work, and very enjoyable at the same time. By the way the sunshine has not been there either. Shirl and I have naturally gravitated to the jobs on Serenity that we enjoy and are good at (future blog post). So far the teamwork has been great, and made for an enjoyable cruise. Make no mistake, we are still newbies...but getting more experience all the time.

 Perry's Monument in Misery Bay, Presque Isle, Erie Pennsylvania

 

 Along the waterfront in Erie

 

 More waterfront

 

 After entering Erie Harbor I called the marina on the VHF and asked for directions. His reply was "turn to port at the hotel, go under the walkway, turn to port at the back of the hotel, go one hundred yards, turn to starboard, and look for B-9". My reply...WTH, I mean OK! I guess I am just not used to going under walkways and behind hotels in a boat with a fifty foot mast.  Learning new things...growth...at my age...I love this part.

 

 On the way out...all 35 horse power.

 

Shirl and Captain Hook!

The water was too rough to try the auto pilot today, but Eric...Serenity's previous owner emailed me and told me to check for any metal around the area where the auto helm compass is located. We found a portable vacuum, and some metal hangers near the area. Items were removed and we will check the auto pilot tomorrow.  Thanks again Eric! It is so nice to have the previous owner to call on.