Almost to Buffalo - July 4-6, 2003

(For posts about cruising Lake Erie Click thru the "Newer Posts" at Bottom, July 2003 - May 2011)

Over the July 4th weekend, Kevin Wells, Troy Cain and I set sail from Erie for Buffalo.

Well, we actually set the motor running, but just a mile outside the channel leaving Presque Isle Bay, the motor refused to run in forward gear. It wasn’t until later we realized that it ran OK in reverse. Since we had food and drink for 3 full days as well as a watch schedule, we knew we could stay on the Lake for 3 days. The decision was made to continue as long as we didn’t risk getting back to Erie late and missing work. Kelly III just drifted to the east at less than half a knot. For much of the next four hours we saw 0 knots frequently. The GPS said we were moving at half a knot, so I think there may be a current of half a knot to the east on the southern shore of Lake Erie.

Capt Cain, Capt Murph, Crew Kevin on the windless sea of Lake Erie

Later in the evening the wind started to pick up and we enjoyed a wonderful sail under clear skies with the stars shining brighter than you’ll ever see near any town or city. As we took the helm, each of us found a star that could sit on the spreader and that made steering easy. Troy and Kevin stayed up late talking and enjoying the clear, beautiful Milky Way and starry sky. They steered though the night and eventually turned the watch over to me in the early morning hours. I enjoyed a gray, quiet morning as we sailed toward Dunkirk, NY.
As we brought Dunkirk up to the starboard beam, a brisk wind and fine rain beat on Kelly III. Kevin and Troy were catching a well-deserved rest after sailing through the night. I did a little math and figured that if we ran into more light winds then we’d need as much as a day and a half to return to Erie from Dunkirk so I turned Kelly III 180 degrees to return to Erie in time for our work schedules. Being without the engine, we needed to assume that our only motive power was our sails. The rain ended but the breeze continued throughout the day.
About noon we caught a weather update that described a monster thunderstorm that was at Toledo, OH but would arrive at Erie about the same time as we would. Rather than risk running into the storm we decided to sail for Barcelona, NY. As we approached the Barcelona harbor, the engine started without a problem and we motored in for a quiet afternoon and evening.

Kelly III ready for the storm in Barcelona, NY

When the storm hit soon after dark, we saw whitecaps in the harbor which had a fetch of less than 100 yards! The storm blew itself out in less than an hour while we were safely tied up at the city pier.
After a quiet night we found breakfast at a local diner, walking distance from the pier. We listened to the weather reports and local input from the fisherman who were out earlier that morning. We decided that in spite of the 4 to 6 foot waves and 20 knot winds, we’d sail for Erie.
It was bouncy and blustery with the waves and breeze but within a few hours the breeze and waves were both more calm until finally we were in flat seas and no wind at all. We actually tried motoring only to discover that she just refused to run in forward gear. As we tried different modes of operation, it became clear that Kelly III would run in reverse without a problem! We turned her around in the oily-smooth water and motored for 45 minutes until the wind returned. We still had several hours to sail back to Erie, but it was truly wonderful sailing.

Lake Erie sunset as the wind picked up

Except for a brief episode where Kevin alerted me to the sound of the surf breaking on Gull Point, it was a great sail into Erie. When Kevin pointed out the sound of the waves breaking on shore it took a couple minutes before it dawned on me that we should check the depth – it was only 7 feet and Kelly III draws 5! We immediately tacked and turned towards deeper water.
Within a few minutes we sighted the channel into Presque Isle Bay and dropped the sails to try the motor once more. With great relish, we enjoyed a perfect motoring through the channel . . . only to have the motor die as we exited the channel! We were able to restart the motor, but it only ran in reverse! With no other option and 3 miles to Kelly III’s home marina across the bay, we motored in reverse across the bay. Since this was at 2am, we set up my back up nav lights (red & green) on the stern and turned on the steaming light as the stern light. Yes, we were moving stern first through the bay and were entirely legal! (as far as I know, anyway!)
For a related log, see the trip in 2004, Click Here.

Murph, Troy, Kevin enjoy the sunshine as our foulies dry on the boom