After an early morning with anticipation of a very full day we headed out. We are hoping to get as far as we can. Port engine started up and runs okay in low rpm’s. So we putter out to the open waters on Lake Erie. Scott took off the sensor and started to get going. The engine responded with little to no problems. We passed Dunkirk 2 hours later and kept going looking for Buffalo. We couldn’t do our regular speed so it did take longer to get to our destination but at least we were not going 10 mph. A quiet day out on the lake with less than 2 ftrs and passed a lot of fisherman.
Seeing Buffalo on the horizon was a welcome sight. Then it was the Peace Bridge and heading on into Tonawanda for diesel and a place to stop to take off the radar. We can’t fit under the bridges to get home with the radar on. We made the stop at Smith Boys for a couple hours to work on the radar removal. Then as we are heading out of the marina and onto the Niagara River again we find that there is a race going on and the river is closed off. We just can’t get home. We putter for a bit, constantly adjusting for the current, and talk to the Sheriff who says that if we want we can head off close to shore in 7 ft waters, way off channel. Not our style to go off channel when we don’t know what lurks below the water line. We see several boats heading on down that area but none big. Checking the charts Scott sees an opening and starts heading that way with no wake. 20 – 30 minutes later we are passed the race area and on our last leg home.
Heading into the Chippawa River (Welland River actually) we are finally on familiar territory and enjoy that last 45 min – 1 hour trek home. Everything seems so much fuller than before we left over 5 weeks ago. The grass is burned from the lack of water and having so many days of sun, the water is a lovely green colour, the seaweed is thicker than normal summers. We take in that last little bit of our journey. Pulling up to the dock our attention turns to how different our own property looks and of course, NEWTON!
