Long Point, Anchorage – Port Stanley, City Dock – Sept 18, 2021
Waking up to a stunning sunrise on anchor we begin our day with the usual breakfast. Off to Port Stanley with calm waters and a long day of travel. We do tend to stay around 7.5 knts unless running a storm or on a tight schedule. Port Stanley is a good 6 hours away at that speed. With the winds extremely fair we watch the Lake Erie bluffs pass by, the windmills aplenty and the ripples of the few waves we see.
Arriving at Port Stanley the commercial walls are very inviting. Large tractor tires align the walls making for an interesting dockage. The bridgemaster who opens the bridge to Kettle Creek every 30 minutes joins us to open the power outlet. The pedestals have both 30 and 50 amps. No water though. The town is at your fingertips at this point. We decide to head out for a walk into town, the beach and just pass by some cute shops. It isn’t busy due to covid but it is easy to see this little town is set up for lots of tourists.
There are 2 beaches, the main one to the west and a smaller one with shade trees to the east. You can walk the pier or meander down streets showing a century of homes, cottages and times of old. No basements in most of these little homes as they seem to be directly on sand.
After dinner we hop into the dingy and head on down Kettle Creek. There are several marinas in here with back in tie and pillars. Not much for the transient. Very shallow at points however there are some 48 footers tied off at their seasonal slips. We decided we would not have brought Heliopause into this creek. It is too unpredicatable in its depths. Local knowledge would be an asset. Kettle Creek is very nice to ride down on the dingy Passing several geese migrating for their trek south and having their own dinner we meander down the river for about 3 km. Boats and dead heads, along with tree covered shorelines disguising homes tucked into the brush make for a pleasant night cruise.
Heading back to the boat in the harbour we pass several large Searays making their way back to their slips. Still a beautiful boat. Back on Heliopause we lift the dingy and settle in for a night cap and good night’s sleep.
