Canterbury Sails by Chasseur: Erie. PA

August 1-2, 2012 Wednesday - Thursday

"Chasseur" was heading for Erie, PA for several hours, when we spotted a sailboat close behind us. We were speculating who it might be because we had recieved an email from our Canadian aquaintences that "Nautical Dreamer" was in Geneva on the Lake. We met "Nautical Dreamer"s crew , Dale and Patty Bensted way back in St. Clair Shores, MI. The binoculars confirmed it was them. Terry hailed them on the VHF ship's radio and they responded. We both headed for Erie, PA. "Cool Hand" was already there, so we had a brief reunion with our Lake Michigan friends.
Coming into our marina we had to clear a pedestrian walk over from the Sheraton Hotel to a convention center. You could see people looking at you through the glass. The clearance, they say is 68 feet. It is always a little disconcerting when your mast is going under a structure. You really can't get a true perspective from below, it always looks closer than it is. Our mast is not more than 50 feet, so we did fine. We tied up behind both "Nautical Dreamer" and "Cool Hand".
Thursday was Terry's birthday. It was a fitting gift to be here in Erie for the Maritime Museum that Terry had been anxiously waiting to see. This is the Brig "Niagara"s home port and we were lucky that she was here until the half part of this day. She was to set sail any moment when we got to her and we were again lucky to have a quick private guided tour. Happy Birthday Terry!!
We need to make a correction to an earlier post about the "Niagara". We had some inaccurate information . This "Niagara" is a new boat built in the late 1980's. There is however, a small amount of wood from the original that was included in this construction. It seems as though the "Niagara" is following us on our Lake Erie trip. This has been a great fun experience. The maritime museum people said she is rarely in port. Here we are again in port with her.
Tomorrow we will be entering our third state, New York. When weather permits we will be crossing Lake Erie from Dunkirk, New York to Ontario, Canada. We are planning our "LOCK" trip through the Welland Canal. We have decided to have our mast shipped and are sharing the cost with "Cool Hand". We will then leave Lake Ontario from Oswego to reach the eastern half of the Erie Canal.
Tonight cruising vessel "Timika" docked next to us. We recognized her immediately. She was docked behind us at Jefferson Beach and was for sale. The crew is delivering her to the new owner in Rhode Island. See photo below of crew members from St. Clair Shores- one is from just a few blocks from where Suzanne once lived....small world.

"Coincidences mean you're on the right path."

Simon Van Booy, "Love Begins in Winter: Five Stories