Canterbury Sails by Chasseur: Niagara on the Lake and Niagara Falls

August 12 - 14, 2012 Sunday to Tuesday

Niagara on the Lake is a busy destination port. We were happy they found room for us Sunday. Rain showers were predicted, but Sunday morning was so pleasant we were seduced into shoving off. Niagara is only 16 nm from Port Dalhousie. Once underway, we could see the dark clouds behind us fast approaching. The Coast Guard announced a danger of water spouts on Lake Ontario. The threat however, stayed behind us the whole way, and then moved inland.
The waves on Lake Ontario had been increasing to 3 feet. The Niagara River, our destination, has a current of over 4kts. Just outside the mouth of the river, the seas stacked up a bit and became confused. This was caused by the onshore North wind blowing directly against the southbound current of the mighty Niagara. Then suddenly, inside the river's mouth, the seas just flattened...eerily. We tried to photograph this phenomenon but waves never photograph what you are seeing. Fort Niagara (U.S.) was on our port as we entered the river.
Niagara on the Lake Sailing Club welcomed us heartily. This is a "sailing" club with very few motor boats. They are dedicated to promoting the sport of sailing and have a thriving youth sailing school and camp. This sailing club was created by it's first Commodore, George Hinterholler, designer of the famous Nonsuch sailboats.
We rushed to tie up and shower to attend our first cultural event in a long time. Niagara on the Lake is home to one of the world's finest theater companies. The Shaw Festival is celebrated for its exhilarating productions of plays by Bernard Shaw, his contemporaries and contemporary plays about his life and times. We wanted to see the "The Millionairess" by Shaw, so we called for, and obtained what turned out to be the last 2 tickets. We had to sit apart, but the play was well worth it. The production was excellent.
The town of Niagara on the Lake is absolutely beautiful. The flowers that don the streets are gorgeous. Shopping here however, is quite pricey. Main (Queen) Street was wall to wall people from everywhere. There were so many different languages being spoken, we were not sure that we were actually in an English speaking country.
The crew took a taxi ride to see the Niagara Falls. We both reminisced, having fond childhood memories of visiting here. We had lunch with a spectacular view of the Falls.

"The fundamentals of boat and sail handling are easier to describe than accomplish. The very best way to learn and master then is to go out and practice them." John Rousmaniere