Q's End: Licence to Travel: Which Marina?

(Tuesday Aug 23 – Dist: 85.4 mi; Avg Speed: 18.3 mph; TTT: 4:45 hrs)

Kettle Creek Marina, Port Stanley ON

Wow. All of the info that I could get regarding the wind and waves on Lake Erie, led me astray. The actual readings for both Ports Dover and Stanley were calm winds. The forecast called for 6 mph from the west increasing to 12 mph from the SW later in the day. Now tell me how that translates into 1-2 foot waves in Long Point Bay and 2-3 with the odd 5 on the Lake. It was most uncomfortable. Linda tried to get me to turn around after almost 2 hours from Port Dover. It would have taken almost as long to go back as it did to get to our destination. Thankfully, it did smooth out a bit so that there were no more 4 and 5 footers and more importantly no more slamming. There were three times were the splash came full force on the deck and against the canvas. Oh well, we arrived safely and have had our lunch and drinks. We also decide to get more culture so we bought tickets for the play, “Bedtime Stories”. I think that we have a few of our own already.

…. The next day … Talk about bedtime stories, this is now the morning after and we spent a hellish night on the boat. Just before 3 AM the wind picked up substantially and the surge from the Lake was funneling right up the creek, all the way to us. “Q” was bouncing around so much that the rub rail was going higher than the pilings and of course the fenders were being knocked off the posts. Linda and I were out on the dock trying with all our might to protect the boat. When we finally got it controlled so that it would not bounce higher than the posts it started swaying back and forth moving the pilings that we were tied to. The dock was then squeaking so loudly that the owners of the marina were awakened and came down to help. We quickly determined that the dock would not survive and “Q” would not fare much better so they helped us to go to another marina further up the creek. They thankfully helped us get off the dock safely and then they walked about a block to Stan’s Marina to catch our lines. We were told to tight up to the fuel dock but there was already another boat there so we waited in the wind until John found us a vacant slip that we could fit into. Again thankfully we got tied up safely with John and Fiona’s assistance. At 4:30 AM we went back to bed. We must have been exhausted because we slept until 8:30, most unusual for us. We cannot thank John and Fiona from Kettle Creek Marina enough. Without their assistance I am not sure how we would have gotten through the night without damaging the boat and their dock.

Oh by the way, the play “Bedtime Stories” was very funny, we enjoyed it immensely.

Stan’s Marina, Port Stanley ON

The owner of Stan’s Marina was surprised to see us but was most helpful and accommodating. Since the wind was supposed to continue and more storms were coming, we paid our dockage fee for a couple more nights and headed for the beach.

Port Stanley has a wonderful beach even better than Port Dover. The weather was not as nice so the scenery was not as plentiful but the beach was most impressive.

We managed to find a bar (go figure) right along the beach which has a great patio and caters to beach volley ball. Great fun.

We met and even shared our table with a couple of sailors from Ohio. It was their first time to Port Stanley as well and before we knew it suppertime was approaching. We stopped at the LCBO to re-stock (Oh so expensive, I had almost forgotten) and then returned to the boat. After a quick bite, we went to the nearby grocery store and then settled in for the evening.

My-oh-my this had the potential to be another memorable evening. We heard that there was a tornado and severe thunderstorm warning for the area. Sure enough about 9 PM the lightening started, the thunder came and the skies opened. We were tied securely so we were watching TV until the lights went out. Oh well, we were still tired from the previous night from hell, so we went to bed early and aside from a few extremely loud cracks of thunder overhead, we slept good.

This is a neat town as good as or better than Port Dover; lots of options for food and drink, a nearby grocery store and two beaches. Many of buildings have murals which just add to the charm.

Since I cannot find any WiFi access, I am at the Public Library. Our plans are to enjoy another day here in Port Stanley. We still need to check out “Mickey’s Pub” and the “Killer Desserts” place. If the Lake looks good in the morning, we will go to Erieau for a night or possibly two and then over to Leamington for a few days. So now you are current again.

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