August 6, 2011 Port Dalhousie

Kerry and I were up and showered by 6:45. Our scheduled departure time was 7:30. Port Dalhousie was 50+ miles away. Rain and storms were forecast. We left exactly at 7:30, Lew a tad later.

On the lake we ran into fog, immediately out of the harbor. I turned on the radar to spot any boats that may be near. For 3 ½ hours, 23 miles, we ran in thick pea soup fog. It might as well been night for all that I could see. It was one of the longest periods I have ever used the radar. I posted a picture taken from the cockpit of Excalibur looking out the front windows that show the view. We took quite a few pictures of Windchaser as the fog began to lift. Last year we won the photo contest at the Tartan rendezvous for a picture we took of Windchaser in the fog in Lake Huron. We called it “Mast In The mist.” We hoped to get another interesting picture.

We made it to Port Dalhousie without rain or storms. We arrived at the Dalhousie Pier Marina at 3:00. Since they don’t sell fuel at the marina we had to go to the Port Dalhousie Yacht Club to fill up, which is in the main harbor. Pier Marina is built on the outside of the channel break wall. It took 115 liters, about 30 gallons to fill up. Our tank holds 48 gallons. We had not bought fuel since Olympic Harbor back in Kingston. The trip today was 52.6 nm miles.

Once we reported into Canada it was time for rum and tonics on Windchaser. Lew and Gretchen went to the PDYC for dinner, which they said was good but overpriced. Kerry made delicious BLT sandwiches and salads which we enjoyed in a gentle sprinkle of rain while sitting in Excalibur’s cockpit. We were tired and turned in early.

Kerry has piles of dirty laundry and Excalibur is filthy. We plan to do a lot of cleaning in the next two days, and some minor repairs. The fan in Kip’s cabin is running backwards throwing all the air into the cabinets. I hope reversing the electrical wires will fix that. Kip and Jennifer are scheduled to arrive at 4:00 on Monday. (I knew Kip would not be late for a happy hour!) Tuesday is the big Welland Canal up bound transit. The forecast is for clouds with a 30% chance of rain. God save us . . .

Sunday update: The wifi at the marina is not working, so I rode to the laundry where Kerry is washing clothes to use their free internet. If you ever get to the Port Dalhousie laundry, “washandfold” is the password.