July 31, 2011 Little Sodus Bay

Kerry got up shortly after I posted the blog update. She was hungry and wanted a skillet sized pancake and cup of tea for her breakfast. I did the cooking and we enjoyed our pancakes sitting in the cockpit.

After that Lew and I fished from the boats for a while, without success. I laid my pole on the lifeline and decided to tackle the motor starting issue. Of course anytime someone is doing a repair or project, everyone pitches in, including Lew and a couple of other skippers.

The motor still would not start. We pulled it off the dingy and took out the spark plug. It looked good, but was wet. Lew thought that meant the carburetor was flooded. I was not sure because I had not smelled gas which I usually do when the motor floods. In any case, we wiped it off and checked the spark, which was very strong.

Next, we decided to drain the carburetor of fuel in case it was flooded. We captured the gas in a clear plastic cup to avoid spilling it into the Bay. And guess what – water came out, not fuel. No wonder the motor would not run! It must have entered the fuel vent during the rain in Sackets Harbor. We opened the fuel line and continued to fill the cup until gas started coming. Since water is heavier than gas, it all drained out before the fuel started coming. Once the motor was back on the Annie M it started quickly and ran all day.

So, I am now making a public apology to my little motor. I promised it I would not bury it at sea. I was also glad I did not take the $20 one of the FHYC members wanted to give me for it. Kerry gave me a little lecture about not over reacting when something goes wrong, etc. Lew and I decided to go fishing after I had eaten all my humble pie.

I could not find my pole. We looked everywhere but it was not to be found. We guessed that it must have fallen off the lifeline and sunk. The sad reality is that it was gone. This means of course, that the fish have really won on this trip. Not only have I not caught a decent sized fish, but now they have my pole! I do have a back up pole, and used it, again without success. Lew struck out too.

After fishing we took the dingys to the public dock to visit the Fly By Night Cookie Company, and the grocery. The cookie lady lives in a little house with carved poles to hold up the roof. She makes 65 types of cookies and is a must stop when one visits Little Sodus Bay. We bought some scones, and several cookies, having finished Rosemary’s cookies on the trip here from Sackets Harbor. I hope Rosemary does not find out that she charges $.90 a cookie!

The grocery store did not have any green meat, but had lots of fresh red meat and produce. We stocked up. In fact, we bought so much that a local lady offered to drive us back to our dingy’s, which we accepted and really appreciated.

Back at the boat it was time for a rum and tonic. It was really hot. We tried some diet tonic water with lime added which we had just purchased at the grocery. It made a pretty good drink. Kerry stayed in the air conditioning while I read the paper outside and jumped in the lake occasionally to cool off.

We had a delicious dinner. Gretchen cooked clams on the grill and made a white wine, butter and garlic sauce to spoon on them. They were great. Lew grilled corn and I grilled steaks. We enjoyed dinner in the cockpit of Excalibur. It was quite pleasant as the heat of the day had passed.

Tomorrow we head to Sodus Bay which is about 10 miles east. Our schedule is in flux now. We are a little ahead of our float plan. We have set next Tuesday as the day we transit the Welland, so just have to be in Port Dalhousie by Monday night. Jim Karpinski, Kip, Kevin Schieferstein and Lew's daughter Jennifer will meet us there. We have 2 days scheduled at Niagara On the Lake, but usually one cannot get in there as space is so limited and reservations are not accepted. The port is also not recommended if there is a N wind.