The One Thing We Didn’t Check.

Our looping experiences so far have been limited. By this, I mean that our total time cruising as Loopers was two months in 2018 and two weeks in 2019, with both journeys ending prematurely for medical reasons. (We didn’t cruise in 2020 – the Covid-19 Pandemic.) We have decommissioned and recommissioned our boat three (3) times. One would think that our check lists are thorough and detailed. Well, we missed one thing.

The one night at Holiday Harbor in Dunkirk, NY, allowed us to get acquainted with several other Loopers. Most were planning a morning departure for Erie, PA. We were also planning to head that way and anchor in a protected basin near Presque Isle State Park. We established our convoy and we all left about 08:30 on Wednesday, 6/23.

We entered Presque Isle Bay at “no wake” speed and studied the terrain. We were headed to “Big Bend” anchorage. Pete gave me the controls on the upper helm and he descended to set up our ground tackle. We have not anchored this boat in two years so I was just a bit nervous. Our execution was flawless! We set the anchor alarm and prepared our late lunch.

As we were munching, we noticed our newest Looper friends headed into an even more protected area near Presque Isle Marina. We were monitoring the conversational VHF channel and learned that overnight the winds could pick up from the south. We were at the north end of this large basin, exposed, and thought we should relocate to the the other side of the spit. That is when we learned our lesson!

Pete brought up the chain using our Lewmar windlass, then he lost all power. We blew a fuse. The chain, as it enters the chain locker, will sometimes accumulate or “cone.” It requires the anchor crew to manually assist the chain into the locker. (This is a Mainship anchor locker design flaw.) Also, this windlass was rated for the original anchor that came with the boat, the one that we bent on the Chesapeake Bay. (See the post “Wicked Water.”) We have a bigger anchor and lots more chain, and while it functioned reasonably well in 2019, we didn’t check it before we left Rochester. We spent the next hour or so searching for the fuse without success.

Pete and I together manually pulled up our 45-pound Spade anchor and motored to Wolverine Park Marina. There was a small shop adjacent to the marina called Bayshore Marine Services. Late in the day “Doug” showed up. He took an initial look-see and promised to return the next day for a more complete diagnosis.

Doug made two more trips to Reverie to attempt to find our fuse and ultimately to rig a bypass circuit, making our current windlass functional. Meanwhile Pete has ordered a new windlass. We will pick it up in Sandusky, Ohio.

We haven’t traveled for the last four days due to brisk winds and 3-5 foot waves. Instead we bicycled about 20 miles along the roads and trails of Presque Isle State Park, visited the Erie Maritime Museum, walked to Oliver Hazard Perry Square and all along the waterfront. We got to know our new Looper friends a bit better as well.

The best gift for our delayed departure was a surprise visit by our nephew and his new bride! Pete got a text message this morning from Ben and Eliza Kernstine. They were in town for her family’s multi-day reunion and Ben just happened to see a social media post about our whereabouts. 15 minutes later we had them on board for a short visit! We were thrilled to meet Eliza!

The weather has settled down so we’ll be on the move tomorrow. We anticipate a fun week!