Phase III of our Great Loop!
The recommissioning is complete. All repairs made, supplies stocked, fuel and water tanks topped off, black water tank emptied, and rental car returned. We spent our last night at Shumway Marine enjoying the distant drumming of live music from Schooner’s Riverside Pub and reviewing our “get away plan.”
Our alarms were set for 05:00 on 19 June but we both were restless, anxious to get out of the harbor and on with our thrice postponed great adventure. We couldn’t have asked for a better day! Winds were light from the west, waves less than one foot, scattered high clouds and all instruments worked perfectly. Pete and I took 30 minute shifts at the upper helm, allowing the off-duty helmsman a chance to catch up on rest.
We reached our marina (Newfane Marina) in Olcott, NY, located on Eighteenmile Creek just before 12:30. (We motored 7 hours.) Once secured, we walked around the quaint little hamlet.
Being a Saturday, it was humming with tourists. The Olcott Beach Carousel Park had recently reopened and there were throngs of loud and lively children lining up for their turn on the vintage rides. It was also a stop for a motorcycle run. We noticed the remnants of the grounds and pier of the Olcott Beach Hotel (1902-1937). This little area was rich with history!
We investigated a few spots to stop for a beer but ultimately returned to our boat for the beers gifted to us from Conor McKee. He is the family brewer/cicerone and until recently was working for Foundation Brewery. We enjoyed our FB “fruity sour beers” with blue cheese stuffed dates wrapped in prosciutto. The afternoon siesta was interrupted several times by returning fishing charters, small boats and personal water craft. This was not the sleepy little marina of my first impressions but a very busy boat launch for the greater rural area. Things did eventually settle down, at dark, which this far north is around 21:00 hours (9:00 pm). We are, after all, on the cusp of the Summer Solstice!
Sunday we started our travel at 07:00 with a short 2-1/2 hour cruise to Youngstown, NY. Youngstown is the location of the outlet of the Niagara River and our rendezvous spot with our commercial captain and crew. The Canadian border runs right down the middle of this river. We had already visited this town and marina earlier in the week, while we had a car and could sum up any dockage challenges. We also visited Fort Niagara State Park and took the one-hour tour then walked past the US Coast Guard Station. Our vantage point from Lake Ontario made this fort look small.
Sunday evening we turned our boat over to Captain Dave, the commercial captain and his crew, that will take our boat into Canada and through the Welland Canal. This is one of the strangest protocols of the Canadian-United States border closure. We, as US citizens, cannot even be onboard and function as crew! It felt strange to leave with our overnight bag and watch as the new crew moved aboard.
The next blog post will outline our exploration of Buffalo. We hope to make the most of it!