Shuffling off from Buffalo

Entering Lake Erie Tuesday July 8, 2025

We had tied up at the North Tonawanda Free Wall the previous night. Got an early start but had to wait 45 minutes to enter the Black Rock Lock that runs on a fixed schedule. Lake was smooth and our destination was Westfield Town Dock.

Then, the wind picked up. The Beach House began proving to old adage about a boat handling much rougher seas than the crew. We had the west wind on the bow. White capped waves were 2.5 feet with close spaced swells. We rode these for two hours and then changed destinations. Behind the breakwaters at Dunkirk the wind was still strong, and it took three passes before Dolly was able to put a stern line on a post at the town dock.

Today we cast off at 5:30 AM. It’s been much smoother and we did 39 nautical into Misery Anchorage at Erie PA. Arriving before noon.

Day Minus One and Counting

The Great Loop is the name for an aquatic adventure that circumnavigates the eastern United States.  Starting (for Dolly and I) it leaves Tarpon Springs, Florida; goes to the Atlantic thru Lake Okeechobee; up the East Coast to New York; up the Hudson River to the Erie Canal; then to the Great Lakes; South through Chicago to the Mississippi; transfers to the Tennessee River and the Ten-Tom waterway to Mobile, Alabama; and back across the Gulf to Tarpon Springs.  At our speed it will take the better part of seven to eight months. Our Great Loop adventure is set to begin tomorrow, Monday April 14, 2025. Weather forecast for the Gulf of America near our starting point is wave heights of one foot or less. So, the plan is to go outside from the Anclote river down to lower Tampa Bay.

Washing the plane

Recently I became interested in creating videos with Power Director software while starting to code a flight simulator version of the Garmin G3X instrument. Coincidentally, Dolly has a very nice camera tripod. I took it to airport and captured the following video on my iPhone.  Click on the photo below to watch the video on Youtube.

 

 

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