Day's 41

• Buffalo NY - Dunkirk NY
• Start 7:20 a
• End 11:00am
• Underway 3:46 Hours
• Distance 32 miles
• Av Speed 8.4 knots

Our first leg in Lake Erie went very well, For all the horror stories of Lake Erie it was very nice. (no worries, it got ugly later at night) We kept it a short day because the next town was another 40 miles and the weather forecast was calling for thunder storms. While the forecast is wrong as often as it is right, I did not want to be on the lake during a storm.

We stayed at the city dock, another free dock, with no water or electricity. When we got there Mark Karen where on the dock to help us in. We then spent the next hour helping a couple more Loopers on the dock.

There is not much to do in Dunkirk, but we all went out to lunch then had docktails. During docktails one of the local boaters was telling us that when the wind comes out of the east and builds up, it can get very rough on the east side of the pier. (We were all on the East side.) There was also a 23' sail boat on the east side with us. He was with his wife, and three kids ages 1, 3 and 5 and their dog. The forecast was for the wind to be light and out of the south.

Around 9pm the wind switched to the east, and started blowing hard. The boat started rocking and banging against the pier. As I went out to see what was happening everyone was out added fenders to their boats trying to protect them. The waves were building and it was getting rougher and rougher. After I added more fenders, I went to help with the other boats.

The sailboat was getting the worst of the weather because they were on the end of the pier. It was also the smallest boat, Chris the owner was going to try to move the boat off the pier and around to the other side. We took the kids off the boat and brought them to our boat. (Our boat is bigger and heavier and was handling the rough weather better) Fortunately they lived locally and their grandparents came and took the kids home.

As the lake started getting rougher a couple of us decided to move our boats to the west side of the pier where we would be protected from the waves. The great thing about Loopers is we all help each other. I do not think it would have been possible for Angel and I to get the boat off the pier alone. Once we got to the west side or the pier there were no more waves. By 11:30pm those of us that moved were all secured and had no more problems.

• By morning the wind was gone and the waves were gone.