Buffalo, NY (N. Tonawanda)

Thurs., Sept. 6

After a peaceful night on the hook we were off at 0700.  Ten minutes later we were
aground in Presque Isle Bay. We had managed to find one of the shallow spots in the
bay, which has many. This gave us a chance to become aquainted with our Boat US
towing service and the tow captain was both courteous and professional. We have
already saved more than the cost of one years' worth of towing service with this one
incident. Most cruisers wait until later in the voyage down in the Intercoastal Waterway
before they go aground but being precocious we decided to do it early in the trip. No
damage to the boat was done but we didn't truly get on our way for the day until 0830
in what was to be a long day.

We had following seas all day so we had to hand steer the whole way instead of using the
autopilot which is more tiring. We motored and motorsailed due to the light tailwinds but
the temperature was pleasant. In the afternoon we were visited by a plague of biting flies
and I got a feel for how the Egyptians felt in Moses' day. Some thunderstorms appeared
in eastern Lake Erie but by using our radar we were able to track them as they skirted us
by a mile or two. Entering Buffalo was interesting as you need to enter the Black Rock
Canal soon after entering the harbor. While on the canal we passed many sculls out practicing
on the water. Rowing seems to be very popular here and the canal walls are painted with
the winners of previous Henley Cup races. The lock operator was very gracious and locked
us through early which was a big help since we were racing the coming darkness to make
the Wardell Boat Yard. From talking to other people the lock operator has a history of being
nice and helpful.We managed to pull into Wardell's right as darkness fell,a real blessing.
Dennis Wardell had told us to just pull up and tie to the fuel dock.

After the long tiring day we walked up the street and to our joy we found a theater restaurant
district right there near the boat yard. We had a nice meal in the airconditioned comfort of
Dwyers Irish Pub,enjoying some fantastic Ruben Fries and then returned to the boat for a
refreshing night's rest.

80nm   (94 miles)