The Sailing Adventure with the Guatemalan Cousin

The PredictWind app suggested that the lightning and thundershowers would not arrive until after 5 PM. Yet it was almost 11 AM and the dark threatening clouds were already barrelling in from the west. The lightning flashes were visible in the distance, and we heard the roar of thunder a few seconds later. This meant we still had time to reach the safety of Port Dalhousie….. Or so we thought. We kept motoring towards the entrance to the Dalhousie Yacht Club. We had a reservation to dock Ileana there for the night. When the lightning occurred at the same time as the thunder, we knew we were too late… The winds picked up to 30 knots and a torrential rain pelted down on us soaking us to the skin in seconds.

The Guatemalan sailor…..Akil

We had arrived at the Port Credit Yacht Club the evening before. It was 10 PM and rain showers were predicted to clear up by early morning. Akil, our cousin from Guatemala, was with us on holidays and was up for the adventure of the 4 hour crossing of Lake Ontario. After a discussion about the weather, we decided to leave first thing in the morning. The boat rocked gently in the small swells that made their way into the protected harbour through the channel entrance. It was the peaceful and gentle motion that allowed sleep to come easily. By morning, the wind had shifted to the south. This meant that we would have to motor the entire way to get to Port Dalhousie in a decent hour so we could visit Niagara-on-the-Lake by Uber. Niagara-on-the-Lake Yacht Club was not taking visitor boats. It was the annual peach festival, and everywhere was booked up.

I started the engine, unhooked the power cord, and untied the mooring lines. The wind gently blew us off the dock and I set the course for Port Dalhousie 3 1/2 hours away, directly into the wind. Akil and Ileana were still sleeping. Halfway across the lake, they appeared.

It was a beautiful morning as we motored out on the lake. The view of Toronto is always spectaular as the sun rises and reflects off the buildings. It was going to be a great day for our new-to-sailing cousin.

We were 30 minutes away from Port Dalhousie when I realized the weather app might have failed to give an accurate picture of the impending storm. There were thick, black storm clouds appearing in the west. I looked at the weather radar on the Weather Ntework. It was obvious that there was a thunderstorm rolling right at us. I glanced at my watch. It was 10:30 AM. We had 30 minutes before it arrived. No sense in alarming the ladies on board. I was confident that we would make it before it hit us with all of it’s fury. Besides, the only other option was to wait out the storm on the lake……. and perhaps, this might have been the sensible option….. I raced around the deck of the boat and tied up the fenders on the port side as well as the mooring lines. I slowed down the boat to do this so as not to enter the channel until we were ready. We were going to make it! I radioed the harbour master. They had the slip against the western wall waiting for us. I was told to tie the fenders on the starboard side.

“What” I cried out. “I’ve got them tied on the port side! Is there a different spot you can put us?”

“Nope,” said the harbour master. This was followed by silence.

I agreed to switch all the fenders and lines to the starboard side. He agreed to meet us at the slip and help us dock. This took several precious minutes. The rain and wind caught up to us just as we entered the channel entrance.

Entering Port Dalhouse channel seconds before the storm hit us……

The strong wind was blowing us off the wall. The pelting rain was flying at us horizontally. We were soaked in seconds. Ileana successfully hooked the center docking line on a cleat. She then threw the bow line to the waiting harbour master. Sadly, the bow cleat broke. This was holding the bow of the boat onto the shore. The docking line, now was no longer attached and fell into the water. The bow of the sailboat began drifting into channel. Another sailor, docked 2 spots away, hopped off of his boat in the raging storm and grabbed my stern line. He tied it on the dock cleat.

“Use your bow thruster, You are drifting into the channel!” he shouted. The bow of the boat steared back towards the wall, thanks to the bow thruster. This allowed Ileana to tie the docking line to the bow cleat on the other side of the bow. We were now secure, although thoroughly sopping wet. The storm passed through within an hour and the sun came out.

The Weather Network suggested more storm cells coming through at 2 PM, 4 PM and at 6 PM. The threat of storms caused us to change our plans. Instead of ubering to Niagara-on-the-Lake, I hopped on my electric bike and went to the local liquor store for wine and Prosceco. The afternoon was spent talking about our adventure while the ladies made a dent on our wine supply. The predicted storms never arrived, but we were ready, hunkered down in our cockpit under the protection of the dodger and bimini. The sun was out, the gentle wind was warm, and we were very happy to do what sailors do best…..hang out, drink, and tell stories.

The next morning, the wind had shifted to the northwest at around 15 knots. This was perfect for a smooth sail back to Port Credit. I untied the docking lines and a boat neighbour helped us cast off. We motored out to the lake and raised the mainsail, and then unfurled the jib. We moved along at 7.5 knots in a gentle breeze.

The winds were gentle and we were within 5 miles of Port Credit before we took down the sails

Docking at Port Credit Yacht Club was not nearly as exciting as docking in Port Dalhousie. Peter, my neighbour, helped us. We had arrived safely. It was a great weekend of sailing adventure on Lake Ontario. We reflected on the great time we had as we sat around the dinner table at home that evening. We talked about how lucky we are to have a boat on Lake Ontario. There are many more great adventures on S/V Ileana to come.