Herkimer & Perkins: Building Backyard Boats in Buffalo, NY

Messing About in Boats, Boots, and Byways:

Archive of PorchPix log entry of 10 September 04

[Read the original tone-setting post to this log]

Opposite Erie

10 September 04: We took a ride with Herk and Perk, our little paddle boats, to enjoy the beauty of Presque Isle, in Erie, PA, about two hours from home down along the Lake Erie shore.

First we visited the new home of the the Bayfront Center for Maritime Studies, which is now down the bayfront from its former location. It's now part of a charter school and next to the restored brig Niagara, which won a big battle in the War of 1812 under Commodore Perry on Lake Erie.

The Reverend picks up the story in an email to friends, "Then we went out to Presque Isle. It was so cool. There are marshes and ponds all over the island. So we launched and paddled around through the lily pads and other water foliage. There was no one around so all we heard was the wind rustling through the trees, and bugs and birds singing. Jon was trying to get a picture of what we think might have been a heron. So he was among the reeds -- kind of like Linus waiting for the great pumpkin in Charlie Brown."

Our last stop was a walk along the beach on the windward side of Presque Isle. The lee side is right across from the Erie bayfront, so the windward side, with its open vista and sequential breakwaters to protect the beach, is a startling, breathtaking contrast.

Industrial Strength Dockware: Visiting a shrine on Erie's bayfront

Brig Niagara, of 18 guns, lives on the Erie bayfront. It was the star of a pivotal battle on Lake Erie during the War of 1812.
Workers do their thing at the top of the aft mast on the Niagara.
Next to the berth of the Niagara is the new digs of the Bayfront Center for Maritime Studies, which is now part of a charter school. We visited the old digs last year. Last year, the boat in process was an Erie Pound Boat; this year, they are building an ocean racing sailboat. The plywood was for a tiny canoe they were working on.
Another view of the ocean racer. The pound boat is berthed near the Niagara now.
While we were at the bayfront, a huge bird came in for a landing.
I was hoping for a heron, but this guy was a diver and swimmer.
I've seen this species on Hoyt Lake in Deleware Home near our home but still don't know what it is.
The best bower and the bowsprit of the Niagara frame a big-sized bollard.
Closeup of the big-boy bollard.
We admired Big Tony last year when we visited the bayfront. This time, the craft came in while we were wandering around. It looks rough but moves well with barely a whisper from its diesel.
Diamonds! We're rich!! The Reverend paddles in Perk on a wetland pond on Presque Isle.
Cattails on the wetland pond.
Our little paddle boats give us a startling amount of joy.
Creatures of the deep.
More creatures.
Our pond was directly across from the bayfront, with a few miles of water in between. You can see the top of the building next to the brig Niagara in the background, looking south and a bit east.
Waterplant bloom on the wetland pond.
Last stop was the long beach on the windward side of Presque Isle.
The Reverend plays in the sand.