I've done the trip from TO to the 1000 Islands a bunch of times and anchored a lot there.
Get down to the islands as quickly as you can. Why spend time in Whitby or the Bluffs when you can easily go to those places for a weekend cruise? Most folks stop at Cobourg along the way. If you leave early in the morning you can get there from TS&CC same day - in daylight. Cobourg's a good place to try anchoring for the first time (inside the breakwater). Few boats anchor there (as most take a dock). There's a lot of space. And it's sheltered. When you get to the islands, space will be much tighter. If you're a little more adventurous, skip Cobourg and go straight through to Main Duck Island, but that will be an overnight sail. Make sure the weather's good though, because there are no good harbours on the south side of Prince Edward County. You also need to watch out for Scotch Bonnet Island (which, btw, is the only fixed navigational hazard between Toronto and the Bay of Quinte) Instead, you'll probably go through the Murray Canal. Presqui'le Bay (on the way into the canal) is shallow. Make sure you honour the buoys and don't cut the corner. Have money ready for the bridge operator (I'm not sure what the current toll is) When you get into the Bay of Quinte - honour the buoys there too. Once you're past Trenton - navigation is straightforward until Belleville - honour those buoys as well. Then it's Telegraph Narrows - I haven't been through there in a while, but I drove over the bridge about a month ago and couldn't see the channel markers from the road (maybe they're gone?). Anyway, watch your depth there and follow the chart and then you're good until Kingston. Prinyer's Cove (in Aldophus Reach) is a really pretty anchorage, but it's weedy. Lots of people stop in Kingston. I wouldn't. Again, why stop in a big stinkpot-infested marina beside a maximum security jail when you could be at anchor in the islands? Instead, stop at Cedar Island or Milton Island which are part of the National Park and are just past town. You can grab a dock there or anchor if conditions are good. (Check the forecast before turning in) When you get to the islands, there are lots of choices: Beaurivage is a good first stop. Then explore from there using your PORTS guide. --- On anchoring technique... note that it's MUDDY in all these places. Set your anchor somewhat lightly (ie: back down, but not super hard) then have a swim and a beer or two. Give your anchor and chain some time to settle into the mud. Then back down hard to make sure it's good and set. If you back down hard right away, you're just going to drag your anchor through the anchorage. -- On the way back, the sail from the Murray Canal to Cobourg can REALLY suck. It's often an upwind sail and sea conditions can be uncomfortable. When you get into the Bay of Quinte on the way back, look at the weather forecast... If you see a decent window (ie: no west wind), go for it and make a run all the way to Cobourg. (Note the bridge operating hours though, because you don't want to get trapped overnight in the canal. Too many mosquitos) Alternately, you could go back along the outside, stopping at Waupoos and/or Main Duck before making a run all the way to Cobourg (or home!) Here's why I say this.... 14 Years ago, when my eldest was just 1 and we were in a CS27, we had to beat all the way to Cobourg in 20kn west winds and 6 foot chop with my son in his Graco "pack and play" down below. All he could do was lie on his back and endure the pounding as as we made a VMG of about 1.4 knots. Every time we tacked, one of us (my wife) had to go below and tack the baby! (I still don't think he's forgiven us) Have a great trip! Cheers, Colin On Thu, Jul 25, 2013 at 11:27 AM, Woody Hamel <woodyha...@live.ca> wrote: > Hi Steven, > Your not alone, and I think it's fair to say there are no bad questions. > Frenchman's bay marina where I am has transient docking, and 2 nice > restaurants close to the docks. If your here I would be happy to come down > and say hi. Whitby is a nice harbour as well. Port of newcastle was a nice > overnight they have a restaurant as well. It was shallow entry 2 years ago, > we were ok in our 26 but I did watch a 30 plus get stuck, and manage to > free herself. That said the water is higher this year. > As a field biologist working coastal wetlands Belleville area should have > some safe anchorages. Prince edward county is amazing, and there should be > some safe anchorages in the area, picton is a really nice town with docking > at its door step. Kingston is also a great city! Wolf island should also > have some safe anchorages, but does not have a lot going on in the way of > restaurants etc. > Your trip sounds great! Have a great day everyone! > Cheers, > Woody > C&C 26 - Goldfinch > Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network. > Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell. > > -----Original Message----- > From: Stevan Plavsa <stevanpla...@gmail.com> > Date: Thu, 25 Jul 2013 15:10:36 > To: <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> > Subject: Re: Stus-List Toronto to the Thousand Islands > > > You know, I always hesitate when asking really newbish/stupid questions > (anywhere, not just here) but I'm usually happy that I have. Some things > aren't obvious and even more experienced people don't know, because _they_ > never asked. It's better to be underestimated than undereducated. The > former usually works out to one's advantage anyway. > > > Thanks for the continued replies and advice. > > > Steve > Suhana, C&C 32 > Toronto > > > > On Thu, Jul 25, 2013 at 10:22 AM, Andrew Burton > <a.burton.sai...@gmail.com<mailto: > a.burton.sai...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > > > > The operative phrase being "after you've set the anchor." Don't back down > hard until it's dug in a bit. I often see people drop their hook then rev > the engine in reverse and back through the anchorage dragging the anchor > along the bottom. > Andy > C&C 40 > Peregrine > > > > > > > On Thu, Jul 25, 2013 at 10:13 AM, Dennis C. <capt...@yahoo.com <mailto: > capt...@yahoo.com> > wrote: > Stevan, > > The most common mistake novice anchorers make is to not include the > height of the bow in the calculation of scope. For instance if it is 3 feet > from the water to your bow chock and you are anchoring in 20 feet of water, > multiply your desired scope by 20 + 3. So if you want 5:1 scope, it would > be 5 x 23 or 115 feet at the bow chock. > > Once you've set the hook, back down HARD and watch an object in the water > to see if you are dragging. > > If your GPS has an anchor alarm (most do), set it and relax. > > Dennis C. > > Sent from my iPhone > > > > On Jul 25, 2013, at 8:10 AM, Stevan Plavsa <stevanpla...@gmail.com<mailto: > stevanpla...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > > Hi All, > > > > This will be my first real cruise and I was hoping for some pointers > from other Lake Ontario sailors. I'm looking for tips on places to anchor > along the way and clubs to stay at, places to avoid, things to be aware of. > We've only done overnights at other clubs thus far. We do have the ports > cruising guide. > > > > A friend just loaned me a set of paper charts that will cover the > entire cruise for which I'm very grateful (lots of charts! $$$) but they > are out of date, not sure how much of a big deal that is, he didn't seem to > think it was a big deal at all. > > > > We have two anchors, a big CQR and a smaller delta, 50 feet of chain > and another 150 of rode. Haven't ever spent a night on the hook either so > any gotchas on that topic would be handy as well. I have a few books that > I've studied so I understand these things in principle .. no better way to > learn than by doing so we're going for it. August 10 to 26 is the time we > have booked off which means that we're starting this thing during the > Perseid Meteor shower .. I really want to do on an overnight passage with > my girlfriend, say from Toronto to Cobourg or something like that so that > we can enjoy the meteor shower out on the lake. I'm a sucker for that > annual meteor shower and haven't gotten to enjoy it in years. I know enough > to avoid the shipping lanes other than that an overnight on the lake seems > pretty straightforward. > > > > Any thoughts and recommendations are much welcome. > > > > Thanks, > > Steve > > Suhana, C&C 32 > > Toronto > > _______________________________________________ > > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > > CnC-List@cnc-list.com <mailto:CnC-List@cnc-list.com> > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com <mailto:CnC-List@cnc-list.com> > > > > -- > Andrew Burton > 61 W Narragansett Ave > Newport, RI > USA 02840 > http://sites.google.com/site/andrewburtonyachtservices/ > phone +401 965 5260 > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com <mailto:CnC-List@cnc-list.com> > > _______________________________________________ > This List is provided by the C&C Photo Album > http://www.cncphotoalbum.com > CnC-List@cnc-list.com >
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