Summer Cruise 2008 -2

We left Cobourg early on July 10th for our crossing of the lake to Rochester, New York. It's about 50 miles across so it's a good run. Our friends Peter & Donna Howells on Cassis and John & Cyndi Martin, a couple from Michigan we met in Cobourg on their Moody 46 named Glass Slipper did the crossing with us. John & Cyndi are heading out on an extended cruise enroute to the east coast and point beyond. Conditions on July 10th were good with strong 15kt winds from the southwest and a clear sky. Underway, the winds built steadily to 20-25kts and the seas were lumpy with 1-2m waves building to 2-3m in parts. We made good time with our sails up and saw some great speeds 9-10kts surfing downwind. We arrived in Rochester about 1pm and after some miscues finding a slip big enough for the boat, and dodging the pilons that are all over the yacht basin, we finally had the boat tied securely to a dock. WE stayed at Rochester Yacht Club fro 2 nights and enjoyed facilities there. On July 12th, we headed out to Point Breeze which is about 30 miles west. The lake was like glass and we motored all the way. We stayed 2 nights at the 4'C's Marina. On the 2nd day, Peter & Donna joined us and we had a nice dinner together. On July 14th, we headed out to Wilson, which is another 30 miles west. Conditions were again not great with a 20kt wind right on our bow and 2 meter waves. On motor, we weren't making good time, so put the sails up and tacked about 10 miles out. Boat speed went up to about 7-8 kts, but we added a few miles to the trip. We finally made it to Wilson at about 3:30 with a very threatening sky. We secured a slip at the Sunset Bay Marina. In Wilson we had a very nice dinner at the Boathouse Restaurant and enjoyed the walk around the harbour. On the 15th we headed home. The lake was like glass with 1-2kt winds. One of the pictures below is of Toronto from 25 miles out in the lake. YOu can barely make out the bank buildings and the CN Tower. On motor we covered the 35 miles in about 6.5 hours arriving at PCYC at about 3pm. All in all a great trip. We saw the lake under a number of different conditions from dead calm to 2-3 meter waves on the south shore, and visited some interesting spots.

Summer Cruise 2008 -1

We set out for our summer cruise in Monday, July 7th leaving the club about 9am enroute to our first stop at Whitby Marina. Our friends Peter & Donna Howells onboard their boat CASSIS travelled with us. Winds were very light going to Whitby so we were on motor the whole way. Whitby was easy to find and the facilities were great. Next day we were off to Cobourg, another 35nm east. Again the winds were very light and we were on motor the whole way. WIth the light wind and flat water the bugs (flies and knats were brutal). At Cobourg we joined about 30 other PCYC members who were there on a club cruise. Two days at Cobourg marina were terrifc. We had a nice dinner at Cobourg Yacht Club and had a relaxing time walking around Cobourg. We stumbled upon a concert at the Cobourg band shell and took in a couple of songs. Weather was great and the forecast for the trip across the lake was favourable.