Welland Canal to Frenchmans Bay
Lake Ontario
Wednesday, June 29
Before parting ways the night before, Roland and I both agreed that we needed a later start today to recuperate from the previous two-day odyssey we had just endured. I woke up in my cousin's very comfy bed at a relatively relaxed 7:30 a.m. Marc and Sue were waiting in the kitchen, and we caught up while they prepared breakfast.
Breakfast at the Lavigne's
Although my brother George visits many times, I had never been to St Catherines before myself, so Sue gave me a little tour of the grounds of their place. It was directly on the Lake Ontario shoreline, impeccably manicured and sporting an excellent view across the lake to Toronto. I could also look off to the east and see the long shape of the Welland breakwater. Roland was over there with Simply Blue, and I hoped he'd had a nice, uninterrupted sleep.
Marc and Sue gave me a ride back to the pier after breakfast, and we arrived shortly after 9 a.m.. Simply Blue seemed unmolested, and Roland seemed in good spirits as he munched on his breakfast. We gave a better, more complete tour of the boat to Marc and Sue.
courtesy RHanel
We soon bid good-bye to Marc and Sue, and they headed back home to prepare for a scheduled golf game. I told them to keep an eye out for us as we exited the breakwater on the beginning on our journey across Lake Ontario.
I should have better expressed my hope of putting on a little show of thanks for Marc and Sue before they departed for their golf game, but our prep and departure proceeded fairly lackadaisically, and by the time we popped out into the lake, it was nearly 10:30 a.m. - a few minutes past when they said they had to leave their house. Disappointing.
courtesy RHanel
Our destination for the day was Frenchmans Bay - a small harbour on the north shore of Lake Ontario adjacent to the municipality of Pickering, somewhat east of Toronto. Roland had a friend who lived here, and had arranged for us to meet up and have an evening barbecue dinner aboard Simply Blue.
In contrast to the wild waves of the night before, Lake Ontario was sunny and fairly calm as we began our journey north directly across the lake. With the sails unfurled, a mild west wind pushed us along at a modest 5-ish km/hr (3 knots). Although the conditions made for very pleasant sailing, a 3-knot pace simply wouldn't get us to our meetup time with Roland's friend, so as the day progressed we elected to augment our sail power with some engine power.
Another spacious cabin view
The conditions were very pleasant as we sailed across the lake - reasonably warm, not humid, minimally rough. Very relaxing. The air clarity was quite good, and we had uninterrupted views of central Toronto as we slowly neared it, then passed to its east on a tangent.
Simply Blue's Big Brother
In contrast to Lake Erie, Lake Ontario seemed to have a lot more pleasure craft. Lake Erie had seemed strangely deserted in many places, but here, we frequently saw other pleasure boats, even far out into the lake. At one point, we passed quite close to a modern 40-foot Mark II Catalina sailboat, and I do believe Roland's lips may have distinctly smacked once or twice.
Visible even at wide-angle
By 5pm, we approached the northern shore of Lake Ontario. The dun-colored domes of the Pickering Nuclear Plant were clearly visible ahead. The entrance to Frenchmans Bay is immediately to the left of the plant, well-marked by nav buoys and ruler-straight breakwaters.
We motored into Frenchmans Bay, carefully staying within the marked channels, for the waters of the bay are quite shallow. Roland picked a suitable spot just off one of the channels to anchor, and soon we were at rest.
Frenchmans Bay is a very idyllic spot, lined on all sides by lush trees and vibrant marshlands. It is also a semi-urban setting, surrounded by the apartment towers and residential streets of the township of Pickering, ON. As a result, there was a lot of activity in the bay - marinas, canoes, paddle-boarders, rowers.
Heading to shore
Roland's friend Wayne had seen us sail in from his high-floor condo, and he was already on his way down to a nearby dock as Roland and I lowered Simply Blue's dinghy to head to shore. After meeting up, we first went back to his condo for a little tour of his recent renovations and to take in his sweeping view of Frenchmans Bay - including the little white spot of Simply Blue, peacefully anchored.
Simply Blue, Frenchmans Bay
After our brief condo visit, we headed back to the dinghy, along with friend Wayne and a few extra supplies, and motored back to Simply Blue. It was a picture-perfect summer evening without wind or bug, and we broke out the cockpit table for the first time and had dinner on deck (rather than in the cabin). Our post-dinner evening chat ranged far and wide, from pronunciation (the surname of Comacchio, for example) to self-help to old adventures. Dusk was rapidly falling as we finally wrapped it up and Roland taxied Wayne back to shore.
Click below to watch a video wrap-up for June 29:
Video wrap-up for June 29
Interactive trackmap with photo points - Welland Canal to Frenchmans Bay - click map to view
June 29 - Welland Canal to Frenchmans Bay
Start Time:
10:04a.m.
End Time:
5:55p.m.
Duration:
7h51m
Distance:
67.9 km
(42.19 mi)
Average Speed:
8.6 km/hr
(5.4 mph)
Start Elevation:
262ft
(80m)
*
Max Elevation:
283ft
(86m)
*
Min Elevation:
213ft
(65m)
*
End Elevation:
243ft
(74m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Total Elevation Gain:
36ft
(11m)
*
Total Elevation Loss:
59ft
(18m)
*
* : +/- 75 feet
Elevation Graph
