2014 Sailing Trip- 9 Days
Humber Bay to Newcastle and back
Our goal of this post is to not bore anyone with too many details... so we will share our trip with you in mostly pictures. We had a great time and learned a lot! We look forward to make more trips on Sweet Pea :)
All pictures can be clicked for enlarging.
Day 1: Our club (in West Toronto) to Scarborough Bluffs (east of Toronto)
Humber Bay to Newcastle and back
Our goal of this post is to not bore anyone with too many details... so we will share our trip with you in mostly pictures. We had a great time and learned a lot! We look forward to make more trips on Sweet Pea :)
All pictures can be clicked for enlarging.
Day 1: Our club (in West Toronto) to Scarborough Bluffs (east of Toronto)
Our first day was very light wind- we only went between 1.5 and 2.5 knts when sailing, so we motored off and on to ensure we would get to our first club at a reasonable time. Once we get past Toronto going east, this is much of our view for the first couple days. Beautiful!
We hit some fog on our way on the first day, and tooted our fog horn often (many other sailboats were doing the same, it was pretty funny actually!) We settled in at Bluffers Park Yacht club, which we love! The members were very friendly, and the facilities are nice. A couple pictures are yet to come, since we stayed there on our way back too. We ate dinner at the nearby Cathedral Bluffs Yacht Club, and had the best key lime pie. Here's a couple pics from their nice patio below. And also a pic of me making blueberry pancakes off the side of the boat the next morning :)
We hit some fog on our way on the first day, and tooted our fog horn often (many other sailboats were doing the same, it was pretty funny actually!) We settled in at Bluffers Park Yacht club, which we love! The members were very friendly, and the facilities are nice. A couple pictures are yet to come, since we stayed there on our way back too. We ate dinner at the nearby Cathedral Bluffs Yacht Club, and had the best key lime pie. Here's a couple pics from their nice patio below. And also a pic of me making blueberry pancakes off the side of the boat the next morning :)
Day 2: Bluffers Park to Whitby
The second day was also very light wind, and a little chilly on the water, as you can see from the picture below of me at the helm, under blankets :)
Thankfully, we have a good motor that didn't give us any trouble during the whole trip. This club was the place where we purchased our boat last year, so it was nice to come back for a visit. The Whitby Yacht Club was really nice as a reciporical guest as well... the clubhouse is open at all hours, there are nice bathrooms, showers, a computer, and coffee in the morning. The grounds are pretty removed from the rest of the town, but down the street (about a 15 minute walk) is a strip mall with a couple restaurants, drug stores, a grocery store, and an LCBO. We went into town for a couple days, and then settled in at our boat to watch the sun go down.
The second day was also very light wind, and a little chilly on the water, as you can see from the picture below of me at the helm, under blankets :)
Thankfully, we have a good motor that didn't give us any trouble during the whole trip. This club was the place where we purchased our boat last year, so it was nice to come back for a visit. The Whitby Yacht Club was really nice as a reciporical guest as well... the clubhouse is open at all hours, there are nice bathrooms, showers, a computer, and coffee in the morning. The grounds are pretty removed from the rest of the town, but down the street (about a 15 minute walk) is a strip mall with a couple restaurants, drug stores, a grocery store, and an LCBO. We went into town for a couple days, and then settled in at our boat to watch the sun go down.
Day 3: Whitby to Newcastle, ON
This was probably the roughest day on the water, we had good wind, but it was coming from the exact direction we needed to go, so we had to do quite a bit of tacking to get there. What that means is... when this trip is 14 direct nautical miles, it actually took us 30 miles to get there. I got kinda sea sick (nothing bad, just yucky feeling) but in the end it was still a fun day.
There are no clubs in Newcastle, so the option is the marina. It was nice, and we got a free pass to use the neighbouring pool and hot tub, which was a nice bonus after a long day on the water!
The decision to change our travel plans was made this day—having had a little later start than planned and being a bit behind our original intended schedule, we decided it would be best to not continue another day east as we had originally planned, and instead head back west so we could enjoy our time and not be in a rush. It was definitely the right decision—we enjoyed our next several days on the water, and also got stuck somewhere for an extra day because of bad fog (which would have really messed things up if we were running late). So, Newcastle was the farthest east we went on this trip. I bought a postcard to commemorate the event. :)
Pictured below: Sweet Pea in Newcastle, our boat coffee grinder for the week, and one of our tasty breakfasts
This was probably the roughest day on the water, we had good wind, but it was coming from the exact direction we needed to go, so we had to do quite a bit of tacking to get there. What that means is... when this trip is 14 direct nautical miles, it actually took us 30 miles to get there. I got kinda sea sick (nothing bad, just yucky feeling) but in the end it was still a fun day.
There are no clubs in Newcastle, so the option is the marina. It was nice, and we got a free pass to use the neighbouring pool and hot tub, which was a nice bonus after a long day on the water!
The decision to change our travel plans was made this day—having had a little later start than planned and being a bit behind our original intended schedule, we decided it would be best to not continue another day east as we had originally planned, and instead head back west so we could enjoy our time and not be in a rush. It was definitely the right decision—we enjoyed our next several days on the water, and also got stuck somewhere for an extra day because of bad fog (which would have really messed things up if we were running late). So, Newcastle was the farthest east we went on this trip. I bought a postcard to commemorate the event. :)
Pictured below: Sweet Pea in Newcastle, our boat coffee grinder for the week, and one of our tasty breakfasts
Day 4: Newcastle to Port Darlington (headed back West)
The wind was non-existent this day, and the lake was flat as a pancake. So considering we only had a quick 4 mile sail, we kept the sail cover on and just motored our way to Port Darlington. It was a nice 1 hour ride, very peaceful. Port Darlington is a very interesting place—it feels strangely like Florida once you pull into the break wall. There are various canals all lined with long grass, and lots of birds, swans, geese, and blue heron hanging around. We just barely made it in to the dock- we have a 3.5 ft draft, and by the time we pulled in our keel was in mud. But we made it, and enjoyed our evening with dinner at the neighbouring marina restaurant, and a movie in town (via cab). We got out of the mud pretty easily the next day with Jeff's stealthy maneuvering skills :)
The wind was non-existent this day, and the lake was flat as a pancake. So considering we only had a quick 4 mile sail, we kept the sail cover on and just motored our way to Port Darlington. It was a nice 1 hour ride, very peaceful. Port Darlington is a very interesting place—it feels strangely like Florida once you pull into the break wall. There are various canals all lined with long grass, and lots of birds, swans, geese, and blue heron hanging around. We just barely made it in to the dock- we have a 3.5 ft draft, and by the time we pulled in our keel was in mud. But we made it, and enjoyed our evening with dinner at the neighbouring marina restaurant, and a movie in town (via cab). We got out of the mud pretty easily the next day with Jeff's stealthy maneuvering skills :)
Day 5: Port Darlington to Whitby
This day was possibly the most exciting of them all. We hit some major fog, and were in it for the majority of the 14 mile trip. It was a good thing the wind was so low, because we couldn't have worried about sailing at the same time as navigating through this stuff!
The climax of this stressful couple of hours was looking down at one point and realizing we could easily see the bottom of the lake—giant boulders and all. Our depth meter went from 12 ft to 7 ft in about a second, and a few more feet and we would be in major trouble. Jeff saved the day and got us out without any scrapes along the bottom!
The fog was too intense for us to worry about taking many pictures unfortunately. But here are a couple from the day below. We were kissing the ground and praising the Lord when we arrived safely at Whitby again! :)
Pictured below: fog, the wonderful GPS that guided us, and the Whitby entrance to the channel, after the fog had lifted.
This day was possibly the most exciting of them all. We hit some major fog, and were in it for the majority of the 14 mile trip. It was a good thing the wind was so low, because we couldn't have worried about sailing at the same time as navigating through this stuff!
The climax of this stressful couple of hours was looking down at one point and realizing we could easily see the bottom of the lake—giant boulders and all. Our depth meter went from 12 ft to 7 ft in about a second, and a few more feet and we would be in major trouble. Jeff saved the day and got us out without any scrapes along the bottom!
The fog was too intense for us to worry about taking many pictures unfortunately. But here are a couple from the day below. We were kissing the ground and praising the Lord when we arrived safely at Whitby again! :)
Pictured below: fog, the wonderful GPS that guided us, and the Whitby entrance to the channel, after the fog had lifted.
Day 6: Whitby
We had to stay put in Whitby this day, because the fog was bad in the morning and never let up until almost 8pm! It was very strange—for half of the day we assumed it would lift and we were leaving, but once 4pm rolled around, we decided to just stay another day.
The club happened to have a really nice BBQ dinner catered that evening, so we stayed for that and met a nice couple from Montreal that showed us the inside of their 36 ft Catalina (it was beautiful!) We also tried out our dinghy, which we hadnt blown up fully yet. It was a nice, lazy day.
Day 7: Whitby to Frenchmans Bay (Pickering, ON)
Today we headed from Whitby to Pickering, which was about a 2 hour sail in the light winds we were having. It was a beautiful day, and we really liked the place we docked in the bay. It's called a dockominium, and has some people year-round in their boats, with a few slips for visitors and more transient travelers.
We took a nice walk on the waterfront, had poutine (the best I have ever had... I had it last year and it remains #1!), and the next morning went to Port restaurant for a really tasty brunch.
We had to stay put in Whitby this day, because the fog was bad in the morning and never let up until almost 8pm! It was very strange—for half of the day we assumed it would lift and we were leaving, but once 4pm rolled around, we decided to just stay another day.
The club happened to have a really nice BBQ dinner catered that evening, so we stayed for that and met a nice couple from Montreal that showed us the inside of their 36 ft Catalina (it was beautiful!) We also tried out our dinghy, which we hadnt blown up fully yet. It was a nice, lazy day.
Day 7: Whitby to Frenchmans Bay (Pickering, ON)
Today we headed from Whitby to Pickering, which was about a 2 hour sail in the light winds we were having. It was a beautiful day, and we really liked the place we docked in the bay. It's called a dockominium, and has some people year-round in their boats, with a few slips for visitors and more transient travelers.
We took a nice walk on the waterfront, had poutine (the best I have ever had... I had it last year and it remains #1!), and the next morning went to Port restaurant for a really tasty brunch.
Day 8: Pickering to Bluffers Park
We had a great sail today! The wind was behind us, and a nice even 12-14 knots the whole way. We went about 10 nautical miles today, and arrived back at Bluffers Park Yacht Club, in Scarborough.
Not much else to say, except it was a beautiful day!
Pictured below: some pics from the boat, the contraption we made to get the halyard down from the top of the mast (and the following picture of Jeff holding the prize), some pictures from our walk around the marina, the ingredients for our new special boat drink called 'the sweet pea', and our nighttime entertainment, Boggle.
We had a great sail today! The wind was behind us, and a nice even 12-14 knots the whole way. We went about 10 nautical miles today, and arrived back at Bluffers Park Yacht Club, in Scarborough.
Not much else to say, except it was a beautiful day!
Pictured below: some pics from the boat, the contraption we made to get the halyard down from the top of the mast (and the following picture of Jeff holding the prize), some pictures from our walk around the marina, the ingredients for our new special boat drink called 'the sweet pea', and our nighttime entertainment, Boggle.
Day 9: Bluffers Park to home (Humber Bay)
For our last day, we had another beautiful sail. Even in light wind, we managed to sail all the way to the Toronto Island, before turning on the motor and motoring the rest of the way, through the Toronto harbour and back to the club.
Before we left, we enjoyed the great spot on the bluffs that looked over the bay. Sitting there and relaxing for a bit was a great way to end our trip!
Pictured: relaxation :), a giant herd of cormorants, and finally Sweet Pea... back on her trailer and waiting for the next exciting trip :)
For our last day, we had another beautiful sail. Even in light wind, we managed to sail all the way to the Toronto Island, before turning on the motor and motoring the rest of the way, through the Toronto harbour and back to the club.
Before we left, we enjoyed the great spot on the bluffs that looked over the bay. Sitting there and relaxing for a bit was a great way to end our trip!
Pictured: relaxation :), a giant herd of cormorants, and finally Sweet Pea... back on her trailer and waiting for the next exciting trip :)