Aug 17, Picton, ON

Today we head across Lake Ontario to Canada.

Leaving the harbor at Oswego, NY.

Lake Ontario has a bit of windy weather forecast for today. The weather report says winds of 10-15 mph and wave height forecast to be 2-3 feet. We decided to try to cross the 35 miles of open water from Oswego, NY to Canada as the weather forecast for the rest of the week is for stronger winds than today. We can see waves breaking over the breakwater but do not think the breaking waves are as high as yesterday when we arrived in Oswego. Our plan is to stick our nose out into Lake Ontario and if conditions are ok, the we will continue, and if conditions are not good enough we will return to port and wait out the weather. In cruising we always have to be prepared “not to go”.

We got underway early, about 7:30, as the winds usually are stronger in the afternoon, and found the winds slightly higher than forecast, more like 15-20 and the wave height was 3-5 feet. Conditions were ok for our boat and we decide to head on. We made our way north at about 15 knots, in bouncy conditions and made landfall about 2 ½ hours later at Prince Edward Bay where the land sheltered the bay from the wind and the waves were less than one foot. We cleaned up the spilled items in the kitchen and decided that the crossing was ok but we were glad we did not have to do these open water crossings very often. Good news was the boat was covered in spray after spray of FRESH water and not salt water. Most of the dirt from the Erie Canal has been rinsed off in the process. We motored another 10 miles north and entered the Bay of Quinte. Bay of Quinte is a long narrow bay, running generally from east to west with high walls (50-100 feet) on either side , little development and lots of trees. Bay of Quinte is a very pretty cruising area with several nice towns to visit.

Some large industrial plants border the Bay of Quinte.

We motored another 20 miles west to the Canadian town of Picton, Ontario, and cleared Canadian customs by phone from the marina desk. Could not have been easier. By the time we arrive in Picton, the wind is much stronger (waves were one to two feet even in the bay) and we are very glad to have the open water crossing behind us. Our marina is “Tip of the Bay Inn and Marina” and is located at the tip of the pretty little protected bay. This is a very attractive, secure spot and a nice finish to an active day.

Sailboat at the Tip of the Bay Marina with lots of "Teddy Bears" aboard. Click on any picture to enlarge.

Must be a story here.

We hiked up the fifty foot high hill and explored the nice town of Picton which has a main street of about a half mile of shops and an old theater that is still used in the summer for plays, concerts and movies.

Downtown Picton

Old Regent Theater from the early 1900's.