Belleville to Port Credit Boat Delivery

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of 9 to 11 May 2016 I will be Skippering the delivery of Franklin's newly acquired 1989 CS 36 Merlin named Rona Cara from the Bay of Quinte Yacht Club to the Port Credit Marina.

Proposed Route for 170 Nm Passage

Not sure of the route yet as there was a rumour of an early opening of the Murray Canal for this weekend which would help immensely in the trip duration. Instead of 170 nm via the Bay of Quinte and Adolphus Reach - it would only be about 130 nm via the Canal and Presqu'ile Bay.

Monday will be commissioning and trials with evening port destination to be determined. If weather permits we might make a night sail of it.

Day One...

After getting picked by Pat Sturgeon at my house, it was a 2 hour drive to Belleville and the Bay of Quinte Yacht Club where Rona Cara was moored.
 
Some adjustments and installation of the Auto Helm - we were off for the Town of Picton where we would be dropping Sharon and Pat for their retrun home by independent cars. Franklin and I would carry on to Prinyer's Cove where we could dock at a small marina.

We had a great sail downwind, flying the cruising chute for a bit before reaching down to Picton. There was a nice 20 Kt wind that blew a bit cold and then was on the nose. The channel was too narrow to be tacking so the sails went down and we motored along into port.

A good motor along Adolphus Reach brought us into Prinyer's Cove - no one answered our radio call so we just put into dock. It was a short berth which would have been better to be transom in rather than bow in.

Franklin made a great dinner and before you knew it our heads were on the pillow.

Day Two...

 

Prinyer's Cove

We woke up to very calm conditions. It confirmed our intentions of going the long route around Prince Edward County rather than waiting for the Murray Canal to open 10 days from now. Franklin had gotten much advice about how ill conceived our plan was to deal with this nasty bit of water and shoreline.

Docked at Prinyer's Cove Marina

The whole day was spent motoring with some motor sailing. There was consideration to sail through the night but I was concerned that we did not have a confident read on fuel consumption to risk another 12+ hours of engine use without refueling.

Shipping Traffic in the Shipping Channel South of Prince Edward County

The Glassy Smooth Waters Below Scotch Bonnet Island

About 15 mile out of Cobourg we decide to put in at the marina and refuel in the morning. It had been a long day anyways.

Franklin treated me to a fish and chips dinner and a beer at the Cat and Fiddle in Cobourg - a nice treat.

To bed early  again - a full day doing nothing on the water is also very tiring.

Day Three...

 

Refueling in Cobourg Marina

Another clear and sunny day greeted us. After breakfast of pancakes and it was off to the Fuel Dock for refueling. Engine was checked, a little oil in the bilge. Weather was checked and off we went for a final day's 12 hour passage to Port Credit Marina.

Being closer to the north shore of the lake made it more interesting to observe the rolling hills of the nearby landscape.

I was able to take 3 sets of sextant sights for a S - R - S - R - S and accurate enough to be within 10 nm of actual GPS position - not too bad but could be better. I might need to be more accurate in determining DIP and IE. The sight reductions were all done on my StarPilot calculator - no tables - so it was done fairly quickly - about 10 minutes per sight.

We made good progress back to Toronto and PCM in getting to our final destination just before dark.

Approaching Skyline of Toronto

All in all an enjoyable experience on a very solid boat. Using Auto Helm made it all a very easy driving experience. And of course having agreeable weather was in our favour as well.

GPS Track...

 

It ended up being a 188 nm passage.

3 Day GPS Track