Weekend Cruise to NOTL

On the weekend of 28 and 29 May 2016, John and I will be sailing across the west end of Lake Ontario out of Port Credit to Niagara-on-the-Lake. It is about a 30 nm passage. Franklin has kindly let us use his boat Rona Cara as he will be away. Hopefully we can do this kind of cruise with him another time.

Proposed Route

The plan is to provision, prepare, stay on the boat on Friday night for an earlyish departure on Saturday morning. Depending on winds, it might be a 6 hour crossing. An overnight berth has been reserved at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Sailing Club. We have a spot on the wall next to the Niagara River. Supposedly there is a decent current that will need to be navigated on approach to the wall.

Niagara-on-the-Lake Sailing Club

Day One - Saturday, 28 May 2016

After gathering John at his condo it was off to the No Frills store in Port Credit for some basic provisioning. Checkouts on the boat, engine and stowing of gear, food and belongings took us to an 0945 departure - earlier than anticipated.

Leaving PCM Behind

Winds were forecast to be light (6 to 8 Kts from the SSW), sails were hoisted and it was a leisurely 4 to 5 Kt ride across to the other side of the Lake. Our course was not direct and we tacked once closer to the south shore to get to NOTL.

After the tack, winds very light and progress would be slow so we decided to motor sail the rest of the way. After a short time, all sails were dropped as no benefit was being provided.

On approach to NOTL, we crossed the Niagara Bar using the chartplotter to weave between some low spots of 8 to 10 feet of depth. Tide rips and current were met at the mouth of the Niagara River. Coming into the wall of the NOTL Sailing Club was less of an experience than anticipated - there was minimal current to contend with.

Niagara-on-the-Lake Sailing Club

Docking was routine, on tie up with shore power and a look around to find the officer in charge - it quickly became time for a beer. It was a cool ride over the Lake with a bit of wind but on arrival the heat became evident and the need to take on fluids was strong.

NOTL Sailing Club were in party mood as some function at their club house was in full swing. For us it was off to the pub (The Old Angel Inn) in town for a fish and chips dinner and a beer. Downtown NOTL was quite busy with lots of people about in the warm weather.

Returning back to the club brought us to a party in full swing with dance band and music. It was a leisurely night sitting in the cockpit relaxing and watching boats on the river. The Youngstown fort was clearly visible on the point across the river from NOTL.

Youngstown Fort Across the Niagara River

Local Water Craft

Off to bed for an early 0800 start back to PCM in the morning. Winds were expected to be good for the crossing.

Day Two - Sunday, 29 May 2016

We woke up to bright sunshine, it was another beautiful day. After an engine check and other preparations - had some coffee and yoghurt to get started. We would have breakfast out on the water a bit later.

A Very Fine Sailing Vessel at NOTL Sailing Club, a Valiant 32

The Light Beacon at NOTL Sailing Club

Rona Cara on the Wall

Leaving the dock was an easy departure - there hadn't been a lot of visitors on the wall with us. We motored downstream in the river and out to cross the bar once again. Went out the same route in reverse and once over increased to cruising speed. There was no wind, water was glassy smooth.

A Flock of Cormorants Crossing Our Bow Mid Lake

After a while, we put up the sails to motor sail and get some benefit. Most of the crossing was made with little to no wind until we get closer to Port Credit. Wind ripples started to appear on the water and we decided to finish the trip with a nice sail back.

Getting closer to Port Credit at 1300 made us decide to stay out longer and just sail around as the winds were light but getting a bit stronger. After awhile, skies were starting to cloud over and get misty and we thought to finish the trip. Sails were dropped and we motored into the berth.

A quick tidy up, stowage, packing and cleaning of the boat - and it was off and back to our homes.

The weather had been very nice, warm and light wind conditions for the trip which yielded more motoring than sailing. Fun nonetheless. Many thanks to Franklin for the use of Rona Cara, which sails effortlessly when underway.

Our GPS track for the 71.6 nm passage...

Actual GPS Track to NOTL and Return