Month: May 2023

As planned, I made it up to Peterborough on Saturday to meet Samantha, Sarah and Susan.  Weather has been calm and sunny, and it’s now quite  warm.

Susan stayed aboard Sunday after Samantha and Sarah headed out, and we’re now on a leisurely cruise back to Toronto.  Tonight we’re anchored here in Percy Reach.  Nice spot, though I’m constantly bothered by the lack of fauna.

The photo above is one of Susan’s from her 120 or so taken today. I quite like it. I’ll have her provide a compilation later. In the meantime here are a few of my pice.

I’ve rejoined Water Rats in Toronto and will be racing Laser there this weekend. The following weekend is Snipe racing with Sarah in Guelph. After that my plan is to head down the lake to Oswego NY and do a return trip on the Erie Canal west to Lockport. Then north to Lake Huron in July.

I arrived back this afternoon. I really like this spot. It’s well off the road, and the gate is locked when the operation is closed. It’s not a popular stopping point, so lots of privacy.

Having the motorcycle aboard has worked well. I brought back an electric winch that should make solo loading and unloading safe and easy.

I have family visiting aboard for most of the next ten days or so, with tentative plans to be back in Toronto June 2. Weather looks lovely through that period.

I arrived at Lock 1 late yesterday, and today got cleaned up and organized while waiting for the waterway to open tomorrow. There are no other boats here.

Tomorrow I’ll go up a couple of locks, then hop on the scooter and leave Escapade for a few days.

The dinghy is fabulous with the new motor. Top speed is over 45 km/hr, and it’s smooth, quiet and fuel efficient. I went up the Salmon River in it, and have zipped into Trenton a couple of times from here to eat out.

Weather has been sunny and cool. Got 4.3 kwh from solar today, a new best I think.

Spotted a Windy 26 in Trenton. Cool boats.

Samantha and Sarah came Friday night, and we had a nice couple of days exploring the Thousand Islands. Stayed Saturday night at Georgina Island.

On Sunday after dropping them off in Collins Bay I came into the Bay of Quinte and anchored here. Today I zipped into town in the dinghy.

This week I’ll noodle down the Bay of Quinte. Napanee tomorrow. I like this area. Weather is lovely, I’m well protected from strong winds today.

After spending two nights in Colbourne I left early Tuesday morning and headed over to Prince Edward County. The Murray Canal isn’t open yet for the season, so it’s out and around.

I’ve explored this area in the past, but hadn’t been into Weller’s Bay Lake before, so poked in. I ended up close to Consecron, so anchored here and tried out the new kayak to go ashore for a late lunch. I have to work on entry and exit…

I would have stayed the night around there, but there was a bit of wind forecast for Wednesday so I headed back out and came around the peninsula, arriving in Collins Bay at about 0300 and anchoring here.

Today I went ashore and had a nice dinner at Bella’s. Last time I was here was three years ago, when many of the local restaurants were closed.

I was out on Saturday for some fun racing. I love the quick windward/leeward format.

That’s me in the foreground. I want to spend more time in my ILCA dinghy. Thanks to RC Andrew for the pic.

I’m anchored in Colbourne Harbour. Left Toronto this morning and noodled along the shore. Calm and rainy late in the day. I stopped just after dark.

It feels really good to be back underway. I’m also happy to be out of Toronto. I may stay here for a couple of days.

The next week or so looks like perfect weather. Samantha and Sarah are planning a visit Sat-Mon and the Thousand Islands are always a hit.

I think I’ve solved the hop-on, hop off challenge with the scooter. Maybe we’ll try it. They could hop on in Kingston, we’d stop in Gananoque, and I’d take the scooter back to retrieve their car, then get dropped off at the scooter. Need a good dock, but there’s one there.

The only pics I’ve taken since my last post are these:

I took them intending to send them to my friend David. We’d been chatting about fuel economy and my faith in old cars. His kids are into diesel VWs. I bought a 2005 Prius with 355,000 km from a stranger and left for Florida in it a few days later.

The car is serving me well. I confounded Sarah by easily packing my winter frame into it and having space to carry a few radiators as well. It’s living underground in Toronto when I’m not using it, easily accessible by GO.

I’m underway for the season.

Tonight I’m anchored here in the Toronto Islands. My plan is to head for the Thousand Islands next week, then back through the Bay of Quinte and into the Trent Severn Canal, which opens May 19.

That’s my Silverwing 600 perched on the deck. Easy to load and unload from the dock.

You’ll also notice a new kayak on top. I’ve also replaced my outboard with a shiny new Tohatsu 20 HP. Yee haw!

I’m going to be practicing multimodal transport this summer. My plan is to stay between here and Sault Ste Marie with Escapade, but be able to spend more time in Toronto and Guelph.

I picked up a new car over the winter. Sold our old Rondo and bought a 2005 Prius. Great car. It’s parked at Susan’s and is easy to pick up any time.

I’ve also finally figured out how to capture waste engine heat for cabin heat and hot water. RTFM. Works great.

Beyond that the boat is in good order. I still have a few fairly urgent items on my to-do list, but plan to have lots of down time to get them addressed.

Escapade is almost in summer travel mode. Uncovered and cleaned up. More later, but I took a few pics.