I’m anchored in Collins Bay just west of Kingston. Left Toronto Monday about 5:00 PM and got in here at noon Tuesday. Lovely trip, about 140 nm.
Bugs on the windscreen
Leaving Toronto
Sunrise over Prince Edward County
More bugs!
A front has just passed through, and I’ll head east tomorrow. Meeting family in Ganaoque Friday.
All systems are working well. Still have some work to do to get ready for big water, but can putter away at that on the Rideau. I still haven’t commissioned the generator – I need some fuel fittings – but am quite comfortable without it. This weekend will be a test to see how cooking on 12v goes.
I’m struck by how comfortable the boat is. I did a similar trip on Mazurka a few years ago and stayed on the flybridge most of the way. It’s much more civilized in the pilot house.
My journalist friend Rob was out for a harbour cruise with me this weekend and he asked me why I chose this boat. I started to answer, but realized it was long and complicated. Later Sarah remarked on how nimble and maneuverable the boat is. So, back story…
My first job was as a tender operator at Bedford Basin Yacht Club. I started when I was 12 years old and worked at it through my teens. Most likely the youngest and possibly the oldest on record. Best summer job ever. If you need further explanation, think water taxi, taking passengers back and forth from their moored boats.
I was driving outboard powered boats. A bit later in life as I roamed the world a bit, I found a few clubs and harbours used the Crosby Launch and I fell in love with those boats. Tough, stable, maneuverable.
Crosby Launch
A bit later, the first big power boat I ever dreamed of owning was a Willard 30. This was about 1991 when I came across one in the great lakes.
Willard 30
I really had the Willard as a benchmark boat when I bought Mazurka.
Escapade started out life as a super sized Crosby Launch. That’s what attracted me. it was built to navy specs as a tender. So I was confident that the design and build were to my liking, and confident that I would enjoy maneuvering in close quarters, which is important to me.
Beyond that, Escapade met the criteria outlined in an earlier post.
This also might help to explain the opening photo in this post.
I should say that I’m exceedingly happy with my choice.
I’m underway. Left Marina Quay West this afternoon after the rain stopped and am now anchored in Outer Harbour.
I think I mentioned earlier that I was getting an AIS transponder. For now it’s always on when underway, so I’m very easy to track. My MMSI is 316038777.
I’m in the area for a few days for provisioning and family visits, then off to Kingston next week. Rideau Canal opens the 28th, and I have family visiting aboard next weekend in the Thousand Islands. Weather looks pretty benign for the trip down the lake. Will have to go outside Prince Edward County as I think the Murray Canal doesn’t open until the 28th.
These four pictures were taken from tonight’s stop in the Toronto Islands. Beautiful here.
Here in Toronto and Ontario we are just getting over the worst wave yet in the pandemic. A month ago we went into a stay-at-home order. Today it was announced that recreational boating will be permitted starting Saturday.
So I’ll be on my way. Planning to noodle down to Kingston, meet family there for a couple.of days in the Thousand Islands, then head up the Rideau for Ottawa.
Nova Scotia is closed to visitors right now, but I expect that things are going to get better. I hope I can have a path to getting there in July. We’ll see.
Boat is pretty much ready. I was dawdling on finishing up a few things but the recent beautiful weather got me energized.
Davits are on, and the boat hung. Easy to get on the platform when the dinghy is there. I like it.
Still at Marina Quay West. I’m now in the middle of a movie set.
They’ve been setting up since Thursday, and it all goes down tonight, apparently with a boat getaway. I’ve got a good seat for the action! Jason Mamoa is the star. Susan says I’ll recognize him if I see him.
I took the cover off today. It’s nice to see the great outdoors.
I was also relieved that my new anchor fits well on the roller. I was confident until I got it. It’s a beast.
Countdown is on. I’m off the dock in less than three weeks, and am poking away at my lists. All good.
I got my first Covid vaccine today. Toronto’s infection rate is at an all time high, but everyone in my bubble has now been vaccinated. Kathleen got hers a couple of weeks ago.
I’m not in any rush when I leave here. Will noodle down to Collins Bay near Kingston and hang there for a few days to finish up a few things and update some gear. There is a very good chandlery there, with an anchorage and dock. After that it’s up the Rideau Canal after it opens May 21.
The new dinghy is most satisfactory. I cleaned out the carburetor on my old outboard – it hadn’t been running well since I sank the dinghy in 2019. Now it’s running like a top. I’m impressed with the boat based on solo operation. Easy to plane and stable at speed. Much better than my old Avon 310. The extra length helps a lot I suspect. Bigger tubes too, so it feels like a much bigger boat.
I had been planning to build a floor in the anchor locker, but to my surprise found one there when I removed the chain. The previous owner told me that the locker drained into the bilge. There were holes drilled in the floor.
It turned out that it drained into a section of the bow contained by a watertight bulkhead, and I found a compartment full of water. There was a hole for cabling that allowed it to drain with a couple of feet of water in it. Looked like it had been there forever, with marine plywood delaminated. I’ve pumped it out and run a heater in there to dry things out. Not concerned. The boat is massively built, and the folks doing the conversion used 1″ marine ply everywhere. Originally it had a watertight collision bulkhead and lifting point in the bow, but that was all removed to create the berth.
I’ve confirmed that the floor is a few inches above the waterline so I’ll plug the holes in the floor and drill a drain through the hull.
Since I’m not building anything there I’m back to using the eye for the anchor snubber. Will post pics when it’s set up.
I just came across a sister boat on the west coast. Neat! Some good pics on the project and I like the aesthetic. The bulwark looks really interesting.
I’m itching to get going. Picked up my new dinghy today.
New dink.
And I have a travel plan. I’m going to do a reverse great loop. East out the St Lawrence, around Nova Scotia, down the east coast of the US to Florida, across to the Gulf of Mexico, then up the rivers to Chicago.
I like big loops. And I like to keep moving. This books in the next year or so. Summer 2022 I really want to get back to sailing in Ontario. I’ll either arrive back on Escapade in the spring or leave Escapade on the rivers somewhere and return in the fall.
My winter dockage is ending at the end of April. I’ll be leaving Toronto in early May, noodling east for the opening of the Rideau Canal, then up to Ottawa, down to Montreal and down the river.
I had been thinking of exploring Labrador and Newfoundland, but I think that’s too ambitious. As usual I’ll make plans on the fly. No time constraints other than seasonal, and I’m happy to be a straggler heading south.
I think Escapade will be a fine river runner, and I’ve been itching to head north from Mobile. I really want to explore the Tennessee and Ohio rivers.
I’ve designed out extra tankage and will order and install in the US before that segment. Apart from that I’ve solved for all the major boat issues, I think. Time to put down some miles…
The question is a bit of an inside joke in my family. We had a bit of a problem with bicycles, and maintained a household cap of 15 for years. Getting a new bike was OK but you had to give one up.
That for me was a good exercise. It sort of forced examination of the use case for each bike, how wide or narrow the bike’s range of activities, and how much you needed those capabilities.
I think I’m at equilibrium with boats. Here’s the fleet.
Escapade you know already if you’ve been reading along. This boat is my traveling home. 2021 will be my first full season with this boat, and I’ve been doing lots of improvements over the winter.
New for 2021 is a brand new inflatable, a Highfield 340 ultralight. I’m excited about this. Will be putting my 15 hp Yamaha 2 stroke on it. Related to this, I have a new set of stern davits ready to install.
Tin Lizzie is a 31′ racing sailboat that I own with Samantha and Sarah. I wanted a fast boat to sail solo through the great lakes and had a blast doing that in 2019. There is an active shorthanded racing fleet on Lake Ontario, and I hope to join them. But probably not until 2022. Boat is shrink wrapped on the trailer.
We also have a Snipe. I like these boats, and there is an active and competitive fleet at Guelph Lake. Samantha and Sarah go club racing, and Sarah and I have done occasional regattas.
I haven’t sailed my Laser much in recent years. Sarah has been using it occasionally in Guelph. In 2021 it’s going on the deckhouse on Escapade. I still have aspirations of doing more Laser racing. There is a great Masters fleet in Toronto.
There. Five. That feels about right.
I should also mention that I have an old inflatable free for the taking. It’s in Guelph. 9′ Zeppelin aluminum RIB with hypalon tubes. Needs a patch.
Boating Adventures 