Late season sail (Lake Ontario)

[Tetepare]

Well, summer is definitely over, though we were swimming two weeks ago.

Water temperature in the lake was 58F/14C, and the algae has crashed, so I could see the bottom clearly in a whopping 43ft/14m!

There were a total of four sailboats on the lake that I could see. More than that are on the hard.

Let's hope for one more nice weekend. Boats in our marina have a mandatory 01 Nov haulout, though I tend to push it a couple days.

[30yearslater]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

Well, summer is definitely over, though we were swimming two weeks ago.

Water temperature in the lake was 58F/14C, and the algae has crashed, so I could see the bottom clearly in a whopping 43ft/14m!

There were a total of four sailboats on the lake that I could see. More than that are on the hard.

Let's hope for one more nice weekend. Boats in our marina have a mandatory 01 Nov haulout, though I tend to push it a couple days.

I was out there. You just can't see that far. Seriously though, the water level is now the big problem. The marina I store at has hauled everyone with a six foot draft or more. The lake level has dropped so fast the slip is at 6 feet. I'm 4 feet so I can go another week but I will be calling it a season then. Oh well it was a terrific year overall. Could have been warmer in April instead of March.

[mottseng]

So sad....I really hate this time of year. Sure the colours are beautiful, nice sleeping weather at night and no bugs, but the boat is coming out. I too want one more weekend up in Georgian Bay before haul out on Oct 28th. Was a great summer though !!!

[30yearslater]

What a way to go out. Small craft advisories, strong winds, big waves, great company and even Matthews' outer bands in the east. Despite that the trip to the haulout is like taking a beloved dog to the vet to be euthanized. Oh well plenty to do to get ready for next spring. When you only get six months of sailing in a year it just seems so much sweeter.

[Mike OReilly]

Our marina hauls with a crane, so we had to come out a couple of weeks ago at the pre-scheduled time (or not come out at all). I've been lamenting the beautiful days we lost, but even three weeks ago when we sailed back into our marina in Belleville we barely made it back in. Our 6' keel dredged a trench through the massive weed banks and through the entrance of the marina. Had we arrived back a week later I don't think we could have got back in.