Ahoy from Frenchman's Bay, Ontario

[M-D]

Greetings All,

My name is Marty, and along with my wife Deb, we sail our 1983 Hunter 33 out of Pickering on Lake Ontario. This is our first boat, which we've now had since 2007, and we're loving every minute. We have aspirations of living aboard in a couple years in warmer climes, and Cruisers Forum looks like the site that will answer questions and help prepare us for the adventures ahead.

Cheers,

Marty

[muskoka]

Welcome.

I learned to sail Lasers in Frenchmans Bay. And my dad kept a Northern 25 there for a number of years.

This is a great forum for meeting like-minded sailors.

Cheers

[Unicorn Dreams]

Welcome Aboard Cruisers Forum Marty

[S/V Alchemy]

Ahoy, Marty...with the higher water in the lake this year, can a boat with a six-foot draft get into Frenchman's?

I've avoided it because I've heard it's often a mucky pond.

[M-D]

Good morning Alchemy,

Yes, the high water is making a huge difference this year. You can expect 7 to 10 feet in the channel and 8 to 12 in the bay. A 6 foot draft should be no problem until September. We draft 5'3" and had to stop mid September last year.

The break water on the lake side is difficult to see because of the water level so line up between the outer makers and stay in the center. When reaching shore favour the center to east side of channel when past the the red bouy. It's pretty safe right up to the metal seawall on the east side. Don't cut the corner after the seawall, keep on course to the pair of bouys in the bay. Your in.

From there it's a safe depth to FBYC to the west. If you come east to the marina, keep closer to the docks. It's a wide two lane channel, but can get shallow fast if you head back toward the spit.

The channel can fill in with sand after a hard southerly blow, and is normally hard bottom. The bay is mostly soft with about 6" of muck. Overnight anchoring is good in the northwest end.

When leaving try to stay on center through the channel. The west side near shore looks inviting but is very shallow. And it's sometimes easier to allow oncoming boats through first if they are larger.

Send me a note if you're coming and I can give you an update.

Cheers

[S/V Alchemy]

Invaluable local knowledge! Thanks and I will cut and paste this into the log. We usually just go non-stop from the west side of Toronto Island to Cobourg (a long day...) with the occasional stop in Whitby, but it would be nice to pop into Frenchman's just to hang out. It is also just blocks away from my in-laws' house, and they are always keen to see their grandson.

FBYC should advertise your instructions. A lot of people from the downtown Toronto clubs with boats over 27 feet avoid FB because it has traditionally been way too easy to scrape off the antifoul in there. But current events mean it's far less likely to eat sand.

I draw six feet in a Viking 33. Thanks again.

[SkiprJohn]

Aloha and welcome aboard!
Its good to have you here.
kind regards,

[M-D]

Hi SkiprJohn,

Thanks for the welcome from abroad.

Marty

[floating clancy]

Ahoy Marty! I just got my 1980 35 scorpio this week out of st catherines also my first boat. Just so happy my 3 year search is over! We are having a hard time deciding between port darlington or Whitby for slip but will have to decide soon. Looking forward to seeing you out there Cheers Clayton

[S/V Alchemy]

Whitby is very nice, but I find the 20 amp service and long walk to the road...and then another long walk to "civilization" a little daunting. The place was made for a folding bike on the foredeck. I've never called in at Port Darlington.

[Stonefloat]

Greetings Marty .... Fond memories learning how to sail out of Frenchmans bay 1972 ....see you "out there"

[M-D]

Hi Clayton, welcome aboard. Nice facilities at Whitby but I agree about the long walk. I've never been to Darlington but have heard that it has some shallow spots. Frenchmens Bay is no better right now with the low water levels. Hopefully in May it will get bumped up a bit. Lots of work being done to our channel entrance. When all is done there should be a safe deep approach to the Bay. However the rest of the Bay will still be shallow, and weedy unless the Harbour Commission does something about it.

[S/V Alchemy]

Don't get me started on those corrupt jobbing villains. You'd do better to lash shovels to boathooks and have a collective dig.