Advice 1 week charter from Kingston

[Ludivine]

Hello!
We will be chartering a 30 feet sail boat in July for one week starting from Kingston.
A we have never been in this area, we would appreciate some recommendation for must see places, nice anchorages, places to avoid, etc.
Advice are very welcome as it will also be our first time chartering after getting our intermediate sailing certification
Thank you!
Ludivine

[skipmac]

Which Kingston? There are several on bodies of water where it might be possible to go boating: Ontario, Jamaica, UK.

[Ludivine]

As my post is in the Great Lakes section, it is in Kingston ON.

[Founts]

Hi Ludivine,

I just completed by Basic Cruising course and we did 6 days in the Kingston area. As it was midweek (Sun to Fri) we basically had the water all to ourselves!

There is a popular Anchorage called Kerr Bay on Amherst Island (we had it to ourselves) and we also had Cedar Island all to ourselves - it's part of a national park that makes up 19 islands in the area. We stayed at the dock there (there was a self service pay station) and there were awesome public washrooms there (no showers). We also spent a night at Confederation Basin which puts you walking distance to any kind of festival going on in Kingston, as well as a ton of great restaurants. That depends if you want to go secluded or see a part of the city

I just bought the Ontario ports book and it has AMAZING information about anchorages and things to see in the area. They just updated it in 2015 and I read it some evenings just to see where I can go when I buy my boat (crosses fingers, Survey June 24th!)

I live in the Kingston area and know the land parts really well, but just starting my on water exploration.

Hope some of that helps

Sent from my SM-G928W8 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[scargo]

Waupoos Island is a nice place.

Latitude: 43°59.939'N
Longitude: 076°58.687'W

Be sure your anchor holds before going to sleep.

[Mirage35]

Others with more experience will no doubt chime in; based on a week's course out of Collins Bay and knowledge of the area from land, I would say you have a first decision to make:
- east to the Thousand Islands area; very nice but possibly crowded depending on timing, and needing some attention to navigation;
- west towards Bay of Quinte, more open, probably still crowded at busy periods, perhaps more opportunity to get out on Lake Ontario proper if that interests you.

The Ports Lake Ontario cruising guide is helpful.

And, finally, I'm curious: who are you chartering with out of Kingston? I'm looking at the area for next summer and there don't seem to be many options, but maybe you've discovered one I don't know about.

[wayne.b]

Originally Posted by AnglaisInHull

Others with more experience will no doubt chime in; based on a week's course out of Collins Bay and knowledge of the area from land, I would say you have a first decision to make:
- east to the Thousand Islands area; very nice but possibly crowded depending on timing, and needing some attention to navigation;
- west towards Bay of Quinte, more open, probably still crowded at busy periods, perhaps more opportunity to get out on Lake Ontario proper if that interests you.

The Ports Lake Ontario cruising guide is helpful.

And, finally, I'm curious: who are you chartering with out of Kingston? I'm looking at the area for next summer and there don't seem to be many options, but maybe you've discovered one I don't know about.

===

There is a third option, depending on the size of the boat, to go north on the Rideau Canal. We did that 16 years ago and remember it as one of our best cruises ever.

Parks Canada - Rideau Canal National Historic Site - Rideau Canal National Historic Site of Canada

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rideau_Canal

[Tetepare]

Day 1: Prinyer's Cove
Day 2: Picton
Day 3: Wapoose
Day 4: Milton or Cedar Island
Day 5: Leek (Thartway) Island
Day 6: Endymion Island (anchor north shore)
Day 7: Sail Kingston area

This schedule though is more cruising, less sailing, because there's not a lot of sailing space up in the islands. If you want more sailing, after Wapoose go to Main Duck before heading into the islands.

If you need provisions when in the islands, Gananoque is a quick dingy trip.

[Kim Gregory]

Kingston area attractions we enjoyed last year, nearby on the American side of the Sr. Lawrence:

Boldt Castle

There is a US Customs dock at the castle, and clearing in and docking for the day was no charge and easy. Make sure to get tickets that give you a tour of the boat house. So tall, they can house the sailboats with the mast standing!

Clayton New York: Antique Boat Museum, Clayton Yacht Club ( East side of French Creek Bay, at Bartlett Point ) Friendly little town!

Another thumbs up for Waupoos! Dinghy to the winery dock, and walk up the hill to get your Waupoos Cider !