Georgian Bay in a Wayfarer

[finding41]

Ian check out the Can/am Dinghy Cruising Association. In Yahoo groups.
In a member.... What ever that means...
We go on week long cruses about every 2-3 weeks in the summer. Ther are a couple people with cl16 and Wayfarers. I take my Siren 17 or my Mac26D.
We go where no one else goes! Typacly those light blue areas on the charts...
Look at Cunningham Island North of Britt on the Small Craft route. We had 7 boats anchored in the lagoon there. I 've had my Mac (18" draft) in twice.
Check out the group. Nice bunch of people.
Marty

[Foxwedge]

There's an idea. Going with some other folks! I'll join the can-am group asap. It's not my ultimate goal, but I'd feel a lot more comfortable with having others around to start with.
Going with one boat only, I'd need to recruit a friend to join me. With others, I'd consider single-handing. In some ways, I'd feel as much or more comfortable with the boat handling alone than with my buddy, even though he is very athletic and good with ropes and knots, being a rock climber, but who has no sailing experience (though I was planning to get him out for a couple days this summer in preparation).
I'm about to have a second child, so my abilities to get out this coming summer will be limited. Hence planning for the following.

Muskoka lakes... ok. Do you actually get enough wind there to go anywhere?

Thousand islands? Good idea, if there is camping to be had. It's actually much more convenient 'cause my boat is in Kingston. I'll look into it. I've paddled there, and yeah the currents are a thing - seemingly more because they'll slow you down travelling upstream than cause any real issue, though maybe I'm naive. Enough navigational challenge to be interesting. I like it.

I'd happily do a cruise in prince edward county, but it's all private land.

I am attracted to GB for lots of reasons, but mostly cause you can camp all over the place.

[Foxwedge]

Oh yeah - cunningham island. I see it. Looks much easier from a nav perspective. And fairly sheltered waters. That would be a more reasonable first trip. Perhaps that's a better place to start with.
Thanks!

[Ungvar]

Foxwedge, if you are in Kingston, start with the Thousand Islands.

Cedar Island has camping. Then sail down to Milton. Then down to Aubrey Island. Rip up the 40 acres back to Milton, Cedar and back to Kingston. Nice loop, minimal current, great camping.

I am part of Martys Can-Am group toi, but I have yet to make it out with them.

Currents don't become a big issue until you are well past Gananoque.

[Foxwedge]

Part of me thinks I'm just being paranoid - I mean, the rocks don't come from nowhere (or do they?). Usually you can see them, even underwater, unless the water is calm, in which case I won't be going very fast.
It's more an issue when something goes sideways wrt to boat handling or weather or both and then I need to find shelter and can't be looking at the chart all the time. And the fact that I don't have any windows in my sails...
I think I'll plan to go in the south end of the bay, perhaps with some others, and then work up to something more challenging.
thanks all for your input.
keep it coming if there is any more out there.
ID

[finding41]

Don't worry about wind. Just have a reliable little OB and a good anchor. (i use a Mantus 17 on my 26' and a Mantus 13 on my Siren 17.)
Amazing anchors!!!!!!
We tend to cruise where there is crown land in Georgian Bay. The thousand islands are nuts.... I don't know if any camping areas but I do know that if your draft is 1' it opens up a lot of oppertunaties!
The can/am group has a meet up in Wiarton Ont. Oct 19-21 at the town dock.
Come if you can. (free camping has been aranged.) it will be cold.
Marty

[Foxwedge]

I'm old school.
So far my most memorable experience of using gps nav (on the bay) was when it placed us a goodly distance from our actual location, and some good ol compass work straightened us out.
And I'm ambivalent on the outboard front. I don't have one, but was considering it.
Maybe it's time to change my ways and get some tech.

Thanks for the invite. Under normal circumstances i'd put on the drysuit and go sailing in october, but my baby is coming mid oct, so no outings for me this fall.... sad.
ID

[Foxwedge]

Oh yeah, thanks Ungvar,
I like that Cedar, to Aubrey idea. We used to go to cedar island as a day trip back in sailing camp....
So you can just show up and camp there? No permits no nothing?

[ayates]

Ref the Thousands Island suggestion. Nice location, but the wind isn't as good once you leave the Kingston / Lake Ontario area and move up the St. Lawrence. I prefer Georgian Bay; though I live a lot closer to Kingston.

Attached a few photos from my short trip from Parry Sound, out to Franklin Island (night there in Regatta Bay), circumnavigated it, lunch on The Pancakes, and then to Huckleberry Island (Boulder Bay) for the night. We did hit 3-4' waves and strong winds on our way back across the sound.


Allan.

[Ungvar]

Originally Posted by Foxwedge

Oh yeah, thanks Ungvar,
I like that Cedar, to Aubrey idea. We used to go to cedar island as a day trip back in sailing camp....
So you can just show up and camp there? No permits no nothing?

There is a fee. I think its about $18/night for tent camping. Each of the islands I listed has non reservable walk on sites. The wind is actually pretty decent well past Kingston. I find the sailing pretty decent until the river narrows at Wellsley Island. So there are several more islands you could include on your list.

If you don't want to pay the $18, then you could get an unlimited seasonal beaching pass for about $30 and stay on your boat.

[Ungvar]

With regards to wind in the 1000 Islands, these are pics I shot this summer rounding Aubrey Island into Gananoque. F5 approaching F6. Those winds a fairly common, even in the summer. Not a problem for a Wayfarer, but you would very likely be reefed. At the time of this photo, I was double reefed and still sailing at 6 knots.



I would consider an outboard to be very optional on a Wayfarer.

[ayates]

Here are a selection of books that might be helpful...


Allan.

[Edward Bairstow]

Originally Posted by Foxwedge

Hi All, New here... Not sure if this is the right section to be posting in, because my question has a few dimensions to it.
I am planning a first cruise in my CL 16 on Georgian Bay (likely summer 2021), and looking for some wisdom.
I have kayaked in these waters, and sailed in Kingston, but I have no cruising experience and am looking for some guidance regarding route and contingency planning. I realize these can be challenging waters, and my questions may reveal my inexperience. Please bear with me.

Route: Britt to Parry Sound

In general, do folks in a boat of this type (relatively shallow draft, smaller displacement, pivoting centerboard) stick to the small craft channels, or more freely wander? If you're wandering, do you aim to know precisely where you are at all times, to avoid hitting rocks, or mostly just keep your eyes open?
It makes sense to me that one would escape the vessel-choked channel and make headway on the outside. In these cases, do you aim to always know your precise position, or just the general lay of the land? (When kayaking, having a couple reference points is enough, because hitting rocks is a non-issue.)
If the weather gets heavy while on the outside (more open water) and you need to find shelter, would you just use your eyes to guide you into a bay, or heave-to and plot a detailed route in through one of the deeper channels? Do you aim to know where you are, precisely, even when in deep water?

I suspect the answer will be: On the outside, you need a general idea of where you are, and in the channels you really ought to know more exactly.


In a kayak, you can find your way with a little more trial and error, with no consequence. In my experience out there, I have seldom seen water that I could not comfortably sail in, but once you add in the danger of hitting rocks, I get a bit more nervous. In light airs, moving through the shallows I don't see as a big issue. My fear is about what to do if the weather gets gusty while I'm a little off-shore and I want to come in for shelter. Navigating to exactitude while managing a dinghy in tough conditions seems unrealistic. Does that mean I'm not ready for the cruise?
How do you guys approach your way-finding, planning and escape routes?

thanks
Ian

Georgian Bay offers unparalleled opportunities for open-boat cruising, and with a few precautions, long passages can be made in relative safety. A friend and I sailed his CL-16 across the Bay from Lion’s Head to Cedar Point, on the mainland just south of Christian Island. The 53nm passage took 13.5 hours and included some delightful sailing, two hours of calm off Cape Croker, and a rough and windy end to the trip as we rounded the north-eastern tip of Hope Island in the dark under jib alone. Navigation in open water was by dead reckoning with chart and compass, with bearings taken once in sight of land again. A hand-held Garmin GPS unit was used to cross-check our position as we approached islands in the dark, but otherwise, the skipper preferred to rely on courses drawn on paper charts that he had laminated to protect from spray.
Lessons learned included a reminder that forecasts can change, or be wrong; that an ETA is truly an estimate; and that you cannot rely on getting a decent mobile phone signal in the middle of the Bay or at some points along its coasts. We were almost at the end of our voyage before we could send a text message, and did so only five minutes before the person ashore who held our passage plan was due to ring Sarnia Coast Guard Radio to get them to try to reach us on VHF.
Another year we did a day trip from the town of Parry Sound, out through the Sound to Kilbear Point, down the Rose Island Channel and back again. This trip whetted our appetite to explore further north, something we have planned for next year. The scenery is georgeous, and the rocks are real. We stuck to the buoyed channels and had no trouble, but were anxious at the end of each tack as we reached the edge of safe water. The high water levels of recent years give an added safety margin.
By all means, cruise Georgian Bay in your CL-16. It is as good as the North Sea or the Channel, which are regularly crossed by Wayfarers every year. Best of all, there are no tides - except at Little Current, apparently. Be ready reef or take in sail as necessary; a CL/Wayfarer sails well under reefed main alone, or under jib alone on any point of sail except close-hauled. Take the usual precautions of good seamanship and all should be well. Best of luck. -Ed.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Edward.
Thanks for your excellent report.

[dmclean]

Can-Am Dinghy Cruising Association is a good resource of individuals who cruise Britt / Parry Sound area in smaller boats under 20'. This includes Mirror Dinghy's, Wayfarers, and a Guppy. We have also been to Lake Superior several times. We are now on groups.io, having migrated from Yahoo. You may want to look us up!