It's been a long time since Ed and I travelled to an unfamiliar harbour. On Saturday we made the 40 nautical mile trip from Sackets Harbor, NY to Waupoos, ON, in Prince Edward County. The wind was great, and in fact we had to put in a reef in the main sail, but still managed to top 7 knots! There was a high wind warning for Eastern Lake Ontario for later in the afternoon, so we were glad to make good time. The marina at Waupoos was busy, with a sail-in from Burlington, but we got a nice dock, and should be well protected from the south winds, by Waupoos Island. 
On Sunday, we helped support the local economy - breakfast at the Blue Moose Café and lunch at The County Cider Company Estate Winery, We walked over to the Duke of Marysburgh for dinner, but they were closed :-( We borrowed bikes from the marina for the ride to the Cider Company, and on the way back, stopped to buy local blueberries and raspberries. Nice place - I think we'll be back.
We've never yet sailed between Sackets Harbour and Oswego. Wind seems to always be absent, or against us. No different this trip. Motored all the way there, on a beautiful summer day. We enjoyed dinner at the Tin Pan Galley last year, and went back again. Food was great, but some of the plating was a little odd. For appetizer, Ed had an interesting take on french onion soup - wonton wrappers filled with sauted onions, covered in cheese, floating in broth, with croutons. I had the ahi tuna - very tasty, but the plate was too busy.
We actually had a really good sail to Oswego. Winds were building throughout the afternoon, and we were flying. As usual, we arrived on Harborfest weekend. I guess we're always here on the last weekend of July when this event is on, along with the regatta, which means no room at the inn - we were on the wall with no power for a very breezy night, but by morning, it was quite calm. A free beer at the Oswego Yacht Club ($2 for the second one), dinner in the park overlooking the lake, and funnel cake in the midway for dessert. Life is good.
When we signed in at the yacht club, we noticed that the very first entry this year, was Steve Rose aboard T'ai Chi. Steve and Liz passed through in May, on their way home to QCYC after a winter in the Bahamas. A link to their blog (Adjusting Our Sails) is on the right.
Sometimes I feel like all we do is drive around the lake. We had a bit of a sail to Sodus Bay, but mostly, the engine was on. Sodus is a beautiful place. Every time we're here, I look for real estate. We had an uncomfortably breezy night, which carried on until the next day. While we were taking our usual 'we were here' photo, a woman came by and offered to take one of both of us. We got chatting, and she recommended a good place for dinner. Our walk took us past the Lighthouse Museum. Really cute, and you can see a long way from the top. We walked past the Bay Street Hotel, the recommended restaurant where we would have dinner, and as we were warned, it doesn't look like much. When you look in the window, you see a bar and pool table, but we were game to try the place. Dinner was amazing. The chef cooks here in the summer, and spends the winter cooking in Key West. Chef Ramsey would have a field day with the décor in this place, but the food really was good.
Or maybe it's a late start. Ed and I were planning to leave Toronto on Friday late afternoon, but with a forecast of severe thunderstorms, we decided to wait until they were done, to make run for Rochester. The severe weather was pretty dramatic, with high winds (while we sat having dinner in the clubhouse) and an amazing lightning display late in the evening. It was still raining at 2:00 am, and any hopes of a really early morning departure went out the window, because we fell asleep and didn't get up until 5:00. A quick check on the forecast, and we were off by 5:25 on Saturday morning. We had a quick downwind sail for the first 3 or 4 hours, and then alternated between motoring and sailing, and made it to Rochester by about 7:30 pm. On Sunday, Ajay, Kathy and Sara came for a visit to the Rochester Yacht Club, and then we went back to Webster for a barbeque dinner. Our 'traditional' dinner at Schooners followed on Monday evening.
On Sunday, we helped support the local economy - breakfast at the Blue Moose Café and lunch at The County Cider Company Estate Winery, We walked over to the Duke of Marysburgh for dinner, but they were closed :-( We borrowed bikes from the marina for the ride to the Cider Company, and on the way back, stopped to buy local blueberries and raspberries. Nice place - I think we'll be back.
We've never yet sailed between Sackets Harbour and Oswego. Wind seems to always be absent, or against us. No different this trip. Motored all the way there, on a beautiful summer day. We enjoyed dinner at the Tin Pan Galley last year, and went back again. Food was great, but some of the plating was a little odd. For appetizer, Ed had an interesting take on french onion soup - wonton wrappers filled with sauted onions, covered in cheese, floating in broth, with croutons. I had the ahi tuna - very tasty, but the plate was too busy.
Sometimes I feel like all we do is drive around the lake. We had a bit of a sail to Sodus Bay, but mostly, the engine was on. Sodus is a beautiful place. Every time we're here, I look for real estate. We had an uncomfortably breezy night, which carried on until the next day. While we were taking our usual 'we were here' photo, a woman came by and offered to take one of both of us. We got chatting, and she recommended a good place for dinner. Our walk took us past the Lighthouse Museum. Really cute, and you can see a long way from the top. We walked past the Bay Street Hotel, the recommended restaurant where we would have dinner, and as we were warned, it doesn't look like much. When you look in the window, you see a bar and pool table, but we were game to try the place. Dinner was amazing. The chef cooks here in the summer, and spends the winter cooking in Key West. Chef Ramsey would have a field day with the décor in this place, but the food really was good.
Or maybe it's a late start. Ed and I were planning to leave Toronto on Friday late afternoon, but with a forecast of severe thunderstorms, we decided to wait until they were done, to make run for Rochester. The severe weather was pretty dramatic, with high winds (while we sat having dinner in the clubhouse) and an amazing lightning display late in the evening. It was still raining at 2:00 am, and any hopes of a really early morning departure went out the window, because we fell asleep and didn't get up until 5:00. A quick check on the forecast, and we were off by 5:25 on Saturday morning. We had a quick downwind sail for the first 3 or 4 hours, and then alternated between motoring and sailing, and made it to Rochester by about 7:30 pm. On Sunday, Ajay, Kathy and Sara came for a visit to the Rochester Yacht Club, and then we went back to Webster for a barbeque dinner. Our 'traditional' dinner at Schooners followed on Monday evening.