CS34 Kingston to Murray Canal

We left KYC at 6:30am.  We wanted to visit our friends from Whitby Dave and Toni in Prinyer's Cove, and then try to get to the Murray Canal.

Winds were from the NE about 12 knots, not many waves, perfect for main and spinnaker just forward of the beam to Prinyer's Cove. Actually carried the spinnaker to 50 degrees to the wind!  We were able to sail most of the way at over 6 knots with the motor off.

We got to Prinyer's Cove (20 miles) at 11am.

Going in we saw our friends CS36 Elaine and Gray from Cobourg.  We had met them in Sodus Bay.

We rafted up to Moonlight Mistress with Dave and Toni from Whitby:

Had some lunch, some beers, took the dog for a pee.

It was a great visit.

It was time to head further east (2pm):

Thanks Dave and Toni

We did some sailing with jib and main down Aldolpus Reach.

When we turned the corner, I furled the genoa and motor sailed with the main.

Zzzzzzz...

On Long Reach, we saw something really kewl:

Cottage waterslide
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Motor sailing near Sandy Cove Belleville

We pulled into Myer's Pier in Belleville at 8pm to stretch out legs and pee the dog.

On the other side of Belleville, it got dark quickly.  There was no moon, so finding the navigation buoys was difficult.  The chart plotter did a good job, but I know it was missing a couple of them. Had to be very careful, as Les from Whitby ran aground last year here when he went on the wrong side of a buoy; $10k damage to the keel/hull on Sandpiper!

When we got closer to the Murray, I had to slow down approaching the marks because it was too dark to see them until you were right on them!  Plus you didn't want to veer off the marked channel because of the weeds!  Had to stop and backup a couple of times to clear weeds off the keel.

Reaching the east end of the Murray it was pitch black, no moon or lights. Actually the light on the starboard wall of the Murray Canal entrance blinded us, ruining our night vision. I used the chart plotter to guide us down the center of the Murray.  The canal is maybe 80ft wide, but it seemed much smaller:  We were going to dock on the wall, but it was WAY TOO DARK!

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Using the chart plotter, we slowly motored to the Carrying Place bridge.  I remembered there was a dock just before it.  We didn't not see the dock until we were one boatlength from it!

10:30pm, pee the Dog and right to sleep!

Trip Odometer: 63.81 miles
Moving Average: 5.4 knots
Moving Time: 11:57:00

Stopped Time: approx 3 hours

15 hours on the water!

Track: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12535935/Still%20Time/2015/20150807.kmz