Today we made the short 30 mile sail to Toronto. After yesterday’s motor blast, it was nice to sail again. We had 10 knots on the beam with 3 sails out we were cruising along a little over 5 knots.
Before we left, I checked my fuel level and was shocked at how much diesel I burned yesterday. Typically, I mostly motor sail. If the winds are light, I have the sails out and use the motor to help out. Typically, I try to go between 2,000 to 2,500 RPM.
There is no sailing in the canal and to keep the speed they wanted us to go at I was running 3,000 to 3,500 RPM. It’s nice to know she can do that, but it costs a lot of diesel.
I still think I can make it to the 1000 Island area and New York before I refuel. Diesel, like everything else in Canada, is expensive. A bottle of Barefoot wine goes for $12.
While in Toronto, I decided to stay at TIM. Toronto Island Marina. As the name implies, it’s on Toronto Island. All the action is a short ferry ride away, not on the deck of our boat.
The skyline from our slip
Toronto is by far the heaviest boat traffic I’ve ever encountered. Much worse than anything I’ve seen in Chicago. It was a mix of fishing boats, who always run parallel to the wind and sailboats who always run perpendicular to the wind.
Once in the inner harbor, there are an insane number of water taxis and ferry boats. Not sure what the rules are, but there are a lot of little pontoon boats with big motors you can call or wave down. They’re zipping back and forth to the island. Does Uber or Lyft do water yet?
Today is also when we get to part ways with the cruise ships Victory I and Victory II. Yes, there are cruise ships on the Great Lakes. We ran into the Victory ships first in Little Currents. We saw them again in Detroit, Cleveland, and the Welland. I saw them leave the final lock at 4AM. When we arrived in Toronto, we saw them again at the docks. I believe this is where they turn around and do it all over again.
Here is their web page if anyone wants to see the Great Lakes by water. https://www.victorycruiselines.com/. It’s probably a better way then what I’m doing.
Kurt & Sue Sail 