Hey all -
It looks like I'll be moving to the Rochester, NY, area early next summer (will be working in Rochester). I've never sailed in that area, in fact never been there at all, so I'm wondering if anyone has any advice.
As I look at the maps and start investigating real estate, it looks like I could conceivably choose to keep my Mac either right there on Ontario or a little south on one of the Finger Lakes.
Looking at real estate is pretty exciting for that area - a dollar buys a heck of a lot more house in western NY than it does here in Newport, RI!!
Anyone with any experience in the area, I'd appreciate info!
Thanks,
Andy
Lake Ontario sailing? Finger Lakes?
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Dave X2000 Jac
- Chief Steward
- Posts: 50
- Joined: Wed Jun 09, 2004 4:26 pm
- Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Lake Ontario Sailing
Andy,
If you do end up in Rochester, have all of the relatives pitch in to get you a heavy-duty snow blower for Xmas. That is serious snow country!
Regarding sailing, we did our first Lake Ontario adventure just this past August. We spent a week on my Mac X exploring the Thousand Islands area where Lake Ontario dumps into the St. Lawrence River. I highly recommend that you go there next August. Launch at Cape Vincent. There is an old-timer, Herb, across the street from the ramp. You can park your trailer and tow vehicle in his side yard for $30-40 for the week. There are lots of nice Canadian state parks on the islands where you can tie up for the night. We did less sailing and more motoring than we did the past two summers in the North Channel of Lake Huron, but it was still a fine adventure. There was one stop we hadn't planned, that turned out to be a highlight. When we were gassing up in a marina, we noticed a poster for the Antique Wooden Boat Museum Annual Show. We zipped over to Clayton, NY and got the last available slip. What a neat sight. The whole town glowed of polished teak, mahogany, and brass. What made that stop even more special was a visit to the antique boat library in an upper floor of the museum. I made this trip with my brother and 84 year old father - yes, he is a tough nut and sleeps well on the Mac X (WWII Coast Guard stationed in Laborador running a Loran station and going out on North Atlantic U-Boat patrol. He is used to water. Happy Veteran's Day to all of the heroes.) When my father was 10 to 14, living on the south shore of Lake Erie, his father owned a Sea Sled. The Sea Sled appears to be the first V-hulled recreation boat. His had a sliding deck with a small toilet under one section. The inventor of the Sea Sled made one so big and so fast, they could launch airplanes from a superstructure on the deck. We spent over an hour in the library going over photos and specs for a wide variety of Sea Sleds. We then took a couple of hundred photos of wooden boats - some on permanent display in the museum and its docks, but many from all over the country competing for prizes. As you are cruising up and down the St. lawrence, you will be amazed at the huge new houses just constructed on the Canadian side. Also, tie up to the public dock at Boldt Castle and take a self-guided tour. It's beyond huge. It is amazing. Go to a website or two to check out some pictures of that place. Though I have little knowledge of other Lake Ontario sailing spots, I can highly recommend that one as a place you can return often and have different experiences each time.
FYI,
Dave "Jac"
P.S. Under sail, we were heading into Kingston, ON at the same time they were holding a huge sailing regatta. Fast sailboats were everywhere. We counted about 85 in three different venues. I had no idea sailing was such a huge sport in Canada. We sailed on by, but it was a cool sight.
If you do end up in Rochester, have all of the relatives pitch in to get you a heavy-duty snow blower for Xmas. That is serious snow country!
Regarding sailing, we did our first Lake Ontario adventure just this past August. We spent a week on my Mac X exploring the Thousand Islands area where Lake Ontario dumps into the St. Lawrence River. I highly recommend that you go there next August. Launch at Cape Vincent. There is an old-timer, Herb, across the street from the ramp. You can park your trailer and tow vehicle in his side yard for $30-40 for the week. There are lots of nice Canadian state parks on the islands where you can tie up for the night. We did less sailing and more motoring than we did the past two summers in the North Channel of Lake Huron, but it was still a fine adventure. There was one stop we hadn't planned, that turned out to be a highlight. When we were gassing up in a marina, we noticed a poster for the Antique Wooden Boat Museum Annual Show. We zipped over to Clayton, NY and got the last available slip. What a neat sight. The whole town glowed of polished teak, mahogany, and brass. What made that stop even more special was a visit to the antique boat library in an upper floor of the museum. I made this trip with my brother and 84 year old father - yes, he is a tough nut and sleeps well on the Mac X (WWII Coast Guard stationed in Laborador running a Loran station and going out on North Atlantic U-Boat patrol. He is used to water. Happy Veteran's Day to all of the heroes.) When my father was 10 to 14, living on the south shore of Lake Erie, his father owned a Sea Sled. The Sea Sled appears to be the first V-hulled recreation boat. His had a sliding deck with a small toilet under one section. The inventor of the Sea Sled made one so big and so fast, they could launch airplanes from a superstructure on the deck. We spent over an hour in the library going over photos and specs for a wide variety of Sea Sleds. We then took a couple of hundred photos of wooden boats - some on permanent display in the museum and its docks, but many from all over the country competing for prizes. As you are cruising up and down the St. lawrence, you will be amazed at the huge new houses just constructed on the Canadian side. Also, tie up to the public dock at Boldt Castle and take a self-guided tour. It's beyond huge. It is amazing. Go to a website or two to check out some pictures of that place. Though I have little knowledge of other Lake Ontario sailing spots, I can highly recommend that one as a place you can return often and have different experiences each time.
FYI,
Dave "Jac"
P.S. Under sail, we were heading into Kingston, ON at the same time they were holding a huge sailing regatta. Fast sailboats were everywhere. We counted about 85 in three different venues. I had no idea sailing was such a huge sport in Canada. We sailed on by, but it was a cool sight.
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Catigale
- Site Admin
- Posts: 10421
- Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2004 5:59 pm
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Admiral .............Catigale 2002X.......Lots of Harpoon Hobie 16 Skiffs....Island 17
- Contact:
Andy - welcome to wonderful upstate NY!!
I live in ALbany but travel NY weekly on business. Spent 10 years at the foot of Cayuga Lake at Cornell between school and work.
Ontario and Finger Lakes (Seneca and Cayuga especially) are both great sailing places - do you have a location in the greater Rochester area yet?
Yes - upstate is the home of the 175k 4 bedroom 3000 sq ft new home in a great school district....
THanks for all your help on RI sailing - amazing how things come around isnt it??
EM me for more help!
I live in ALbany but travel NY weekly on business. Spent 10 years at the foot of Cayuga Lake at Cornell between school and work.
Ontario and Finger Lakes (Seneca and Cayuga especially) are both great sailing places - do you have a location in the greater Rochester area yet?
Yes - upstate is the home of the 175k 4 bedroom 3000 sq ft new home in a great school district....
THanks for all your help on RI sailing - amazing how things come around isnt it??
EM me for more help!
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Dave Mason
- Deckhand
- Posts: 27
- Joined: Sat Jan 24, 2004 7:13 pm
- Location: Southeastern British Columbia
Finger Lakes sailing
I guess if you own a Mac (even an M 
) you'll be fine almost anywhere. Having grown up near Canandaigua, I can attest to the winds and the quality sailing opportunities in the area. I witnessed a sailboat race underway at Geneva a few years ago, and another at Sodus Bay on Ontario, as well as several keelboats on Irondequoit Bay. Of course you can always pull the mast down and travel the Erie Canal. From the Rochester area the lakes in southern Ontario beckon to trailer sailors, not to mention Georgian Bay.
Don't worry, you'll be fine.
Dave Mason/Photo-Op
) you'll be fine almost anywhere. Having grown up near Canandaigua, I can attest to the winds and the quality sailing opportunities in the area. I witnessed a sailboat race underway at Geneva a few years ago, and another at Sodus Bay on Ontario, as well as several keelboats on Irondequoit Bay. Of course you can always pull the mast down and travel the Erie Canal. From the Rochester area the lakes in southern Ontario beckon to trailer sailors, not to mention Georgian Bay.Don't worry, you'll be fine.
Dave Mason/Photo-Op
-
argonaut
- Captain
- Posts: 531
- Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 8:23 pm
- Location: '97 26X, Yammy 40 4s, Central Fla.
I've been to Canandaigua and Geneva on lake Seneca, but it was a vacation and I couldn't sail. I was crazy to go out but I couldn't get hooked up with a boat. Both lakes struck me as awesome sailing, Went out on a powerboat tour at Canandaigua, really clear water but super cold too. Seneca especially is a stiinking -gorgeous- lake. It's on my list of places I want to sail most. I scoped out ramps at both places.
Ontario can be a ton of fun but it can go from nothing to 35kts in no time in the summer. We often spend time there in the summer around Lewiston on the lower Niagara (west end of the lake). I've only sailed small stuff there and crewed on a 30 foot keelboat a bit. There are marina harbors to dart in and overnight like Wilson. Lewiston is further west, you can see Fort Niagara reenacters in the summer. Also a great place to bike and stores are close to the marina. There are nice places to go further west on the Canadian side. Canadian cruisers seem to sail over, drag out some bikes & sight see, then spend the night before heading back. A fun trip would be to cross the lake to Toronto & visit for a few days. Toronto island is kind of cool, parks, boats, amusements. In Toronto it's easy to get around on foot using their mass transit. It's pretty safe and there's great food and most anything to do. The lake is big enough you almost lose sight of land and you have to watch the shipping channel, I'd want a good radar reflector too.
Drop a line if you want more detail.
Ontario can be a ton of fun but it can go from nothing to 35kts in no time in the summer. We often spend time there in the summer around Lewiston on the lower Niagara (west end of the lake). I've only sailed small stuff there and crewed on a 30 foot keelboat a bit. There are marina harbors to dart in and overnight like Wilson. Lewiston is further west, you can see Fort Niagara reenacters in the summer. Also a great place to bike and stores are close to the marina. There are nice places to go further west on the Canadian side. Canadian cruisers seem to sail over, drag out some bikes & sight see, then spend the night before heading back. A fun trip would be to cross the lake to Toronto & visit for a few days. Toronto island is kind of cool, parks, boats, amusements. In Toronto it's easy to get around on foot using their mass transit. It's pretty safe and there's great food and most anything to do. The lake is big enough you almost lose sight of land and you have to watch the shipping channel, I'd want a good radar reflector too.
Drop a line if you want more detail.
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NYharleyrider
- Deckhand
- Posts: 34
- Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 3:57 am
- Location: Rochester, NY 05 26M, 70 HP TLDI
- Contact:
Hi Andy...
Welcome to Rochester. Dave is right. Some of our Winter's can be brutal. In fact we even have a local ski shop named "Snow Country."
On to the good news. For the most part we have beautiful Summers in Rochester and I love sailing on Lake Ontario. I have an 05M and keep it wet slipped on Irondequoit Bay, another pretty area to sail.
My Marina is about one mile from the Lake Ontario channel and from there there are many interesting places you can sail or motor to.
Feel free to contact me and email me your number. I'm sure you have lots of questions and I'd be happy to help you.
Cheers,
Brian.
Welcome to Rochester. Dave is right. Some of our Winter's can be brutal. In fact we even have a local ski shop named "Snow Country."
On to the good news. For the most part we have beautiful Summers in Rochester and I love sailing on Lake Ontario. I have an 05M and keep it wet slipped on Irondequoit Bay, another pretty area to sail.
My Marina is about one mile from the Lake Ontario channel and from there there are many interesting places you can sail or motor to.
Feel free to contact me and email me your number. I'm sure you have lots of questions and I'd be happy to help you.
Cheers,
Brian.