Cruise to Fifty Point

After a successful shake down sail, Rob and I were looking forward to the club cruise on the July long weekend. Fifty Point Yacht Club is situated in a picturesque conservation area. Nine nautical miles from BPYC.

Weather reports weren't entirely favourable but we figured if we timed it right, we could get there ahead of the storm.

The winds weren't with us, so we motored along with Corus (Alan and Tracey) at our side. About four hours into our trip, we looked behind to dark skies. That's about when the storm caught up to us and we were buffeted by strong winds and waves. At the height of the storm, our motor sputtered. Thankfully, it started again. Then it stopped. Then it started again. Then it stopped. 

And it would not start again. 

By this time we were almost at the mouth of the channel to FPYC, but there was no way to sail in safely. We raised our sails to keep us from drifting ashore and into the precarious rocks. We contacted Cruise Captain Mark Stone on the phone and he offered to come out to tow us in. Second Star to the rescue! Without a word of a lie, that's when the sun came out. 

Mark and crew towed us safely to a slip. After nine hours of our adventure on the lake, we slept soundly.

Saturday morning, Rob found and fixed the problem. and the engine purred again. That evening we enjoyed the company of our small gathering: Corus (Alan and Tracey); Second Star (Mark and Shelley with their guests Dino and Theresa); and Imagine (Wlodek and Halena).

Sunday morning we set out at 10 a.m. into dense fog, again with Corus nearby. Visibility was poor.  When a seagull flew close to our boat it took on the proportions of a dragon descending in the mist. Several hours later the fog had lifted and our motor was still going strong. By 4 pm we had Toronto's Eastern Gap in sight. That's when our motor gave out again and she refused to start.

We decided to sail. Winds were not favourable and the lake was bumpy. We called Wlodek and Helena on Imagine and they assured us they would sail close by. We also contacted Wendy and Raymond back at BPYC who offered their support and rounded up some recruits to greet us on the docks.

Slow going. Five hours later it was getting dark and we were still hours away from the club.  Wlodek  threw us a tow line and we tied it to our mast as we made our way over a lumpy lake into the Basin. A boat was tied to the Visitors dock, so there wasn't much room to maneuver, yet Wlodek managed to steer us close enough to our slip that Wendy, Raymond, Lynne and Mike B could guide us in.  Arrival time: 12:30 pm. A fourteen hour return trip.

I felt such relief once we were tied safely to our own dock.

Hopefully that will be the last tow Yondering will need this season!

Words can't really describe the gratitude Rob and I have for the support of everyone who came to our aid. It makes us realize how lucky we are to be part of BPYC, and how privileged to know such great people and sailors.