Loyalist Cove

Leaving Waupoos Marina.

It was time to leave Waupoos.  We had more severe weather forecast for the area, it was time to get through Lake Ontario while we had a window to do so.  We contacted the folks over at Loyalist Cove and one of their seasonal boats was heading out for a few days which gave us some space to dock.  We tracked down the marina manager at Waupoos and paid for our stay. 

The breakwater extends well past the markers.

Waupoos Winery, there is supposed to be a dock here, we will check it out again next year.

Soon after, we were off again heading out of Prince Edward Bay and into Lake Ontario towards Amherst Island.  The lake was lumpy with a 1-1.5 M swell on our beam (hitting the boat sideways) that must have been the result of the heavy weather that Western Lake Ontario had experienced the day before.  When faced with uncomfortable seas you need to make a decision as to whether you plow through them or turn back.  The weather was still good and there was no indication that we would be encountering any storms so we pushed on.  I had two options to smooth out the ride: the first, would be to pick up boat speed and the second would be to alter our heading to meet the swell head on.  Since we were on a mission to conserve fuel and really test out the maximum range we could expect out of Tropical Horizons, I decided to alter our course and head out into Lake Ontario for a certain distance, then turn back towards Amherst Island effectively taking the swell on our aft quarter which would make for a more comfortable ride. 

Amherst Island marker.

Rounding Amherst Island and into smoother waters.

After a few hours of running a zigzag course we finally were back into the North Passage and smoother waters.  Before we knew it we were arriving at Loyalist Cove.  We radioed the marina office on our VHF and were instructed as to where we would be tying up.  When we arrived there what we found was friendly marina staff greeting us at the dock and a small crowded marina with every inch of dock space being well used. 

Approaching Loyalist Cove Marina.

Finally, tied up in Loyalist Cove Marina.

Once we settled in, I went to the marina office and checked in paying for two nights.  We were given a small gift bag with brochures on what to do in the area, local business listings, a small map and an eyeglass cleaning cloth.  We settled in, got Mack off the boat, went for a walk and enjoyed a local pizza for dinner (they delivered right to your slip).  The next day we were treated to a demonstration of the forces of nature as many thunder storms passed through.  We tried out some time lapse photography and generally just relaxed.

Sunset at Loyalist Cove...Red Sky Night...hmmmm.

The next day we saw many storms blow through!

In between the storms the sun came out and the winds became calm.

A workout in the park the next morning before heading out.

The following morning was bright, and cool.

Tropical Horizons tied up the morning of our departure, notice the height between the last step and the deck.

Sunrise and time to leave Loyalist Cove.

We really enjoyed our stay at Loyalist Cove, where we waited out a few storms before returning back to our home port.  The only drawback we had found with Loyalist Cove was that the docks were quite low which made it difficult to board and disembark from the decks of Tropical Horizons. We can't until next season to come back here to explore the area.