This summer I did something I have wanted to do for nine years: I participated in a Wayfarer sailing cruise. As a club racer, my Wayfarer and I had never even spent a whole day on the water (except for Regattas) and now I was to trailer up to Georgian Bay and spend five days with 17 other boats bobbing about.  Turns out the trip was the highlight of my sailing season.

Killbear is probably one of the best parks in Canada.   My crew and I had reserved a spot only a few minutes' walk from the beach where the boats were anchored.  At the nine am daily skippers' meetings, the winds were assessed, charts consulted and the day's goal determined. Each day's sail brought us to a different destination where the boats would anchor or pull up in a sheltered area and sailors would tumble out to swim, lunch and sunbathe.  Nothing was ever hurried, including the sailing, as we had found moderate (and sometimes non- existent) winds both inside the Sound and between the islands in the Bay.

As a navigation newbie, I simply followed other boats, only resorting to "rock-watch" when coming close to shore. Never was a boat left to fend for itself, all watched out for the others and attended to particular problems or needs. My crew and I even had the opportunity of practicing a real 'man-over-board' when the guest crew (an interested camper we had invited onboard for the cruise) decided to refresh himself during a slow run by diving overboard (much to our concern)  By the time he had surfaced from the dive he was too far from the boat to return without a motor. (We didn't want the extra weight anyway.) It was a lesson for me regarding the amount of detail I needed to include when giving onboard guests instructions.

At times, leaving the shore presented a navigational challenge that my experience in racing teamwork had helped to develop.  Moored between the rope and floats of the swimming area and the anchored power boats, we would sometimes need to sail to windward from shore, making tight tacks through the swimming area or around boats. On the call from my crew we would simultaneously raise and then lower the centerboard and rudder to clear the swimming or anchor lines as we sailed over them. There were times when the call was to warn the unwary swimmer who would turn to find a sixteen foot boat bearing down on them.  Thankfully the hull is still intact.

Coming into a shore was a new challenge quickly mastered with help from other boaters already landed. Good thing, too, as 6090 was about to become the poster boat for a beach wreck. We learned how to anchor the boat with a stern line and how to climb into a floating boat without tipping the cooler or losing a towel. It's amazing how much gear one can stuff into a Wayfarer. Our "onflight' provisions mimicked some of the best restaurants.  I'm tempted to rename W6090 as Chez Bonne Cuisine.

As large a part as the sailing was, it was however, not the complete picture of the week.  Each night sailors would meet to socialize over a picnic table, in front of a fire, or at a local restaurant. At the end of the week, I found I was a part of a wonderful community of cruising enthusiasts already planning the trip for the next summer.

Cruising is also an activity available through the TSCC.  It is a safe and social introduction to sailing in the Toronto area. Richard Smith, cruising director for TSCC, manages the Cruising schedule, arranging for a date and destination, booking guest moorings with yacht clubs so the boats in a cruise can take harbour for lunch midway through the sail. This year Richard has also invited dinghies along on the shorter cruises. Expand your personal chart of sailing destinations  by joining the club cruises.  Anyone wishing to try cruising should look at the Cruising section of the TSCC website or contact Richard Smith at cruising@tscc.net

return to 2010 Rally index page