We decided to take the in-laws out for a three day trip to the Bay of Quinte. It was a two boat trip. With four in Grumpy’s boat, Mis Led, a 27 foot Carver powerboat. Lori and myself were responsible for guiding them to our destinations. I wasn’t sure how a sailboat and a powerboat would travel together at different speeds and courses but it all worked out.
Day 1 – Cobourg Marina to Trent Port Marina
The original plan was to go straight to Belleville, then come back and stay in Trenton for two days. The weather was looking a little suspicious and the reports were calling for wind and possible thundershowers. There wasn’t enough wind to sail so we just motored side by side at six knots.
We arrived at entrance to the Murray Canal without any incidents. We decided to use our radio to contact the swing bridge operators and have Miss Led closely follow us through. It worked well, there wasn’t much traffic at all in the canal.
We decided to wait until we hit the Bay of Quinte to decide which marina we were going to stay in. The weather cooperated for most of the trip, until we aproached the buoy where we decided to make the decision to stop or continue. The choice was easy, the wind had picked up from behind and the dark clouds were getting closer, we decided to stop in Trenton.
We called ahead to Trent Port Marina and had two slips assigned to us and we were soon sitting on the dock having a nice drink, or two, from the back of the boat. Also called Meyers Pier Marina in Belleville to cancel our reservation, they were great on the phone and just told us to call if we were planning on arriving the next day.
That evening we saw a plane climbing from the CFB Trenton airport and then drop some skydivers. I’m not sure what they were practicing for, but it was fun to watch!
Left Cobourg at 10:40am Arrived Murray Canal 2:50pm Arrived Trent Port Marina 4:15pm Total time: 5 hours 35 mins Motored at 6 knots Started overcast with little wind. Sunny for a bit and then storm brewing behind us, wind picked up just as we entered Bay of Quinte.
Day 2 – Trent Port Marina to Miers Pier in Belleville
It was a typical lazy start for us. We made french toast on our boat and crammed all six of us inside. We were surprisingly comfortable around our dining table.
We puttered about and finally left at 1:30pm, we found out that 11am is the typical time to leave but they said they weren’t that busy and it was OK to stay a little late. It was another cloudy day leaving Trenton.
Trip to Meyers Pier Marina in Belleville was uneventful, we motored the entire way. Only issue was a sailboat entering the marina just in front of us under full sail so we slowed down to let it pass. But then it stopped in front of us and bobbed right at the entrance to the marina as the skipper was single handed and slowly dousing the sails. It eventually drifted out of our way and we motored past.
It’s a bit tight going into this marina, but we safely navigated to our assigned slip and the staff were there ready to give us a hand. There’s a bit of an issue with the rising water here, but they still have power.
Grumpy Gramps followed us in and docked just on the other side. It was a decent spot, but it’s still a long walk to get to the marina office. We were tempted to take the shortcut, but it would have involved having to swim the last 10 meters.
There’s a few spots that you can tell the high water is affecting the marina. This wall was a little under the water and they were also having issues with their fuel dock but it was still operating. We also heard that the marina just across the bay, Victoria Harbour, was having issues with the water and didn’t have any spots for transient boats. Which explained why we saw so many sailboats at Meyers Pier this time, our last time in Belleville it seemed like it was mostly motor boats.
That night we headed to the bar for dinner and some live music. We’ve always liked this little funky bar on the end of the pier.
The band was pretty good, Shawn Dore Big Blues Band.
Day 3 – Back to Trent Port Marina
Turned into a beautiful day and we headed back to the Trent Port Marina. There was little wind so we motored the entire way.
Going under bridges still scare me. Even though we’ve been under this bridge before and have checked multiple times to make sure we fit. The angle from the water always makes it look much worse than it is! The Norris Whitney Bridge (Bay Bridge) is just west of Meyers Pier. Should be about 75 feet (23 meters) above the water but I’m having trouble finding an official source stating this.
Back at the Trent Port Marina we had a little bit of rain but it cleared up quickly and then we had to check out some of the other boats. Still really like the look of some of the tugs doing the loop. This one had a for sale sign on the front.
That night we took advantage of the BBQs and had a very tasty BBQ chicken dinner.
Our neighbour was a Beneteau Oceanus 38 CC, Mesa Verde. I can imagine there is a lot of room inside these center cockpit boats. It was a really nice dad and son doing a tour of Lake Ontario and were doing some lengthy trips heading back home.
Day 4 – Heading home to Cobourg Marina
We had some tasty egg sandwiches from the small kitchen at the Trent Port Marina. And then headed back home. It was another beautiful day.
As we were leaving we realized that we forgot to check the oil before we left. And we learned a valuable lesson. As we were motoring out, Lori went below to check the oil. All of a sudden I hear her yelling, “It’s spraying everywhere!”. At first I didn’t realize what she was talking about then she poked her head up and it was covered in oil. After she pulled the dipstick, oil started spraying out and she couldn’t put the dipstick back in. Lesson of the day: Don’t check the oil when the engine is running!
As we left Presqui’le Bay we decided to put the sails up. Wind was coming directly from the West and we thought we would try to keep up with Grumpy Gramps even though we would have to tack. We built up some good speed, but it wasn’t in the right direction. After a couple of lengthy tacks we decided to motor the remaining of the way. We arrived in Cobourg about 20 minutes behind Grumpy.
Travelling with a powerboat turned out better than I thought. I’m glad we did it, and would do it again. Arriving and spending time at the destinations was great but the actual travelling together doesn’t work all that great when we have such different paths depending on the wind.
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