Waves on Lake Ontario and in Clayton (#19)

We left in the early morning hours to make our long crossing across Lake Ontario to Clayton Harbor Municipal Marina. The seas were not exactly calm, but they also weren't as bad as they could have been. As the depth finder's numbers went from 35 ft to 258 ft, and then gave up and went to 3 ft, Laura decided to go downstairs and watch Netflix. Laura isn't excited about deep water or deep water crossings. Ted, however, is an experienced sailor and drove the boat across Lake Ontario without issue.

As we were leaving you can see the power plant in the distance at the mouth of the Oswego.

We had a continous amount of chop for the first part of the trip. Once we were halfway across, the seas calmed. Ted guided us with help of the autopilot while Laura stayed below.

When we arrived at Clayton the winds kicked up and the current was strong. We were supposed to be in a slip, but requested that we move to this wall. The height was perfect for us to get on and off the boat.

On our first night we met up with friends from earlier stops and had a lovely dinner together.

Our stay in Clayton also included the Summer Solstice with this spectacular moon.

The seas were generally calm even when tankers passed by.

However, we had two days with extreme wind. We had invited Looper friends we met in Staten Island to come join us for docktails. The weather was so extreme and the waves were so strong we decided to take leave the boat a drive to see local sights. Laura was concerned she couldn't sleep because she was getting a bit nauseous, but the winds died down after we returned. We knew the winds would return the next day, so Laura left at 8:30am to go to yoga in town in the rain.

While Laura was at yoga, the 37 mph wind gusts kicked up for about two hours directly perpendicular to the dock we were on.

One of our ropes became extremely frayed from the full day of stong wind and waves the night before. Ted watched the lines and the boats during the storm. He watched the boat in front boat swang out from the pier after hearing a crack from their line breaking. Ted jumped on their boat to bang and alert them, and he worked with them to add three additional lines to secure the boat.

Despite the excitement from the winds, waves, and docking, Clayton was the perfect place for a long stay for our Thousand Islands adventure.

The heart sun says it all!

We were in Clayton for 5 days and were able to see many attractions in the Thousand Islands: Boats & Castles in Thousand Islands

Review:

Clayton Harbor Municipal Marina

Stay: 5 nights

Pros: Location to Clayton, clean, people, hotel facilities nearby, helpful staff

Cons: Laundry in women's restroom, Waves on last night