Two boats from Kingston Yacht Club embarked on the Down East Circle Route. They’d like to share how they prepared, some highlights of what they saw and did, and their takeaways for future trips. Chris Walmsley and Linda Schmalz sailed Ramble On and Bob Story skippered Finnish Line 2.0.
Chris, originally from Picton, is a lifelong sailor and has owned his Hunter Legend 35 since 2006. Linda started sailing in 1974 with her family, on the Ottawa River. She was a member of NSC for over 25 years before moving to Kingston.
Chris and Linda have been racing and cruising together since 2008. After double-handing the Lake Ontario 300 race, they knew they enjoyed long distance sailing. In 2011 they took a month to sail lakes Ontario, Erie, and Huron including the North Channel.
Their friend Bob started sailing at Pioneer Camp in Muskoka. He got into big boat racing at RHYC and other clubs in Toronto. Once in Kingston in 2010 he finally bought a boat to enjoy Kingston’s beautiful cruising grounds.
For the fall/winter of 2017/2018, Bob took his Catalina 355 to the Bahamas for the winter. Bitten by the long distance bug and loving living aboard, he joined Chris and Linda for the Down East Circle Route.
The Galley will open at 5 pm, so come early for supper and drinks, and then stay for the presentation which starts at 7.30 pm. The Galley will have a $12 special on a soup, sandwich and choice of salad or fries, as well as a regular menu. (15% discount for a member of any local club).
All are welcome, and there is no fee for admission. We will merely request a small voluntary contribution to the Legacy Fund (supporting youth sailors).
Don’t miss next week’s presentation (Feb 26) by the Ottawa Fire Service Ice and Water Rescue team “Safety and Rescue on the Ottawa River”.
The full 2020 schedule may be found here.
