In looking for the ideal central Ontario location to moor your sailboat, my husband and I immediately fell in love with the picturesque marina in Hawkestone, Ontario. Hawkestone is a private Yacht Club on Lake Simcoe, surrounded by hills and forest on all sides, making it truly a gorgeous location be it from which to sail, or even just enjoy a serene picnic. With a relatively small number of slips and given the overall quality of this marina, it is not surprising that there is a waiting list of two to three years. Making this an even more discerning location, an executive commitee has the final say as to who does or doesen't become a member of this prestigious club.

If we were not transfered to Ottawa this summer, Hawkestone would have been an option to consider for the reasons listed above, as well as the fact that the driving distance from Barrie is about 20 min.

Overall, the Hawkestone members are friendly and genuinely welcomed us as we prepared our boat for transfer to Ottawa. We are looking forward to a few more sunny weekend afternoons in Hawkestone to wax our boat and then off to Britania we go!!

Sailing Georgian Bay aboard a 45' Hunter with Captain Bill Everitt, owner of COSMOS Yacht Charters, whose website can be found at the following link: http://www.cosmosyachtcharters.com.

While on the prowl for our own first sailboat, an outstanding alternative was to go sailing with someone else. We went a full day sailing on Georgian Bay with Bill, and had an absolutely fantastic experience. His sailing experience and knowledge is very impressive. We both took a turn at the helm and received helpful hints and advice from our skipper.

Georgian Bay is a fantastic sailing location; the only big concern is the shallow water depth, so make sure to watch for those rocks!!

My husband, Dave, and I have purchased our first sailboat, Santis; she is a 27' Mirage. We are excited to launch her in her new home, the Brittania Yacht Club in Ottawa.

The Brittania Yacht Club is situated about 10 min from downtown Ottawa. Although it is close to the city, it does not feel like it; it feels more like a sanctuary away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

We are both very impressed by Brittania: the people and the ambience of the club itself are both fantastic. The one major concern is the direction that you turn when exiting the channel, heading into the river....if you turn left, you're ok....if you turn right, you're sailing directly into rapids!! Needless to say, we'll be sure never to make that mistake, and if we do, it'll only happen once!!

The Lake Ontario (LO) 300 was my first experience being in a race of a three-day duration. The skipper of the sailboat "Heart Breaker", Michael Judd, is a veteran of this type of event.

Having a skipper who is well prepared and experienced is critical in order to successfully complete such a gruelling event.

More information about the LO300 can be found at the following link:
http://www.lo300.org/