Inexperience on Lake Ontario
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Early in the 2014 season, I had set a goal of sailing Lake Ontario aboard my MacGregor Venture 21. As the summer pressed on that goal turned into a multi-day excursion from Rochester, New York, to Wellesley Island in the Saint Lawrence Seaway. _ e departure date was set for September 12, as I had hoped the weather would still be summer-like and too early for the signature Lake Ontario northerly autumn wind and waves.
_ e morning of the 12th, I le_ for Rochester Harbor with my MacGregor in tow, stopping along the way to pick up my fellow adventurer, Jim. Soon a_ erward, we arrived under sunny skies and seasonal temperatures at the boat ramp, both of us wearing mile-wide grins. A_ er triple-checking every little turnbuckle, shroud, bolt, screw, wire, halyard, sheet and sail, we launched into the Genesee River.
_ e weather was seemingly perfect and invited us out onto the open waters of Lake Ontario with a steady breeze and small, rolling waves. Clearing the tip of the breakwater,
