Episode 02 | Sailing to Toronto for a night on Toronto Island
One of the only places still available to sail to on Lake Ontario and spend the night is Hanlan's Point. There is plenty to do, including the Hanlan’s Point Beach, Gibraltar Beach, or Centre Island Beach, if you are willing to make the walk. Including the mooring fee at the Hanland’s Point Mooring Wall and food, the whole night cost less then $60.
If you are sailing, before you leave, you can check the vacancy on the wall by checking out the Facebook page here or give them a call at (416) 203-3343
Itinerary (Friday, July 3, 2020)
7:00am | Departure from Scarborough Bluffs
the whole trip was great, other than there was absolutely no wind and we motored the whole way. We all took turns at the helm.
9:30am | Arrive at Hanlan’s Point Mooring Wall
The wall was about 80-90% full when we arrived. Canada Day was on the Wednesday which may have contributed to the popularity of the wall so early in the day. In spite of the occupancy, we found two spots available in the entrance to the wall, there were likely more if we had travelled further along the wall to the end. We spend about an hour to setup the boat how we needed it for the day, I put up a tarp, since our boat doesn’t have a bimini top or dodger to give us shelter from the sun.
10:30am | Take off to Hanlan’s Point Beach
Kristine and I were aware that part of Hanlan’s Point Beach was a nudist beach and were trying to find the area that wasn’t. We were unsuccessful… Toban felt akward, Reid didn’t mind. We chalked it up to worldly experience as we made our way to the safe zone on the beach.
The beach is fairly vacant (although it was Friday morning). the water wasn’t the best, there were bird feathers, algae, and the off plastic trash that, wasn’t terrible, but certainly detracted from the experience. We found the the water quality improved as we made our way to the norther end of the beach. There is an area of the beach which is blocked off to protect an endangered bird species, but wasn’t an impediment.
12:00pm | Back to the Boat (Kris had to take a conference call for work)
I had a work appointment that I needed to be a part of so we headed back to the boat for some lunch and a break from the sun.
2:00pm | Off to Gibraltar Beach
At Hanlan’s beach, we struck up a conversation with the life guard and he mentioned that Gibraltar Beach typically has clearer water, and fewer people. It’s a little harder to get to so you you’ll need to look it up on a map. …of course we didn’t, and after a little searching we found it! the lifeguard was right. Gibraltars beach seems like it is a bit of a hidden gem on the island. The water was very clear, the sand warm and clean, few people, and there was a sand bar you could swim to that provided some additional natatorial entertainment.
5:00pm | Back to the Boat for Dinner
After running out of sunscreen, we arrived back at the boat for dinner. There is a small chip shop called Mermaid Cafe where we bought some french fries as an appetizer. Kristine brought some pasta that she cooked on the boat stovetop and we all enjoyed with some Perrier.
We disembarked back to the Scarborough Bluffs at 9am Saturday morning. The lack of sunscreen made for some nasty sunburns by the end of the day.
Tips
If you are boating the the Mooring wall, check the occupancy of the wall before arriving
If you are taking a ferry, take your bike. The Island is big and there is much to see.
Gibraltar Beach was the superior beach according to the lifeguard, and we agree.
Hanlan’s Beach become a bit of a hippie dance party after 5pm, so bring your favourite drink if you’re into that and avoid it if you have kids.
The Mermaid Cafe is convenient for a snack, but they seemed to have some major supply chain issues and had limited available cuisine
