All Systems Go for Lake Ontario 300

Ninety-seven teams are ready to take on what Lake Ontario has to offer in the annual Lake Ontario 300 Challenge this weekend.

“This year’s numbers are down, but given the extreme high-water conditions at most clubs, the number of entries are higher than anticipated one month ago,” stated Joe Doris, Committee Chairman.

The 300 nmn course is regarded as one of the toughest offshore races as it requires yachts to circumnavigate the lake rather than going from one point to another like most races of similar distances to the LO300.

Competitors will depart July 15 from Port Credit Yacht Club located in Mississauga and sail around a Humberview Mark located a few miles offshore. The fleet then travels across the lake to the Ford Shoal Buoy near Oswego NY at the far east end of the lake. After rounding this mark the yachts will head north toward Kingston ON., where they round the Main Duck and Yorkshire Islands before making a long trek to the Niagara River Mark just off Youngstown NY. The final leg is returning to Port Credit Yacht Club.

During this challenge yachts will experience all types of weather from light winds expected at the start, to growing cross winds, to thunder storms, high seas and everything else the lake can dream up over the 56 to 84 hours of nonstop racing it takes to finish.

For smaller yachts and yachts choosing to sail without a spinnaker there is a shortened course that sails around Scotch Bonnet Island off Prince Edward County before returning to PCYC via the Niagara Mark.

To put a positive note on the higher water levels on Lake Ontario, many yachts who like to follow the shorelines as part of their strategy to pick up shoreline breezes will have a higher level of comfort in what are normally considered shallow waters.

Event details – Entry list – Tracker – Facebook

Source: Steve​ Singer