It’s time to plan for the 2023 Rally at Wellesley Island
Event will feature a week of car camping and sailing fun
By Robert Mosher W11341 USWA Cruising Secretary
Now is the time for you to clear your calendars and make a reservation for the 2023 Wellesley Island State Park Rally, N.Y., U.S.A. What is a rally? It’s a week of camping, sailing together every day, family-friendly parties and gatherings at night. See past rally reports and photos here.
Reserving a campsite or a cottage is a two step process. First, in advance of the reservation deadline, set up your online account at New York State Parks/ Reserve America. Or if you already have an account, make sure it is still active and you have a working password. Then, log in and familiarize yourself with the reservation process. Look over the campsite maps, number system and all details.We recommend you practice picking your campsite and going through the reservation process without, of course, completing it.
Second, make your online reservation on the appropriate date and time.
New York State Park reservations open nine months before your planned arrival date. At midnight, the system shows which sites are available for the next day. However, you cannot book them until 9 a.m. You can also check each site two weeks in advance for when it next becomes available.
So, if you plan to arrive on July 22, 2023 you can reserve a site starting at 9 a.m. on Oct. 22, 2022. Not surprisingly, the most desirable sites go within seconds. Reserving now in October will help you to secure the best campsite or cottage.
Likely, there will be campsites and cottages available up until July 2023. However, there is no guarantee and it is unlikely the preferred sites will be available. Weekends fill up first.
Good sites are booked as soon as they are available. You can improve chances by looking at sites that become available on Thursday and/or Friday, July 20 or 21, respectively. You must reserve the site at 9 a.m. Oct. 20or 21 before they’re gone. I like the extra time they give me to be ready to sail. You may book a site for up to 14 days, but not more.
Site reservations are made at:
Or Google New York State Parks Reservations.
Please go to this independent site link (it is a photo site, too) for in-depth discussion on the reservation system. I cannot give you as detailed instructions as this web site provides.
You can make a reservation by phone, but I believe you might lose out due to the slowness of the phone reservation system.
Please let me know your site number when you have secured a spot: robertmosher1@comcast.net
Boat slip reservations become available on the first Friday in May of the current year. So Friday, May 5, 2023 or Cinco de Mayo 2023. We will check back on this to see if there is any change.
Here is a broad review of sites:
WISP offers campsites (waterfront premium and standard), cabins (facilities are in a central bath house), and cottages (en-suite facilities and equipped kitchens). In the past, we found the cabins to be poorly ventilated and so do not recommend them.
# 60 – plenty big, not waterfront but that’s nearby, and the closest to the bathroom
# 61, 62, & 63 – the “premium” sites of all, on their own short driveway, right on the water, beautiful
# 64, 66, 70, 72, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78 – all on the water, but if I recall correctly with variable degrees of ease of access (i.e., for some the water is only slightly below ground level so you can walk in, others there is a short rocky cliff keeping you from easily going for a swim)
#68 – You would think it’s waterfront, but it’s not since a small but steep hill blocks your access. Also, it is the smallest of the campsites, in my opinion, and the least desirable of all the Eagle Loop sites that are available to us. At least you are not charged for waterfront.
#57, 59, 67, 69, 71, 73 – the ones on the “dry side” (South side) of the road. In general, roomier and flatter than the waterfront ones, but not on the water, but also cheaper. Site 65 can be very wet in a heavy rain.
36 participants from US and Canada gather at Killbear Provincial Park
By Alan Asselstine, W7346, Killbear 2022 Coordinator
For the first time in three years, we were able to have a North American Wayfarer Rally with participants from Canada and the United States. There were 36 participants and 14 boats taking part in the Aug. 6-13, 2022 event at Killbear Provincial Park.
Along with the regular rally goers, we had some first-time rally participants; Heidi Winterhalder at 9 years old the youngest, Julia from Germany, Serge Toropov, Francisco Caamano, Heather Allardyce and Ruth Roe. Alex, a Ukrainian teenager, joined Bob Stevenson for a day sail. We now have a potential new Wayfarer: Taylor and Dan and Diane Campbell also joined us for some social activities. Overall, the week was a great success with a combination of sailing and social activities.
The weather was a mixture and provided challenges. We had some dry conditions for setting up tents and taking down the tents. However, in between there were wet days and some heavy winds. On the sunny days, the cold water of Georgian Bay combined with the warm inland temperatures gave us strong afternoon in-shore winds that reached as high as 20 knots.
Saturday and Sunday’s (Aug. 6 and 7) dry daytime conditions allowed for easy camp setup and boat launches plus some pleasant sails. Some, who had arrived early, took advantage of the conditions with more sailing. On Saturday evening, people wandered from campsite to campsite renewing old friendships and making new ones. With rain in the forecast for Sunday evening, the Mixer/ Ice Breaker was postponed to Monday evening.
The rain persisted into Monday during the day so the Long Distance Race was postponed to Tuesday. Patty Kuntz and I did take advantage of a break in the weather to sail up and around Scott Island. While coming back under spinnaker, the rain returned. The rain eased off for the evening Mixer/Ice Breaker with great food and many story exchanges. Thanks Robin and Heather Allardyce for providing their site for Monday, Tuesday and Friday social activities.
Tuesday saw the Long Distance Race that will be covered in a separate report. Tuesday evening, we had the pot luck supper/corn roast that ensured that all could gain some extra ballast for sailing. Thanks to Henry Rose for picking up the corn and Bruce and Katrina Idleman for boiling it. The results of the Long Distance Race were announced and awards given. Most participants actively displayed their crazy hat creations. Annette Grefe was the winning lady and Steph Romaniuk took the men’s prize. The evening ended with a sing song. Annette Grefe added a German version of the Wayfarer song and Dan Campbell brought two instruments for accompaniment.
Wednesday proved to be the best sailing day as all 13 boats were on the water. Nine boats made it to the Pancake Islands, where they found a good landing place for lunch followed by a good sail back. The other four boats had enjoyable sails closer to the park. The ad hoc evening social scene was yet another time to visit other campsites.
Thursday turned out to be an eventful sailing day as the onshore afternoon winds built to near 20 knots. In the late morning, with good sailing conditions, four boats headed to Mclean Island and five boats headed to the cove near Oak Island. The sail out was great. Some boats had full sails, others had reefed sails. Three of the boats to Mclean Island returned to the Lighthouse beach under jib only. Their rudder shattered, so Sue Pilling and Steph with four on board used sails and a paddle to get to Harold Point.
The five boats on the longer sail to the cove near Oak Island arrived safely for lunch. As the winds built up, it became clear that there was no safe way to tack out of the cove and there was a real possibility of spending the night there. With Sue’s help and Bob’s cell phone, a rescue motor boat was found that pulled all five boats out and back to Lighthouse beach. Of course, we had to go through the Rose Chanel so the cottagers could see us being towed.
The dinner at Blake’s at Killbear Marina was a success even as many arrived late after being towed home. The restaurant and staff were very cooperative. The pan fried Pickerel was quite popular for good reason.
The main sail planned for Friday was to go through the Hole in the Wall and return to the partk to take the boats out. The late morning started with variable east winds that at times were no wind. Shortly after noon, the winds started to switch to the west and build as in previous days. By 2 p.m., it was a very hard beat from the Hole in the Wall back to the park, taking three hours for some boats.
In the evening, we gathered for the traditional left-over and empty the cooler meal. The food was so good that I question if we were eating leftovers.
Saturday morning was sunny and dry, ideal for packing up the camp and heading home. Yes, it was sad to say goodbye to good friends. However, we plan to get together at Wellesley Island in 2023. As always, it was a pleasure to work with such a cooperative and enthusiastic group.
The Killbear22 Participants
Henry & Sarah Rose W765,
Andrew & David Slonetsky,
Margie McKelvvey & Bill Harkins W2526,
Annete Grefe & Julia W???,
Patty Kuntz,
Bob Stevenson W440,
Kit & Patsy Wallace W994,
Sean Ring & Ruth Roe W907,
Jim & Linda Hefferman,
Robert and Josette Blais W3920 ,
Steph Romanluk & Sue Pilling W397,
Robin & Heather Allardyce W6071,
Alan & Mary Asselstine, Tania Asselstine & Heidi Winterhalder W7346,
Bruce & Katrina Idleman GP11704,
Mark Taylor,
Dan & Diane Campbell,
Serge Toropov & Francisco Caamano CL2365,
Brian Hickman W6082,
Annelies Groen & Steward Adams W4601.
Old salts, newbies take part in the 9-mile long-distance race at Killbear
This event was well attended with old salts and newbies competing on the 9-mile course laid out near Killbear Provincial Park on Georgian Bay, Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada. With the gentle winds out of the NW, a course was laid from Lighthouse Point to a green buoy near Wall Island then returning past the point to circumnavigate Cousin Island before finishing at Lighthouse beach.
Previous winners in W 397, Sue Pilling and Steph Romaniuk, led a rabbit start near the lighthouse and released the fleet toward Hole in the Wall. There was discussion about sailing through the Hole which looked possible early on. Fortunately, that did not happen as the wind shifted and then died leaving the fleet chasing zephyrs that never materialized.
Local sailors, Sue and Steph, broke away from the group before the calm and worked out a commanding lead that held as their finish at the Lighthouse point beach was recorded by Linda Heffernan.
The wind filled as the last few boats ghosted about the elusive green can, providing an exhilarating slog into a building breeze. A number of boats gave up before facing the strong winds and waves off Lookout Point. The international crew of Annette Grefe, niece Julie from Germany and Pat Kuntz from Florida heard a loud bang as the main sail descended around them due to a broken halyard. The chase boat arrived quickly and took them under tow.
Three trophies were awarded at the evening social. First to Sue and Steph, second to Annalies with crew Steward, then the Top of the Last presented to Tania and her dad Alan Asselstine for their sixth place. They loved the Hans Gottschling W bags.
Next year, perhaps a challenging course among the Thousand Islands while floating in the gentle currents of the St Lawrence.