Conway Narrows and Sandhills, Pete Con Road, PEI

My 16ft Larsboat outrigger sailing canoe (OSC) is perfect for cruising the shallow Conway Narrows of PEI's north shore.  I have usually launched the Larsboat OSC onshore at Seaweed Road or Black Banks.  Today, I decided to launch at the end of Pete Con Road, which would give me better access to the middle section of the Conway Narrows.

Track is 20 km; including all the tacks

The end of Pete Con Road is relatively isolated (i.e. no developments) and offers good shore access by vehicle. After setting up the OSC, I started sailing upwind (SE) towards Frederick Cove and SHA40. Without the right high tide, the water depth only allows for a narrow sailing channel – therefore, it took many tacks (40) to reach the sand flats at Frederick Cove. The Chinese junk rig is not the most efficient rig for going upwind, but it's a practical sail and eventually gets me there.

I decided to anchor the OSC at the large sand flats in front of Frederick Cove and go ashore for lunch and a walk. The Frederick Cove sand flats are enormous and do contain a channel that goes out into the gulf.  Today, it was all pretty quiet in the area, and I spent most of my lunch observing a huge flock of cormorants and seagulls.

On my way back, I decided to try sailing into SHA30 for a walk on the gulf side. I could have tried sailing there via the backside/north of CONISA and B islands, but I was afraid of getting stuck in low water. Instead, I stayed on the south side of the islands, rounded CONISA, and zig-zag my way to SHA30 without any trouble. After a short walk on the pristine sandhill beach, I sailed back to the car at Pete Con Road. I did have a bit of trouble with low water because I tried to take a short-cut instead of staying to the SE of a known long sand point (K SE2 SHA30). Next time, assuming higher tides, it will be fun to sail through the islands' north side (CONISA/B).