There is a narrow channel from the Lake through to Presqu'ile Bay which is well marked and leads NW through Presqu'ile Bay before turning east into the Murray Canal. You must stay in the channel or you will spend time over the side clearing weeds from your prop or worse. We will not duplicate any actual sailing directions as this is not the place to be without an appropriate chart.

Within Presqu'ile Bay you can find overnight mooring and services on the NW shore by following privately maintained markers.

The town of Brighton is somewhat to the northwest of the bay and there is an active yachting community located at the Harbourview Motel and Marina in Brighton. There are regular races here, also transient dockage with privately maintained buoys marking the approach to the harbor.

Once again the channel is narrow and as you approach the canals western entrance it can become very busy on weekends. Do Not Forget your markers will be reversed as you transit the Murray from west to east leaving the lake Ontario. Murray Canal has a depth 9 feet and is 5 miles long joining Presqu'ile Bay with the Bay of Quinte and is restricted by three swing bridges.

For small craft, the Murray Canal bridges has a closed clearance of 8 feet. You will be favoring the south side of the swing towers to stay in the channel. The Murray is not excessively wide and does get very busy in summer. When approaching a bridge there are traffic lights. Green when it is possible to proceed, red when traffic bound in the other direction or the bridge is closed.

The Murray Canal was built between 1882 and 1889 providing a safer and shorter route for sailing vessels following the north coast of Lake Ontario between Niagara and Kingston. This saved time required to reach the communities in the Bay of Quinte from the west end of the lake, saving early captains the one hundred mile trip outside around Prince Edward County.

Like most of our government services today transit of the Murray Canal costs a $4.00 fee for bridge opening. Your fees are collected as you pass the through this bridge, in either direction. If there is no traffic waiting (which is rare) the signal to request opening of the bridges is three long blasts of a horn. The canal seemed far less busy that I last remembered it.

You may have to wait for a while as this can be a bit of a parking lot, however if you do find a place along the wall the areas surrounding the bridges are pleasant and onlookers curious with washrooms by the bridge keepers office. If you desire it is possible to find places to tie up within the canal if not marked No Mooring Mooring.

It is highly unlikely the rail bridge will be closed, is long wall on the south side of the canal can accommodate many boats. However,it is made of rough limestone block with an elevation of approximately 6 ft. but there is not much around with any facilities to the east.

The eastern most bridge is on Highway 33. You may tie-up along the southern wall on the west side of the bridge. The canal wall is rough limestone block, 6 ft. or more above the water with access to shore made much easier due to floating docks. You will find a washrooms and tables near the bridge keepers office.

There are two well marked courses across the bay to Trenton. However all but small boats should consider the longer route. Your main channel lies to the right of buoy QQ8 and leads past the south shore of Indian Island and the Indian Island Bank. You should favor the near the shore approaching Onderdonk Point as, the QT16 marker with its flashing red light is 0.3 miles off shore.

Remember stay in the channel, with buoys to port, until passing close to the (QFW) Black-Yellow, North Cardinal marker QT, on the starboard beam, where you rejoining the main channel at marker.

If arriving from the United States you may Report to Canada Customs (1-800-267-0976 ) at the bridge from the southern shore of the canal to the east of the bridge which has a telephone.