All photos by Brett Storey unless noted otherwise
All photos copyrighted by photographer
Some of the Land Rover owners in and around Toronto have become well known for their penchant for all things wet. Anytime we get near even the smallest body of water, as small as a puddle, there is an instant attraction that even the strongest of our clan can't resist. After countless hours spent changing engine, gearbox and differential oils because of water contamination, you would think we would have learned, but no.
Resistance is futile, as they say, so if we must give into our fetish, what better place than on the shores of Lake Ontario near Picton, Ontario. We have been making our annual pilgrimage to Picton for many summers now. Each year the water levels vary, but even when the inland water is low, we've always managed to still get into trouble because the lake it’s self is always there.
The following photos are from some of our trips to this scenic area.
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A convoy of Solihull’s finest, lead by Nigel Howard, crosses the eastern end of Gull Pond. This is one of our favourite play areas.
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Dave Lowe drives his 88, Murphy, into the waters of Gull Pond, taking full advantage of the raised air intake he installed for just such occasions. Note the small fish leaping in the air in front of Dave’s impressive bow wave.
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Paul Campbell gets himself and his 88 stuck on one of the many pebble beaches in the area. Driving on these rocks is like driving on marbles and it is very difficult to climb up out of the lake. In these situations, momentum is an ally. The next day, as Paul decided to go topless, momentum played a big part in making this picture all the more exciting. Unfortunately for Paul, he needed another pull out after grinding to a halt in the muddy water.
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Alistair Lowe and Murphy fared no better than Paul did and had to wait for dad Dave to press the 109 into rescue service.
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Displaying my "superior bow wave technique", I drive the length of Gull pond, my 88 never missing a beat, as this photo by Joanne Tollefson shows.
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Unfortunately for Tom Tollefson the water got the best of him and his distributor this time as his 109 stalls out in the deep part. Was this a prelude to things to come?
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Tom decides to take a solo trip out into Lake Ontario without any real drama but give him a 109 full of people and he can be counted on to do something silly. If the truth be known, this was partially my fault. I was trying to splash Tom and company and to avoid me he went out a little to far driving of a submerged ledge. Feeling a little guilty, I offered to tow him back to shore. Once there, we drained the water out of the air cleaner, pulled the spark plugs and cranked the engine over. It really is surprising how much water an engine can hold. After checking the oil, we reinstalled the plugs and the beast fired right up, none the worse for wear.
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Phil Regan proves that with the proper finesse from the right foot the V8 powered Range Rover is as capable in the water as any 2 ¼ petrol Land Rover. His Rangie easily navigated the waters of Gull Pond.
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Simon Schofield shows us all the proper way to navigate standing water. First, remove the top, then plenty of wellie and see what happens. Simon was such a good sport he made several passes for the cameras.
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Some times rolling up the canvas and removing the door tops can prove to be a mistake as Tom Tollefson and Alistair Lowe found out while playing silly buggars one afternoon during a brief stop.
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Don Watson skillfully guides his Series I through "The Enchanted Forest". This muddy trail winds it’s way through a small forest on the shore of Lake Ontario and is so narrow the Land Rovers, with mirrors folded in, can just barely squeeze through.