The gales of November didn’t bother this hearty sailor.
Forty-seven-year-old Tate Hill from Toronto had planned to be spending the winter in the Carribean, but life took a turn and it looks like he’ll be spending another cold winter in Canada.
The drama for Hill started after a frantic plea by his friend who last spoke to Hill on Friday, November 14, 2025 while he was sailing his 34-foot fibreglass sailboat on Lake Ontario south of Prince Edward County.
High winds from a storm on Friday made Lake Ontario a churning lake of white caps and swells.
Hill recounted his story speaking with Today’s Northumberland at Cobourg Harbour.
With Lake Ontario waves pounding over his boat called Seawolf, his intention was to head up the St. Lawrence River and into the ocean, then head south to the Caribbean for the winter.
But after one of his ropes got tangled in his propeller and other issues, he decided to head back to Toronto for repairs.
With waves more than three metres high pounding over his sailboat during a strong wind storm, two sails were damaged and his motor was shutting off and overheating.
With large swells and waves enveloping his vessel, his cell phone got wet. When that happened the battery to the phone shuts off automatically.
Unfortunately it was while Hill was talking to a friend saying he was taking on water.
“I did tell my friend, “waters coming in.”
But it wasn’t from a break in the hull, it was from the waves going over the boat and small amounts of water coming into the cabin.
Prior to leaving for his trip, radio equipment including a GPS was stolen from his sailboat.
“I left Kingston in the morning, the GPS shut off on my phone, I had nothing and it got dark – I ended up in New York.”
Hill said he ended up realizing he was in the States very close to Rochester, because land was on his left instead of his right.
Sailing at night with no depth finder, Hill said he tried to follow the lights from shore at night, but ended up going in circles.
Realizing it was time to stop he dropped his anchor and went to sleep.
Thinking he was in Oshawa, he was actually near Prince Edward County.
When morning came, he woke up and his phone was dry.
After turning it on he soon realized people were worried about him and had been trying to contact him.
“I called my friends, I called the police and went on VHF and said “you’re all looking for me, but I’m ok. I don’t need help.”
“They are trying to tell me to stay on, but I just turned off the radio, pulled up the anchor and started going.”
Shortly after he was approached by a helicopter.
Hill started waving, trying to inform them that he was ok and didn’t need or want help.
Shortly after a Coast Guard boat arrived.
“Why are you guys surrounding me?”
“I know it’s in a nice way that they are meaning to come and help, but I’m fine.”
The Coast Guard offered him a tow back to Cobourg which he accepted arriving in Cobourg shortly after 6 p.m. on Saturday.
His goal is to sail around the world, so he know he has to prepare for things like what happened.
“This is something I have to adjust too.”
“If I need help I have a VHF and I’ll call – but I didn’t need help. I just needed a couple of days to correct it on the water.”
Hill’s schedule of heading back to Toronto for the winter didn’t quite go as planned on Monday, November 17, 2025.
After casting off from the north wall of Cobourg Harbour around noon, Hill only made it a few metres before his sailboat because stuck on the bottom.
The Coast Guard launched a boat that was likely put away for the season and pulled him off the bottom and he was off – for a short time at least.
Hill notified Today’s Northumberland he was once again in Cobourg Harbour on Monday evening.
“I’m back. I went and started taking off, but the wind was against me and I wasn’t getting very far.”
Hill said during his brief trip he lost his dingy and his outboard motor on Lake Ontario.
Being homeless for a number of years, Hill said he has been sailing and living on the water for seven years.
Although he was safe at all times, Hill added that he was extremely grateful that people cared enough about him to notify emergency services when his phone died.
If all goes well he’ll be leaving Tuesday morning.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
