April 4, 2013
The Great Loop – Part I
The much anticipated envelope arrived in the mail at the beginning of September 2010. It was sent from the AGLCA, the America’s Great Loop Cruisers’ Association. Inside the envelope was a letter from the association congratulating us on completing the Loop, a gold AGLCA flag that we could proudly fly on our signal pennant and a certificate, our “Baccalooperat” This piece of parchment meant as much to us as receiving a degree from a university. We had done it. We had conquered the continuous waterway that took us through the Great Lakes, the inland rivers of the United States and the Gulf and Atlantic Intracoastal Waterways.
March 27, 2013
Thornbury Yacht Club
When I first went up to the Collingwood area to ski as a girlfriend to my future husband, little did I realize that I would one day teach skiing part time in Grey Country, wherein lies the Town of Blue Mountains. I had no idea there was even a harbour in Thornbury, much less a yacht club, until I was invited out to crew on a C&C 27, Sassy J in a ladies’ race with a fellow ski instructor, Tobyn Londos. Needless to say we had a fabulous time; Tobyn accomplished her first race with an all-female crew, and I met another friend, who turned out, at the time, to be the commodore of the Thornbury Yacht Club (TYC), Paul Sandiford. Paul and his wife, Leeanne, own a Dufour 35 called Mumm’s. They fell in love with TYC after a cruise to Christian Island and joined in 1999.
March 11, 2013
Wilson Harbor, NY
It’s really astonishing. In Ontario’s Golden Horseshoe, there are six million or so of us, crowded into bustling neighbourhoods and driving on packed roads. As Canadians we see the United States as a bigger, even more populous big brother next door. BUT. A mere 30 miles across Lake Ontario, you can find pastoral country in the charmingly American harbour and village of Wilson, NY that defies whatever image you have of the United States as the hub of industry and commerce.
March 8, 2013
West Vancouver Yacht Club – Far More Than a Marina
This will be a familiar question for most boaters when they first buy a boat and need to keep it someplace; what does one look for in a yacht club or marina? Is it the convenience, the atmosphere, the clubhouse, the docks, the racing, the cruising, the price, or the people? In this economy it may just end up being all of the above. However, what is becoming very clear time and again is that it tends to come down to the people you meet and the friends that you make.
March 8, 2013
Brittany Coast of France
Completing the Tour of the Six Celtic Nations. Sheryl and Paul Shard continue their sailing adventures with an autumn cruise of the Brittany coast of France aboard their Southerly 49 sailboat, Distant Shores II. It was a chilly and challenging summer aboard our Southerly 49 sailboat, Distant Shores II, exploring the beautiful west coast of Norway as far as 61°N and also the Celtic nations of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Isle of Man, Wales and Scotland including the Shetland and Orkney Isles.
March 8, 2013
Sidney Spit, BC
A pearl among Gulf Islands parks, this sandy haven is ideal for hiking, beachcombing, birding, fishing…or just hanging. Sidney Spit is a park of superlatives. With the best sandy shores, the best sunsets, the best crabbing and some of the best hiking in the Gulf Islands, it’s no wonder it’s a hit with just about all who visit – for a few hours, a day or a week. The park occupies 178 hectares at the north end of Sidney Island, among the most geologically diverse of the Gulf Islands. The island is composed almost entirely of quaternary drift deposits – unconsolidated sands and gravels deposited by glaciers about 10,000 years ago.
February 6, 2013
Week in the Broughtons
Returning to these waters after many years was both a homecoming…and a tempting taste of cruising adventures to come. We first visited the Broughtons when friends asked us to deliver their sailboat back to Vancouver after a cruise to Haida Gwaii. From Port McNeill we headed home via Alert Bay, the Indian Islands, Knight Inlet, Lagoon Cove and Johnstone Strait. We never forgot the breathtaking vistas of mountains and channels, the easy hospitality of the marinas, the turquoise water of Knight Inlet, the haunting presence of ancient First Nations inhabitants and more recent pioneers, an exciting sail down Johnstone Strait in a booming westerly – and we couldn’t wait to return in our own boat.
February 6, 2013
Canadian Yachting Association Rebrands as ‘Sail Canada’
Canadian Yachting Association (CYA) has recently rebranded itself as ‘Sail Canada’. Canadian Yachting Magazine interviewed Sail Canada’s President, Alan Lombard, and Executive Director, Paddy Boyd, to learn about this change, how it fits in with the organization’s strategic plan and how it benefits Canadian boaters and sailors. Canadian Yachting (CY): The move to rebranding CYA as Sail Canada is a big one. What was the catalyst for this change?
February 1, 2013
Round the Penders
Join us on a tour of these “Sirens of the Salish Sea,” perhaps the most tempting of the Gulf Islands. What is it about North and South Pender Islands, lounging smack in the middle of the Salish Sea, that makes them so alluring to boaters? The islands together comprise just 3,620 hectares and are home to only 2,300 residents. So why have they enticed skippers ever since their namesake, Daniel Pender, arrived in 1857 aboard his survey vessel HMS Plumper?
January 21, 2013
Ride of a Lifetime – Ottawa River
In 1613, Samuel de Champlain made his way up the Ottawa River in a birch bark canoe. To commemorate the 400th anniversary of this historic journey, 14 riders on 11 personal watercraft (PWC) made our own four-day voyage of discovery last summer. We travelled faster and likely had more fun than Champlain, but we shared the spirit of mystique, magic and wonder that the Ottawa River Waterway still invokes for all who adventure there.
January 8, 2013
Northern Yacht Club
The Lake of the Woods area comprises one of the natural wonders of North America. At over 70 miles long and wide, with more than 105,000 km of shoreline — which is more than Lake Superior, and more than 1,400 islands it is easy to see why. The lake is found in the provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the state of Minnesota. The northern end is home to deep, clear water and the rugged Canadian Shield, contrasted to shallow water and sandy bottoms at the southern end. Boaters see wildlife that includes Canadian geese, beavers, deer, bears, common loons, moose, pelicans, and bald eagles.
January 2, 2013
Tempt Your Taste Buds in St. Maarten
St. Maarten is one of the tiniest islands in the Caribbean; for its 37-square mile size, it packs a huge punch in tourism, with duty-free shopping, 37 beaches and 325 restaurants. With so many places to eat, you can find a wide range of cooking styles and ethnic food, including French, Italian, American, Mexican, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese and Chinese. St. Maarten boasts the highest concentration of fine restaurants per square mile in the entire Caribbean — don’t forget the roadside stalls with their focus on local farm to fork. Their offerings are authentic Caribbean and downright delicious.
November 30, 2012
Genoa Bay, British Columbia
Tranquil, colourful and funky, Genoa Bay is a must stop for West Coast boaters. The day brothers Will and Ben Kiedaisch assumed ownership of Genoa Bay Marina, they inherited outstanding bills, the bank was about to foreclose on the property, and the electricity was in danger of being turned off. “We didn’t know port from starboard when we took over,” says Will, laughing. “We had to learn how to run a marina from the ground up.” “We didn’t even own a boat and the first tool we had to buy was a bolt cutter because the marina was locked and abandoned,” recalls Ben.
November 29, 2012
Northern Scotland: Voyage to Orkney and Shetland Isles
Paul and Sheryl Shard continue their adventures cruising in Scotland aboard their Southerly 49 sailboat, Distant Shores II. The Muckle Flugga light at 60º 51’N 0º53’W marks the most northern point of the United Kingdom. Our quest to reach it aboard our Southerly 49 sailboat, Distant Shores II, took us through some of the United Kingdom’s most remote and charming island groups, the Orkney and Shetland Isles. These island groups lie off the north coast of the Scottish mainland; although both are territories of Scotland, the people seem to identify more strongly with their Nordic roots.
November 16, 2012
St. Margaret Sailing Club
To all those volunteers who came together to make something happen from small beginnings: this story will sound very familiar. “On a cold Sunday morning, sometime in the middle of the winter of 1956, a group of gentlemen met and laid the plans for what was to become the St. Margaret Sailing Club (SMSC) in Nova Scotia. It was led by a man who was later to become the first commodore, Dr. Arthur Murphy. At the time, the head of St. Margaret’s Bay (Schooner Cove) was the cottage area for Greater Halifax,” reminisces Lee Myrhaugen, past commodore from 2001–2003.
November 9, 2012
Indigo to Alaska
On a high-speed delivery to Whittier, Alaska, a brand-new Coastal Craft 400 IPS makes short work of the Inside Passage and the Gulf of Alaska. In September 2010, I took a call from a pleasant Alaskan, Dick Weldin. I remember his genuine interest in boat design, the pros and cons of features, and his queries and speculation on craftsmanship―I enjoyed our call immensely. I extended an invitation to the upcoming Seattle Boat Show. Little did I suspect that a year later I would be at the Seattle show standing on Dick and wife Jennie’s new Coastal Craft 400 IPS Indigo.
September 27, 2012
Nepean Sailing Club
Birth of an Inclusive and Accessible Sailing Club. Once upon a time there was nothing….. an embankment, a dozen or so yards of undeveloped land, and a shoreline of shallow, very exposed water on the Ottawa River. That was the beginning of the Nepean Sailing Club: no breakwater, no docks, no clubhouse, no yacht basin… and this is where the story began. In December of 1978 “three guys from Harlowe Avenue”; Bill Mantle, Jim Leeson, and Keith Cattell, organized a Community Sailing meeting because they were tired of waiting around for the Nepean City Council to develop a marina.
September 27, 2012
Philbrook’s Shipyard
After more than half a century on the Sidney waterfront, Philbrook’s remains a rare full-service shipyard with a loyal clientele. Just three short blocks in length, Harbour Road in Sidney, BC is home to several marinas, boat storage and work yards, and the occasional service provider, mechanic and parts depot. At the far end stands a cluster of buildings that is modest in appearance, business-like but neither flashy nor pretentious. This is the home of a unique business with a history of more than 50 years of service to the local marine community: Philbrook’s Shipyard.
September 27, 2012
Pendrell Sound Yacht Club
Dedicated to the serious business of having fun in one of BC’s most enticing cruising hideaways. Pendrell Sound YC could just be the most unique yacht club on the planet. Their annual newsletters would give John Morris a run for his money and outdo the Galley Guys for the creativity of their recipes – from drink concoctions to Asian salmon or what members consider the BEST chowder on the planet. The club’s most interesting Soundings newsletters include advice on all manner of things such as logging operations in Pendrell Sound,
September 6, 2012
Harmony Islands, BC
En route to Princess Louisa Inlet, this marine park offers tranquil refuge in a truly spectacular setting. After spending three wonderful days relaxing, exploring and visiting with other boaters in Princess Louisa Inlet, my wife Arlene and I departed, retracing our track back out through Jervis Inlet’s Queens, Princess Royal and Prince of Wales Reaches. The granite mountain slopes shone brilliantly in the morning sun. It was easy to imagine how the intense weight of massive glacier flows carved out these mountains and polished the hard granite to a shiny brilliance. Below the granite walls, thick forest, dissected by waterfalls, descended to the shoreline.
August 24, 2012
The Spirit of Haida Gwaii
These “islands on the edge” are alive with the spirit of the Haida people, and a cruise here is an unforgettable experience. There is a special place – north of Vancouver Island and west of the northern British Columbia coast – that is inhabited by the spirit of the Haida people. Haida Gwaii, formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago of more than 150 islands, and one of the most unique destinations you can visit by boat in North America. Haida Gwaii is remote and pristine, with a unique geological history.
August 10, 2012
1000 Islands – A Thousand Good Reasons
I first discovered the Thousand Islands three days into…
July 27, 2012
Sailing the Fjords of Norway
Norway and its fjords have always held an appeal for Paul and me not just for the extreme natural beauty but because Norway’s fjords helped shape one of the greatest group of seafarers in history, the Vikings, whose history fascinates us. The opportunity to take our own boat to Norway and sail in the fjords on the west coast after visiting Scotland last summer was irresistible. We had to go. Fjords are basically long narrow inlets from the sea. They make land travel difficult since they deeply penetrate the coast making them hard to get around; in Norway most fjords have enormously tall cliff sides, often many hundred of metres high, so they are hard to cross.
May 3, 2012
Québec Nautical Stations Help to Make Great Vacations
The whole idea of a vacation is to get away from it all and with a different language and culture, a visit to Québec is always something special in my opinion. Whether you’re looking for great scenery, fabulous boating or a memorable dining experience, Québec has so much to offer. The new Québec Nautical Stations program is unique in Canada and it can greatly enrich your vacation enjoyment – actually, it was designed to do just that.
April 24, 2012
BC Tidal Passes: Part 1 – Passes of the Gulf Islands
In the first of two articles on the BC Coast’s tidal passes, we survey the passes that link the Strait of Georgia with our most popular cruising ground. One of the greatest sources of anxiety for new boaters on the BC coast – or boaters new to coastal waters – is the fact that water here moves around – a lot. Understandably, this is a worry I’ve heard from people from the Prairies or eastern Canada who may be used to the relative tranquility of lake boating.
April 17, 2012
Discovering Ireland Aboard Distant Shores II
Paul and I both have roots in the British Isles so this past summer we decided to spend a season sailing from England to Ireland and Scotland to visit the homeland of our grandparents and catch up with relatives still living there. And since Scotland is not that far from Norway – a 25-hour passage across the North Sea – we worked that in to our itinerary too. This story begins with our return to England last spring and Leg One of the 2011 cruise – the voyage from England to Ireland along the coast of the Celtic and Irish Seas.
March 16, 2012
Around the Boatyards – Coastal Craft
From its aluminum workboat roots, Coastal Craft is emerging as a leading builder of high-performance semi-custom yachts, with an emphasis on innovation. From its modest start in 1996 as a builder of welded aluminum crew boats, Coastal Craft has emerged as an industry leader in high-performance, high-tech semi-custom yachts. There are probably more than a dozen manufacturers of aluminum workboats on the British Columbia coast – but Coastal Craft has moved far beyond that original niche.
March 8, 2012
Voyage to the Baltic Sea
Paul and I had always wanted to sail to the countries of Scandinavia so, following a successful shake-down cruise to the Channel Islands and along the south coast of England last spring, we pointed the bows of our new Southerly 49 variable-draft sailboat, Distant Shores II, towards the Baltic Sea. Our 3,200 nm summer voyage to the Baltic would take us from Chichester Harbour in England across the North Sea with stops in Holland and Germany then through the Kiel Canal into the Baltic Sea to explore Denmark and Sweden, then back to England to the Northshore Shipyard in Chichester Habour where Southerly yachts are built.
February 10, 2012
Sint Maarten – Serious Fun
The horn signals the start of the Round-the-Island race in the 31st running of the Heineken Regatta. Our boat incises the waters off Sint Maarten’s south coast with the precision of a surgeon’s scalpel. On every side the white triangles of other boats decorate the horizon line; in the distance I can see the misty blue heights of Saba.
October 18, 2011
Support The Call For 12 New Marine Protected Areas By 2012
I think it’s a given that as a Canadian Yachting reader, you are passionate about Canada’s waters and protecting them from pollution and wildlife threats. Recently, an article in the Globe & Mail presented a way to easily demonstrate our commitment to the waters we love so much. Back in June, tied to ‘Oceans Day 2011’, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society challenged the federal government to establish 12 new marine protected areas by the end of 2012.
October 18, 2011
Cruising Into the Sunset
It hits me as hard as the waves crashing into our bow just outside the shelter of Sunsail’s St. Vincent base, strong as the thirty-knot winds gusting out of the east, that I have not planned this trip as well as I should have. We ship two good friends as crew – both relatively experienced sailors – but they aren’t ready for this. Nor am I. Supposed to be a bucket list adventure but it starts as a romp from hell.
October 14, 2011
Celebrating Our Boating History This Summer
Antique and Classic Boat Shows Round-up Whereever you travel in Canada this summer, if you plan the dates right, you could spend a glorious day admiring, photographing, perhaps listening to and maybe even riding in an antique or classic boat! There are shows planned across Canada from Victoria, BC to Hubbard’s Cove in Nova Scotia with plenty of great events in between.
October 14, 2011
Thar She Blows!
Don’t call me Ishmael. No apocryphal white whale for me, no leaking longboat bristling with harpoons. Our vessel is more seaworthy, our crew and passenger manifest less motley. We will not kill the great leviathans that pierce the skin of the sea, we will merely share their playground. We will also share the lives of the people of the sea on Canada’s great island, skimming over waters once plied by Basque and Portuguese fishermen, past shores explored a thousand years ago by Vikings,
August 30, 2011
Malta – A Golden Destination
The Mediterranean island nation of Malta is a golden destination for sailors and when you arrive at Grand Harbour at the fortified city of Valletta you realize why. This perfect natural harbour, one of several on the island, has offered shelter to seafarers since ancient times. Add to this Malta’s strategic location in the center of the Mediterranean, 90 km. south of Sicily and 290 km. from the northern coast of Africa, and it’s easy to understand why Malta has been conquered and ruled by nearly every major power that has shaped the history of this part of the world from the Stone-Age and Bronze-Age peoples, to Romans and Phoenicians, Arabs, Normans and Carthaginians, Castilians, French and British.
May 8, 2011
Back to the Channel
“So you’re back,” says Canadian Yacht Charters co-proprietor Ken Blodgett as if it hasn’t been a year since we’d last seen him. “I’m back.” I sit down on a Muskoka chair beside Blodgett just outside their office, snugged down on the shores of Gore Bay on Manitoulin Island’s north shore. I stare at the waters – dark green and mysterious in the late afternoon.
May 8, 2011
Cruising Through History – Belgium’s Canals and Rivers
“Who wants to go first?” I do, so up I step up to the controls of our 34 ft. Le Boat cabin cruiser. A few minutes earlier, my two friends and I had been eyeing the cruiser eagerly and a touch anxiously from the safety of dry land. It’s our new home for the next week. In the interests of full disclosure, I’m not a boater. Not from lack of interest, just lack of opportunity.
February 7, 2011
Planning Your Dream Cruise: 1 – First Steps
You’re not quite sure how or when this happened, but the casual thought of going off cruising someday is starting to become a goal you’re taking more seriously. Perhaps at the moment you don’t know if, given your current circumstances, it’s even possible to say goodbye to the rat race for a while and set sail for warmer climes, but you’d sure like to check it out!
January 13, 2011
Sea Ray Wood Shop – Hallmarks of Quality
While attending the Miami International Boat Show last February, Rob Noyes, VP of Marketing for Sea Ray Boats made special arrangements for me to tour their new woodworking facility at Merritt Island near Orlando. I’m a lifelong antique boat fan and refinished my own mahogany runabout a few years ago, so the chance to see the latest, state-of-the-art woodworking facility was an invitation I could not refuse.
January 12, 2011
Bruce Peninsula, Ontario
A rugged path strewn with rocks slices through a dense stand of cedar just beyond a red-roofed square wooden lighthouse squatting beside Georgian Bay on the furthest reaches of Ontario’s Bruce Peninsula. You trudge along this path that meanders through forests boasting five-hundred-year-old trees; you deeply inhale the cedar aroma. Then the forest thins and you emerge onto a plain of stone and sand and shale.