Buckle Up for a Deja Vu Summer

I’ll be hiding right here!

April 9, 2026

You may remember COVID.. (that’s a joke – who can forget that nightmare). What you may also remember was how boating became the biggest thing while everyone was locked down and locked in.

Well guess what! It’s happening again. While we thankfully don’t have a virus chaining us to the dock, there’s a whole lot going on.  From today’s perspective it’s pretty difficult to know exactly who’s doing what to whom but this we do know about your upcoming summer vacay:

  • Travel to the US is appealing to fewer Canadians thanks to the cornucopia of border inspection, annexation and related craziness:
  • Airfares, even within the country, are surcharging their way up and may not ever come down. Flights are canceled for some unexplained reason. Air travel will likely be more expensive and headace encumbered; car travel too as oil rides the roller coaster. In summary, you’re probably going to stay close to home.

So here we go – during Covid boats were grabbed, the supply became very limited and prices rose as increasing number of Canadian picked a safe option that suddenly seemed like a bargain.

Regardless of what’s happening in the short term, chaos seems to be perpetually on the menu. It’s hard to tell exactly what’s next, but the plan that truly makes a lot of sense under these unpredictable circumstances is to hide on the boat. Thankfully, launch day is just ahead.

John Morris
Online Editor

Related Articles

Video Gallery

Bennington 22 MSB

By Andy Adams

If you’ve already had firsthand experience with a pontoon, you will easily understand the appeal of the Bennington 22 MSB. But if you haven’t, let’s start by reviewing a few of the reasons why pontoon boats have become top sellers in markets across North America.

Pontoon boats began in the early 1950s as basically four steel drums lashed to a frame. They were not unlike the log rafts of ancient cultures and not much more sophisticated at first.

Read More

Destinations

The Best of Two Worlds

By Mathew Channer

Interior British Columbia might not be as famous for recreational boating as Canada’s Great Lakes, yet it is no less a world-class boat­ing destination. The mountains offer their own flavour of marine adventure with their series of long, deep ribbon lakes, and there is perhaps no area that embodies this more uniquely than the iconic Okanagan basin in southern B.C. One could be forgiven for assuming this valley was purpose-built for nautical fun, with a few delightful perks thrown in to make the area entirely irresistible (wine-tasting, anyone?).

Read More

Lifestyle