I first discovered the Thousand Islands three days into a CYA sailing course that was basically a boat camp for sailors. It was the end of September. We’d been underway twenty-four hours a day. Our skipper/instructor finally took mercy on us – no doubt persuaded by the odiferous crew – and instructed us to tie up to a dock at Mermaid Island in St. Lawrence Islands National Park. The leaves were just beginning to turn – blushing maples, oak leaves gilded in gold. I dove into crystal waters, floating lazily, staring out at the sun falling into the west, its rays burnishing the waters of the St. Lawrence.

By Mark Stevens   Photographs by Sharon Matthews-Stevens

“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.

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.

Let’s be honest. In terms of Canadian small cities Belleville is just another one. However, as a boating destination and as a historically important sailing force, it punches well above its weight. Cruising in Lake Ontario from Toronto has but one truly significant voyage and that’s to the Thousand Islands.  Getting there can be a lot of the fun unless you’re in a rush simply blasting through and going outside Prince Edward County. If you choose to take the scenic route, the journey through the Murray Canal to Belleville and then on to Kingston is as picturesque and historical a cruise as you’ll find anywhere.

Prince Edward Island may be Canada’s smallest province, but if you like golden beaches, fresh lobster and mussels, Down East music and all the breeze you need along green-topped red shores, this is the place for you. Most harbours in the Northumberland Strait and East Coasts are suitable for keelboats, although there are some interesting destinations on the North Shore. The West Coast offers little more than a nasty lee shore, although it is a pretty sail in good weather.

The many towns and villages that dot the Trent-Severn waterway each possess their own unique charm.   One of the most popular and scenic of these is the town of Bobcaygeon in Ontario’s Kawartha District.  Taken from the native Algonquin, Bobcaygeon means “shallow rapids”.  While incorporated in January of 2001 as part of the City of Kawartha Lakes, Bobcaygeon’s small town charm, clean waters and offering of both activity and tranquility continue to attract throngs of vacationers.