Warm water and hot racing are guaranteed at the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival, March 25-31, 2013!
With less than three weeks to go until the 42nd edition of the BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival at Nanny Cay, a truly international cast is making ready to take centre stage in the beautiful sailing grounds off Tortola, British Virgin Islands.
The BVI Spring Regatta & Sailing Festival has always attracted sailors from around the world to take part and this year is no exception. Entries from at least 12 different nations will compete and include: Australia, Germany, USA, Netherlands, Sweden,
As winter progresses into spring, it's never to early to dream wistfully about those cool 'sweater-weather' evenings 'downeast' in Maine and Nova Scotia, cocktails in hand, with delicious munchies of cheese and crackers and lots of veggies with yummy dips at hand, watching the spectacular sunset settle across the bay and the distant rolling hills-- it's simply magical for those lucky enough to have experienced them over time.
Perhaps one of the world's best kept secrets is Chester Race Week, held in Chester, Nova Scotia, just a stone's throw away from the bustling metropolis of Halifax. Chester Race Week (scheduled August 14-17, 2013) has been sailing since 1856 and in recent summers has had consistent entries of 130-150
Barry Goodyear of Ra Kon Marnie Surveyors in Innisfil, Ontario was telling us about a boat he recently surveyed. Severe electrical problems prompted the owner to re-wire an accessory. A 6’ length of wire was carefully stripped and even in the middle of the insulated area, there was the tell-tale green “fuzz” corrosion that results from saltwater exposure.
The boat had sunk in saltwater. Years later, the damage was coming to light.
The BoatUS organization is a major American marine insurer and
Visitors to Saanich Inlet will find a dramatic new Mill Bay Marina on the site of the old marina on the inlet’s western shore. The old wooden pilings and floats have been replaced by steel pilings, concrete floats, 91 wide permanent berths for boats to 55’, and 700’ of transient moorage for vessels to 200’, all protected by a state-of-the-art floating breakwater.
The new marina, on the edge of the Gulf Islands, also has a fuel dock (gas and diesel), while a dockside bistro called Bridgemans and a marine store are set to open this spring.
Marine meteorologist and educator Lee Chesneau offers his two-day seminar “Toward Self-Reliance in Marine Weather and Forecasting” March 14-15 at the Northwest Maritime Center in Port Townsend, Washington.
Chesneau is a veteran forecaster for the US Navy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and private industry who now focuses on teaching marine weather and advanced weather routing techniques to mariners. His aim is “to provide every capable seagoing mariner with the knowledge, tools and culture to embody self-reliance and independent decision-making in weather forecasting, route planning and heavy weather avoidance.”
As the May target date looms for the federal government’s planned closure of Kitsilano Coast Guard Station, opponents among first-responder organizations and at all levels of government are stepping up their campaign to reverse the controversial decision.
Among recent developments:
At the Vancouver Boat Show, hard-working volunteers from the Jericho Sailing Centre Association, a leader in the campaign to save the station, collected more than 3,000 signed letters to Prime Minster Stephen Harper. The letter sets out key arguments against the closure, accuses local Conservative MPs of “abandoning ship” on the issue, and concludes: “I will not vote for a party that closes the Kitsilano Coast Guard Station.” The letters were sent to the PM at no cost using MPs’ free letter-mail privileges.
Read more: Opponents of Kits Base Closure Step Up Pressure...
The 51st Vancouver International Boat Show drew steady traffic throughout its five days, including BC’s first Family Day, Monday, February 11. Strong boat and retail sales at the show bolstered confidence in the local recreational boat industry heading into the 2013 season.
To take advantage of Family Day, organizers switched from the show’s usual Wednesday-Sunday slot to open the show on Thursday, which may have been the show’s single best day. Field and concourse exhibits at BC Place were busy from the opening and exhibitors began reporting strong sales almost immediately. One dealer was surprised to find they had made 20 major sales of boats or motors on Thursday alone.
The 45th Annual Southern Straits Classic is set for March 29-31, 2013. The West Vancouver Yacht Club (WVYC) is making preparations to host its Annual Southern Straits Classic for the 45th time. The Easter Weekend racing tradition will see sailors criss-crossing Georgia Strait testing their strategy, skill, and endurance while racing overnight in early season conditions.
The Classic Short, Medium, and Long courses range from 55 to 132 nautical miles. The race committee has redesigned the Medium course, eliminating the leg from Ballenas Is. to Entrance Is., opening it up to new tactics for racers.
Read more: West Vancouver Yacht Club’s race hits milestone...
The British Virgin Islands is home to Conch Charters, operated for the past 25 years by Cindy Chestnut and Brian Gandey, a young couple from Montreal.
Everybody that I have met that has taken a winter trip to the Caribbean spends at least one moment fantasizing about “cashing it all in” and starting a
business in a tropical paradise. I know because I have done it many times. The British Virgins Islands is one of these special places; beautiful blue water,
swaying palm trees, gentle people and perfect sailing weather almost all year long. In today’s world this is all but impossible with all regulations, quotas,
bureaucracy maturation of the of the local business society in the islands. But 25 years ago the dream was alive and for the taking for Cindy and Brian.
Nova Scotia Islands documentary airs Sunday, February 17, 2013 at 12 Noon. With intriguing pasts and mysterious happenings, the islands of Nova Scotia have been the setting of stories that stir the senses and rouse the imagination. Abandoned settlements and homesteads, lighthouses and keepers, fisherman and fishing grounds, pirates and treasure, contagious diseases and mass burials, ghostly apparitions and lost cemeteries are all highlighted in this homage to Nova Scotia's colourful island history.
Islands are part of the geography and history of the Maritimes, nowhere more so than Nova Scotia. Jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean, there are more than 3,800 islands that lie scattered along nearly 5,000 miles of
Destinations
Cowichan Bay to Genoa Bay – Almost the Gulf Islands
By Catherine Dook
“So you’re going offshore to Genoa Bay,” said an old salt at coffee that morning. Genoa Bay was 15 minutes away from our homeport of Cowichan Bay and hardly counted as offshore, but it was our first destination that fall. The fog had socked us in all that morning, so John and I drank coffee and gossiped with the neighbours while waiting for the weather to lift. We’d provisioned with cans of chilli, a sack of apples, and tanks full of water. We’d tested the engine and the anchor winch. We were ready.
Read More of Cowichan Bay to Genoa Bay.....
Lifestyle
By: Katherine Stone
Do you know how many boaters you run into while standing in the lift lines of Blue Mountain and the surrounding private ski clubs? Quite a few! Start some conversations on the ski lifts and you might be surprised how many avid boaters you can meet.
Many who boat say that winter sports are just there to pass the time until the ice clears and you can get your boat launched and start boating again. As a ski instructor, you tend to meet even more interesting boaters… Read more about the Reef Boat Club ....
Boat Reviews
Delphia Escape 1080 S
By Andy Adams and John Armstrong
Photos courtesy Delphia Yachts
Escape to places you always dreamed of.
To say that Canadian Yachting readers enjoy a store wide variety of boating experiences and conditions would be quite an understatement!
The coastal conditions of Atlantic Canada are very different from those in British Columbia's Pacific Northwest and very different again from cruising Ontario's Trent Severn Canal or Rideau, or for that matter, the Thousand Islands or the St. Lawrence through Québec.
Read more about the Delphia Escape 1080 S.....
DIY & How to
Marine Products
By Owen Hurst
Since the initial article of this series we have looked at the iPad and its use as a marine navigation instrument. We have discussed its functionality, available apps, relevant hardware and compared it to traditional charplotters. This focus on iPad led one of our readers to an interesting question that we have yet to address.
Question: Why has the focus been solely on the use of iPads for marine navigation rather than Android devices?
Read More Going iPad or Android.....
