Dec 12, 2017
Colin Sanders with consultant Leven Brown in Puerto de Mogan
After a week of weather delays,A Million Possibilities: Solo Ocean Row 2017, a once in a lifetime 4,000- kilometre journey, began at first light on Sunday, December 10. Colin Sanders, 64, is rowing across the Atlantic Ocean from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean to raise awareness and funds for Community Living Ontario, a family- based association assisting people who have an intellectual disability and their families. Sanders’ adult son, Jeff, is supported by Community Living Campbellford/Brighton.
“Less than 30 people in the world have successfully rowed across the Atlantic by themselves,” added Sanders. “When I reach either Antigua or Barbados, I’ll be in pretty select company.”
Sanders arrived in Gran Canaria on November 18to make final preparations aboard Socks II, his 21-foot ocean rowboat. He had planned to leave the Canary Islands on Friday, December 1 but heavy winds from the wrong direction forced a delay.
Sanders is being assisted by Leven Brown, an ocean rowing consultant who has crossed the Atlantic and Indian oceans.
People are encouraged to donate to Community Living Ontario by visiting OneMillionPossibilities.com and SoloOceanRow2017.com.
Community Living Ontario is a family-based association assisting people who have an intellectual disability and their families to lead the way in advancing inclusion in their own lives and in their communities.
A Million Possibilities: Solo Ocean Row 2017 is generously sponsored by Ocean’s, NiteIze, CSBT, McDougall Insurance and Financial, Frank Cowan Company, and Bollin Group Inc.
By Andy Adams
The multi-generational island cottagers of Georgian Bay and serious fishermen are just two of the groups most attracted to the new Oakley Boats models.
Brad Oakley has been around the boat business his entire life and he said to me that he has long admired durable, seaworthy welded aluminum boats. His company WMW Vacuum Pumpout Systems in Waubaushene, Ontario on Georgian Bay, builds highly regarded vacuum pump-out systems and Oakley’s equipment is in so many marinas that he knows a lot of people in the business.
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By Katherine Stone
On a beautiful summer morning in July, I hopped aboard a new-owner delivery from the Outer Harbour Marina in Toronto to the Port Credit Harbour Marina in Mississauga, with the President of Navy Point Yacht Sales, Steve McPherson. I don’t know if I have ever referred to a boat as pretty, but this adjective fits the Fountaine Pajot Astrea 42 to a tee.
The transitions and communication from interior to exterior spaces are seamless and well-thought-out with functional ergonomics.
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Following the War of 1812, a battle that Canada narrowly won against the United States, the boundaries of Upper Canada were held and the British army realized that the St. Lawrence River was no longer safe as a supply route. A more defensible route was needed to bring supplies from Montreal to Kingston and on into other Great Lakes settlements.
This new, more secure route revealed itself through the travel and trade of the Indigenous peoples. Surveyors learned that one of the Indigenous trade routes began at the mouth of the Cataraqui River in Kingston (Canada’s first national capital) and connected a series of lakes and rivers all the way through to where the Rideau River meets the Ottawa River in the heart of Bytown (known today as Canada’s national capital: the City of Ottawa).
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Over the last decade, sailcloth weaving equipment has evolved and allowed the production of low crimp warp oriented woven cloth of medium to heavy weights. We have had light weight warp wovens of 200g/m2 (4oz) or lighter for much longer than that, but the finer denier weaves of light sailcloth allowed that with older looms and setups. Why is this important? This new loom technology is very important because it allows sailmakers to make better warp cut woven sails for boats 25-50’ long.
Let’s start by clarifying what a crosscut sail is. The crosscut panel layout aligns the fill (short) edge of the sailcloth roll with the leech edge of the sail. Most of the sail load goes from clew to head up the leech. Secondary sail loads go from corner to corner along the foot and luff edge.
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I filled up last week at $1.90. Pundits are suggesting that prices will stay high throughout the summer. Radio and TV news have been flooded with ‘man on the street’ interviews that show the impact on the average driver. How will these prices affect the average boater this year? Will we see more hours spent on the docks and fewer on the water? Will fuel efficiency become a top-of –mind selling point? Will we see a shift toward electric marine engines?
Time will tell – but for the majority of us, we’ll need to weather the storm as best we can. There are a number of tips and tricks we can employ aboard to make the most of our boat’s fuel. BoatUS published an excellent article this week that I’ll break down...
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