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Dream Charters has opened new Caribbean base at Compass Point Marina, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, in partnership with Virgin Islands Yacht Charters.
We’ve just weighed anchor off Thatch Caye, a tiny island nuzzled by Caribbean waters flowing between the world’s second longest barrier reef and the mountainous coast of Belize to our west, and now we’re navigating a serpentine course through a crowded congregation of coral heads.
On Monday, May 6 a flotilla of power and sailboats cruised along Havana’s waterfront in a celebration of the city’s 500th anniversary.
Earlier this winter it became all too apparent that I needed to get away. As a twice a week around the cans racer at ABYC in Toronto I am not part of the big league racing scene, but as it turns out it wasn’t that hard to access.
For at least ten years, six of us, all members at Toronto’s Ashbridges Bay Yacht Club, have been talking about chartering a boat in the Caribbean.
Anytime a Canadian is asked to travel south in the beginning of our spring, which this year was far from inviting, is a dream worth living. The thought of a sailing adventure, tropical breezes, the smell of spices and the warmth of the sun was too much – we HAD to go!
We’re gliding through green-blue waters, colours so vivid and bright they hurt your eyes. We’re set for a close reach out of a harbour guarded by a necklace of tiny emerald islands decorated by palms that dance in fifteen knots of wind.
The Moorings has just announced the launch of its newest Caribbean destination, Antigua.
Do you ever dream about traveling by boat on sparkling tropical seas as winter sets in at home and the weather turns colder and grayer?
Just before the weekly party at Shirley HeightsSunsail staffer Chris Donahue conducts our chart briefing inthe cockpit of our chartered Jeanneau 41, lashed stern-to on a cobblestone pier where two Royal Navy officers once fought a fatal duel, hard by Sunsail’s base office housed in a stone building, circa 1795.
Lifestyle
Burlington Sailing & Boating Club – a successful four-way partnership
By Katherine Stone
It’s always amazing to me how life has degrees of separation that are incredibly small, even when you spend your adult life in another country than the one you grew up in. I grew up sailing on Lake Erie and when my father’s health was on the decline it was decided that I would be appointed to sell his boat. As fate would have it, an older gentleman came to see the boat and decided on the spot to purchase it. Off it sailed, out of Lake Erie, through the canal and into Lake Ontario to reside happily at the Burlington Sailing & Boating Club. Little did I know that many years later, I would be doing their profile for Canadian Yachting.
Read more about Burlington Sailing & Boating Club...............
Katherine Stone
Like many other harbours on Lake Ontario, Cobourg has seen its fair share of changes. Screams used to be heard from kids piled into a toboggan on wheels that went hurtling down a wooden slide into the harbour. Above it all was the bustling din from the waterfront of ship’s whistles, train engines, foghorns and thundering coal cars. It is now a rather serene place for the locals and visitors to enjoy various watercraft. Fortunately, the beautiful beach that lines the waterfront is still a star attraction for the town.
Located 95 kilometres east of Toronto and 62 kilometres east of Oshawa on the north edge of Lake Ontario, United Empire Loyalists first starting arriving in the area as early as the 1780s. The first settlement in 1798 was called Buckville, later renamed Amherst, then called Hamilton (after the township) and also nicknamed Hardscrabble. It wasn’t until 1819 that they finally settled on the name of Cobourg, which was incorporated as a town in 1837. In the late 1820s large schooners with passengers and cargo had to anchor well off shore, as there was only a landing wharf. A group of Toronto businessmen formed the Cobourg Harbour Company which built the wooden Eastern Pier from tolls charged for the use of the harbour.
DIY & How to
The Rules Guy: An overview of the right-of-way rules III
In the past two issues we have been doing an overview of the right-of-way rules. In the first, we did a review of Section A of Part 2, in the second we did a review of the definitions. This issue, we will look at Section B of Part 2, General Limitations, which is essentially limitations applying to boats that have right of way according to Section A.
GENERAL LIMITATIONS
14 AVOIDING CONTACT
A boat shall avoid contact with another boat if reasonably possible. However, a right-of-way boat or one entitled to room or mark-room
Read more about the right-of-way rules.......................
Boat Reviews
CY Virtual Video Boat Tours
We all love boats and nothing can break us up! So, what better way to spend our time than looking at interesting boats and going aboard in a virtual ride or tour. We have asked our friends at various dealers and manufacturers to help us assemble a one-stop online resource to experience some of the most interesting boats on the market today. Where the CY Team has done a review, we connect you to that expert viewpoint. Our Virtual Show will continue to grow so visit frequently and check it out. If you can’t go boating, you can almost experience the thrill via your screen. Not quite the same, but we hope you enjoy our fine tour collection.
Read more about the CY Virtual Boat Tours....................
Beneteau Oceanis 30.1
As boat builders clamber to create ever-bigger platforms for ever-more generous budgets, the entry-level cruiser has become an elusive animal. Sure, if you want to daysail, there are plenty of small open boats from which to choose, but if you want a freshly built pocket cruiser, you’re in for a long search. Enter French builder Groupe Beneteau, which identified this gap in the market and set about creating the Oceanis 30.1, an adorable little cruiser that resembles her larger siblings in all but length and price. With all she offers, it wouldn’t be a stretch to call her a mini yacht.
Read More about the Beneteau Oceanis 30.1..................
Canadian Cruising - There's No Place Like Home!
By the Canadian Yachting Editors
Canadians are blessed in many ways and especially when it comes to boating. We enjoy some the world’s most beautiful cruising waters and many places are as sheltered as they are scenic.
British Columbia and the Pacific North West plainly have the most breath-taking scenery with the combination of the majestic ocean views and the snow-capped mountains in the distance. It’s like no place on earth when you have a Killer Whale breach beside your little fishing boat.
Read more about Canadian Cruising...........
Marine Products
New Wash Mitt Cleans Fast, Without Swirls and Scratches
Anyone who has repeatedly used a rag to clean gelcoat, paint and delicate surfaces has seen the results accumulate over time: scratches and swirls. Shurhold's new Chenille Microfiber Premium Scratch-Free Wash Mitt provides the confidence to wash the most sensitive boat part without worry and holds a massive amount of soapy water for fast work.
The Microfiber Wash Mitt is made from a premium, scratch-free 80/20 blended microfiber that traps dirt and debris deep within the material. This is essential when cleaning touchscreen displays and other soft, easily marred surfaces.
Read more about the Wash Mitt...............
Blue Guard Introduces Next-Gen Bilge Pump Switch with Integrated Oil and Fuel Detection Sensor
Blue Guard has announced the general availability of the BG-One, a solid-state bilge pump switch, oil and fuel detector. Having no moving parts or mechanical float switches, BG-One will automatically turn off the bilge pump when oil or fuel is detected, preventing potentially costly oil or fuel discharge.
BG-One was designed with boat owners, environment and operational durability in mind, and protects the owners and operators from fines and clean up costs due to unwanted oil discharge from bilges.
Read more about Blue Guard's Bilge Pump Switch........................
