Sunset off St JohnI was first seduced by the United States Virgin Islands during a ferry ride from St. Thomas to Tortola to begin one of our earliest British Virgin Islands charters nearly twenty years ago.

Heading SouthYou’ve weathered COVID and you’re ready to book your charter to paradise. You’ve done some homework, but your float plan’s also got some blank spots.

Skipper GregSt Vincent and the Grenadines is open to tourists and Horizon Yacht Charters are looking forward to welcoming our Canadian friends, old and new! You can fly from various locations in Canada via Barbados and then to St Vincent on InterCaribbean Airways or FlyOne and there are direct flights from Toronto with Air Canada on Mondays.

Bahamas 2020In Part I, Sheryl Shard ended the story at June and the start of Hurricane Season when they were once again joined by friends. This time it was Noel and Tracey Dinan, whose new shallow-draft Allures 49.5 was in build at the time, we headed north from the Exumas across the expanse of the Great Bahama Bank, dodging coral patches as we sailed to Eleuthera then Marsh Harbour, Great Abaco.

AirportYou likely aren’t quite ready to travel yet, but we have our fingers crossed that we can all fly soon. If that turns out to be during winter charter season or around the BVI Spring Regatta, you might take the opportunity to what you’ve long wanted to, fly direct to Beef Island.

Pipe Creek in Exuma Island GroupI leaned my head back into the water and floated easily. Having spent my childhood playing in freshwater lakes in Ontario’s Cottage Country it always surprises me how buoyant one is in salt water. And this water was warm. I could get straight in. No dipping my toes tentatively and inching myself in for a “refreshing” dip.

SVG Opens Pink LadySt. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) never officially shut its borders to tourists and remains open for business, poised to welcome visitors once they are permitted to travel from their respective countries.

Bahamas Open to CanadiansNASSAU, Bahamas, July 19, 2020 – Due to the continued increase in COVID-19 cases in the United States, as well as an uptick in cases in The Bahamas, Prime Minister, The Most Hon. Dr. Hubert Minnis, has made the difficult decision to close borders to international commercial flights and commercial vessels carrying passengers from the United States.

Dream Yacht ChartersDream Charters has opened new Caribbean base at Compass Point Marina, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands, in partnership with Virgin Islands Yacht Charters.

Belize - Sailing SolitudeWe’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.

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Boat Reviews

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When swimmer Merle Liivand made her 5th Guinness World Record swim across Miami’s Biscayne Bay on ...
The Cruisers Yachts 50 Cantius was actually reviewed in Canadian Yachting a few years ago when ...
One of the issues right now for electric planing boats is, to put it simply…the weight of the ...
Every few years, boat builders update their lines with refreshed designs and new features that ...
Regal Boats’ new LS36 is what we call a day boat. Regal says the LS36 merges their luxury yacht ...
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When J/Boats set out to make their latest model, their thinking moved away from a boat that you had ...
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Boats have been in high demand for the past two years and there’s no sign of this easing. ...

Video Gallery

Regal LS36 Luxury Crossover

By Andy Adams

Regal Boats’ new LS36 is what we call a day boat. Regal says the LS36 merges their luxury yacht series with their bowrider series and the result is the LS36. This comfortable bowrider is perfect for cruising the lake or hosting friends and family for the day on the weekend.

We feel the styling deserves mention right off the top. This is a big boat at over 37-feet on an 11’7” beam but the clean and almost traditional lines give the LS36 a timeless sporty look that we think, really sets it apart. It’s a Yacht-certified vessel. I counted approximately 21 places for people to sit! You would probably never take a crowd that big but it can certainly handle a gang.

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Dufour 37

By Zuzana Prochazka

Every few years, boat builders update their lines with refreshed designs and new features that eventually proliferate throughout their entire offering. Dufour Yachts is in mid-process of such an evolution as the builder changes up their line of sleek sailing cruisers.

One sign of this transformation is the naming convention that is morphing from triple-digit numbers ending with a zero, to simple double-digits that one would guess designates the LOA – more on this later. The latest model in the refresh is the Dufour 37 which replaces the previous Dufour 360. 

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Western Lake Ontario

I start every article, story or TV segment about boating out of the biggest city in Canada the same way. Citing the multiple people who told me I would “quickly get bored of Toronto harbour” or that “there’s nothing to do in Lake Ontario” and that it was only a matter of time before I moved marinas to a much more appropriate setting just north of the city.

With all due respect to my pals who boat in Georgian Bay, I don’t foresee that happening anytime soon. Next year will be my tenth in Toronto Harbour and I love it more each year.

 

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Lifestyle

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This issue’s Photo of the Week comes from friend Katie Dudman who reports. “He’s playing with the ...
My first recollection of  Buddy Melges was on Lake Geneva Wisconsin at the first world laser ...
At BENETEAU’s manufacturing facility, builders thoroughly test all materials that go into our boats ...
POTW fan, Josh Neufeld, modestly sent along these beauties.
Roger Renaud, our Windsor Sailing in Canada correspondent sends along this Photo of the Week ...
On a leisurely summer afternoon, what could be more relaxing than a cruise up the river aboard a ...
Strategist of the Canada SailGP Team and National Sailing Team 49erFX sailor, Georgia ...
Our Photo of the Week comes from AJ Twist in Montreal who was getting away from the off-season in ...
Our Video of the Week comes from Matt Ingram, a reporter at CHCH in Hamilton ON who investigated an ...
Good afternoon. With the possibility that the Kirkfield locks will be closed, we have no choice but ...

MJM YachtsIntroducing the next graduate in our CYOB marine career path series, Nathanial Stabenow from the East Coast of Canada.

An individual of many hats, Nathanial has had a diverse career in the marine industry taking part in commercial diving, marine navigation, rigging and boat building. He now works as a marine engineer on the LaHave ferry in Nova Scotia. Here is Nathanial’s unique career path.

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DIY & How to

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One of the pleasures of boating, at least for me, is reading boat names! I enjoy the many humorous ...
As the old saying goes, there are no ropes on a sailboat; only halyards, sheets, guys, vangs, ...
My friends have refused to help me move. It’s not because they aren’t helpful or good friends. It’s ...
In Part 1 of this article, I went through the process of choosing a sailmaker, identifying the type ...
Spring is here and there is no doubt you’re excited to start making waves on the water because like ...
An important, but often overlooked maintenance item on any type of boat is it’s steering system. ...
While interceptor technology for the marine industry has been around for decades, it’s still a ...
It’s that time of year again. The groundhog has been consulted, and we all anxiously wait for the ...
Particularly with the increased costs of ownership, Fractional Ownership may be a better investment ...
As spring approaches, the market starts to heat up, and as you are starting to search for that ...

Common Anchors

‘A chain is only as strong as its weakest link’ is a cliche that is quite applicable in boat maintenance. In a literal sense, a weakest link can apply to an anchor rode, and a weak link in this chain can spell disaster.

Transport Canada specifies the sizes of anchors required in the Canada Shipping Act, detailed more commonly in the Safe Boating Guide:

For Sail and Power boats up to 6 m (19’8”): One (1) anchor and at least 15 m (49’3”) of cable, rope or chain in any combination...

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Marine Products

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You’ve cruised Georgian Bay, Desolation Sound and The Thousand Islands. You’ve been to the BVI and ...
Birds perching on top of a mast will quickly make a mess of the deck and sail cover. To avoid this, ...
The Big Orange marine holding tank vent odour filter is easily installed in the waste holding tank ...
The Gobius C tank monitoring system distributed by Albin Pump LLC has been named a 2023 Top Product ...
Most marine stereo speakers produce music that bounces off the transom and reflects off the water, ...
Go time – it’s an opportunity to focus on boats and nothing else. Here are some titles to keep on ...
AkzoNobel’s Awlgrip® yacht coatings brand is launching Awlcraft® 3000, the latest Awlgrip top coat ...
Raritan Engineering's first product was a simple toilet named the PH. Designed for recreational ...
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SEA-SPEED bottom paint is a revolutionary high-performance Silane-Siloxane bottom coating ...

Pajot Hydrogen CatamaranThe Samana 59 Smart Electric is a new sailing catamaran equipped with alternative energy solutions and EODev’s electro-hydrogen REXH2.

To reduce its carbon impact, the Samana 59 Smart Electric has a virtuous energy architecture composed of a REXH2 that can provide up to 70 kW of continuous power, a battery composed of LiFePO4-EVEPOWER (Lithium Iron Phosphate) cells of 63kWh integrated by EVE SYSTEM and Alternatives Energies and 42 m2 of “slim” type solar panels that can provide up to 6145 W. This energy mix allows to take advantage of all the embarked renewable energies (solar, wind).

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