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The Port of Everett Marina in Washington State, the largest publicly operated marina on the West Coast, was among more than 20 marinas nation-wide considered for the prestigious industry award.
Read more: Destinations: The Port of Everett Marina honored...
A favourite destination for many boaters and tourists alike is the lovely Mackinaw Island. Sitting in Lake Huron on the eastern end of the Straits of Mackinac in the state of Michigan, it covers almost ten kilometres, of which 80% is park land.
Toronto sailor and former RCYC coach/sailing instructor Ryan May is now a US coast guard captain and is presently accepting bookings in San Francisco California.
The food in the grocery store – where does it come from? There are undoubtedly hardworking people who farm, refine, etc. and when we walk into Sobey’s, there it is...
The sun was just starting to light up the horizon when we departed our home slips in Crystal Harbour, LaSalle, Ontario, and entered the Detroit River. It was June 28, 2014, the first day of our adventure to explore the waters of the Great Lakes and beyond from Windsor to Montreal. We had set aside about six weeks to cruise down Lake Erie and enter the NY Canal System near Buffalo, travel east on the canal to Oswego, head straight north across Lake Ontario to Kingston, traverse the Rideau Canal to Ottawa, cruise down the Ottawa River to Montreal, head back west up the St. Lawrence River to the Thousand Islands, and finally re-enter the NY Canal system at Oswego and follow it back toward Lake Erie and home.
My wife, Hélène, and I travelled on Mystic Blue, a Mainship Pilot Classic. Terry and his wife, Linda, voyaged on their Camano Troll, 4 Buoys. Both 30-foot vessels were designed to cruise at a comfortable and economical speed of about 8 – 9 knots.
Just across the border from Canada’s Gulf Islands – and there’s a story behind that – San Juan is an engaging destination rich in history, culture and opportunities to explore shoreside.
Our first cruise to the San Juan Islands was in 2005, our seventh year of cruising on our wooden sailboat, South Islander. We had heard about how lovely the San Juans were, and even though we have many beautiful anchorages in Canada, we felt it was time to do some exploring south of the border. After all, the San Juans are really just an extension of our own southern Gulf Islands; it’s the international boundary that runs right smack through the middle that makes the San Juans a separate destination.
The Presque Isle peninsula is a 3,200-acre – 7-mile long arm that extends northeast into Lake Erie creating a large, sheltered boating paradise of a harbour. With a string of well equipped marinas, a wealth of facilities and a very impressive yacht club, it has attractions for boaters that place it at the top of a cruising destination list. This may come as a bit of a surprise since Erie, PA is a relatively small community with a population that has hovered around 100,000 for decades. Nonetheless, it is a comparative giant in terms of boating.Boats and Erie have a solid historic connection. If you managed to stay awake during Grade 10 history you’d have traced the communities of the lake back to the early exploration of North America. During the War of 1812 (which we know as our victory in Canada, although it seems to have had a different outcome south of the border) a 27-year-old US Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry built a fleet of ships and defeated (!) the British at the Battle of Lake Erie.
Few cruising boats visit beautiful and remote Prince William Sound. Some 2,800 square miles in area and situated at the very northern tip of the Gulf of Alaska, from which it is separated by a series of major barrier islands, this inland sea has a coastline equal to that of Oregon and California combined. Within its boundaries lie the towns of Cordova, Valdez and Whittier ̶ as well as the native American villages of Chenega and Tatitlek. To reach it, any boat too large to be put on a trailer and towed for hundreds of miles through mountainous terrain must be placed on a barge or brave a 500-mile transit across the open and often tempestuous waters of the Gulf of Alaska.
I have always wanted to go to Baja, but like many of the other 25+ destinations on my bucket list, I still hadn’t got round to it. Imagine my delight when a last minute invite – timed perfectly around a crazy production schedule – found me basking in the beauty of the Marina Costa Baja ready to hop on one of Mooring’s brand new, fully loaded Power 474s with a bunch of like-minded journalists, ready for a first-hand experience of a lifetime. The first day – ‘the getting to know one another day’ – found us only six miles from our departure point in La Paz, Mexico, in the well-protected anchorage of Caleta Lobos.
Adamant 1 has had an adventurous trip since returning from the Bahamas. The Intracoastal Waterway is full of twists and turns, marshland, shallow water and spectacular scenery. It has been very quiet as well with little boat traffic. We pulled into Fernandina Beach at the Florida-Georgia border. We heard it was beautiful there so we rented a car and toured all day. Sadly, we got caught in a tropical depression that lasted for two days with sustained winds of 80 km/h. Once the storm abated, we headed north again. Georgia doesn’t have much to offer except marshland.
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Related Articles
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. 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....................
Boston Whaler 230 Vantage
By Andy Adams
The famous Boston Whaler slogan, “the unsinkable legend” has always expressed a safety promise that from their very beginning, set a Boston Whaler apart from other boats, and it’s clear to me that the designers take this heritage seriously.
The Boston Whaler 230 Vantage maintains the virtues that have made Whalers such an enduring success and now the designers have skillfully captured those virtues in a handsome and somewhat more traditional dual console design.
Boating In the Birthplace of Confederation
Over the course of four days in September 1864, representatives from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario) gathered in Charlottetown to discuss the idea of bringing these diverse colonies together and forming a country. These discussions laid the foundation for what ultimately led to the Confederation of Canada in July, 1867.
Today, PEI continues to influence the rest of Canada as a vacation playground, known for its laid-back attitude, carefree pace, remarkable food scene and tremendous recreation opportunities. That’s especially true if you choose to explore the island the old-fashioned way – by boat.
Lifestyle
William Jones and Evan DePaul claimed Canada’s Olympic spot in the 49er by being the top Canadian team at the 2020 World Championships for the class. A highlight in their history together was winning the 2017 World Junior title on home waters in Kingston, Ontario.
The pair is self-driven to work and train hard in this very tough fleet. Sailing the skiff is hard work in itself making the 49er perhaps the most challenging Olympic class. Early in his career, DePaul raced C420s, becoming a top three youth sailor in Canada. He was drawn to the 49er because of the technical aspects involved and the sailing skill required.
DIY & How to
Why Use a Boat Broker?
Last summer there was tremendous interest in buying a boat to have fun in the restricted world ofCOVID19. People hauled boats to the end of their driveways with “For Sale” signs. Sailboats and cabin cruisers appeared in Kijiji and Craigs List and it sounds like most were sold to new boaters. But, are they happy owners now?
Last fall we interviewed Rob Hopkins, General Manager at Bayshore Yacht Sales. Bayshore operates at six Georgian Bay marinas and are partnered with Maple Leaf Marinas LP. Rob was quick to agree that web sites like Kijiji can work for boat buyers, especially at the lower price levels for private sellers and buyers looking for a deal.
Ask Andrew: Engine/gasoline fires and other scares
Photo Courtesy of Leslie Harper
Boats aren’t inherently combustible. They aren’t firetraps, and they aren’t any more or less dangerous with respect to fire breaking out than an RV, trailer, car or airplane.
But there are certain ingredients that make fires a potential hazard. And because of this, boaters should be aware of that potential, and take steps to minimize the chances of fire breaking out.
Marine Products
Turn your phone into a castable sonar; STRIKER Cast brings sonar to a mobile device to help anglers find & catch more fish – with & without a boat! Designed for use in freshwater and saltwater (and even for ice fishing), STRIKER Cast delivers excellent sonar performance in both shallow water and deep water.
Anglers can even turn on fish icons to view more realistic images of the fish targets and their depth readings directly in the app, so it’s easy to know exactly where to drop the line.
STEINER NAVIGATOR PRO 7x50
Here is a gift that is sure to become a treasured part of your boating experience for years to come. The porro prism Navigator Pro Series is the choice for recreational boaters, weekend anglers and hobby sailors. The Steiner Navigator Pro 7x50 offers exceptional performance in tough marine environments.You should buy a pair to give your sweetie for next summer.
MSRP: $845.00 CAD
On Saturday, my boat finally splashed. You could tell it was happy and I was too. This has been painful. Nonetheless, I have not yet left the dock nor had a social moment aboard. My excitement has been limited to standing and admiring the scene while thanking the boat gods for vaccines and declining case numbers.
You are likely experiencing something similar as marinas and boat clubs gingerly step forward amid caution and distancing signs. There is a collective sigh of relief heard across the land because the timing of the delayed launch appears to coincide with a national heat wave. It would have been infuriating to sizzle on the hard with the escape boat stuck in its cradle. I’m grateful for getting this far.
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