Over the past few months Fisheries & Oceans Canada and Transport Canada have led a number of Technical Working Groups to make recommendations on measures to recover the Southern Resident Killer Whales (SRKW). Boating BC participated in the process with a seat on the Sanctuaries Working Group.
At the end of last month, Canadian sailors gathered on the Palma Beach in Palma de Mallorca, Spain where they were competing in an important European regatta, to complete an hour-long beach clean-up.
This new legislation from Washington State Department of Fisheries applies to boats launched in Washington State.
Read more: New Washington State fee for Visiting Boaters -...
British Columbia boaters will need to check out the new no-discharge zone before heading off to American waters in Puget Sound.
Mark Mattson is a man of gentle demeanor but don’t be fooled by his calm, cool collectedness. This man moves mountains, lakes and rivers to make sure Canadians will be able to swim, drink and fish anywhere in Canada from coast to coast to coast. Like many of us, Mattson’s love of the water and boating started at an early age. And during his career as a criminal lawyer, Mattson had an opportunity to work on a case with the Ministry of the Environment that whet his appetite for wanting to protect Canadian waters. This and a chance meeting with Waterkeeper Alliance President Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. during a case involving Hydro Quebec fueled his appetite, and in 1995 Mattson left Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP to form the Environment Bureau of Investigation (EBI).
We hear about the plastic problem in our oceans all the time. Scientists on the media talk to us about an island of trash the size of Texas that’s formed in the mid Pacific. They show us pictures of turtles caught in six ring beer holders, dolphins caught in nets and dead seabirds washed up with their stomachs full of broken down micro plastics. For me, it wasn’t until the problem arrived, wind ravaged and sun worn, strewn across my doorstep that that the magnitude of what those scientists were trying to tell us was realized. The beaches on Haida Gwaii have always been a magnet for the flotsam and jetsam that circles the Pacific. The archipelago sits off shore from the mainland and reaches out into the currents and wild winds of open ocean. Some beaches collect the debris and display it for a while and then it’s simply swept back into the sea to continue its journey, but some beaches here hold on to the debris and do not let it go.
Boating and astronomy can be a match made in the heavens. The inky black canvas above the boat is punctuated by sparkling pinpricks of brilliant light. As if on cue, a meteor blazes across the sky, its dramatic trail tracing its path.
It’s a mid-August night at Beausoleil Island in southern Georgian Bay. The moon has already plummeted below the tree line on a cloudless night, setting the stage for the Perseid meteor show, an annual display easily observed from the deck of a boat at anchor.
The 30,000 Islands of Georgian Bay is a boater’s dream destination with crystal clear waters, endless anchorages, amazing angling opportunities, outstanding scenery and diverse wildlife and vegetation. It is also a United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) world biosphere reserve, a designation awarded in 2004 after seven years of intensive work by a collective of cottagers, boaters, residents, First Nations representatives and organizations with support from government agencies.
Many Canadian Yachting readers have likely experienced the beauty of British Columbia’s Gulf Islands. Nestled between Vancouver Island and the mainland, this archipelago of more than 450 islands and islets offers calm seas, a gentle climate and stunning landscapes. What many visitors may not notice are the immense pressures on this much-loved area and the work of numerous conservation groups to save these fragile ecological jewels for all British Columbians and visitors.
Many newspaper headlines appeared in the spring of 2012 with these two names highlighted. The Rideau, a recently designated World Heritage Site, and the Trent Severn, with a combined age of 325 years, were designated as transportation routes until 1972 when the Federal Cabinet moved canal operations from the Department of Transport to Parks Canada. In March of 2012, during Federal budget deliberations, Parks Canada (PC) was given a budget reduction target of $29.2M over 3 years.
Read more: Rideau and Trent Severn – Trouble on Ontario’s...
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Sarah Douglas - From volunteer to Pan American Gold Medalist
I cross the finish line, heart pumping and barely able to breath from the grueling conditions. I can’t believe that I have just become the 2019 Pan American Champion in the Women’s Dinghy (Laser Radial). I’ve just won the medal race in a windy 25 knots in Paracas, Peru.
I go hug my coach (Ken Dool), hug my competitors and hold the Canadian Flag high as I make my way to shore. My teammates come running into the water to celebrate and I’m overwhelmed. It doesn’t feel real that I’ve won a Gold Medal. Shortly after I’m at the Medal Ceremony, standing on the podium and the Canadian national anthem starts to play.
Read more about Sarah Douglas...............
Could you lease your new yacht?
By Andy Adams
When I first saw the display at the Toronto International Boat Show saying that you could lease a new yacht, it stopped me dead in my tracks. While I had never considered leasing boats, we are certainly seeing growth in boat rental organizations, so leasing didn’t seem out of line. In fact, I wondered why it had taken this long to see boat leasing come to the market.
However, I have a reasonable understanding of how leasing works compared to financing a purchase and I wondered how the numbers could work for something like a yacht. The sign was in front of a 60 foot Princess Express Cruiser – about $3,000,000
Read more about Leasing a Yacht............
J99 - Offshore Shorthanded Speedster
By Katherine Stone
All set to pull out the Code 0 before dousing the jib.
It was a very cold and wet beginning to the summer and we never thought it would arrive in Southern Ontario. Doing a 100 miler race on Lake Ontario (billed as the COOLEST race on the lake) with my 8 layers of thermal clothing, woolen ski toque and ski mittens, along with a neck warmer kept me on the edge all night, just out of frostbite reach. I shouldn’t have complained, as we also had wind!
July and August arrived, and it has certainly warmed up, in fact, its too warm, AND we don’t have wind. We are now counting 5 Wednesday nights in a row without wind to race.
Read more about the J99 Offshore Shorthand Speeder.....................
Wellcraft 242 Fisherman
By Andy Adams
Boat buyers are gravitating to the latest centre console boats for a wide range of reasons but for the Wellcraft 242 Fisherman, you can sum it up by saying it’s about features, style and value.
This great-looking boat is just as capable on a family picnic cruise as it is doing serious blue water fishing. A wide range of options let the buyer tailor the boat for their specific interests, but it’s all there to choose from. Our test boat was well-equipped for that comfortable cruise with easy access via the swim platform and through the transom gate into the cockpit.
Read More about the Wellcraft 242 Fisherman..................
Port Severn’s historic Lock 45 presents an idyllic boating experience
Blake Marchand
As the final link between Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay, Port Severn’s Lock 45 is the gateway to the beautiful Trent-Severn Waterway. The first and smallest lock to be constructed on the Severn portion, Lock 45 is entrenched in Canadian History and is worth the trip in itself. However, it is the waterway and its idyllic surroundings that will keep you coming back.
The canal connects Lake Ontario and Lake Huron with an eastern terminus in Trenton and a western terminus in Port Severn. Its amazing natural waterways include the Trent River, Otonabee River, The Kawartha Lakes, Lake Simcoe, Lake Couchiching and Severn River.
Read more about Vancouver...........
Kingston Anchors
By Rob MacLeod
In the April 2015 edition of CY magazine, I published an article on anchors and anchoring – Staying Put: I See Myself Anchoring Off …). Much of the article was about upgrading the anchor you currently have on your boat – you know – the one that was there when you bought the boat. What wasn’t covered was the probable need to upgrade the bow roller to accommodate your new anchor.
Read more about the Big Bumper........
