True North Yachts invites Hunter, Dufour, Bavaria, C&C and Tartan boat owners to participate in their 2012 True North Yachts Island Rendezvous.
Owners who have registered for the event are invited to bring their boats to the Island Yacht Club on Friday, July 13 and dock there until all participants leave on Sunday, July 15. There is also a Dinner Only option for Saturday July 14 where boaters are invited to dinner catered by the Island Yacht Club in the Tiki Tent followed by a poker tournament at the Island Casino.
Read more: True North Yachts Island Rendezvous for Hunter,...
Our favourite electric outboard motor manufacturer is continuing to expand. The venture arm of the Bosch Group has invested in Torqeedo, the global leader in electric outboard motors from Starnberg, Germany. Since its formation in 2005, Torqeedo has been known to boaters as the undisputed pioneer in electric outboards. Its multiple award-winning motors feature record levels of efficiency, integrated lithium batteries, an ultra-light design and innovative on-board computers.
The federal government is closing BC's command centre for emergency oil spills at a time when the province is facing two possible pipeline projects and a potential spike in tanker traffic in West Coast waterways. Ottawa has said it will shut down BC's regional office for emergency oil-spill responders, located in Vancouver, and centralize operations in Quebec in the wake of the cost-cutting March 29 federal budget. The move could affect about 42 jobs in the BC-Yukon region.
With a loud pffffft and lots of grins, participants at this year’s Ready, Set, Wear It event in Vancouver triggered their inflatable PFDs to launch National Safe Boating Awareness Week May 19-25 – and joined entrants around North America in trying to surpass last year’s record of 1,685 PFDs worn or inflated on one day. The Vancouver team included representatives from Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons, Canadian Coast Guard, Transport Canada, Vancouver Marine Police,
With congratulatory speeches, a navy brass band and a First Nations welcoming circle, the Ladysmith Maritime Society recently opened its new dockside Reception Centre. After a number of speakers advanced the welcoming nature of the facility for visiting boaters, local mariners and First Nations neighbours, the proposal to rename it officially a Welcoming Centre was appreciated the large and enthusiastic crowd. The new facility will provide moorage for transient vessels and will have a sewage pump-out station, the first along this
Just in time for summer, the June issue of Canadian Yachting West focuses on two of Canada’s fabled cruising grounds. The issue is on newsstands now. In two related features, we offer a primer for cruisers planning to explore the less-travelled waters north of Desolation Sound. William Kelly, co-author of Best Anchorages of the Inside Passage, guides readers through the challenges of the tidal passes that lead north of Desolation – the Dents and Yucultas
A new name and look has been announced for hundreds of volunteer marine rescuers in BC and the Yukon, launching a new chapter in the West Coast’s 150-year tradition of volunteers saving lives on the water. Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue is the new name for the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary – Pacific, which was established 30 years ago. The new identity, which has received royal approval, is intended to reflect the vital role that volunteer crews perform in 46 communities in BC, providing marine search and rescue service,
Read more: Marine Rescue Volunteers Announce New Name and...
Opposition is increasing to announced cuts to Canadian Coast Guard facilities and services on the West Coast, including the closure of Kitsilano Station at the mouth of Vancouver’s False Creek, as the boating public and leaders in other levels of government voice concern about the implications for safety on the water. Over the past FEW weeks it has been revealed that the Coast Guard is also closing marine radio centres at Ucluelet, Comox and Vancouver,
Read more: Opposition Grows to Planned Closure of Kits CCG...
The National Bank Easter Seals Waves Regatta returns to the waters of English Bay on June 23 and 24, 2012 and participants are already talking up the fun and excitement of this charity fund-raiser. “I’m the semi-official photographer,” explains Lynn Gordon of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, the host Club. “Not only are there great crowds and close racing, it’s such a worthwhile cause. You cannot help just feeling good about the whole day.”
The funds raised in this annual event are critical to the BC Lions Society for Children with Disabilities and their work on behalf of kids with special needs.
On Saturday, June 23, 2012, the S.S. Keewatin returns to Port McNicoll, Ontario bringing full circle a storied, 100-year route for the crown jewel in the Canadian Pacific Railway’s once-mighty Great Lakes Steamship fleet.
The S.S. Keewatin is the last remaining Edwardian passenger steamship in the world, five years older than the Titanic and as luxuriously appointed.
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OAKLEY 245 CC
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.
Fountaine Pajot Astrea 42
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.
Destinations
Cruising the Rideau Canal
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).
Lifestyle
How a young woman who was encouraged by her father to enter a contest, became a member of the yachting fraternity (sorority?).
Encouraged by her father to enter, Jessika Patrick emerged the winner of the Yacht Solutions Schaefer Yachts contest. It took a little extra luck to get the prize though. Another entrant actually won but sadly, a medical issue forced them to decline the prize. Another entrant’s name was then drawn. This winner also declined, but for a happy reason; they had just bought their own new boat and were busy with that so, a third winner had to be drawn. The third time was the charm for prize winner Jessika Patrick.
DIY & How to
Keven Talks Sails: Crosscut VS Triradial Sail Cutting
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.
Marine Products
Product news: Modern pull up cleats
Many boaters prefer the clean appearance and greater safety of modern pull-up cleats that retract flush into the deck when not in use. But depending on where they need to be installed, limited mounting room can make it difficult. Series 490 Rectangular Pull-Up Cleats from Accon Marine feature a sleek, compact design that allows use in even challenging spaces where other flush-mount hardware simply won't fit.
Made from polished, marine-grade 316 stainless steel for extreme durability and a lifetime of good looks, Series 490 Pull-Up Cleats feature a fresh, modern aesthetic that complements the contemporary profile of today's boats.
News
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...