Good news Boaters, two new PORTS Editions will be released this Winter 2020 in time for the 2020-2021 Boat Show season – PORTS Rideau Canal and Lower Ottawa River and the Trent Severn Waterway & Lake Simcoe 2021 editions.
Since 1984 PORTS Cruising Guides have been the cruising boater's essential companion. But now PORTS has added a digital platform so that boaters can download the volume onto one tablet. Purchasers of the guide can now also subscribe to amendments to get updates as information changes. This makes PORTS even more valuable.
Good news cruisers, it’s coming in early Summer 2020 – PORTS Rideau Canal and Lower Ottawa River 2020 Edition. We have just published PORTS Guide - Georgian Bay, North Channel & Lake Huron and now everyone’s working to complete the Rideau Guide.
Every cruiser in the region has used it for years, but now there’s a brand new edition of the universally acclaimed PORTS Guide - Georgian Bay, North Channel & Lake Huron.
Read more: Your new PORTS Georgian Bay Cruise Guide ready...
Too hot to bake? No oven onboard anyway? Try these no-bake shipboard treats. (Yes, we know they’re not low fat or low calorie – but perhaps you deserve a reward after that hard passage. Or before. Or instead of…)
The new edition of PORTS Cruising Guides: Georgian Bay, Lake Huron & the North Channel from the publishers of Canadian Yachting will be available in January!! Look for upcoming details on how to order your copy early!
Canadian Yachting’s Chartering Handbook, full of information and advice for heading off to a charter, no matter what your level of expertise is. The Handbook is part of your October CY magazine and you can also read it online
Edited by the Quebec Marine Association under the direction of L'Escale Nautique (producer of the magazine L'Escale Nautique and the Nautiguide Croisière), the Nautiguide is the most complete tool...
Gina de Vere approached me at the Canadian Yachting booth at this year’s Vancouver International Boat Show and introduced me to her book Blue Water Women.
Weather nerds and boaters of all stripes will be absorbed by Bruce Kemp’s account of the monstrous early winter storm, perhaps the largest ever, that hit the Great Lakes in 1913.
Lifestyle
The Secret Salmon Recipe – Finally Revealed!
It was during our annual trip to Nova Scotia that I was made aware of the special recipe for cooking salmon that was being held very tightly by an individual in Chester Nova Scotia. It was said that for several years this individual would show up at parties with this cooked salmon that became the centre of attention. Several people tried to pry the recipe from him - or was it the secret ingredients - or maybe some magic dust - that made this salmon so sought after?
One of our Galley Guy associates, Jim Grove was also on this list of seekers wanting to pry the recipe from Robert Helms, but to no avail.
Read more about The Secret Salmon Recipe...............
DIY & How to
What’s a yacht and small craft marine surveyor worth?
By Mike Schwarz
Pause for a moment and ponder this question. How much is your life and your safety at sea worth? Most people would say priceless and impossible to put a value on. And yet many people seem to misunderstand the worth and principle role of a marine surveyor, whose very job it is to ensure your safety at sea by surveying, inspecting and reporting on your expensive, potential new purchase. Instructing a marine surveyor to work on your behalf should never be seen as a distress purchase where price is the all-important factor, rather it is an essential requirement.
Read more about Small Craft Marine Surveyors........................
Boat Reviews
Excess 12 and Excess 15
By Kieran Flatt
Catamarans have many advantages for cruising: more space, more speed, no heeling and a more comfortable motion. However, many experienced sailors find them less rewarding and engaging to sail than a monohull. That isn’t an inherent problem with multihulls, though. Rather, it reflects the fact that most cruising cats built in the last ten years have been aimed primarily at the charter market, designed above all to be docile and easy for novices to handle.
Read more about the Excess 12 and 15....................
Destinations
Looking for a boating adventure? set your course to Ucluelet
On the west coast of Vancouver Island Ucluelet is straddled between the famous Pacific Rim and the iconic Broken Islands.
The Ucluelet Boat Basin is steps away from the downtown core, and half-way between the iconic Long Beach and the Wild Pacific Trail
You are encouraged to take advantage of the untamed nature and sublime scenery while surfing, hiking, and enjoying the wildlife. Make the Ucluelet your base for exploration and adventure.
Read more about Ucluelet......................
See What You Cannot See
Electronic innovations that allow you to see in the dark, in the fog and in the depths
We cruising boaters often go places we have never been. Cruisers and fishing enthusiasts sometimes arrive in the dark, get caught in the fog or find what looks like a good anchorage, but do not have recent chart information or survey data to know if the anchorage is safe. We wander up rivers and into corners of small harbours in search of shelter or to pursue a particular finned prey.
Read more about Boating Electronic Innovations...............
