January weather got you down? Dive into a Cruise guide (from Canada or down south) and get away from it all.
The NEW edition of PORTS Cruising Guides: Lake Ontario and The 1000 Islands is available for PRE-SALE now!
Read more: Explore Lake Ontario and The 1000 Islands with...
The fine folks at the Nautical Mind have been stocking their shelves and website with one thing – boating books, charts, PORTS guides –boat topics, especially from Canadian sources, exclusively. This dedicated bookstore that has been a fixture on Toronto’s waterfront for years, remains true to its roots. Count us lucky!
When the weather turns ugly, how many of us contemplate just taking off, maybe forever. Long distance cruising requires commitment, skill and a certain kind of mindset. Here’s some approaches to consider as winter closes in.
Gift the cruising boater’s essential companion to one of the most popular Canadian boating destinations.
Read more: Explore the Trent Severn Waterway with PORTS The...
Winter getaways usually mean the Caribbean but if you go right now or in the spring, the weather might work for you. Here are some titles to assist the dreaming.
What happened. Where did our summer go? Well, never mind that, it’s time to start thinking about winter getaways. Here are some titles to prime the dreaming.
It’s still vacation time and that means calories don’t count. The Boat Galley Cookbook: 800 Everyday Recipes and Essential Tips for Cooking Aboard teaches readers how to set up, provision, and cook in their galley so no one goes hungry.
Read more: Book locker: FOOD! Chowing down as summer turns...
Books to read while you’re semi-snoozing in the cockpit on a lazy summer afternoon. Some diversion, some useful. Enjoy.
Three books in a series of books by Canadian author Erik Skovgaard. These three books, as the author states, are not intended to be comprehensive treatises on their subject matter. They are intended to be Guide/Handbooks. This has been extremely well accomplished. To entice you to actually read and use them there are three major points to consider.
Related Articles
Boat Reviews
Video Gallery
Neptunus 650F Review
By Andy Adams
Over the years Canadian Yachting has had the pleasure of doing several boat review articles on new Neptunus models and we are familiar with the qualities that Neptunus is famous for. They have all been exceptional yachts, but this is the one I would most want to own myself. It’s a personal choice and a matter of taste as to whether you would prefer to have a sedan express model or a flybridge but in my opinion, the flybridge layout offers some wonderful attributes.
We met with Neptunus Managing Director Jan Willem De Jong this past fall to take the new Neptunus 650F out in Lake Ontario.
Destinations
The Other Virgin Islands
By Mark Stevens
I 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.
A perfect sunset off St. John with St. Thomas views for backdrop.
Clearing Pillsbury Sound, surrounded by voluptuous emerald mountains as the ferry sliced through royal blue waters, I was struck by the unspoiled ambiance of St. John, the island gliding past our starboard beam and the irresistible charm of a village called Cruz Bay visible from our quarter stern.
Lifestyle
By AMY HOGUE
What to look for and ask about as you plan your vacation times. You’ve invested thousands and thousands of dollars into your boat so naturally, you want to find just the right spot for her to live, and where you can enjoy her to the maximum. Marinas and yacht clubs are just like people, no two are completely alike and finding the one that’s perfect for you, may make you feel a little like Cinderella – searching for the shoe that fits just right.
It’s okay to take your time on this search because the marina you choose is arguably as important a decision as the one to buy your boat.
Read More
DIY & How to
Going Electric to Cruise Lake Ontario: A family ditches the diesel
Story and photos by Matt Bera
We settled Svala into what my family and I had come to think of as the most desirable anchorage on Lake Ontario, on a sunny summer afternoon. With an abandoned settlement, an old schoolhouse full of swallows, giant snakes and a rum-running past, Main Duck Island had it all.
That we had to sail past the Psyche Shoal, a magnetic disturbance, and into the middle of the rumoured Marysburgh Vortex made an even better sea story. It had taken us two attempts, two years, two boats and a new sort-of experimental engine to get there.
Cruising with a Captain - It’s easier than you think
By Zuzana Prochazka
Never chartered? No problem. Here’s how to plan, execute and enjoy a vacation on a charter yacht where life is easy and the sunsets can’t be beat.
Decide on a crewed or bareboat charter
A crewed charter means you have a captain who manages the boat and maybe a chef or mate as well. Crewed charters ensure a safe and comfortable vacation with most everything done for you. The chefs are usually outstanding so if you’re a foodie, you’ll be in heaven and you may be able to pick up new recipes too. Larger crewed yachts may also have a mate who works with the captain and will do things like getting toys (kayaks, SUPs, snorkel gear, etc.) ready for you to use so you do very little work.
Marine Electronics – Staying Connected in 2023
By Andy Adams
The world of marine electronics is just on fire in terms of development. You can almost name any function that you could dream up and somebody is offering it. We are just heading into the traditional boat show season and this year there is a big difference from past years.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, most boating enthusiasts have not had any in-person boat show exposure to the new products since 2019 or 2020. That means that there are almost three years of new products to catch up on. It's going to be an exciting year in 2023!
News
On November 15th 2022, Mercury Marine, a division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), introduced the industry’s first ever V10 outboard with the official launch of its all-new 5.7L 350 and 400hp Verado® outboard engines.
Consistent with the award-winning Verado brand, the new V10 engines are the quietest and smoothest in their class running 45 percent quieter than a leading competitor at cruise. In addition to NVH, the new Verado’s are not only compatible with the latest Mercury SmartCraft® technologies but will also be offered with an optional dual-mode 48V/12V alternator to seamlessly pair with Navico Group’s Fathom® e-power system, an integrated lithium-ion auxiliary power management system, providing boaters the opportunity to eliminate an onboard generator system.
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