Canada sailing cruises

Website design By BotEap.comSailing on sun-kissed waters with seas the color of blue skies and dolphins in the lead as they frolic on the bow wave. Finding the perfect anchorage before the sun sets over the palm-fringed beaches and lingering on deck with a cocktail as the moon casts its silvery shadow, the waves gently rocking contented souls. This I envision as the cruise ship lifestyle…a year-round enjoyment. So my home is in tropical Queensland, Australia.

Website design By BotEap.comThe Other Extreme Weather!

Website design By BotEap.comOn a visit to Canada, I experienced the other extreme and saw how yachting enthusiasts do it elsewhere. In Canada, the boating season begins to wind down in September and October as they prepare for a long, cold winter.

Website design By BotEap.comCanada’s Great Lakes are freshwater and freeze quickly as soon as the temperature plummets. A large percentage of yachts and powerboats are taken out and put into cradles. The masts are removed and the hulls are covered with plastic wrap to protect them from ice and snow. Ice can damage fiberglass and wood alike, penetrating and enlarging even the smallest cracks.

Website design By BotEap.comPositioning tasks range from protecting all the accessories with lubricants and pumping antifreeze into the engine cooling system to draining the fresh water tanks.

Ice freezes the hatches and passenger passageways, and unless you’ve taken steps to get inside, they’re sealed for the winter.

Website design By BotEap.comMarinas and anchorages become so solid with ice that you can skate on them. Anglers stand where the waves have battered the hulls only months before, digging small holes to drop a line.

Website design By BotEap.comBut some sailors stay aboard their yachts in marinas through the winter, saving their money for other things, like dreaming of cruises to distant sunny shores.

Website design By BotEap.comIn Frenchman’s Bay near Toronto, for example, they have had up to 50 yachts take liveaboards from Canada every winter.

Website design By BotEap.comHow do they survive!

Website design By BotEap.comAs winter approaches, they erect an enclosure on the decks of the yachts. It takes a week to raise the cover and at the end of the season they are stored for the next winter. Two plastic sheets are placed over the top so they can use the deck and the heated cabin below as living space. The clear plastic sheets act as a greenhouse and are heated on top of the cover. There is a small door on the deck so you can enter the cabin. Some even add windows.

Website design By BotEap.comRuth, who with her husband was having their first season living aboard their Witchcraft yacht when I met them, explains: ‘Despite the previous cold spell, getting through the winter has been fantastic. All sorts of people have asked us if we have any cold. We always knew we were the cruise ships from Canada and we needed heat. Difficult concept for many to understand, this living on board even in winter I guess.”

Website design By BotEap.comInsulation is added to the interior of the hull to prevent condensation and during the colder winter months the electric and diesel heaters run almost non-stop.

Website design By BotEap.comSubzero and Canadian liveaboards!

Website design By BotEap.comSimple things we take for granted in hotter climates, like filling our fresh water tanks, have to be thought of. Hoses left with water freeze and are unusable, so Canadian Liveaboards tend to have a day where everyone fills up their tanks.

Website design By BotEap.comA small bubbler machine is used to keep the water moving. Air pumped through a perforated hose in the bottom causes bubbles of the warmer water below the ice to rise up and thus prevents it from freezing against the hull, which would crush it.

Website design By BotEap.comLogs or empty polythene bottles tied end to end in the water near boats can also prevent pressure from ice dams.

Website design By BotEap.comVenturing to use the toilets and showers on land is something that must be approached with extreme care. Says Ruth: “Navigating a wall of slippery ice is not one of life’s joys. Yuck! One slip could put me at risk of going through the ice and into the water. For all that, I’m happy with the decision I made.” We take you on board.”

Website design By BotEap.comDespite the difficulties and inconveniences, living on board is not a passing fancy for most. Some live like this for years saving their money for other things.

Website design By BotEap.com“The decision to put our money on a bigger ship instead of buying a house and having a mortgage was to save for a trip south,” another cruise ship told me.

Website design By BotEap.comLiving on board in sub-zero places requires some thought and planning, but we have the comforts of home and a TV, laptop and phone.”

Website design By BotEap.comWhen the snow and ice melt!

Website design By BotEap.comAs the days get longer and the snow and ice melt with the onset of spring. In April and May, thoughts turn to the next five months of the boating season. The yachts begin to come to life and the marinas bustle with activity. The winter covers are removed, the masts are erected again, and Bob Marley CDs are placed on the stereo. Reggae music transports the captains to the places they intend to go next year… without ice, snow or freezing blizzards.

Website design By BotEap.comThey dream of sailing south in the winter to the sunny Caribbean and sailing like we do in Australia…all year long!

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