Tours Travel

Canada Sailing Cruises

Cruising sun drenched waters with seas the color of blue sky and dolphins leading the way as they frolic in the bow wave. Find the perfect anchorage before the sun sets over the palm fringed beaches and stay on deck with a cocktail as the moon casts its silvery shadow, the waves gently rock contented souls. I envision this as the cruising lifestyle… year-round enjoyment. So my home is in tropical Queensland, Australia.

The Other Extreme Weather!

On 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.

Canada’s Great Lakes are freshwater and quickly freeze as soon as the temperature plummets. A large percentage of yachts and powerboats are taken out and put into cradles. The masts are taken down 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.

Fitting tasks range from protecting all accessories with lubricants and pumping antifreeze into the engine cooling system to draining fresh water tanks.
Ice freezes hatches and companion passageways and unless you’ve taken steps to get inside, they’re sealed for the winter.

Marinas and anchorages become so solid with ice that you can skate on them. The fishermen stand where the waves have lashed the hulls just a few months before, making small holes to drop a line.

But 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.

In Frenchman’s Bay, near Toronto, for example, they have had as many as 50 yachts with liveaboards from Canada each winter.

How do they survive?

As winter approaches, they erect an enclosure on the deck of the yachts. It takes a week to lift 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 heated cabin below as living space. The clear plastic sheets act like a greenhouse and heat up on top of the cover. There is a small door on the deck so you can enter the cabin. Some even add windows.

Ruth, who with her husband was in their first season living aboard their yacht Witchcraft when I met them, explains: “Despite the previous cold snap, getting through the winter has been fantastic. We’ve been asked by all sorts of people if we have cold. We always knew that we were the cruise ships from Canada and we needed warmth. Difficult concept to understand for many, this living on board even in winter, I suppose”.

Insulation is added to the inside of the hull to prevent condensation, and during the colder winter months, the electric and diesel heaters run almost non-stop.

Below Zero and Canada’s Liveaboards!

Simple things we take for granted in warmer climates, like filling our freshwater tanks, have to be thought about. Hoses left with water freeze up and can’t be used, so Canada’s Liveaboards tend to have a day where everyone fills up their tanks.

A small bubbler machine is used to keep the water moving. Air pumped through a perforated hose at the bottom causes bubbles to rise from the warmer water below the ice and thus prevents it from freezing against the hull, which would crush it.

Logs or empty polythene bottles tied end-to-end in the water near boats can also prevent pressure from ice buildup.

Venturing to use the toilets and showers on land is something that should be approached with extreme care. Says Ruth: “Navigating a slippery ice wall is not one of life’s pleasures. Yuck! A 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 to get on board.”

Despite 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.

“The decision to put our money into a bigger ship instead of buying a house and having a mortgage was to save up for a trip south,” another cruiser told me.

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

When the snow and ice melt!

As 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 are bustling with activity. The winter covers are removed, the masts are raised again, and Bob Marley CDs are placed in the stereo. Reggae music transports the captains to the places they intend to go next year… without ice, snow or freezing blizzards.

They dream of sailing south for the winter to the sunny Caribbean and sailing like we do in Australia…all year long!

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