Canadian boating - Great Lakes and Atlantic region

[KenSmithPEng]

While sitting here Covid bound, my mind began to wander. I started to think, "what if I sailed from the Carribean up the east coast and into the St. Lawrence. I could continue past some of my favourite cities and towns, through the St. Lawrence locks, past more cities and towns, through the Welland Canal and on to Georgian bay an beyond.

Has anyone done this in recent sailing seasons?

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by KenSmithPEng

While sitting here Covid bound, my mind began to wander. I started to think, "what if I sailed from the Carribean up the east coast and into the St. Lawrence. I could continue past some of my favourite cities and towns, through the St. Lawrence locks, past more cities and towns, through the Welland Canal and on to Georgian bay an beyond.

Has anyone done this in recent sailing seasons?

I went down the St. Lawrence a few seasons ago, sailing from L. Ontario to Newfoundland. Glorious journey. We followed the north shore past Tadoussac. Stunning and wild.

Two challenges. Going up the St. Lawrence will be harder. You can ride the tidal currents the same way we did coming down, but the prevailing winds are westerlies, so you'll be fighting wind most of the time. And once you get much past Quebec you'll feel the downstream currents, which can normally run 1-3 knots. But with the GL being high again this year, will likely also run higher.

Oh, and all the Seaway locks are currently closed to recreational traffic due to the Covid-19 lockdowns. Hopefully they will open up soon, but at this point there is no end date to this curtailment.

[AiniA]

I have gone up the St Lawrence so it is certainly doable, just need to be patient. You can do well with tides to Quebec City. We did one very long day (18 hrs) where we managed 102 nm upstream. At one point we were doing more than 10 knots over the ground, but there is a lot of 2.3 happening too.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by AiniA

I have gone up the St Lawrence so it is certainly doable, just need to be patient. You can do well with tides to Quebec City. We did one very long day (18 hrs) where we managed 102 nm upstream. At one point we were doing more than 10 knots over the ground, but there is a lot of 2.3 happening too.

Yes, agreed. Certainly didn't mean to imply that it can't be done. Just that it is a challenging journey, and even harder going upstream than down.

The tidal currents are indeed pretty amazing. We hit over 15 knots (SOG) coming under the bridges near Quebec City. Waaaay tooooo fast for me . But you could sure cover some serious ground.

High tidal currents persisted for many days through this section of the river, and by riding the wave you could really make a lot of progress fast. It was hard to re-adjust back to my normal 5-7 knot speeds once we got away from these fast sections.

[Loons]

Hi Mike,
We met you briefly last fall, Mike & Jayne on the Najad 40. We were planning to sail to the Azores this season. Now just hoping to get out to the boat in June so we can get some work done and cruise in Notre Dame.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Ken.

[GordMay]

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball warns that the island has just a five-day supply of food, and that losing Oceanex's services could lead to critical shortages.
Oceanex was struggling financially, before the pandemic. It carries significant debt, and most of its costs (such as fuel) can't be offset by government pandemic aid programs, such as the wage subsidy.
Delivering new cars, to Newfoundland dealerships, makes up a significant portion of Oceanex's business in normal times; and it's hard to sell cars when people are barely driving.
Oceanex has asked for a subsidy to offset its $2 million weekly losses until at least September.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by LoonsLace

Hi Mike,
We met you briefly last fall, Mike & Jayne on the Najad 40. We were planning to sail to the Azores this season. Now just hoping to get out to the boat in June so we can get some work done and cruise in Notre Dame.

Hi Mike/Jayne, yes I remember connecting briefly right near the end of the season. If I recall correctly, you're probably in the same boat as us, being away from Newfoundland. Hopefully the province will be able to lift its tighter restrictions soon enough, but who knows what's going to happen at this point.

Our plans for this season had always been to just hang around NDB and explore our new home area, so hopefully we'll be able spend some time together out on the hook.

Keep us posted if you hear anything.

[SuW]

Originally Posted by KenSmithPEng

While sitting here Covid bound, my mind began to wander. I started to think, "what if I sailed from the Carribean up the east coast and into the St. Lawrence. I could continue past some of my favourite cities and towns, through the St. Lawrence locks, past more cities and towns, through the Welland Canal and on to Georgian bay an beyond.
Has anyone done this in recent sailing seasons?

My friends did just this a couple of years ago. They live in Owen Sound on Georgian Bay.
They came down via Lakes Huron/Erie/Ontario, but went back up via the Trent-Severn Canal, with the masts on deck.

In a normal year, it's perfectly feasible. Even upstream on the St. Lawrence isn't that bad, just slower than going down!

[Montanan]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today there will be a phased-in approach to reopening Canada's economy as the COVID-19 crisis subsides — but it will be weeks still before business and school shutdowns begin to ease off.

During a briefing outside his residence at Rideau Cottage, Trudeau said talks with provinces on resuming economic activity are continuing. He said he understands that everyone wants to know when things will get back to normal, but cautioned that everyone must "stay the course" because Canada is not yet through the first wave of the pandemic.

"The reality is, it is going to be weeks still. We recognize that it is going to be important to get our economy going and that we will have to do it in phases. We will have to remain vigilant until such a point as a vaccine against COVID-19 is found," he said.

"We are having ongoing discussions with the provinces at this point. We recognize that different regions of the country are at different places along the evolution of their COVID-19 curve. We're going to make sure that we try to stay co-ordinated as best as possible."

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said yesterday that he's crafting a plan to re-open his province's economy "cautiously, methodically and gradually" if confirmed cases of COVID-19 remain low.

Trudeau said jobs in some sectors are lower-risk than others, so workers in those fields may be able to return to work sooner.

As for re-opening the border with the U.S. to discretionary travel, Trudeau said conversations are continuing with American officials but cross-border travel restrictions will remain in place for "several weeks."

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland repeated that message during today's daily briefing, saying it's "too early" to consider lifting travel restrictions and that the government's priority remains protecting the health and safety of Canadians.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said he supports keeping the border closed as long as it is helping to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases, and as long as it safely facilitates the continued commercial flow of goods and services.

While the health of Canadians is the primary consideration, Scheer said the pandemic's "catastrophic" economic fallout for some Canadians means the government must have a strong plan to kick-start the economy after the crisis subsides.

He renewed his push for scaled down, in-person sittings of the House of Commons so the opposition can provide input and hold the government to account.

'Essential' role for Parliament: Scheer
"There is an essential role for Parliament to play to get better results for Canadians," he said.

Parliament was adjourned in March due to the pandemic, and is scheduled to return on April 20 unless a deal is reached between the political parties to modify the sitting calendar.

The Liberals have asked the Speaker's office to explore options for holding virtual sessions.

During his news conference, Trudeau said four planeloads of masks, gloves and other supplies arrived in Canada over the long weekend; the supplies are being inspected before they're distributed to the provinces.

He also announced $115 million in new funds for the North to improve access to food, medical supplies and hygiene products.

He also announced stepped-up enforcement of the Quarantine Act. As of midnight tonight, travellers arriving in Canada by land, sea or air must show they have a "credible" quarantine plan or they will be required to self-isolate in a hotel, even if they don't have symptoms of COVID-19.

http://https://www.cbc.ca/news/polit...down-1.5531482

[Mike OReilly]

Just heard (via Hpeer) that the Lewisporte Marina and YC are officially closed for now. The decision will be reviewed in two weeks.

No surprise.

[AiniA]

Our yacht club, Whitby YC, just east of Toronto have moved launch to June 12-14. The marine facilities guy brought up a troubling scenario. What happens if we launch and when we need to haul in October the virus has resurfaced.

[deblen]

Originally Posted by Montanan

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today there will be a phased-in approach to reopening Canada's economy as the COVID-19 crisis subsides — but it will be weeks still before business and school shutdowns begin to ease off.

During a briefing outside his residence at Rideau Cottage, Trudeau said talks with provinces on resuming economic activity are continuing. He said he understands that everyone wants to know when things will get back to normal, but cautioned that everyone must "stay the course" because Canada is not yet through the first wave of the pandemic.

"The reality is, it is going to be weeks still. We recognize that it is going to be important to get our economy going and that we will have to do it in phases. We will have to remain vigilant until such a point as a vaccine against COVID-19 is found," he said.

"We are having ongoing discussions with the provinces at this point. We recognize that different regions of the country are at different places along the evolution of their COVID-19 curve. We're going to make sure that we try to stay co-ordinated as best as possible."

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said yesterday that he's crafting a plan to re-open his province's economy "cautiously, methodically and gradually" if confirmed cases of COVID-19 remain low.

Trudeau said jobs in some sectors are lower-risk than others, so workers in those fields may be able to return to work sooner.

As for re-opening the border with the U.S. to discretionary travel, Trudeau said conversations are continuing with American officials but cross-border travel restrictions will remain in place for "several weeks."

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland repeated that message during today's daily briefing, saying it's "too early" to consider lifting travel restrictions and that the government's priority remains protecting the health and safety of Canadians.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said he supports keeping the border closed as long as it is helping to reduce the number of COVID-19 cases, and as long as it safely facilitates the continued commercial flow of goods and services.

While the health of Canadians is the primary consideration, Scheer said the pandemic's "catastrophic" economic fallout for some Canadians means the government must have a strong plan to kick-start the economy after the crisis subsides.

He renewed his push for scaled down, in-person sittings of the House of Commons so the opposition can provide input and hold the government to account.

'Essential' role for Parliament: Scheer
"There is an essential role for Parliament to play to get better results for Canadians," he said.

Parliament was adjourned in March due to the pandemic, and is scheduled to return on April 20 unless a deal is reached between the political parties to modify the sitting calendar.

The Liberals have asked the Speaker's office to explore options for holding virtual sessions.

During his news conference, Trudeau said four planeloads of masks, gloves and other supplies arrived in Canada over the long weekend; the supplies are being inspected before they're distributed to the provinces.

He also announced $115 million in new funds for the North to improve access to food, medical supplies and hygiene products.

He also announced stepped-up enforcement of the Quarantine Act. As of midnight tonight, travellers arriving in Canada by land, sea or air must show they have a "credible" quarantine plan or they will be required to self-isolate in a hotel, even if they don't have symptoms of COVID-19.

http://https://www.cbc.ca/news/polit...down-1.5531482

Please note the Trudeau quote (paraphrased) "until a vaccine is found".


Realistically,until a cure or vaccine is found & proven effective-we are all in the same boat.
This could take months.
Bummer

Stay safe / Len

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by deblen

Please note the Trudeau quote (paraphrased) "until a vaccine is found".

"We will have to remain vigilant until such a point as a vaccine against COVID-19 is found"

... vigilance doesn't necessarily mean stay 100% locked-down for 18 months.

I'm still thinking that if the current measures continue to break the back of this pandemic in Ontario, some relaxation of the lockdown should be possible before June.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by AiniA

Our yacht club, Whitby YC, just east of Toronto have moved launch to June 12-14. The marine facilities guy brought up a troubling scenario. What happens if we launch and when we need to haul in October the virus has resurfaced.

I already gave that one some thought. Worst case, prep for in-water storage and then haul when possible. It would be a bit rough this far north, but it can be done if needed.