More information regarding venue & tickets can be found on the Vancouver Maritime Museum Website.

Vancouver Maritime Museum

This year’s lineup:

Jan 20 – Around the World in a 34’ Sailboat by Bruce Halabisky
Jan 27 – BC’s Remote and Spectacular Gardner Canal by Carol-Ann Giroday & Rick LeBlanc
Feb 3 – A family of six cruise the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, Cuba and the Bahamas, by Jeananne Kathol Kirwin and Pat Kirwin
Feb 10 – Racing Canada’s Colours around the World, by Derek Hatfield
Feb 17 – Sweden to Syria and More!, by Barbara Robertson and Brian Anderson

The approval brings the planned marina one step closer to reality, although several important steps remain, including federal government approval.

More information is available at the marina project’s website.

We wish False Creek Fuel Dock the best of luck in this project.

False Creek Fuel Dock is scheduled to be open for 2011 season

Page Point Marina, a Leisure Cove Destination, is planning the addition of a fuel dock to its secluded resort in the Nanaimo/Ladysmith area. The fuel dock will complement the existing services at the Marina, including a restaurant, ocean view rooms, showers, laundry, & guest moorage.

For more information, visit the Page Point website.

Page Point Marina

January 10th saw the arrival of the first North Pacific 38 Sedan in North America.  The One 4 Crew had the opportunity of viewing her during her commissioning in Richmond, BC, and were very impressed.  We are planning additional viewings in the weeks ahead.  Please contact us if you’d like more details on the 38 Sedan, or if you’d like to join us for a tour.

“I am very excited about this model. It really blows me away.”

- Trevor Brice, North Pacific Yachts

North Pacific 38

We manage boats for private owners, and I had just returned from Edmonton myself, where one of our owners had shown me his blue car – happened to be the same model and colour.  Being that this blue car had an Alberta plate on it and it was parked within a few hundred feet from this fellow’s boat, I jumped to the conclusion that he must have driven out to spend some quality time with his boat -   a 42 foot sailboat here at Granville Island.

That season and into the next, Bob and Susan took our power cruise and learn and then moved into our Cooper Cruising Club Cooper Cruising Club .  They quickly gravitated towards the Westcoast Custom Yachts we featured in our lineup – built by our founder Forbes Cooper (who also had a blue car when he lived in Edmonton, but enough of that for the moment).  The cruise and learn complimented Bob’s theoretical training with the Canadian Power Squadron and allowed him to focus on docking, anchoring and application of those well thought out passage plans that he worked on while landlocked in St. Albert.  Bob and Susan soon had the disease – the one that nobody wants to cure.  Boating fever had set in and there was little that could be done about it other than to dive in further.  Sitting back home in his office, he realized that office time at home was now merely a bridge between boating trips.

By this time, the first Westcoast 46 had been launched for the fractional yacht program.  Now some people enjoy trying different boats out in our Cruising Club, but Bob and Susan were now heading out continually on the Westcoast 46 model alone.  So, I introduced the concept of them owning a quarter share of a Westcoast 46 themselves.  Bob and Susan picked up the 3rd quarter of Westcoast Spirit here at Granville Island and have since been exploring the coast for over 56 days in 2008 alone and boating fever is clearly still a big part of their lives – with no cure, the simple treatment is their time aboard this fine yacht.

The story got a little more interesting when the fellow with the other blue car from Alberta approached me with a few challenges.  Turned out his wife had put up with his sailing habit quite long enough now and he was also considering a different form of boat and a different form of ownership.  Until this point, Dr. Don LeDrew of Leduc, Alberta had owned a couple of sailboats in the Cooper charter fleet.  That program does effectively reduce ownership costs, but the boat is being shared with people who do not have an equal vested interest in the vessel.  The thought of sharing the boat with others equally seemed a better fit and Dr. LeDrew was headed towards the fractional program as well.

Not only do these fine people have similar taste in cars, they now have the same boat in the same program.

Bob and Susan’s boat is fully subscribed but Dr. Ledrew’s boat is still looking for additional fractional owners.  I suppose the plan might be to start looking around Alberta for blue cars – but even if your car isn’t blue or you are not from Alberta – check out Memories – the Westcoast 46 available with One 4 Yacht Fractions or the Cooper Cruising Club – you can always get a blue car and move to Alberta later!

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My wife, Sage, isn’t a big fan of sailing.  She isn’t prone to sea-sickness, she enjoys being on the water and she’s a wonderful companion when we’re out at sea.  We share the planning, provisioning, cooking and cleaning, and get along well on our cruises (especially at the dock or at anchor).  She can handle the steering and anchoring whenever necessary, and best of all, she goes to sea with me willingly and doesn’t complain about the privations of living aboard a 27-footer for a week — which is more like camping than yachting.

What she lacks, however, is confidence.  I’ve been on the water for much of my life, so handling a boat is second nature for me, but Sage and I met later in life, and she had no previous boating experience.  I do my best to explain the different sails, lines, sheets and halyards, and sailing theory, but apparently I’m not the best teacher in the world.  In contrast, she is a special education teaching assistant who is extremely skilled at explaining math, language and other subjects to elementary school students.  If she was teaching me, I’m sure she’d do a much better job of it.

Without understanding how boats work, it is pretty hard to know how to properly respond when necessary — and this makes it pretty tough to gain confidence.  I know this is a common theme for many experienced sailors — male or female — who take up with a partner with no experience.  It’s also probably the reason there are so many guys out there single handing, or offering their boats for sale in divorce proceedings.  Their wives have just said no!

So, whats a guy to do?  I suggest being understanding, patient, and not pushing to hard — or finding someone else to teach your partner.  The latter is certainly the easier solution and the best way to avoid conflict.  Sage isn’t yet taken with sailing enough to take lessons, so we’re taking the more difficult path.

The first year, the two of us spent a pleasant week in the gulf islands.  There were no disasters, but Sage was overwhelmed at times, especially when trying to figure out the tiller at the same time I was up on the foredeck reefing the sails in a blustery wind and lumpy sea as we crossed the Strait.  On that trip, we did the grand tour of the Gulf Islands and ended up covering a bit too much ground each day for her liking.

Last year, I wanted to make sure she didn’t give up on boating for good so we planned a more leisurely agenda.  It wasn’t going to be much of an adventure — we were only going from Vancouver to Howe Sound, but I figured it was my last shot before being relegated to sailing vacations with the boys or single handed.

We had superb, hot weather.  We spent two leisurely days at Halkett Bay on Gambier, two days at Plumper Cove on Keats, and two days at Snug Cove on Bowen.  The sailing was excellent and the pace relaxed.  She enjoyed it almost as much as I did.  We read a pile of books, snoozed a lot, swam a couple of times each day, and poked around onshore whenever we felt like it.

In the end, it’s not surprising that Sage enjoyed this second trip much better than the first.  And while she was still a bit flustered by the sailing, once again she proved a super companion and gained a bit more confidence.  I keep telling her she was doing great — and she was — but gaining confidence or the will to tackle extended cruising may or may not come to pass.  I think it is vital for anyone with a partner not enamoured with boating to do whatever is necessary to make the experience as fun as possible for that person — whether that means finding a teacher, or simply hanging on the hook nearby for a week.

The good news for me is that Sage has talked about perhaps replacing the sailboat with a trawler.  Well, if that’s what it takes. Anyone know of a couple getting divorced and selling a trawler for real cheap?

March 2009

By Colleen Ringer

Today, it seems that every megastar has a megayacht. And why not? These floating palaces are the epitome of luxury, not only because of the freedom they offer their captains, but also because of the privacy and seclusion that can be found onboard.

Just imagine sitting on the deck of your yacht as it cuts its way through the smooth waters of the Caribbean Sea. Complete darkness engulfs you, and there’s not a light in sight—except the stars, of course. If that image alone doesn’t make you want to go down to your nearest marina and purchase your own luxury liner, then perhaps our look at what’s hot in yachts will. Read on.

Amenities at Sea

The latest luxury yachts are inviting all manner of amenities onboard. Basketball courts, helipads, movie theaters, full gyms—these are just a few of the extras yachters crave. And hot tubs, bars and lounge areas are all but assured from the biggest and best designers like Italian powerhouses Ferretti and Benetti, and New Zealand-based Alloy Yachts. “Increasingly, owners are focused on personal fitness, so gyms are much in demand,” says Tony Hambrook, managing director of Alloy. “Onboard entertainment systems are often very sophisticated, with satellite TV and large libraries of movies and music.” He notes that clients want their water toys close at hand as well, resulting in spaces for kayaks, water skis, even mini-submarines. 

Ron Cleveringa, vice president of sales and marketing for Burger Boat Company, a custom builder based in Wisconsin, tells how one client ordered two identical vessels—one for use in the Mediterranean Sea and surrounding areas, and the other for cruising the Eastern Seaboard. “[These yachts] had saunas on board that had a TV on the exterior and a sound system on the interior, so you could sit in the sauna and watch television,” he recalls. 

Sumptuous amenities such as these are matched only by the opulent materials that designers are incorporating into their floating creations. Marble, granite and exotic woods are as plentiful at sea as they are in the country’s most exclusive custom homes. “The level of detailing, comfort and luxury has increased dramatically in the last 15 to 20 years,” Cleveringa says. In Burger Boat’s newest vessel, the Ingot, back-lit white onyx takes center stage in the dining room and the salon, while a teak bar competes for attention with a sizable hot tub on the sun deck. Those who want to see for themselves can actually sneak a peek at the masterpiece in person: The Ingot will be featured at the Monaco Yacht Show this September. “She’s the most luxurious and sophisticated motor yacht we’ve built to date,” Cleveringa says. Sounds like she’s worth a trip across the Atlantic.

Members OnlyIf you’re not looking to add full-time sailor to your résumé, but still want to feel the sea breeze on your face on a somewhat regular basis, fractional yacht ownership may be the way to go. “It comes down to a convenience aspect,” says Nuno Alves, president of Vancouver, British Columbia-based One 4 Yacht Fractions. “When [our clients] do have time to get away, they’re not doing things like oil changes and cleaning. They’re just out there on the water.”

While One 4 Yacht offers its members vessels almost exclusively located in British Columbia, the Global Superyacht Club (whose parent company Eusamarine is headquartered in the United Kingdom) manages yachts from California to Croatia to the Caribbean. “As a member of the Global Superyacht Club you gain a real sense of belonging,” says Keith Smith, founder and managing director. “You have your own skipper and crew on your own home yacht.”

Memberships range from $120,000 for a one-eighth share of a 55-foot cruiser to $19 million and up for one-third ownership of a five-deck megayacht. So how do you know which level of membership is right for you? First determine how you will use the boat (business meetings, vacations or both?) and go from there.

Whichever way you choose to go—full ownership or fractional—the benefits of being out to sea are priceless. “There’s just something about being on the water,” Alves says. “It really is kind of a last frontier [for] getting away from it all. There’s a lot to be said for being at the cottage or out of the city; but when you’re on the water, you take that to a whole new dimension.”

To Learn More

Download the article:     Estates West-2008-09-Come-Sail-Away

Read the article on the Estates West site here