ALL ABOARD! Sailing in Canada

Now that I think about it, I spent a lot of time in Canada on boats. You’re probably wondering what one does on boats besides fishing – but no, I did not fish.

The Tall Ship Kajama

Have you ever had a ride on a Tall Ship? You know, the ones with sails, carrying pirates?

It was a beautiful sunny day when we sailed out of Toronto Harbour on a three mast schooner. The Kajama is gorgeous, has a rich sailing history, and it’s hard to imagine that a ship from 1930 could look so sleek.

This 90 minute cruise let’s you admire the Toronto skyline by day without the guide being too touristy and pointing out landmarks, allowing you to just “hang out.” Canadian Sailors sing shanties while getting the boat far out into the water… which was awesome! The few happenings during the tour are spaced out so you get a good balance of excitement and relaxation. If you’re lucky, you get a chance to raise the sails (hard work, by the way!) Everyone seemed excited about the canon they fired at the end. Oh well.

They offer food and drinks aboard the ship, but it is pricey, as one would expect. And unless your goal is to work on your tan, sunscreen and a hat is essential. 90 minutes was probably a bit too long for the entire thing – they could have perhaps cut down the time and subsequently, the ticket price.

Whale Watching

I was super excited to watch whales ‘Moby Dick’ style but *sigh*

It was dark, gloomy, rainy, foggy and overall, miserable weather.

The boat was impressive though – there was an open air deck on top, the middle deck was a semi indoor deck that was enclosed in glass, while the bottom was completely enclosed in glass and contained seats and a canteen serving below average food. We eagerly watched the whale positioning monitor and saw them swim below the boat. The guide jabbered on the mike incessantly… and I was trying to not feel sea-sick.

Three hours, guys! Three hours! And we finally saw a fin of a whale in the distance. Needless to say, we couldn’t capture it on camera. What a waste of CAD 80! But hey, it isn’t something you do everyday.

The Thousand Islands

The next day, we set off to explore the thousand islands by boat. The weather was clear and sunny, bordering on hot, and we were sure those whales must have been frolicking around in all their glory in Charlevoix. The spectacular thousand islands in Ontario is made up of 1864 islands in the St. Lawrence River, sharing the USA and Canada border. Some of them are so tiny, they can support only a couple of trees while others had lavish mansions built on them.

After a while, the islands do get a bit monotonous. However the highlight of the trip would be the Boldt Castle – I don’t know if I remember this right, but I think the guide said that the castle was built by a man who lived on the main island, and wanted to keep his mother in law near, yet far.

I bet everyone has wanted their own private island at some point. And these islands were pretty neat. I have to wonder though – what if someone has a cappuccino craving? Or needs to borrow something from the neighbour? Pretty inconvenient to start up the speed boat several times a day… What do you think?

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