Browsing: Rideau Canal

Charter
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Le Boat Opens New Base in Ottawa

Le Boat is opening a new base this May in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, to make it easier to cruise along the Rideau Canal, one of the most historic and picturesque boating areas in North America. Le Boat also is adding two new cruisers to its fleet of houseboat rental boats on the Rideau, bringing the total to 32. Boating season starts there on May 19 (the Victoria Day long weekend in Canada). A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Rideau Canal opened in 1832, making it the longest continuously operated canal system in North America. It has a system…

Cruising Life
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Visit Historic Montreal on the Favors’ Ranger Tugs 29 Kismet

You can’t say that Jim and Lisa Favors, from Traverse City, Michigan, don’t get around. In fact, they’re two of the most accomplished cruisers we know, having already completed the Great Loop. They’ve also cruised in many areas of the U.S. on various boats, including their Ranger Tugs 27 and for the past two years their Ranger Tugs 29, both named Kismet. That’s the new Kismet, with the red hull, in the picture above, in Montreal, which the Favors loved. Here’s Lisa’s account of that trip, along with a series of great photos: Montreal – The End of Our Trent Severn Waterway,…

Cruising Life
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Rideau Canal Opens for the Season with New Canal-Side Exhibits

Rideau Canal opens for the season with new canal-side exhibits MEGAN GILLIS Updated: May 17, 2019 SHAREADJUSTCOMMENTPRINT It’s official — the Rideau Canal is open to boaters and paddlers for the 2019 season, but Parks Canada is warning users to “exercise caution” in areas with higher-and-average flows over the Victoria Day weekend. As of 9 a.m. Friday, lock stations along the 200 km waterway, stretching from Lake Ontario at Kingston to the Ottawa River — on which boating is restricted due to flooding — were ready to receive visitors by water and land, the park service said. Water flows on…

Cruising Life
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Le Boat Turns 50, Opens New Base, with More Boats, on Canada’s Historic Rideau Canal

Le Boat, the French company with the world’ largest fleet of river and canal charter boats, is celebrating its 50 anniversary this year, and it just opened its second base on the historic Rideau Canal in Ontario, Canada. It also is expanding its fleet there. When it started in 1969, Le Boat had eight boats on the gorgeous Canal du Midi in France. The concept of chartering a canal boat that you could drive yourself proved popular almost immediately, and the company has grown exponentially. Today, Le Boat has 940 boats in eight countries around the world. Last spring, Le…

On Watch with Peter Janssen
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On Watch

From Seattle to Michigan to Florida to the Trent Severn Waterway in Canada: The Favors Find the Advantages of a Trailerable Ranger 29 By Peter A. Janssen When we last visited Jim and Lisa Favors, they had just bought their Ranger Tug 29 in Seattle and were spending a few weeks cruising and getting used to their new boat. Not that they needed an introduction to Ranger or to cruising. They already had cruised extensively on their Ranger 27 (completing the Great Loop, for example), but a year ago they wanted to move up in size and traded up to…

Cruising Life
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For Some of the Best Fall Cruising, Head North, to Canada

Don’t even think about putting your boat away for the season. Now that summer’s over, there’s still lots of cruising time left, when the autumnal colors can be gorgeous, the crowds thin out, and you can have more time to wander and explore at your own pace. Indeed, in many parts of the U.S., fall can be the best boating season. And this may seem counter-intuitive, but to enjoy some of the best fall boating, you need to head north, all the way to Canada. Here’s a look at some of the best cruising destinations that country has to offer.…

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One Woman’s Story: The Lost Art of Traveling Slowly: What I Learned Cruising Canada’s Rideau Canal

“‘But…’ my husband hesitated. ‘You don’t have  a license.’ My best friend was less diplomatic. Her text message simply read: ‘ARE THEY MAD?’ “None of my nearest and dearest could quite believe someone was going to let me – a ham-fisted, maladroit non-driver, who even managed to fail the cycling proficiency test – pilot a boat. I’ll admit it; I was a little surprised myself. So when I set off down the Rideau Canal on a Canadian boating holiday it was with the sun on my face, my knuckles white on the wheel and a determination to prove everyone wrong.…

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Le Boat Opens North American Boat Rental Operations on Canada’s Historic Rideau Canal

Le Boat, the largest boat rental company in Europe, just opened its first operation in North America on the historic Rideau Canal, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Canada. The company, which has 16 bases in eight different countries, hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Kilmarnock Lock Station on the Rideau Canal, with three of their new Horizon Cruisers among the first vessels to transit the lock to start the 2018 boating season. The Rideau Canal winds 125 miles through picturesque towns, unspoiled lakes and rolling pastoral countryside from Kingston, on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence, up to Ottawa,…

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Le Boat Opens First Charter Fleet in North America on the Rideau Canal in Canada

Le Boat, the European charter company with 16 bases in eight different countries, is opening its first operation in North America, centered on the Rideau Canal in Ontario, Canada. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Rideau winds 125 miles through beautiful Canadian countryside with unspoiled lakes and picturesque towns from Kingston, on Lake Ontario, up to Ottawa, the capital of Canada (pictured above). With a series of 47 locks, the Rideau is the oldest operating canal in North America; it was considered an engineering feat when it opened in 1832. Le Boat offers only boats that you drive yourself. It…

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Le Boat Starts Charter Fleet in Canada’s Historic and Picturesque Rideau Canal

This spring Le Boat, the leading bareboat charter company in Europe, is opening up new cruising territory along Ontario’s historic Rideau Canal in Canada. Le Boat will start in May with a fleet of 16 boats and, if all goes well, will expand to 32 boats in five years. Opened in 1832, the Rideau Canal runs 125 miles from the capital of Ottawa to Kingston on Lake Ontario, passing through no fewer than 47 locks along the way. The company will offer a series of high-end bareboat models with one or two cabins that can sleep from five to nine…