Learn more about our news and special events, both here at the marina or out and about on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.

Seven Cozy Places to Evade the Winter Chill in Sidney, BC

 

Sea Glass Waterfront Grill: We are a little biased when it comes to our beloved onsite restaurant so don’t take it from us! Here is what Charlene B. from TripAdvisor.ca (where Sea Glass is rated as the number one restaurant in Sidney!) had to say:

From soup, salad, flat breads, burgers, steak, seafood and the always awesome chicken and waffles (!) there is something for everyone and the price points are reasonable considering taste delight of each and every bite. And dreaming that one of the yachts moored within sight will whisk you away after dining is worth the price of admission.

 

Tanner’s Books: A bookstore and more! After 35 years, Tanner’s has grown into a full-service bookstore with new releases, bestsellers, and new books in over 50 fiction and non-fiction categories. Come in and browse the largest newsstand on Vancouver Island – over 2000 magazines and 40 newspapers from Canada, The United States, and Great Britain. And don’t miss the games, puzzles, calendars, souvenirs, greeting cards, and more!

Quince Café & Ice Cream: Quince is a delightfully quaint cafe and ice cream shop specializing in handmade, made-from-scratch baking and lunch items, with a focus on local and seasonal ingredients. Stop by for a bite, you certainly won’t be disappointed.

Bistro Suisse: A cozy and intimate bistro serving Swiss & other European fare along with beer & wine. The friendly atmosphere is amazing, the decor beautiful, the service is immaculate, and most importantly – the food is superb.  The best schnitzel you will ever eat!

Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea: Explore the mysteries of the Salish Sea – one of the most diverse ecosystems in the world! As the only aquarium on Southern Vancouver Island, the Centre displays the natural beauty and ecological diversity of the local Salish Sea through 28 aquarium habitats holding over 160 live marine species and over 3,500 animals including a giant pacific octopus, wolf eels, and pacific salmon. The Centre is also home to a rare, fully-intact killer whale skeleton, a unique collection of Coast Salish Indigenous art, a fun ‘hands-on’ Touch Pool experience, and a Salish Sea Store with one-of-a-kind, locally sourced and environmentally friendly arts, jewelry and crafts.

 

Star Cinema: The Star is a comfortable, cozy and friendly family run cinema. The movie selections are always current with all ages considered. Their popcorn is second to none – they only use real butter!

 

Victoria Distillers: Nationally acclaimed maker of fine spirits, known for delectable, small-batch gins, vodkas, whiskies and flavourful bitters. Their tour & tasting experience guides you through the entire distillation process and around two gleaming copper pot stills. From selecting the botanicals, to the blending and bottling, to the hand-numbering of each small batch. Following a tour, visitors are invited to taste all their premium spirits neat (including their award winning Victoria Gin.)

Sidney has many more fantastic restaurants, coffee shops, book stores and boutiques to escape the winter chill. Where are your favourite places to go?

 

Top Ten Tips for Boating and Marina Etiquette

Boating, as a recreational sport, has been around for over 300 years. During this time many customs and traditions have been developed; traditions that, over generations, have become the unwritten rules of the road. Just like being on land, we need to be good neighbours; help others when they need it, tidy up after ourselves and be respectful of the people and environment around us.

Top 10 Boating Etiquette Tips

  1. Watch Your Wake: You’re responsible for making sure that your wake isn’t causing harm to your fellow boaters. Not only can big wakes in small, crowded places be dangerous, it’s a definite way to anger your neighbours. Be sure to respect the wake rules to keep marine life and everyone else on the water safe and sound.
  2. Lend a hand: While there is almost always a Van Isle Marina employee nearby to help, you should be prepared to help your fellow boaters. This unwritten boating law will say a lot about what kind of boater you are and will be really helpful to those in need of an extra hand.
  3. Respect your neighbours: If you have blasting music and lots of loud friends on board, be courteous to others on the water and leave plenty of space.
  4. Always stop to help, if you see someone in trouble.
  5. Keep it tidy: No matter if you’re at the marina or anchorage, be sure to clean up your space and pick up all of your trash, dock lines, and equipment. Your neighbours and local animals will appreciate a clean, hazard-free space.
  6. Move along: Whether you’re on a fuel dock or boating ramp, be efficient. Delegate tasks and be prepared so that you can get out of the way of others and out on the water. Our Fuel Dock staff are there to help you get on and off the dock in safe, timely manner.
  7. Turn off your Radar: Ensure if it’s not being used that you turn all your radar equipment off. Radar waves can be harmful to anyone who is exposed to them.
  8. Select your anchorage carefully: giving yourselves and your new neighbours ample room. Remember winds change, anchors line tangle and hulls and dinghy’s can easily bang into each other.
  9. If you use the head, use your head: ensure that it goes into your holding tank, not overboard.
  10. Be thoughtful at night; don’t run your generator around the clock, paddle rather than motor to shore and back and be conscious of your activity and noise levels.

Whether underway, anchoring, mooring, docking at a marina or cruising with friends, as in most aspects of life, respect and courtesy go a long way! Being part of the boating community means knowing and following good boating etiquette. When you know the common expectations that have developed over centuries of boating, it will help make your experience a positive one for everyone on board.

Simple Tips for Docking Your Boat Like a Pro

Pulling into a marina without knowing exactly how to maneuver your boat is one of life’s least pleasant experiences. Guests of Van Isle Marina are able to simply give a call to our Front Desk or Fuel Dock to request some assistance but not every marina functions this way! By using these tips, everyone from a rookie to an old salt, can learn to dock like a pro.

  1. Mind the wind: If it’s blowing from the pier, approach at a steep angle, using reverse gear and prop torque to swing the stern toward the dock. If it’s blowing toward the dock, plan to come “alongside” a boat width or more away, allowing the wind to push you all the way home.
  2. Go slowly: This one goes without saying. The so-called cardinal rule of docking a boat is “Never approach the pier any faster than you’re willing to hit it”. Just in case, always approach solid objects slowing enough that if your docking job turns into a ramming, the results won’t be tragic.
  3. Reduce the sail area: Particularly on a small boat, this can have a dramatic effect on how easy or how hard it is to dock. A Bimini top or an enclosure can act like a sail on a powerboat, and throw you off.
  4. Never kill the engines until all the lines are secure: Many people who don’t know how to dock a boat well make the mistake of shutting down as soon as the boat is in the slip, but you never know if a crew member is going to drop his or her line(s), or when a piling will slip out of reach.
  5. Always look before you leap: Even if you have backed into your slip 100 times before. The biggest issue here is mooring lines. If any lines of yours or a neighboring slip fell into the water, current could stretch it out across your path. Tangle a mooring line in your propeller, and that docking job will go south in a hurry.
  6. Learn the pivot point: An outboard or stern drive will steer from the stern, while many inboards will steer from a point forward of the transom. Learn your boat’s pivot point to determine your turning ability in tight quarters.
  7. Don’t be afraid to try again: This is especially important for sailboats, single-screw inboards, and other boats with a limited ability to maneuver. If the approach doesn’t seem to be going well don’t worry about having to circle back for another try.
  8. Always turn the wheel before applying power: Not during – or after- that way, you won’t get a blast of forward or reverse before the blast of the port or starboard kicks in.
  9. Short bursts instead of steady power: This allows you to maneuver the boat without building up a lot of momentum, which can quickly get out of control.

Practice makes perfect: Much like when you practiced driving a car in an empty parking lot, nothing makes you more confident than repetitive practice!

Basic Boating Lingo for Beginners

Before venturing out into open waters, it’s important to have a basic understanding of common boat terms associated with the positions and directions of your boat. To the uneducated ear, even the simplest of boating terms can sound like a second language. Knowing these terms will make it easier to communicate with people aboard the boat as well. We want to make sure that you have the best experience possible on your boating journey, so here’s our list of 10 basic boating terms.

Stern: The back of a ship. If something is located at the stern, it is at the back of the boat. The stern is also known as the aft.

Bow: The front of the ship is called the bow. Knowing the location of the bow is important for defining two of the other most common sailing terms: port (left of the bow) and starboard (right of the bow).

Port: Port is always the left-hand side of the boat when you are facing the bow. Because “right” and “left” can become confusing sailing terms when used out in the open waters, port is used to define the left-hand side of the boat as it relates to the bow, or front.

Starboard: Starboard is always the right-hand side of the boat when you are facing the bow.

Leeward: Also known as lee, leeward is the direction opposite to the way the wind is currently blowing (windward).

Windward: The direction in which the wind is currently blowing. Windward is the opposite of leeward (the opposite direction of the wind).

Beam: The greatest width of the boat.

Draft: The depth of water a boat draws.

Dinghy (or Tender): A small open boat. A dinghy is often used as a tender for a larger craft.

Fender: A cushion, placed between boats, or between a boat and a pier, to prevent damage.

5 Tips: Green Boating

The boating lifestyle is a great way to spend time with family and friends, enjoying the water. And as boaters, it is our shared responsibility to help keep the waters and resources that we use healthy for generations to come. Here are some tips of how to get started “boating green” today.

Fueling
Proper fueling procedures are important to keeping oil and gas out of our waterways. Oil and fuel in the water can impact bottom sediment, marine life and shore birds. You are responsible for any environmental damage caused by your fuel spill. So…preventing spills will be beneficial for you and the boating environment. When fueling, prevent spills by filling fuel tanks slowly and catching drips and spills with absorbent pads or rags. Don’t ‘top it off’ or overflow your fuel tank. Leave the tank ten percent empty to allow fuel to expand as it warms.

Sewage
On-board sewage management is not a fun thing to think about, but it is a necessary part of your boat’s system. When tied up to the dock, use onshore facilities. Encourage guests to take advantage of the onshore restrooms before you set out for a day trip. Obey the law-keep untreated sewage out of all coastal and inland waters.

Waste Management & Recycling
To reduce your impact on the environment, it’s important to properly dispose of your boating waste and recycle when possible. More than an eyesore, trash in the ocean is one of the world’s most pervasive pollution problems. Make a rule that nothing goes overboard and make a rule that all your waste comes back to shore into the proper trash or recycling receptacle.

Maintenance
Regardless of your boat’s size and systems, routine inspections and maintenance can alert you to potential problems. Prevent Oily Discharge from the bilge. Keep your engine well tuned to prevent fuel and oil leaks. Place an oil absorbent pad in your bilge and under your engine where drips may occur. Check the pads often; don’t let them clog the bilge pump, and dispose of them as hazardous waste at a marina or local hazardous waste collection center.

Boating Ecosystem
For many, one of the greatest joys of boating is being able to immerse themselves in nature. Whether you enjoy scenic landscapes, birds and wildlife viewing or you are an avid recreational angler, boating provides an escape from day to day life and an entry into the natural world. Maintaining a healthy ecosystem benefits us all. It’s important to know how to be a sustainable angler and to be aware of the impact of invasive species.

What do Canadians need for cruising to the US?

 

Beginning in 2016, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has new procedures in place for for Canadian vessels visiting the United States. Canadian vessels are no longer required to purchase a U.S. Customs user fee decal. Instead, they must purchase a cruising license. Cruising licenses are valid for one year.

Here is the press release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations announces new procedures that are coming to the inspection process for foreign flagged private boats. These procedures will be in addition to the reporting process currently in place. All operators of pleasure boats must report to CBP immediately upon arriving into the United States from a foreign port, place or location; or if they had contact with another vessel outside the U.S.; or if they have received merchandise outside the U.S. territorial waters. Foreign flagged pleasure boats must also make a formal vessel entry on CBP form 1300 within 48 hours after making their immigration entry at a port of entry and pay applicable fees. At the time of entry boaters may request a cruising license from the applicable CBP port director.

“The cruising license will greatly facilitate multiple entries during the year and avoid additional fees for boaters,” said Bellingham Port Director Diana Sandoval.

A cruising license may be available to boats departing from Canada and arriving in the Puget Sound area. A cruising license may exempt foreign flagged pleasure boats (from certain countries) from having to undergo formal CBP entrance and clearance procedures, except at the first CBP port of entry each and every year. Cruising licenses are normally valid for one year.

The operator of a foreign flagged or undocumented foreign pleasure boat without a valid U.S. cruising license must obtain CBP clearance before leaving a port, place or location in the U.S. to depart foreign or must obtain a permit-to-proceed if traveling to another port, place or location within the U.S.

The master, or operator of a foreign flagged boat not traveling under a cruising license will be required to file a formal entry and clearance each time they enter the United States, file the appropriate paperwork, and pay the applicable fees.

Foreign flagged boats traveling under a cruising license would not be required to purchase a CBP decal, which is currently $27.50, for the year.

For questions, please contact the Small Boat Reporting Line at 1-800-562-5943.

 

 

New to boating? Check out our basic boating lingo for beginners plus our boat safety checklist.

Contact Van Isle Marina with any questions about entering the United States as a Canadian boater.

Best Boating Apps

With hundreds, maybe even thousands of apps to choose from it can be quite difficult to know which ones work well and which ones are a flop. If you are looking to add some new boating apps to your tablet or smartphone, look no further. We’ve compiled a list of 6 awesome apps to help you navigate, plan and stay safe on the water this year:

Navionics:
Navionics is the world’s most popular marine app. It is a favorite among cruisers, sailors, fisherman and divers. This app allows you to find the same detailed charts as on the best GPS plotters.

Marine Traffic:
Marine Traffic displays near real-time positions of ships and yachts worldwide.Connected to the largest network of Automatic Identification System (AIS) receivers, the app covers most major ports and shipping routes. Browse the map, see the wind forecast, search for vessels and ports, manage your fleet, and see what’s near you.

Big Wave Dave:
This is not an app but it is a website trusted by boaters on the west coast. Big Wave Dave provides marine weather for windsurfing, kiteboarding, boating and kayaking in Victoria, BC. The website features webcams, wind reports, stast, forums, photos and more.

C-Tow:
A Canadian Marine Assistance app is now available! This app provides a fast, effective way to contact C-Tow for 24 hour marine towing and assistance services.To help provide you with a stress free boating experience for you and your family. C-Tow Marine Assistance has been providing “Peace of Mind Boating” for Canadian boaters since 1984. Now with 30+ tow boats serving Ontario and BC, they’re on 24 hour standby ready to assist.

Animated Knots:
Animated Knots is a broad teaching and reference tool for boaters. With step-by-step instructions the app teaches you to tie knots at your own pace. It was also named “the best knot-tying app” by Outside Magazine!

Camera:
Last but not least, the camera app is an essential while out boating to capture the memories to last you a lifetime! Don’t forget to share your adventures with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or submit it to our Boating Lifestyle Gallery to be featured on our website!

Four Great Tips for Cooking on Your Boat

Cooking while at sea is part of the adventure. Prepare for your voyage as if you were camping in the woods: space is limited, as are fuel and refrigeration. Luckily, with a little planning and the following handy tips, your taste buds (and your guests) will be content and satisfied out on the boat!

Use Space Wisely: No matter how you slice it, the galley on your boat is smaller than your kitchen at home. When you’re working with a single-burner stove, a small microwave or even a propane or electric grill, you’re going to need to scale back your production. Small cooking surfaces mean small food. Appetizers, salads and single-pan meals can be pulled together quickly and easily. Let the cozy confines be your inspiration!

Think Light: Being able to enjoy a long, hot summer day on the water is what boating is all about. However, the rocking motion of the waves combined the afternoon sun, means you want to steer clear of a menu filled with hot and heavy and stick to cool and light. Ditch the recipes that would require your guests to sit down with a knife and fork. A good steak may be your idea of a great boat meal. Can’t argue with that. But why not transform it into a quick-cooking kebab that includes your veggies and can be eaten easily while relaxing on deck.

Clean as you go: Whether on land or sea any chef can benefit from the mantra: Clean as you go. But in a galley, things can get out of hand quickly if you leave all the mess until the end. Get in the habit of tidying up while you’re cooking. A little bit here, a little bit there, and you’ll have more room to work, you’ll be more relaxed, and the meal will add to your fun, rather than just adding another chore.

No matter what you are able to whip up, everything tastes better on a boat. Busy days of exploring beaches and hiking will lead to hungry guests who will be pleased with whatever food you have made. And when you are in need of a break from the galley, or simply a special treat, there are usually restaurants at the top of the dock in all the local hot spots. Van Isle Marina for example has the Sea Glass Waterfront Grill. Just be careful, one meal there and you will never want to cook for yourself again!

 

10 Tips to Help Storm Proof Your Boat

Storm proofing boat featured

Guests of Van Isle Marina know that we are fortunate enough to be protected from winter winds. However, it is always helpful to be aware of strategies for weathering a storm. Here are some tips to help keep your boat safe:

  1. Check the weather forecast. Be aware of how long you have to prepare for the upcoming storm.
  2. Double the lines on your boat. Use spring lines to limit boat movement.
  3. If possible, do not stay aboard your vessel during a storm.
  4. Double wrap your lines around the tie rail. Install chafe gear where the mooring lines touch the pilings, boat or tie rails.
  5. Add fenders to prevent boat from bouncing off the dock or your neighbour, more is better!
  6. Clean bilge of debris and check all pumps to ensure they are functioning correctly.
  7. Secure all loose gear and clear any items which may clog scuppers and drains.
  8. Secure and lock all hatches and port lights.
  9. Remove or secure anything which may increase wind resistance: biminis, canvas covers, antennas, deck-stowed anchors, sails, running rigging, booms, life rings, dinghies and so on. Besides reducing windage, you eliminate the probability of these items being damaged or blown away.
  10. Check your battery to ensure it is working correctly and that your shore power cord is plugged in, twist locked, and secured to the pedestal.

What are your top tips for keeping your boat safe? Share this post on Facebook or Twitter and let us know!

Marina Videos – “Yacht Park – Maintenance & Storage Facility”

The video below is the next in the series, featuring Van Isle Marina’s Maintenance and Storage Facility.  Guests are able to haul-out for nightly, monthly or annual storage. The Yacht Park is fully paved and fenced with security key card access. We are able to haul-out up to 45 tons or 70 feet on either of our two self-propelled trailers. Please enjoy!