2009 Speaker's Tent Seminar Schedule

Deb Cantrell

When full-time cruising is not possible, part-time cruising may be a more enduring and overall more enjoyable alternative. Deb Cantrell, author of Changing Course: A Woman’s Guide to Choosing the Cruising Life, will be talking about the advantages of part time cruising, and practical strategies for effectively managing two diverse lifestyles concurrently. Deb will also share highlights from the cruising she and her husband, Jim, have experienced in the Mediterranean since arriving in the Med in the spring of 2002. Currently Deb and Jim sail their ketch, Beedahbun, in the Mediterranean, and plan to remain in the Med indefinitely.

Katrina Lewis 

Join us for a talk about sailing in the Caribbean this February. Learning to sail in the Caribbean is a one-of-a-kind cruising experience and a great way to make new friends who share your passion for sailing. Whether you're sailing on your own, as a couple, choosing to skipper your own boat with friends or want to advance your sailing skills, Openwaters is for you. It's a week long adventure filled with parties, exotic paradises, carefully planned and dedicated to you.

Rob MacLeod

Better Sail Peformance: With the re-release of his best selling Basic Sailing and Cruising Skills, Rob will talk about handling sailboats – large and small – under sail and under power. This talk is intended for both novice and experienced sailors with sufficient time to ask questions and probe the best techniques for getting the greatest enjoyment out of your boat.

Maintaining an older boat: Power and Sail Getting ready for a trip to Florida and the Bahamas, Rob has revamped most of the major systems in his 1981 CS36T. Bilge pumps, fresh water system (including new hot water heater), sump pumps, new marine head and refrigeration to mention a few. Rob talks about bringing an older boat up to todays (ABYC) standards.

Dusty Miller

Dusty Miller brings his teaching back to the Port Credit In Water Show.

Dusty Miller’s Power Academy has been teaching and demonstrating controlled boat handling at marinas across Ontario. Now he’s coming to Port Credit.

Dusty will demonstrate his method of docking and departing. He’ll show us how to use the wind when docking and how to leave when the wind is holding you against the dock, as well as let us in on other tricks of his trade.

Ron Bianchi

Ron is a weather guy! As the Director of Meteorology--Worldwide Operations with Golder Associates Ltd., Ron combines his love for sailing with his ability to predict weather behaviour. He has been lecturing about nature and the behaviour of the atmosphere at sailing schools, colleges, and universities for two decades. He has made over 2,700 presentations to local yacht clubs and associations, and at several boat shows. He is a sailor, lecturer, and genuine believer in the mind-opening encounters with the science of Meteorology and how to use it to your advantage. Come and ask Ron exactly what those clouds over yonder mean!

Sheryl & Paul Shard

The topic of this year's presentation is "Shallow Draft Cruising in the Caribbean and the Bahamas." The presentation will cover our preparations, route, and adventures from Toronto down the ICW to the Bahamas and Caribbean with our new boat. Since we've made this same trip in our deep draft Classic 37, "Two-Step", we'll talk about the pros and cons of shallow draft cruising versus deep draft cruising, and the differences in our experiences in the same places with each boat.  

  Wally Moran 

Nervous about cruising south to paradise? Then come listen to cruising sailor and boating writer (SAIL magazine, Ontario Sailor, Waterway Guide) Wally Moran. Wally has cruised the ICW over ten times in the last seven years, both on his own boat and on deliveries, to and from the Great Lakes, where he works as a charter captain on the North Channel of Lake Huron. With dozens of common sense tips on every aspect of cruising and the ICW, you will leave the seminar feeling confident in your abilities to make it south safely and comfortably, on your way to paradise. 

Topics discussed: Leaving the Great Lakes, Erie Canal, Hudson River, New York to Annapolis, Chesapeake Bay, Norfolk to Miami. Provisioning, equipment, strategies, safety, more. Question and answer period after wards.