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"O:P\)" wrote:

I am playing with the idea of a boat. I'm new to boating. What would you
folks recommend, power or sail? Do I need extra skills for sail boats? One
more question, do I need a license? and if yes, where do I get it? I'm in
Toronto.

I don't know if you need a license in Toronto or not. In some places
one has to take an elementary course of some kind in order to operate
a boat if you are younger than a certain age.

Yes you do need extra skills for a sailboat, although there are some
sailboats that never sail, so they are basically motor boats that
can't go under low fixed bridges. But even though there are folks
that have no motors on their sailboats and sail everywhere, usually if
you have a sailboat you also need to know about motor boats too.

There are quite a few different ways of getting into sailing in
Toronto.

Showing up at the sailing clubs on their race days and learn as you go
- by crewing for folks who have boats. Sailing OP (other people's)
boats is a real cheap way to go sailing. Be aware that some people
who race are really into winning and will not be amused if you drop
the sail in the water or commit some other faux pas - if you fall in,
they may not leave the race to come and get you.

There are many folks in the Toronto area who live aboard their boats,
even in the winter. I've also met some going down the ICW - folks from
Toronto and other places in Canada who want to escape the cold. For
some time, even before we had a boat, I belonged to an email list that
is run out of the University of Toronto computer, called the
Live-Aboard List.
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You can talk to some of those folks.

Or you can take lessons from one of the sailing schools. These are
about $1200 CAD for your first 4 levels but each club/school
structures their programs differently and rates vary considerably.

grandma Rosalie
http://www12.virtualtourist.com/m/4a9c6/