PAGE A2, WHITBY FREE PRESS, BOATING, APRIL 20,1988 HOUSEBOAT _____VACATIONS... HOUSEBOAT RENTALS 3 SPACIOUS MODELS FOR YOU TO CHOOSE FROM 31l' Sleeps 2-4 a 36' Sleep5 6 é 40' Sieeps 8 ALL HOUSEBOATS ARE FULLY EQUIPPED WITH 0Gas Barbeque e Stereo e Fridge a Stove eShower e Furnace a New Outboards That's not ail... R&R is convenientiy located rtght on the scenic Tre nt Severn Waterway just 1- 1/2 hrs north of Toronto! Caîl or write NOW for your FREE brochure R&R Houseboats Va cations P.O. Box 129 Ajax. Ontario LIS 3C2 (416) 430-6954 à Both the Whitby marina manager and a Coast Guard search and rescue, supervisor in Pickering expeet boating prob- lems with low water levels in Lake Ontario this year. "Just how big a problem it is, you're guess is as good as mine," Stuart Seaton, search and rescue prevention and education coordinater for central region (Great Lakes and Lake Winnipeg), teld The Free Press. Seaton says Lake Ontario is down about a foot after a dry fali and winter. Lake Superior water levels have dropped by one metre. Whitby marina manager William Smith says water levels in Lake Ontario are the lowest lie's seen in about 15 or 16 years. "inm real concerned about Octo ber," he says,, spelling out the consequences of a dry summer.' Seaton warns boaters te oo carefully at their charts: "Rocks that were well below the. surface before are not now." Smithi says some boats now have 7.5-and 8.5-fb. keels, "almost double what they had before," and he urges particular caution on the part of such owners - despite the fact that WVhitby's harbor is "'probably about as deep as any other on the lake." Meanwhile, the search and rescue department is gearing up for summer operations including Captain Frank Murphy of the 65-fb. Spindrift, one of three .search and, rescue boats now in dry dock at Cartier- McNamara in Whitby and being PRINCESS 2UD-~é~ SLEEK, FAST, MAJESTIC A classic motor yacht and a complete breakthroughun marine design and engineering ... a craft with dynamic performance. " Twin 225 H.P. gasoline engines or twin 211 H.P. - Power steering, tnim, tilt " Shore power - H.D. battery charger - Radar Arch Stove and oven - " Am/fm stereo cassette - VHF radiotelephone - Two 8 ft. antennas " Steel cradie and fibregiass chocks- Anti-fouiing paint- And much more - BROKERAGE BOATS AVI ON YACHT SALES LTD. 1650 DUNDAS STREET, EAST, SUITE 201 WHITBY, ONTARIO LiN 2K8 PHONE: 436-6170 I~~~~~ 4 t . 11 !.1 t itt t 111 i 11f 1t t4 1 it. I i iJ- 1; it z t t r i d prepared for launch this month. Spindrift, which wiIl be based in Cobourg, looks after. the Whitby area while sister boats are Spray, in Port Stanley on Lake Erie, and Spumne, in Meaford. on Georgian Bay. A 72-ft. boat, Capehurd, is in Goderich on Lake Huron. The boats are the biggest and most equipped. There are also 45-fb. boats, known as "crash ýboats," located on the lakes, including Kingston on eastern Lake Ontario and Port *Weller on western Lake Ontario. Smaller craft, known as shore rescue boats and operated by summer students, are also at several locations on the Gredt Lakes in Ontario. Ail operations are coordinated through the Canadian Forces base in Trenton, 'basically the nerve centre for search and rescue. in the central region,"- says Seaton. He says marine rescue will cispatch the closest vessel to a reported incident, ana,. .if required, send air support - rotary-winged Labrador helicop- ters. Seaton describes - the Lake Ontario area as "very. active" for calîs. In total, there about 10,000 calîs for assistance each year on thie Great -Lake sin-Ontà ri o'.1- "The most common call is for mechanical breakdowns," says Seaton, who says owners should make sure. their craft are "imechanically fit," and that owners "know how to navigate."1 If they don~t know the latter, they should take a course, lie advises. There are about 125 personnel actively involved in resuce operations, not including administration and support. And there are about 700 Coast Guard Auxiliary members who carry out marine rescue, including some out of Oshawa. For those search and rescue memibers involved in marine education, the busy season actually begins once boats are docked for the winter. They hold seminars and attend shows held by many boating clubs, marinas and also industries. 1The unit, based in Pickering, alolias three vans for mobile display. "We have aIl the goodies that mariners like to look at," says Seaton. Ontario water pollution laws By the Ontario Minlstryof Tourism and Recreation Ontarios Boating and Marina Reg- ulations prohibit the discharge of sewage and garbage from pleasure craft into Ontario's waters. Alil toilet waste (treated or non-treated) must be retained on board until reaching a shore-based pump-out facillt. Port- able type toilets are flot permittea in the province of Ontario unlese adapt- ed for shore-based disposai. Mari- nas with pump-out facilities are isted by waterway- and location in the Minislry of the Environment fol- der Pump-Out Stations. Many have lllustrated slgns on or near their BOATERS BEWARE Drop inlake water level1 $1195900 1986 CRUISERS 'ROGUE' 286 Twin 230 HP - Fuiiy Equipped Like New - Low, Low Hours $795900 C198 . Twinr - lIy Equipped ExceIIeI Cond. - Low Hours $569900 1984 CARVER 'RIVIERA' 28 Twin 260 HP - FuIty Equipped 1 ci. Loran- - C Like New - Low Hours $825-900