Canadian Yachting December 2015 - (Page 50)

GALLEY GUYS Life In A Lifestyle Marina Krates Marina By Andy Adams Good food and good friends! From the left, Greg Nicoll, John Armstrong, Michelle and Rob Walters, Benn Spiegel and Andy T his spring one of the largest privately owned marinas in the entire country changed ownership and with that change came a change in direction, taking a 550 slip working marina that dates back to the depression, and converting it into a lifestyle marina. Benn Spiegel recruited veteran marina managers, Michelle and Rob Walters to take the old working marina over and transform it into what Benn calls a lifestyle marina with resort quality amenities, green space for everyone to enjoy, landscaped grounds and more. The Galley Guys took a particular interest in the newly revitalized Krates Marina so we contacted the new managers and offered to put on a Galley Guys dinner on Benn Spiegel's boat. The Galley Guys are nothing if not forward! The idea was to have a friendly group get together to talk about boating in general, new trends in the industry and Krates in particular. With the recently completed extension of Highway 404 that extends north of Toronto, the Krates Marina facility in Keswick, Ontario is a mere 45 minutes north of Highway 401. Of course, more and more business and residential development is locating in places like Markham, Vaughn, Richmond Hill and Aurora, so the Krates facility is even more conveniently located to those places. Galley Guy John Armstrong, who once lived in India, wanted to put together one of his favourite meals; Tandoori Chicken with Samosas, Raita (which is grated English cucumber with yogurt, cilantro and some other secret ingredients) and Naan bread to accompany the meal. Fellow Galley Guys Greg Nicoll and Andy Adams choose the wines - as usual! Over a relaxed dinner by the lake, we learned about the many changes that have taken place at Krates this past spring and summer. 50 C a n a d i a n Ya c h t i n g Andy - Krates is a great location. Do most of your customers use the marina as their summer home? Michelle - Absolutely. This is their summer home. Rob - Just recently, we had a first time boater from Woodbridge come to Krates. Most of the boaters only need to drive about 40 minutes to get here. It's a 550 slip marina and people come Friday and stay to Sunday. It's their home away from home. We have two heated pools, badminton, horseshoes... Andy - Do most boaters here also have a "little boat"? Rob - Sure. We have slips down to 20 footers, then people have tenders on their swim platforms, or tied in their slips behind the bigger boats. They can go out, go fishing... Andy - It's a great lifestyle to be out in the clean water and fresh air. John - Does Krates attract a lot of transient boaters from other areas? Rob - Like last weekend, we had boaters here from Starport Landing...a 40 footer. They use the fuel dock...the pumpout. We don't specifically have transient slips but we can generally accommodate guests. Boaters want to get together. The best publicity is word of mouth. When they have a good time, they spread the word. And we have good high speed Wi-Fi! DECEMBER 2015

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Yachting December 2015

Vantage Point: The Wave of New Boaters is Starting!
Waterfront: What’s your Watermark? Seafaring Santa holiday gift ideas.
Club Profile: Stony Lake Yacht Club
CPS: Seamanship Courses
Feature: Binoculars - Everything you could possibly want to know about understanding, using and buying binoculars for marine use. By Rob Macleod
Electronics Feature: Pinging the Unknown - A look at technologies that support modern marine radar. By David Schmidt
Destination: La Marina, Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic - Luxuriate in this profile of the Casa de Campo, a 7,000-acre resort located in La Romana on the southeast coast of the island and boasting a port, a heliport and an airstrip and home of one of the best billfishing spots in the world. By Elizabeth Kerr
Destination: St John River - Offering cruising areas that are as inviting as any protected inland lake or river, the 75 miles between Saint John and Fredericton make for any easy weekend cruise but there are also many side trips which can occupy you for as much time as you have available. By Glen Cairns
Galley Guys: Krates
Power Review: Neptunus 62
Crossing the Line: The 6th Great Lake

Canadian Yachting December 2015