Pan Am Games

There are too many people that think in the short term in Toronto. The Pan Am games is a prime example. I'm not sure what the price tag was? Maybe $2.5B. Or about 20% of Ontario's deficit this year. What did we get out of it? Two weeks of feel good athletic stories? Some traffic problems. My marina was all but blocked off for 3-weeks. We still have the Para Pan games coming up.
It doesn't matter. What we gained was an entire new neighbourhood fast tracked forward in Corktown. $Millions in future property taxes. An amazing redo of Queen's Quay. Head down there if you live in the city. It is jammed packed with tourists and locals. One of the best waterfronts I have seen in North America.

We have Olympic calibre pools, tracks and other facilities badly needed in Southern Ontario. Hamilton has a new football stadium. None of the facilities would have been built without the games. It is a small price to pay.

Toronto has too many naysayers. People that do not want to build anything. It is the reason our subway system is so pathetic. People want transit but don't want to pay for it. Nathan Phillips Square has a half-assed reno because City Hall wanted a to save a few bucks. There is nobody with vision running the city.

Toronto is a great city with a dynamic downtown core that is packed 7-days a week. But it was built by businesses not politicians. The city succeeds despite the politicians. This is not an endorsement of free enterprise. Most Canadian cities turn the lights out after 6PM downtown. It is just that Toronto has the population and economy that makes it work.

Harbourfront Toronto July 2015

Harbourfront Improvements

Boat I trained on 3-years ago

Alternate Pick-up Point for Brawler

The Bond July 2015

Boating July 2015

My first summer boating in 2013 I would rate my confidence level at 10-20%. Last year it improved to 30-50%. In 2015 I would say I'm 80+%. The change has been incremental. It was not an overnight change but a combination of practise and formal training with useful tips thrown in. Small things that add up to increasing confidence in my driving and parking ability.

I'm pleased that Martin was able to adjust the RPM on my twin engines. I had asked Great Lakes Yacht Service to fix the issue but they failed to show up. I would say that the slow idle speed, which led to engine shutdown, was the main culprit in 90% of the issues I had last year.

I still have a lot to learn but what I considered slow progress is starting to show constant improvement. I no longer consider myself the worst boat driver in Toronto. I even notice my neighbours no longer consider me a hazard to navigation.

The Brawler July 2015

Ontario Place Resident Beaver