River Cruises and Water Taxis
 

Rideau Canal boat tours to resume next year as Parks Canada selects new operator

Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: September 24, 2015 | Last Updated: September 25, 2015 9:40 AM EDT

Following a one-year hiatus, boat tours on the Rideau Canal will resume next year after Parks Canada picked a long-established cruise company to provide new services and experiences along the canal’s Ottawa portion.

In response to Citizen questions, Parks Canada, which is responsible for the canal, said it had selected Ottawa Boat Cruises Inc. (also known by its French name, Croisières Outaouais) from among three bidders for the canal contract.

The three proposals were reviewed by a committee that included representatives from Parks Canada, the National Capital Commission, the City of Ottawa and Ontario’s Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

Parks Canada is now working with Ottawa Boat Cruises “to detail the full package of services that will be offered, with implementation scheduled to start in 2016,” the agency said in an email.

One of the services will be a new tour boat that will begin operations in the 2016 navigation season. Details of other offerings will be announced once an agreement has been signed, Parks Canada said.

To the dismay of many, no boat tours were offered on the canal’s Ottawa section this summer for the first time in 66 years.

Paul’s Boat Lines, which had run tours since 1949, cancelled its Rideau Canal tours after it was unable to reach a long-term lease with Parks Canada this spring.

Earlier this year, Parks Canada invited bids from operators able to offer two or more experiences or services on and along the canal from the Ottawa Locks to Hartwell Locks at Carleton University.

The agency’s Request for Proposals said the Rideau Canal “has significant potential for innovative experiences and leading edge services that will increase visitation, appreciation and enjoyment” of the UNESCO World Heritage Site canal.

After a competitive process, Ottawa Boat Cruises has emerged as the winner. According to the tender documents, it will have to pay Parks Canada a minimum a fee of $75,000 a year or six per cent of gross revenues, whichever is greater.

The company was founded in the 1980s after Jean Taillefer converted one of his ferry boats into an Ottawa River cruise boat for family and friends out of Rockland, Ont.

The popularity of his cruises grew, Taillefer moved the operation to the Quai des artistes in Gatineau (then Hull), where it has been operating ever since. His son, Robert Taillefer, took over the business in 1997 and still runs it.

The company has two charter tour boats — the 350-passenger Ottawa River Queen and the 180-passenger J-Taillefer 1 — and operates 250 cruises a year on the Ottawa River, its website says.

It will presumably need to buy a new boat to operate on the canal, but no one from Ottawa Boat Cruises was available for comment.

[email protected]
twitter.com/ButlerDon

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...n-rideau-canal

Ottawa Boat Cruise will bring boat tours of northern Rideau Canal back in 2016
Ottawa Boat Cruise beats out 2 other bids to provide tours in 2016

CBC News Posted: Sep 25, 2015 12:35 PM ET Last Updated: Sep 25, 2015 12:35 PM ET

Parks Canada has chosen Ottawa Boat Cruise to bring back boat tours on the northernmost stretch of the Rideau Canal in 2016.

In an email, Parks Canada said the more than 30-year-old company, which currently runs Ottawa River cruises, beat out two other bids after the department's request for proposals earlier this year.

"Parks Canada is now working with Ottawa Boat Cruises Inc. (Croisières Outaouais) to detail the full package of services that will be offered, with implementation scheduled to start in 2016," the statement said.

"One of the services will be a new tour boat which will begin operations in the 2016 navigation season. Details on other offerings will be announced at a later date once an agreement has been signed."

The Parks Canada request for proposals went out March 25 of this year and asked for a company willing to pay either $75,000 or six per cent of revenue, whichever was higher, during a 10- to 42-year contract.

The winning company would provide "innovative visitor experiences and leading edge services that will maximize the potential of Canada's Rideau Canal in Ottawa," according to the request.

Services would start no later than Friday, May 20, 2016, which is the day before the Victoria Day long weekend.

Ottawa Boat Cruise sent out a news release Friday saying they had acquired Paul's Boat Lines and had a "big announcement for the new 2016-17 summer season" to make on Tuesday.

Paul's Boat Lines had run boat tours of the Ottawa section of the Rideau Canal from 1949 until 2014.

Dan Duhamel, president of Paul's Boat Lines, told CBC News in April he wouldn't be running tours in the summer of 2015 because he wasn't able to come to terms with Parks Canada on a long-term contract.

In a brief phone interview from the world skeet shooting championships in San Antonio, Duhamel said he thinks Ottawa Boat Cruises will bring Rideau Canal tours to a higher level.

"I think Ottawa Boat Cruise has a lot of depth and I think they'll do very well with the whole thing, I think they'll help bring a lot of people back into Ottawa," he said.

"[I have] total support for these people."

Ottawa Boat Cruise owner Robert Taillefer wasn't immediately available for comment and Parks Canada declined further comment.

"Unfortunately, given the communications protocol during the election we will not be able to accommodate an interview," Parks Canada spokeswoman Meaghan Bradley told CBC News in an email.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...ours-1.3243665

Ottawa Boat Cruise secures 42-year lease for Rideau Canal tours

Don Butler, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: September 29, 2015 | Last Updated: September 29, 2015 6:06 PM EDT

Thirty-one years ago, Robert Taillefer’s parents started a ferry service on the Ottawa River between Rockland and Thurso that would morph into a successful charter cruise business called Ottawa Boat Cruise.

Now Taillefer’s company is set for decades to come after securing a 42-year lease from Parks Canada to provide sightseeing tours and other services on the Ottawa section of the Rideau Canal starting in 2016.

The 42-year term, which will keep Ottawa Boat Cruise vessels on the Rideau Canal until at least 2058, was the maximum specified in a Parks Canada request for proposals last March that invited bids from companies able to provide multiple services or experiences on the canal.

Parks Canada said it would enter into a long-term lease agreement “for a term commensurate with the type of service and level of investment.”

The agency revealed last week that it had selected Ottawa River Cruise (known as Croisières Outaouais in French) over two other bidders.

“We’re proud to have been selected by Parks Canada,” Taillefer said Tuesday at a celebratory news conference aboard his company’s paddlewheeler, the Ottawa River Queen.

“I’ve been on a boat since I was four years old. It’s my life,” he said. “For us, it’s familiar territory. We’re used to it, and we look forward to the challenge.”

The company plans to have two new electrically propelled vessels, each capable of carrying about 100 passengers, built by a local company for the canal tours. There are two potential builders, but Taillefer wouldn’t identify them.

One of the new boats will be operational next season and the second will come into service in 2017, Taillefer said.

The tours will be similar to the ones provided for 66 years by Paul’s Boat Lines — which didn’t bid on the new contract — except that passengers will be able to get on and off at various points.

Ottawa Boat Cruise has also purchased Paul’s Boat Lines’ Ottawa River operations, including its tour boat, the Paula D. The river tour vessels will be rebranded as “World’s Famous Paul’s Boat Lines,” Taillefer announced.

His company plans to build more connections between its services on the river and the canal. For example, tourists could take a river tour, disembark at the Ottawa Locks, board a canal boat and get off at Lansdowne Park to attend a football game.

The company will offer other services on or along the canal as well, but those are still being negotiated with Parks Canada, Taillefer said.

The two parties are also still negotiating the exact financial terms of the lease, but Taillefer said they would be similar to those spelled out in the RFP, which called for annual payments of $75,000 to Parks Canada or six per cent of revenue, whichever was greater.

[email protected]
twitter.com/ButlerDon

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...canal-services

Transit boats on the rideau?
 

A number of cities use boats as transit. Why not Ottawa?

Transit Boats could run along the Rideau Canal with stops at: Rideau Centre (connect to LRT); UOttawa/Campus LRT; Pretoria Bridge; Canal Ritz; Lansdowne Park; Dow's Lake Pavillion; Carleton University. I would bet that such a service would be welcome to both tourists and commuters. You would need boats that are easy/quick to board and unboard.

:previous: because winter.

Boats are also extremely slow relative to other modes. In the warm months it would be far cheaper and faster to have bike share along the length of the canal.

What I find annoying is that the former Rideau Canal boat tour started and stopped at the same place.

I see no reason why they cannot offer a "hop on-hop off" service with a stop around Pretoria Bridge, Lansdowne Park and Dows Lake Pavillion.

I'm sure this would annoy people because it would mean a bit of dock space on the canal and otherwise "ruin" their view.

This is exactly what the new tours will offer as of next summer, at least from my understanding of the articles posted above, the tours will offer a possibility to hop on/hop off at a few locations (ie. Lansdowne, Dows Lake)

River Cruises and Water Taxis
 

Ottawa Boat Cruise electric vessel set for trials

The Ottawa Citizen
Published on: May 26, 2016 | Last Updated: May 26, 2016 2:59 PM EDT

The Queen Elizabeth, the first of two new electrically propelled vessels that Ottawa Boat Cruise plans to use in tours along the Rideau Canal, was lowered into the Ottawa River in Gatineau Thursday for trials in preparation for an an expected mid-June launch.

Each of the locally built vessels is capable of holding about 100 passengers.

The second boat will be operational in 2017.

The Ottawa Boat Cruise tours will be similar to the ones provided for 66 years by Paul’s Boat Lines, which did not bid on a contract to continue with the NCC, except that passengers will be able to get on and off at various points if they pay a surcharge.

Ottawa Boat Cruise has also purchased Paul’s Boat Lines’ Ottawa River operations, including its tour boat, the Paula D.

http://wpmedia.ottawacitizen.com/201...y=55&strip=all

http://wpmedia.ottawacitizen.com/201...y=55&strip=all

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...set-for-trials

New eco-friendly electric boat tours for Rideau Canal announced

Paula McCooey, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: June 9, 2016 | Last Updated: June 9, 2016 1:27 PM EDT

A new eco-friendly boat tour program will offer a unique cruising experience for tourists and locals along the downtown portion of the Rideau Canal.

The locally built, state-of-the-art electric boats will host daytime tours and other special events. The first boat, The Queen Elizabeth Dr., will begin operations in time for Canada Day. The second, The Colonel By, will be launched in time for the 2017 season.

“I am very pleased that this new, innovative and eco-friendly service will provide visitors and residents with yet another way to experience and enjoy the history and beauty of the Rideau Canal Historic Site,” said Catherine McKenna, minister of environment and climate change and the minister responsible for Parks Canada. “This new boat cruise will also support local tourism, jobs and our economy.”

The boats will be in operation following a one-year hiatus, the first time there were no tours on the canal since 1949 when Paul’s Boat Lines first launched. The company cancelled tours in the spring of 2015 after it was unable to reach a long-term lease with Parks Canada.

The new service is the result of Parks Canada’s 2015 plan to help make the Rideau Canal a premier tourism destination, foster recreation and support economic development along its whole length, from Ottawa to Kingston.

[email protected]

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...anal-announced

Le Boat eyes Rideau Canal for fleet of luxury self-hire boats

Aedan Helmer, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: December 1, 2016 | Last Updated: December 2, 2016 2:29 PM EST

http://wpmedia.ottawacitizen.com/201...trip=all&w=650

Parks Canada is in talks with Le Boat, Europe’s largest self-drive boating company, about bringing a fleet of luxury self-hire boats to the Rideau Canal.

The company’s North American operation, based in Clearwater, Florida, said it will be investing $16 million to establish a base of operations with a fleet of 16 Horizon cruisers.

The company said its base infrastructure will span the 202 kilometre length of the canal, from Ottawa to Kingston, with the base of operations in Smiths Falls, a community billed as The Heart of the Rideau Canal and the approximate halfway point of the canal, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Parks Canada said the agency is in talks with the company about their basing and support needs.

Luxury self-hire boats “would fill a market gap not provided by other boat rental operators, marinas and commercial tour boat operations on the Rideau Canal,” according to a statement issued Thursday by Jewel Cunningham, director of Ontario waterways.

Parks Canada said the initiative, in partnership with the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, will increase the number of visitors along the length of the canal, boost international tourism, and will encourage economic development and job creation.

Le Boat said the company will launch with 16 “state-of-the-art Horizon cruisers,” with the fleet expected to expand to 32 boats over five years. Booking will begin next spring, with the maiden voyage set to launch for the 2018 boating season, running from May to October.

The company said the Smiths Falls base is expected to attract “thousands of vacationers” of all ages from Canada, the U.S. and Europe, while contributing “millions of dollars to the local economy through tourism, job growth and supply chain support.”

Le Boat managing director Cheryl Brown called the Rideau Canal “a vacationer’s dream, offering the best of all Le Boat’s European destinations in one place.

“It has the elegant beauty and charm of French waterways, the delightful lagoons of Italy, and the dramatic, scenic lakes and rivers of Ireland, Holland and Germany. Most of all, it’s a mecca for lovers of nature, with every imaginable water sport … as well as hiking, biking and bird-watching.”

Brown said a survey of customers in the U.S., Germany and the U.K. found high demand for the Rideau Canal, with 88 per cent of European respondents and 91 per cent of American respondents saying they would travel to Ontario for a boating holiday.

The luxury cruisers are designed for new and experienced boaters alike, equipped with bow and stern thrusters for manoeuvring through the lock system, and safety bumpers. Each boat is limited to a maximum speed of 10 km/h.

All first-time renters would be required to complete a safety and orientation course provided by the rental company.

[email protected]
Twitter.com/helmera

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-...elf-hire-boats

European boat rental company coming to Rideau Canal
Le Boat bringing 16 vessels equipped for multi-day outings, starting in 2018

CBC News Posted: Jun 27, 2017 4:29 PM ET Last Updated: Jun 27, 2017 5:01 PM ET

https://i.cbc.ca/1.4180378.149859360...ths-fallls.jpg

European "self-hire" boat company Le Boat is setting up shop in Smiths Falls, Ont., with a fleet of vessels designed for multi-day outings along the Rideau Canal starting next year.

Parks Canada announced the agreement today, saying 16 boats equipped with a kitchen, bathrooms and sleeping quarters would be available for rent from Smiths Falls in 2018.

Le Boat lets renters captain their own crafts, as long as they have the right boating licence and take an orientation course.

The news release said the company operates in eight European countries including as The Netherlands, Italy and England, and is popular with groups, families and older couples.

Price estimates for its first North American venture range from $1,398 for shorter, four-night hops to Perth or Merrickville, Ont., to as much as $16,030 for a two-week sojourn to Kingston, Ont.

The goal is to at least double the number of boats available over the next five years, according to Parks Canada.

Environment Minister Catherine McKenna said in the release Le Boat should boost tourism and give opportunities for people who don't own boats to see the canal from a new perspective.

There are other boat rental companies on the Rideau Canal that operate with smaller fleets. Another company, Ottawa Boat Cruise, does tours of the northernmost stretch of the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, but those tours are much shorter and tour-goers are not allowed to operate the boat.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa...anal-1.4180277

... Le Boat...

really?

Sounds like something we'd hear in Acadian New Brunswick.

The name is European, where people got over their hand-wringing about language issues a long time ago.

Le Bow-ah. Catchy! :D

Exactly!

[off topic rant]
How is it that the Netherlands (a tiny country surrounded by large countries that speak foreign languages) can keep their language and culture while having a bilingual rate of over 90% (and a multilingual rate of of 77%), yet Canada's rate of bilingualism is 17.5% nationally (2011). I can understand the western provinces struggling (guilty as charged) but Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick (at a minimum) should be doing much better, yet their bilingual rates are 11.7%, 40.8% and 34.2% respectively (2001).

They key is starting early. Studies have shown that if you don't start learning a second language by age 7, you won't become fully bilingual.

IMHO, we should put an end to language segregation in our schools and have both French and English are taught equally to all students from day 1. It would also reduce the need for busing as students just go to their nearest school (don't get me started on the separation of public and catholic students).
[/off topic rant]

Canadians just suck at teaching languages in school. Countries like Denmark, Netherlands, and Israel achieve near-universal fluency in English as a second language among their citizens through the education system.

Even in Poland, where learning and speaking English was effectively illegal until 1989, about half the population speaks English.

If we actually tried, there's no reason why we couldn't achieve an 80% bilingualism rate coast to coast.

lol...

People need to speak other languages to do business in Europe. Simple.

Do they though? Here in Czech unless you work in certain industries you can certainly get by without knowing any English yet all the young people know it.. well enough, anyway. Older people not so much. When I opened my bank account here I had to bring a licensed interpreter because the bank branch didn't have any managers who were fluent enough in English to serve me. All were over 40, I think (judging by appearance).

That is due to a change in political climate. Under soviet control, Eastern European countries couldn't do any trade with the west, so Russian was the second language taught. Now, in the European Union, they have standardized on English as the universal language for trade. Ironic considering the largest English speaking country in the union is exiting. :rolleyes:

Having said that, only a minority of the population need to speak a second language for trade, but a majority are fluent.