Your cottage is in the Georgian Bay Biosphere Reserve!

Thats pretty cool – but what does it mean?

We’re living in the world’s largest freshwater group of islands!
It’s the combination of sheltered bays, open water, coastal wetlands, bedrock shores and more that provides habitat for the unique mix of wildlife that can be found here- rare species of plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
Also unique is the history and culture that has crafted the area.

Do your kids know how special that is…
PAB Kids in the Biosphere

Do you want some fun ideas for your kids to do at the cottage this summer? Join the Pointe au Baril Kids in the Biosphere Club. The Club is geared to kids from 8-12 (younger kids can join but may need your help) They’ll be able to get their hands on all sorts of fun activities, games, experiments, and more to learn about the biosphere right in their own backyard.

Each week in July, kids can pick up materials from Tonia at Desmasdon’s Boatworks-stuff related to local ecology, water projects, being “green” at the cottage, and local culture and history.

The more activities the kids complete, and the more pictures they send in, the more points they get.

Winners get awesome prizes!!

• WEEK 1: Species at Risk
• WEEK 2: Water
• WEEK 3: Cottage Life
• WEEK 4: Culture and History

Join for one week or join for them all ~ fun things to do right at your cottage.

The time has come for us all to get back on the water. After a cool weekend, we are back running around on Georgian Bay. Our new boat sea trials begin today, we begin launching customer’s boats and our construction crew journeyed out on The Bay this morning to begin another season of work. There is lots of runoff still flowing into Georgian Bay from all out creeks, rivers, streams and tributaries which we all hope will raise the water levels. We look forward to welcoming everyone back to Desmasdon’s and Pointe au Baril.
Cheers.

Well folks, it’s that time again! The Annual When Will The Boat Fall Through The Ice? Competition has begun. This year we are doing things a little bit different, we ask you join our Facebook page ‘LIKE’ Desmasdon’s Boat Works and leave your guess there. If you dont ahve Facebook and would like to participate please send an email to matt@desmasdons.com including DATE and TIME. Let me give you all a hint; it is going to be later than last year, that’s for sure. Keep an eye on the webcam at www.desmasdons.com to watch the boat and spring arrive.

Everyone at Desmasdon’s Boat Works is proud to announce we have been bestowed with the honour of receiving a Top 100 Dealer Award at the North American wide award gala in Orlando, Florida. In this, our first year applying, we are elated not only for ourselves but also for our amazing team who are now cemented as one of the top groups in the marine industry. It is our people who make Desmasdon’s what it is, so a huge thank you to all our staff who go above and beyond each and every day to make the marina the best it can be. Also, thank you to our fabulous customers who stand by us and support us year after year, it is because of you we constantly strive for improvement.

Cheers.

As we walked down the dock this morning something had changed. The air was cold, not cool or crisp but simply cold. The mercury dipped to -6 last night and there was a skim of extra hard water on top of the water around the docks – some call this ice. With stories of snowfall in Alberta and south of the border we’re expecting winter to show up here in short order. There is still lots going on around the marina though with the technicians and service department still quite busy getting things put to rest for winter and starting special projects and some winter work. Our construction crew is still going full tilt on the Bay despite these frosty mornings. The sales department is still busy with great end of season deals and people taking advantage of unprecedented savings on Grady-Whites, Key Wests and Rossiter.
Each winter people ask what we do over the winter so this year we are going to keep you updated and let you know what is going on around the marina. Our government licensed marine technicians are always striving to keep their skills top notch and take advantage of all upgrade courses available to them by our manufacturers over the winter. Later in November we are off to Orlando for the Top 100 North American Dealers conference where we will accept a Top 100 award. Following that the sales team will travel to Markdale for a Rossiter training session to upgrade knowledge on all products and new upgrades. In December some of us will head to North Carolina where they have Grady-White Sales training and new boat demos on the ocean. That is just a brief example of some of the things we do around the marina to keep busy while boating is on pause.
On another note, Parry Sound Harvest Share has been selected as one of 100 food banks across Canada to be a part of Kraft Food for Families, new campaign delivering $125,000 to food banks all over the country. From now until December 31st, Canadians can add their name once a day, every day at the website www.kraftfoodforfamilies.ca and for each name received, 50 cents will be donated to their local participating food bank. A total of $20,000 is available in each region and once the $20,000 is reached, the food bank with the most names in each region will receive a bonus donation of $5,000. Please take the time as often as possible to click the link and enter your name to help out a great cause.

Cheers.

Desmasdon’s Boat Works is proud to announce that we have been awarded Top 100 North American Dealers Status from the Boating Industry. Although this was our first year applying for the Top 100 program we felt confident that we would be recognized as a top facility. We are honoured to have been chosen from over 3000 applicants and can’t thank all of our highly trained staff enough for their hard work. We’re thrilled and excited for our entire team and for our customers. This program is sure to make us even better as we plan to take part in the many sales, service and training courses offered at the Marine Dealer Conference and Expo in Orlando.
Cheers.

September has lived up to its’ reputation to this point of being one of the best months in Pointe au Baril. As I look out the windor today it is sunny and warm heading for a high of a 27 degrees. The water is still over 70 degrees, there are no bugs and the evenings are cool and refreshing for sleeping. It is incredible how quickly the boat traffic falls off following Labour Day but we wanted to take this opportunity to let you know just how spectacular September can be. If you have a chance, come on up and enjoy a September weekend.
Cheers.

As we look forward to what promises to be a great long weekend we wanted to thank everyone for making July so excellent. We had a fabulous month around the marina thanks to all of you. This weekend is always a fun one with the PaBIA Senior Regatta happening at the Ojibway.
We wanted to caution everyone on the severe compelte fire ban in effect and urge you all to listen to the warnings as our area is exceptionally dry and any fire could have a serious impact.

Have a safe and enjoyable weekend folks.
Cheers.

Desmasdon’s is hitting the road this weekend with some Grady-White Boats in tow. Come see us July 27-29th at the docks in Gravenhurst and go for a spin on a new Grady-White. We’re going to have 4 models there to choose from including the gorgeous 255 Freedom right down the 192 Freedom. If you have any questions call us at 705.366.2581 or email matt@desmasdons.com.

See you there.

Join us this Saturday, July 7th for our 9th annual Family Fun Day. We’ll have fun and games for kids and adults alike along with new boats from Grady-White, Rossiter and Key West as well as Yamaha Waverunners in the water to drive. Manicures, food, and more. Come one, come all and join us as we thank you for all your support. Hope to see you Saturday.