After living for 50 years near Lake Ontario, I finally discovered that it is possible to go out on it, even if you don’t own a boat. What’s more, you can go out on it with a fishing charter and not fish. While some would consider that crazy talk, I don’t like to fish, I have a tendency to get seasick and cool lake breezes just leave me cold.

But what I discovered after my husband won a six-hour boat cruise on Lake Ontario was that cruising around Lake Ontario on a yacht can be fun, and, while I still don’t want to fish, I can understand the allure for those who do – especially when we hooked what looked like the biggest fish of the derby less than an hour before we were to end our cruise. With a potential $48,000 in prizes up for grabs, it appeared we had some beginner’s luck on our side.

Why Charter a Boat?

There are many reasons for chartering a boat and mostly these would depend on the group planning the trip. According to Ernie Izzi, owner of Izzi Charters in Port Credit Harbour Marina in Ontario, the groups that book his charters are mostly business owners doing team building or bringing sales teams or clients out for the day.