Manotick losing out on Tourist Dollars

I sent my first letters to the Manotick newspaper 19 years ago. In 1995 I got a copy of a planning document for Manotick created by architects which suggested a dock in Mahogany Harbour. I immediately sent a letter to the editor of the local paper describing our experiences cruising through the eastern USA, where local town welcomed visiting boats with free food and beer (really!), free cars to shop, free docks and tourist information. In one town we even got a free tour by a retired guy hired by the town to greet visiting boats!  These communities really wanted tourist business. Far cry from the Rideau (a World Heritage Site) where towns don't really care if visitors need food, beer, hardware, drugs, doctors or vets.

I received no response, so I encouraged boaters to anchor in Mahogany Harbour in my "Boating in Canada" page about the Rideau Canal - with instructions to dinghy ashore to buy supplies at the Mews of Manotick. I really should have asked boaters to mention they were on a boat. Maybe it would have sunk in by now.

Manotick is the only community between Merrickville and Ottawa with stores near the waterway - all those boats I see passing by all summer don't shop here. It's Manotick's loss.