CEN 300 - Canadian Sailing Directions - General Information, Great Lakes - 2026/06

Oct 26, 2026

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CEN 300: Canadian Sailing Directions provides general navigational information for the Great Lakes, including routes and navigational hazards, ship routing systems, winter navigation, nautical publications, magnetic variation, aids to navigation, electronic positioning systems, pilotage, and radio use. It also includes regulations, geographic descriptions of port facilities, and natural conditions such as seabed characteristics, ice types and coverage, water levels, seiches, currents, and meteorological information, with trip-planning appendices and supporting references.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryTechnology

FormatPDF

Pages76

Reading Time3 h 12 min

AccessFree to download

Pictogram Legend

Record of Changes

Preface

References to Other Publications

Explanatory Notes

Abbreviations

Chapter 1: General Navigational Information

Routes and navigational hazards

Ship routing systems

Fishing vessels

Winter navigation

Nautical publications

Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) publications

Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) publications

Nautical charts

Magnetic variation

Cables

Water level information

Aids to navigation

Electronic positioning systems

Pilotage

Canadian Coast Guard (CCG)

Use of radio

Search and rescue (SAR)

Cold water survival

Chapter 2: Regulations

List of Statutes, Regulations, Guidelines and Conventions

Regulations

Chapter 3: General Geographic Information and Broad Description of Port Facilities

Geographical and physical features

The provinces

St. Lawrence River and Great Lakes system

Port facilities

Chapter 4: Natural Conditions

Seabed

Ice

Types of ice

Ages of ice

Concentration

Forms of floating ice

Surface features

Other Terms Common to Shipping

Ice coverage

Water levels

Seiches

Currents

Meteorological information

Appendices: Trip Plan

Other References

Distances in nautical miles: Montréal to Sarnia

Distances in nautical miles: Sarnia to Thunder Bay

Index

CEN 300 Canadian Sailing Directions General Information, Great Lakes 2026/06 CEN 300: General Information, Great Lakes iii Pictogram Legend Anchorage Wharf Marina Current Caution Light Radio calling-in point Lifesaving Station Pilotage Report discrepancies between real-world observations and descriptions in the publication Users of this publication are requested to forward information regarding newly discovered dangers, changes in aids to navigation, the existence of new shoals or channels, or other information that would be useful for the correction of nautical charts and publications affecting Canadian waters to: [chsinfo@dfo-mpo.gc.ca](chsinfo@dfo-mpo.gc.ca) IMPORTANT NOTICE The Canadian Hydrographic Service no longer produces hard copies of its publications. Updates are published in Notices to Mariners [at](at notmar.gc.ca)[ ](at notmar.gc.ca)[notmar.gc.ca](at notmar.gc.ca) and on the Canadian Hydrographic Service website at [charts.gc.ca](charts.gc.ca) REPRODUCTION FOR PERSONAL USE This digital publication-as published in [charts.gc.ca](charts.gc.ca)-may be printed or reproduced in any format, without charge or further permission, provided that it is for non-commercial purposes, i.e. not for sale or any profit whatsoever. To be used for navigation, the reproduction must be an unaltered, true copy of the publication found in [charts.gc.ca](charts.gc.ca), and kept up-to-date at all times. REPRODUCTION FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES This publication shall not be printed or otherwise reproduced in whole or in part for commercial purposes (i.e. in the purpose of sale or any profit whatsoever, as opposed to personal use), without prior written permission from the Canadian Hydrographic Service. For more information, contact: Canadian Hydrographic Service Fisheries and Oceans Canada 200 Kent Street, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1A 0E6 [charts.gc.ca](charts.gc.ca) [chsinfo@dfo-mpo.gc.ca](chsinfo@dfo-mpo.gc.ca) © His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, 2026 Catalogue No. Fs74-57E-PDF ISSN 2816-489X Ottawa CEN 300: General Information, Great Lakes iv Record of Changes As the CHS acquires new information, relevant changes are applied to Sailing Directions volumes in order to maintain safety of navigation. It is the responsibility of the mariner to maintain their digital Sailing Directions file by ensuring that the latest version is always downloaded. Visit [charts.gc.ca](charts.gc.ca) to download the most recent version of this volume, with all current changes already incorporated. The table below lists the most recent changes that have been applied to this volume of Sailing Directions. This record of changes will be maintained at the discretion of the Canadian Hydrographic Service. | Date | Chapter /
Paragraph | Description of Change | | --- | --- | --- | | 2025/06 | Entire Booklet | CEN 300 has been reformatted and now meets Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. Other changes include updated imagery, hyperlinks, and indexing. | | 2025/06 | C2/P16 | Added website link. | | 2025/06 | Preface/C1/P1 | Removed geographical index. | | 2025/06 | C1/P101 | Replaced website link. | | 2025/06 | C1/P129 | Radar Beacons (Racons) are now described in List of Lights, Buoys and Fog Signals. | | 2025/10 | Entire Booklet | Updated all references of NOTSHIPs & Notice(s) to Shipping to NAVWARNs & Navigational Warnings | | 2026/06 | Enitre Booklet | Amended “Sail Plan” title in book to “Trip Plan” per Transport Canada | | 2026/06 | C1/P38 | Removed references of “Print copies are available at any CCG office” | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | CEN 300: General Information, Great Lakes v Contents Pictogram Legendiii Record of Changesiv Prefacevii References to Other Publicationsvii Explanato

FAQs

How are updates to CEN 300 delivered and kept current?

The record of changes notes that safety requires mariners to download the latest digital version. Updates are published via Notices to Mariners and on the Canadian Hydrographic Service website, which also hosts the most recent volume with current changes incorporated.

What navigation topics are covered in Chapter 1?

Chapter 1 includes routes and navigational hazards, ship routing systems, fishing vessels, winter navigation, nautical publications, charts and magnetic variation, cables and water-level information, aids to navigation, electronic positioning systems, pilotage, radio use, search and rescue, and cold-water survival.

What natural conditions are described for the Great Lakes?

Chapter 4 covers seabed conditions and ice, including ice types, ages, concentration, floating ice forms, surface features, ice coverage, water levels, seiches, currents, and meteorological information.

Oct 26, 2026

Upload by miraaa_2004