Local sailing start-up describes treacherous journey across Atlantic Ocean

A local crew of sailors planning to launch a sailing start-up in July, describes how getting the boat to Canada proved to be a treacherous journey.

The crew of three from Flö Charter Co. plan to offer tours across Lake Ontario, but before that, they had to sail the boat to Hamilton all the way from St. Maarten in the Caribbean Sea.

The crew of Trelorna II enjoy the calm weather and calm waters found at Harbour West Marina in Hamilton.

A far cry from the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

“Gnarly bro, gnarly,” recounts Todd Cantelon, a co-founder of Flö Charter Co. “Like every obstacle you could imagine – it was, it was insane.”

Cantelon has been sailing since he was a kid, and back in 2023, he got the idea to start a sailing trip company called Flö Charter Co., but he needed a sailing yacht to do it.

“I think we went to: Boston, Florida, Curaçao, Antigua, Spain and finally St. Maarten,” said Cantelon. “So over a year and a half, endless boat searching, trying to find the right one.”

Once he got the Trelorna II, it was time to set sail to Canada – a well over 3,000 kilometre journey through good times, bad times, and plenty of storms.

The crew consisted of co-captain Nicolas Lopez, and Cantelon’s son Samuel – his first time ever sailing the open waters.

“Getting out of the marina, being like ‘we’re on the way, we’re doing it’ and then there’s an issue,” said Samuel. “There’s a problem and it just kind of stayed like that throughout the rest of the journey, it felt like military.”

“I have experience in the reserves, and it felt like that same type of brain where you have to shut off, and you have to do that task – you don’t have time to think really,” said Samuel.

“Night watch is scary,” said Cantelon. “I got hit with my first open ocean storm of my life, and I’ve done lots of miles at sea, but never been in a storm. We actually shut the boat down – went dark mode – there was so much lightning.”

“We thought, if we get struck, we’re dead, that’s what is so sobering about being out in the middle of the ocean,” said Cantelon.

“The ocean is a place where you don’t have anything scripted – you think it’s gonna take 12 days, and it might take 17,” said Lopez. “You might think you’ll have wind every day, and then four days of no wind, then you have to just punch through with your engine, right.”

Although the journey was extremely tough at some points, the crew said, “it was real life, and that’s what makes sailing so magical.”

“It’s almost as real as it gets, especially in the deep ocean – it strips you down to your basic humanity: can I eat, can I sleep, it’s about ‘can I survive’,” said Cantelon. “Doing something where you think that maybe you can’t do it, and then getting through it, that’s why we keep going sailing.”

Samuel said it’s a journey he’ll never forget, especially their stop at the Milwaukee Deep – the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean.

“You look down, and it’s a void – it’s like looking into the face of god, it’s huge,” said Samuel, “and to think of the potential of all the things that live down there…yeah you get lost in that. So yeah, it was a cool experience.”

Now that they’re safe in Canada, Flö Charter Co. is aiming to open July 15, and take people to discover the same magic they felt on the open waters.

“We always have misconceptions that ‘it’s just a lake’ – there’s actually some pretty cool spots you can only get to by boat, and the perspective from the water is very, very different, so it’s very cool,” said Lopez.

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