New BrunswickJeff Fullerton had planned a months-long trip of waterways down south but changed his plans after Donald Trump became U.S. president again.Jeff Fullerton has travelled all the way from Chicago as part of a months-long journey by waterMark Leger · CBC News · Posted: Oct 04, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: October 4Jeff Fullerton loves the unspoiled landscapes and uncongested waters in the Maritimes. (Mark Leger/CBC)Jeff Fullerton was on his boat one day earlier this week, anchored at a yacht club in the Millidgeville area of Saint John.On a journey from Chicago into the Maritimes, he was catching up with people he knew from Saint John and meeting others for the first time.Fullerton, who grew up in Nova Scotia, fell into conversation with someone, and they realized they had likely met decades ago in a town outside the city.”I had a guy aboard who I had actually raced against in Rothesay in the mid ’70s,” Fullerton said. “We were the same age, and we compared notes and said, ‘Yeah, you know, we would have met one another racing sailboats when we were kids.'”Fullerton wasn’t supposed to be here, enjoying a day on the St. John River, sharing stories with local people or showing off his boat, a 55-foot cruiser with two sleeping cabins and a heating system that keeps it warm in colder weather.This lifelong boater planned a long trip through the U.S. Then Trump became presidentA Canadian boater who used to live in the United States cancelled a trip through that country’s waterways, opting to tour the Maritimes instead.He had planned a months-long trip of waterways south of the Canada-U.S. border but changed his plans after the election of Donald Trump.He was uncomfortable with the political situation and decided to stop travelling to the U.S. Though he lives in Guelph, he’d kept his boat anchored in Chicago, where he lived before he moved to Ontario in the 1990s.WATCH | Border crossing issues influenced decision to cancel U.S. trip, boater says: “I was denied entry at one point,” he said of trips to the U.S. “It all seemed unreasonable to me, my interactions with the border agents the last couple of times I went back and forth this year.”Fullerton has been doing long-distance trips by boat for about 10 years, something he decided to do as his own kids grew older and became more independent.”I had a job where I was largely working remotely,” he said. “So I moved my work aboard the boat, and spent a couple of summers cruising extensively. I liked it so much, I stopped working and started doing that.”Fullerton’s boat is docked in Saint John Harbour, waiting for slack tide so he can make the trip through the Reversing Falls up the St. John River. (Submitted by Jeff Fullerton)He travels mostly alone, but people do join him occasionally en route.His wife still works full time and is an avid cyclist. As he travelled the St. Lawrence River, she and some family members met up with him for a short trip.”Some folks on the boat did bicycling, and others came on the boat, and we kind of did a bike and boat travel excursion, which was lovely.”In Montreal, a friend who is a chef hopped on board and did the cooking, not one of Fullerton’s strong suits, he admits.”He came with me all the way to Halifax, and he had a good time and I ate well,” he said.To get here, he travelled the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, posting pictures and stories to a blog along the way. He spent a few weeks in Nova Scotia, touring places like Yarmouth, Digby and the Annapolis Valley and then came to New Brunswick, exploring the river systems here.Fullerton has travelled on his boat for months at a time for the last 10 years. (Roger Cosman/CBC)From Saint John, he headed to Saint Andrews and then on to Nova Scotia, where he’ll leave his boat in Halifax and fly home to Guelph for a visit.He has no regrets about his decision to travel to the Maritimes instead of the U.S.There is very little boat traffic and the scenery is unspoiled, unlike more congested areas in central Canada and the U.S.”There’s always something to see, particularly this time of year, the colours are spectacular,” Fullerton said. “With the changing topography, you can go from rocky, hard environments … to being out in the middle of a marsh. It’s lovely.”Fullerton heads out to his boat at the Royal Kennebeccasis Yacht Club in Saint John. (Mark Leger/CBC)He also says the Maritimes would be a great place to anchor a boat permanently.”Where I live in Guelph, there’s really nowhere within 500 kilometres where I’d want to say, this is where my boat lives,” he said.”There’s lots of areas that are not particularly attractive or friendly, and this is not one of those areas. I’d be quite happy to keep a boat here. It’s a beautiful area. You’re lucky to have it.”ABOUT THE AUTHORMark Leger is a reporter and producer based in Saint John. Send him story ideas to: mark.leger@cbc.ca
Ontario boater cancels trip through U.S., tours Maritime waterways instead
