Orcas, totems and bears, sailing holiday, Canada

First and foremost our interest is in the wildlife and the diversity of experiences, so we try to make everyday different. If we started with a rainforest walk in the morning, and if there is a low tide in the midday, we might go with the biologist down on the shoreline to look for sea stars and anemones and finish with some whales in the afternoon. The next day may start with a walk through an ancient aboriginal village and the chance to admire some totem poles—the intent being to try and gain a greater of that society. Sailing is certainly one of the things we want to be doing, but it is not first and foremost a sailing trip. It is a natural history trip in which we are travelling on board sailboats. This is the choice we make.

The boat, the coast, the water, the joy of travelling silently are all wonderful. It is a sensory experience. Sailing vessels of this size are quite stable, but you still feel the power of the wind. You can feel the wires holding up the mast. With the sails, you have that auditory experience also.

Operating a sailing vessel brings a number of challenges from an environmental impact point of view, which we try to minimize through refuse management practices that are the focus of many discussions on-board, on land and at the office. We recycle glass and tin along the coast, in the small communities we work out of. Tin, glass and cardboard in some cases require us to hop in a cab because the recycling facility is outside of town. Oil recycling is imperative and responsible disposal is essential.

We also compost out in deeper water. There are all sorts of marine organisms like crabs that are detritus feeders. Some of the organic matter, like orange peels, will float, so we avoid composting those in places that are more densely populated like the Gulf Islands.

All the lights on-board are 12-Volt, so they run off the batteries. We don’t have incandescent lights; everything is compact fluorescent. The efficiency of our conventional power train is enhanced by the shape of sailing vessels which are slender and foster easier movement through the water than more blunt hulls.

In all Canadian areas that are part of First Nations territory, we work collaboratively with them. In the Great Bear Rainforest—the most tangible example—we signed protocol agreements with two First Nations that carry 90% of our operating area. Hartley Bay’s Gitga’at people is one; and the Kitasoo Native Band at Klemtu is the other. Our activities generate $10 per person per night as a fee that is paid for the use of their territory. It is our recognition of their historic rights. We are committed to hiring local guides. At Hartley Bay, on all of our Great Bear Rainforest trips, we will spend a day with a guide hired through the Gitga’at development corporation. Typically, that is a Spirit bear-focused experience.

We are committed to buying our food for the trips in local communities, despite this being at times a challenge for our cooks, because supplies are not as dependable and more menu flexibility is required as a result.

Appreciate wilderness, respect wildlife and native cultures
We only travel in small groups of 12-16 guests. Small groups can watch in awe as a bear feeds on salmon. Smaller boats can float silently among the whales. We adhere to the principals of ecotourism. We support local communities, promote conservation, ensure our practices are low impact, and provide guests with world-class knowledge about the coast, the wildlife and Native cultures. We travel together in a relaxed, fun style (our lives are here to be enjoyed). We contribute to a variety of whale and seabird research programs and support conservation groups working to protect coastal wilderness.

On each trip we are committed to introducing participants to the wonders of nature. An experienced naturalist leads daily walks ashore and often provides short evening slide shows or presentations. Participants find learning engages their curiosity, and enriches the trip immensely. On all our voyages we intentionally keep our itineraries flexible to take advantage of wildlife sightings, weather and tides, and the interests of the group. These sample itineraries describe typical trips. Activities, however, may occur in a different order or be substituted by suitable alternatives. Wildlife is wild life and may not necessarily conform to our schedules. On all our voyages we intentionally keep our itineraries flexible to take advantage of wildlife sightings, weather and tides, and the interests of the group.