November and January around here are great for learning from shore and we have loaded up our seminar schedule with a bunch of winners.~Learn to prepare for an offshore journey on November 2 and then cruise the south Pacific on November 9.~More to come, so make sure you are on Meetup with us!~We have more for every Friday evening in November and January.~Space is limited, so enrol early.





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Well, not everyone you meet wears a helmet to go sailing, but we've got one such person on site this Friday evening for an off season talk.  Kim Alfreds' father founded the original JIB SET that spawned into national training programs (CYA now Sail Canada) and licensed beyond to become the American Sailing Association.   

This talk will look at the original F33 Cheekee Monkee and some of those adventures while looking ahead to the new F45RC Cheekee Monkee destined for our harbour in 2018 (after a few miles sailing from the Philippines).

We're told standing room only is fine - and it's not too long, so come on by and get a dose of multihull magic from someone who was putting foils on boats before any locals (and even the boat designer) thought it could be done. 



This talk is priced for sailors... just like the wind, it's FREE!

 

Don't miss this one... should be lots of fun!

Three great evenings on the near horizon for all you sailing enthusiasts who need your off season dose of sailing excitement.

BC Sports Hall of Fame Inductee for Sailing - designer, coach, builder DON MARTIN is here this friday following up on yacht design - ranging from his own boats to cutting legendary boats in half to enhance their performance.  We always love having Don on site and 6.30 this Friday you can get your chance.



Next Friday, December 1, we have Kim Alfreds here with a multihull perspective as he looks back at his legenday trimaran CHEEKEE MONKEE and ahead to the all carbon catamaran bearing the same name.   



The following friday it's the holiday party at Kitsilano Yacht Club.




Catch one or all... they will be three awesome evenings!

The annual EASTER FLOTILLA was blessed with great weather and awesome people with a group of boats totalling 13.   Open houses ahead to come talk more about the next events!







We had power and sail, monohull and multihull boats exploring our standard easter routing with the club through PORLIER PASS, THETIS ISLAND, DODD NARROWS, NEWCASTLE ISLAND, SILVA BAY.  The club provides planning, leadership and tips on this great style of cruising.   It is great for new boating enthusiasts, but equally enjoyed by the 'veteran old salts.'   We have upcoming events over the May Looooong Weekend (ours is longer!) and for Canada's 150th birthday.

The whole story is fascinating and takes a little while, but let's let the pictures and results speak for themselves.  Our JIB SET sailing club rescued the legendary local race boat HARWAR on JULY 2 and in not long over a single month, transformed her back to her winning ways. 

Thanks to all the community members who have been part of this adventure so far.  We're excited to report that on her second race with the JIB SET crew, HARWAR was back with both line honours a first place finish on corrected time again.

 
before pickup


beautiful flowers growing from cockpit drains


a deck only a mother could love


after our community rescue efforts - & many pounds of sealife removed!


back sailing - 5 weeks afer project began


back winning - in only her second race in 8 years!


Come to Granville Island and join the fun rolling unfolding with this great boat.  Remember our core philosophy: BOATS ARE PEOPLE TOO!

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Ask anyone who's done a big adventure and they will always credit the people who helped get them there. We've been uniquely positioned with a collection of boats, instructors and a compulsively helpful shore and dock crew.

 

It all comes together to become great experiences mostly because of the people who plug in to this community.

 

Recently, we had one of our fleet owners, Allen,  go around Vancouver Island offering a jump on / jump off experience for members to plug in and experience the beauty of that region.  His role aboard is as a mentor, helping others move forward and become more comfortable with a modern boat in a more remote region. 

Another member, Ryan, who intends to become an instructor, took it upon himself to spend many Thursday afternoons mentoring new people.  Watching what they are doing and getting them feedback and a path to future success… the mentoring sails have been delightful for all. 

 

At the heart of these new opportunities are our clubs - the JIB SET for affordable day sailing and the CREW CLUB for cruising adventures together. 

 

Talking with participants, the club happens to solve three common problems:

 

1) NEED MORE BOATING FRIENDS ~ You may simply not have people to get on the water with.  Your current group of friends and family may not be boating enthusiasts (they may simply be "boating polite".  That's okay, they are probably still nice people.  We happen to collect nice people who ARE PASSIONATE about exploring by boat. 

 

2) A NURTURING ENVIRONMENT ~ We have a paradox whereby the boats are becoming more complex and require more training to gain comfort with, but people have less time to devote to training.  If you can't drop the rest of your life to immerse yourself in the marine environment, why not join someone saltier than you in an environment where you don't initially need to take charge of the boat?   NEW PLAN: become a part time "old salt"

 

3) CHARTER RISK ~ We've watched it over and over - you book a boat, your friends jam out and then you have a really expensive vacation taking on the cost without them.   Our program has less jam outs (we start with PASSIONATE boating fanatics) and we pick the boats after we know how many people we have? 

 

HOW CAN YOU PLUG IN TO ALL THIS MAGIC?

EVENTS

CREW CLUB

JIB SET including JIB SET EVENTS

FLOTILLAS 

(EASTER IS OUR FAVOURITE - kids of all ages!!)



MILLIONS OF EXPERIENCES ~ ONE COMMUNITY


 

More than we asked for!  A band of merry mentorors and mentorees set off yesterday afternoon for a sail to polish those skills and blow off a few cobwebs. 



Conditions were near perfect... starting off in windier conditions that moderated, there were opportunities to sail the boat and get the most out of it.  Then it got better - while coming in, a humpback whale was spotted off the bow.   Using newly freshened skills, the crew worked to sail closer to their great whale - which moved strategically upwind!



So, we've all heard about humpday -- but with us you can experience humpback day!  Want to be part of the fun... our community connects via Meetup site.

CHECK OUT THE WEATHER for checking out boats & programs down at GRANVILLE ISLAND!!



BOATS OPEN 11-5 & still a few slots for boat rides (call ahead if you want one of those 604.687.4110)

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JOHN has been part of the sailing club for a few years now ~ having been a regular at FRIDAY NIGHT RACING, & needing a release from the accounting job, a suggestion came his way to do a series together at a higher level with a consistent crew

despite going through some big changes including a move & way too much work, JOHN stepped up to compete in the FALSE CREEK YACHT CLUB thursday night series ~ he had a team of JIB SET members that raced through AUGUST & early SEPTEMBER evenings

how'd it go?

thanks to a new crew, a few light air evenings & the gymnastics of that spinnaker, it was a few evenings before the crew made it all the way around for a finish  ~~ but the crew certainly improved throughout the series & there is a sign of stronger performances to come

after sailing, the crews often got together at FCYC to share tips & tell a few lies over drinks & a meal

our favourite quote circled around a boat that showed up to the start area ~ & despite not being registered to race ~ helped the new crew with additional challenges at the start line --- the quote that followed 

directed at the rogue skipper:  "register a boat & come fight like a man"
 

congratulations JOHN on stepping up to a higher level of competition ~ keep it up!

& YES ~ ENGLISH BAY IS A SPECTACULAR place

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DOUG & PATRICIA ~ one of our favourite 'inspirational cruising couples' from CALGARY

~ certainly a little background is in order ~ DOUG was retired when we met him & PATRICIA remained working ~ as DOUG contemplated yacht ownership through our charter program, one of his many quotable moments surfaced:

DOUG: "I need something to do ~ how about you put fuel in the chase boat & I can go out and help people?

RESPONSE: "2/3 of our callouts relate to challenges with sewage systems - we're thinking of calling the place "POOPER boating"

DOUG: "I'll do 1/3 of your callouts"

~ & so it went ~ with almost no experience & living land locked in ALBERTA, this couple bought a cruising catamaran with the aspiration of cruising it to ALASKA, while training


how'd it go?


check out their story as published in PACIFIC YACHTING, & be sure to register your interest for your very own ALASKA adventure (we're heading there in SPRING 2015 as a group)

ps - our couple are now POWER BOAT adventurers, perhaps you will join DOUG on the next trip to ALASKA with a slightly different flavour ~ being retired & having wife & kids away working, DOUG has named his dog after TOM HANKS' volleyball "WILSON" in "CASTAWAY" ~ come to ALASKA & help DOUG back out of retirement!

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DR. KEN owns a beautiful cruising boat in our fleet, let's check out DR. KEN's big adventure from this year ~

<<REWIND: september 2013

DR. KEN: well, I've got the time off in july ~ am I racing with you to HAWAII or should I head out on my own boat?

RESPONSE: let me check with the owner of the boat ~ hang on

how'd it go?


FORWARD>>: july 2014, about 120nm from MAUI

DR. KEN: do you think we've got a little too much sail up? (winds near 50 knots)

RESPONSE: (from owner of the boat):  this is FUN

DR. KEN: right

~ the tail end of TROPICAL STORM WALI was quite the adventure ~ the boat was going 13knots with just a 105% jib up & rain… never seen rain like that before, but the next morning ALEGRIA pulled into MAUI in typical conditions for paradise… catch the landfall here:




let's get YOU in these sort of pictures... starts with a key decision to do something SPECTACULAR