Vancouver Island Yacht Charters

This summer, my wife and three kids (15, 12 and 10) and I decided to try out sailing. My wife and I have been toying with the idea of sailing when we retire for a while now but had never actually done it before. With a couple weeks holidays available in the summer and no plans I started e-mailing around to the charter companies, originally planning on just a couple days out with a captain. After numerous replies we settled on Nanaimo Yacht Charters. Shari was very pleasant to work with and before you knew it, my wife and I were talking home courses (capable crew and day skipper). Anytime we had any questions, Shari was only an e-mail away from answering them.

Finally the day arrived and my kids took their first ferry ride (we live in Alberta) as our adventure began. The hospitality we were shown by all the staff there was amazing and we felt very comfortable right off the get go. We got on the boat for the night and for the first time realized what retirement could be like, and we loved it.

The next morning our instructor Paul showed up. He is a 30yr old from Tasmania with a laid back attitude and a playful spirit. We jumped right into learning as he guided us through our paces, never getting excited even if we did once or twice. Best of all he was absolutely great with our kids. He would get them involved in the sailing as much as they desired and kept them occupied with other games and things when they didn’t. It wasn’t long before he was part of the family.

We sailed down the coast to Saltspring Island and back over the course of a week at a nice leisurely pace. We stayed in quaint little bays and fancy marinas, all while sitting under a full moon at night and beautiful weather during the day. The kids fished, swam, explored shore lines, and had a blast, as did the rest of us. We can’t wait till next year to do it all again.

Thank-you Shari, Ian, Paul and Trevor and the rest of your excellent staff for our dream trip.

Gary, Jennifer, Emily, Sarah and Brian

Shari, here’s probably my favorite picture from the trip. It’s at pirates cove at sunset, just after supper. Sarah is fishing on the deck.