About Us

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We work as ecotourism guides (as well as biologist and boat captain) often on the BC Coast, but also as far ranging as the Arctic and Antarctic. We have an insatiable curiousity for the planet; all its hidden gems and what makes them tick. That and our love of sailing is what inspired us to sail around the Pacific in Narama, our tough and pretty little sailboat.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Helsinki to Sao Miguel

Ice in the Baltic

When Stephen and I arrived in Canada on Narama after six months of long ocean passages interspersed with some cruising, we jokingly said to our friends that we highly recommend traveling great distances by air rather than toiling on the surface. After our recent travels I’ve reversed that opinion. We arrived in Helsinki jet-lagged, dehydrated and sick from recycled air and slightly shocked to find ourselves in freezing temperatures and near blizzard conditions after warm sunny days in Victoria. A mere 15 hours of airplanes and airports and we were dropped half way around the world, stumbling and poorly adjusted. The last nine days however, have reminded us why we are planning another major voyage on Narama; it’s not just the destination, but the travelling we love. We boarded MS Expedition in Rauma, Finland and set out across the Baltic Sea. We had a gorgeous warm spring day as we crossed Germany in the Keil Canal with cranes flying north over our heads, then occasional Common Dolphins playing under our bow as we headed south in the North Sea. We slowly pealed off layers of clothing as the temperature rose until we greeted Ponta Delgada on Sao Miguel Island in Tshirts. Staying on the surface and watching the wildlife and climate slowly change as we cover several hundred miles is fun, flying is for the birds.

MS Expedition