Sea Stricken

BY BRIAN SCOTT WILKINSON

Mand money—in their drive to get onto the water.

I blame my wife for exposing me to the catalyst that would reawaken this disease, for it was she who suggested our first trip together to the West Coast. Shortly after this first road trip, I noticed the symptoms of being “sea stricken” while in a small-town grocery store in central Alberta. It was here I discovered Pacific Yachting and my fate was sealed. When we got engaged, my wife told me, “You arrange the honeymoon…” Charter companies, crewed charters, captains for hire—I looked into every option that would allow me to get on the water for the first time. Following our Desolation Sound honeymoon, and after much research, my wife and I did our competent crew and day skipper courses. We entered a leasing program which allowed us 32 days aboard a Meridian 368. We got her eight days a quarter. Our first eight days on board were spent with an instructor where we learned the boat, her systems, routine maintenance as well as handling and navigating all while plying the waters of the Southern Gulf Islands at the end of March.

On our first solo trip, we booked in at a few marinas with short jaunts in between to get our feet wet. Other than the debatable “small” miscalculation of returning to Granville Island on Canada Day and having to wind through numerous flotillas of small sailboats, kayakers and “SUP-ers,” only to have to hold station and await our turn at the fuel dock, the trip was a success.

For our third quarter adventure we

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