Where is Your Lifejacket?

Anyone who has met my Mum knows that if she is passionate about one thing, it’s safety. Before our very first sailing trip she asked Cheryl if she could please, “tie Bella to the boat.” In every photo she saw she would ask me, “Where is your lifejacket?!” Now don’t get me wrong, her fears aren’t unfounded because there is obviously some risk in sailing. But I feel pretty strongly that my Mum’s perception of this risk is slightly elevated…

So when Sheelagh agreed to come spend a few days sailing on Splash, you can bet your bottom dollar that Brad and I met her at the end of the dock with a lifejacket in hand. “Put that on!” we demanded, and boy were we shocked when not an hour later, the lifejacket was off and she was settled right in! 

My parents joined us in Nanaimo for five days aboard Splash. Our first day of sailing took us to Montague Harbour, a personal favourite of mine off Galiano Island where we met back up with Eric and Cheryl. The weather was hot so we took the dogs to the beach for a sunset swim before tucking in for the night. The following morning we took the dinghy to a smaller, more private beach while my Dad sat in on a work meeting via Zoom thanks to Eric and Cheryl’s sweet Starlink connection. Poor Randy was stuck bringing home the bacon while we soaked up the sun and were treated to a pod of orcas passing just by the shoreline. An amazing start to the day! Not long after Dad wrapped up his meeting we pulled the anchor and headed to Ganges Harbour off Salt Spring Island. 

Salt Spring is an island of wealthy hippies and boy do I LOVE it! We walked the shops, indulged in the world’s best ice cream, and eventually made our way back to the boats for dinner. Eric and Cheryl hosted that night and in some weird turn of events, Brad managed to convince my Mum to paddle board over to Ocean Spirit for dinner. Haha! Comedy ensued. 

We bid adieu to Ocean Spirit the next morning as they set sail back to Maple Bay to visit some family while we headed further south into Tod Inlet. We’ve been to Tod a couple of times before and just love what a hidden little gem it is! After a bit of discussion we decided to take advantage of the location and once we were settled on anchor for the afternoon, took the dinghy around the corner to Butchart Gardens! It was our first time visiting and boy, the gardens did not disappoint. Our only regret was not having time the next day to utilize the ultra-cheap re-entry fee because I would’ve loved to walk through a second time. Instead, we pulled the hook and headed back to Maple Bay to meet some of my Mum’s friends for drinks before going out for dinner to celebrate a successful first sailing trip for my parents!

It really was so wonderful having them out. When someone has never been sailing I can appreciate how it might be hard to understand why we love it so much. We loved sharing our little nomadic lifestyle on the water with my parents, who left feeling the same excitement we had after our own very first sailing trip. The ocean is such a special place and we are so lucky to call it our home when we’re on board. We can’t wait to have my parents out again so we can continue teaching my Mum the difference between ‘port’ and ‘starboard’, and get my Dad successfully helming Splash on his own! 

Orcas off 'Secret Beach' in Montague Harbour!