Sailing Lessons off the Coast of Vancouver
Spending 5 days on a 36 foot Catalina sailboat
CANADA
Janet and I embarked on our sailing journey at the Rocky Point Sailing Club, where we learned the ropes on an international 420 Dinghy. This small, two-person sailing dinghy is renowned for its popularity in racing and instructional settings, boasting a fiberglass hull with internal buoyancy tanks.
Eager to expand our skills aboard a larger vessel, we enrolled in a five-day liveaboard training course offered by a sailing school at Granville Island in Vancouver. This immersive experience would see us spending nearly a week on the waters just off Vancouver, mastering the intricacies of sailing a 36-foot Catalina. Excited to enhance our abilities and gain confidence on the water, we eagerly anticipated the adventure ahead.
The next several days were docking and line handling. This was where we would motor the boat both with the bow to the dock, and then the stern to the dock. The key phrase was to never be moving faster than you were comfortable hitting something, so slow and steady was key. We practiced these maneuvers at Keats Island where there was also a provincial park and trails to explore. We welcomed the dry land and some time to let our brains take a break from all the drills we had been doing throughout the day.
Along the shore trails of the park we spotted a few old wrecks that were neat to explore, and a driftwood swing that was great to relax on and look out over the water.
The journey started at the marina on Granville Island (which is actually a peninsula) where we met our captain and instructor Stephen. He gave us a run down of the ship with instructions on how to run the basic systems and completed the safety checks. He also ran us through the itinerary. Our overnight stops would be at Gambier Island, Keats Island and Gibsons. We were in the aft berth and Stephen slept in the salon. The image on the left shows the interior of the boat and the image on the right shows the area where we would be sailing and completing our drills.
The lessons we had on the 420 helped with understanding the terminology associated with various parts of the boat. Additionally, having a solid understanding of how adjustments to the sails affect the boat's direction and power at different points of sail was immensely beneficial.
Our first stop was Gambier Island where we set anchor and were well protected from swells. We spent the night and when we got up the ocean was so calm it looked like a lake.
The next day was full of sailing drills. We practiced all the points of sailing, jibing, and tacking. Slowly gaining an understanding of how the boat felt with different load on the sails and how fast it would react to your inputs. We learned how important carful coordination and communication with each crew member had an important role as we navigated the different points of sail. The day proved to be quite exhausting, given the continuous learning and adjustments required. But being on the water during the beautiful summer weather was such a blast.
We learned a lot with our instructor on the Catalina 36 sailboat. He was strict with us as we went through the training but said he was impressed as we were his first crew that was able to rescue his hat when it blew overboard. The lessons were an exhilarating experience and the boat offered the perfect platform for us to hone our sailing skills. With our skills sharpened and confidence high it was great to see the Vancouver skyline come into view as we sailed back into the marina.
Below is a video summary of the trip.
We highly recommend adding sailing to your list of adventures. Happy exploring!
