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Sailing

David Mid-Atlantic
David Mid-Atlantic Ocean on Van Kedisi

I have been sailing most of my life. started sailing before he was a teenager taking CYA lessons at Pigeon Lake in Alberta while racing fireball sailboats with my Dad. With Karalee Greer, we have owned four boats traveling up and down BC's coast. In 2001, we commissioned a sailboat in the south of France and for two years home schooled our three children while sailing more than 5,000 NM in the Mediterranean. I write and present extensively on sailing, passage making, and family living on a sailboat.

My Philosophy

I believe that keeping the captan and crew safe is the #1 priority. Second is looking after the boat. Third is having a group of people that get along so well that after a passage they all want to do it all over again.

Two Year Mediterranean Family Adventure

From 2001 to 2003, we lived with our three children Jocelyn, Kevin, and Allen on board our Jeanneau 43DS sailboat Dragonsinger in the Mediterranean. We kept an online diary, posted photos, and much more on the cruise section of this web site.
Learn more.

Atlantic Crossing

In 2013, I sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from the Canary Islands to Barbados in the Carribean via the Cape Verde Islands onboard Dick and Marian Leighton's Prout 39 catamaran Van Kedisi. I did live blog posts from mid-Atlantic, created an extensive photo selection, and videos of the 2870 NM crossing. You can learn more about the experience of open ocean sailing and passage making in the references below.

Sailing Across the Atlantic Ocean
Flickr Photo Set
Videos:

Sailing BC's West Coast

We have spent a lot of time cruising the West Coast in our Catalina 34 sailboat, White Dragon and our Jeanneau 43DS Dragonsinger. We are members of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and enjoy the yacht club facilities up and down the West Coast. Because Georgia Straight is protected from the Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island, we have excellent sailing conditions. Tens of thousands of years ago, glaciers carved out islands, passages, and fjords that make BC's West Coast one of the top sailing destinations in the world.

When we travel, people ask us if we can really sail year-round in BC. If you have good wet-weather gear and a heater on your boat, you can sail BC's West Coast twelve months of the year. Most people (including us), cruise May to October. If you want more wind and bays all to yourself, cruise the West Coast from November to April.

Sailing History

Here is a summary of my major sailing milestones.

1969 First sailed with my Dad on his Sunfish.
1975 Raced with my Dad on a Fireball on Pigeon Lake in our local sailing club. Completed introductory and intermediate Canadian Yachting Association (now Sail Canada) courses.
1980 Bought Fire Dragon a Catalina 27. Completed Jib Set Cruise and Learn.
1981 Completed Canadian Sail and Power Squadron basic course.
1990 Sold Fire Dragon and purchased White Dragon our Catalina 34.
2000 Over the previous two decades sailed more than 5,000 NM on BC's West Coast.
2001 With a sailing instructor completed my first overnight passage under sail crossing Georgia Straight twice.
2001 Sold White Dragon and commissioned Dragonsinger our Jeanneau 43DS in Port St. Louis du Rhone, France.
2003 Sailed more than 5,000 NM while completing more than 20 overnight passages as Karalee Greer and I home schooled our three children and travelled the Mediterranean for two years. Details on our Mediterranean cruise web site.
2004 Delivery of Dragonsinger from Bodrum, Turkey to Palma, Mallorca covering 1,350 NM with five overnight passages. Online diary of the adventre here.
2008 Sold Dragonsinger after covering an additional 1,150 NM of cruising BC's west coast.
2013 Watch leader on Dick Leighton's Prout 39 catamaran Van Kedisi for 850 NM over 8 1/2 days from San Sebastian, Gomera, Canary Islands to Mindelo, São Vicente, Cape Verde Islands. See the videos Sailing Canary Islands to Cape Verde and Exploring Santo Antao.
2013 Watch leader on Van Kedisi for an 2,050 NM passage taking 15 days and nights to cross from Mindelo, São Vicente, Cape Verde Islands to Bridgetown, Barbados. The videos from this crossing are First Spinnaker Run on Van Kedisi and Sailing the Atlantic from Cape Verde to Barbados. See Dick's summary of the Atlantic crossing in his post Carlisle Bay, Bridgetown, Barbados.
2017 Watch leader and passage planner on Oriole, a Rubicon 3 expedition yacht, sailing 855 NM from Reine, Norway to Siglufjordur, Iceland. You can see the pictures, view a map of the route, or watch the video.
2018 Crew on a winter 1025 NM passage from Ponta Delgra, Azores to A Coruna, Spain through challenging North Atlantic Spring Storms. This trip was another Rubicon 3 adventure on their Bowman 57 Oriole. See the pictures.
2018 A 540 NM coastal passage navigating the tight islands and passages of coastal Norway from Bodo to Alesund as one of six crew members. A Rubicon 3 Passage Making Master Class on Oriole. A series of SW lows kept battering us exactly in the direction we needed to go. See Sailng the Norwegian Coast for a photo album of the entire passage.

Here is a summary of my total mileage by role, boat type, and over night passages:

Captain 12,500 NM and 26 over night passages on monohull sailboats.
Watch Leader 2,900 NM and 23 nights crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a Prout 39 catamaran.
Watch Leader 800 NM on a five-day passage crossing the Norwegian Sea from Norway to Iceland, including passage planning.
Crew 1025 NM on a five-day passage (including five nights) crossing through winter storms from Ponta Delgra, Azores to A Coruna, Spain.
Crew 540 NM on a nine-day passage from Bodo to Alesund, Norway including two over night passages.
Total 17,765 NM as captain, watch leader, or crew including 56 night passages.

BC Sailing Pictures

The following are a few pictures of West Coast scenes that you might see:

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