Sailing Charters:

Here's a different option... A sailing adventure experience

 

We offer interactive, participatory sailing adventures in the waters of Gwaii Haanas Park, Haida Gwaii/ Queen Charlotte Islands. We also offer destinations elsewhere on the islands and on the central coast of BC.

We cater especially to kids and families, and those with outdoor enthusiasm.

Help and learn to sail, paddle ashore, explore a beach, see a village site and hear the Haida Gwaii Watchmen explain their heritage, or hike a wilderness mountain for the view. See what there is to see. Feel the rain and the waves. Delve into the environment while traveling by sailboat.

Be a part of the wilderness scene.

The sailboat is a 40' ketch—"GNOSES"—our home. We sail when conditions permit; there is a reliable diesel engine for contrary winds, calms and deadlines. We have been most places on the coast, Mexico to Alaska and offshore to Hawaii. I am a licensed captain, with 38 years of sailing experience all along the Pacific coast, the last 29 in Central Coast and Haida Gwaii waters. SV GNOSES exceeds Transport Canada safety requirements; we are fully licensed.

 

We offer two types of trips: CUSTOM ADVENTURES or SCHEDULED TRIPS.

Our CUSTOM ADVENTURES come in three varieties:

1) Experience living on the sea. Spend the days in exploration of Haida village sites, coves, shorelines at low tide or inland walks to lakes and views. Spend the nights aboard in comfort. There are 2 small-boat bunks and a forward "V" berth. There are comfortable bunks aboard for 4 guests, more if small children can share—we have a large forward berth.

2) Kayak Mother-Shipping: Paddle close to shorelines and explore where the sailboat can't, then climb back aboard to eat and sleep. Sail on to more adventure and another kayaking destination the next day.

3) Bring your camping gear/camp ashore with a campfire. While comfort limits bunk space aboard, this option allows a bigger family or additional friends.

Prices for these trips vary; an example is 4 people for 7 days, discovering Gwaii Haanas Park and Marine Protected Area: $4,400.00. Prices will rise or lower depending on your requirements and expectations. We have to charge additional Parks Canada entry fees: $19.60 per adult per day for 2012—they also offer season’s pass, youth and seniors discounts.

All tours include meals, mostly organic when possible (we make an exception for the dietary restricted, when we ask you bring your own).

Trip dates and trip lengths are flexible, more so the earlier in the season you book. Custom Adventures take priority over the scheduled, until they are booked.

One advantage of our small operation is our flexibility in all aspects: tell us what you want to see or experience and we will do our best to accommodate you. Another advantage is that our trips cost less than other tours—on the other hand, please note that we offer less luxury. Our tours are participatory; we think of this as a benefit to us and an opportunity for you.

Expect to learn something about the sea: from navigating boats to what lives below the waves. There is rich history to the shore as we slowly pass it by. There are stories and legends to everything—the seas and the forests alike and especially when we wander through old village sites. We may see whales at times and there will likely be weather squalls and if clear, mountains to hike and views to see. We like to think we offer a greater depth of experience, with more time involved in the environment, ashore and at sea. We enjoy taking kids for their enthusiasm.

We can offer one-way flights or return speedboat trip options into or out of the park, depending on availability. This can be a good way to maximize your time in Gwaii Haanas and the marine protected area.

Share in the planning; work on the details together. Or tell us your preferences and we'll do our best to arrange the trip to suit the conditions. The best trips are based on outlines of your collected preferences; daily destinations come to be made opportunistically, weather, tide and whim dependent.

There is always something to do and see.

You will need to bring clothes (don’t forget the raingear and a sleeping bag) and special foods you might need or want. And realizing it sounds trite (but it is true), you will take home the wealth of a special wilderness experience.

Sorry, but we are already booked after August 10, 2012, through winter. Hawaii sailing trips are no longer offered due to changes in international regulatory and security regimes.

We are a member of the Gwaii Haanas Tour Operator's Association.

 

SCHEDULED TRIPS:

We offer three kinds of scheduled trips. All tours include meals, mostly organic when possible (we make an exception for the dietary restricted, when we ask you bring your own). Smaller groups can kayak—large groups (and small) can camp ashore.

Our shortest trip is a two (2) day Skidegate Inlet tour that can also be a custom one (1) day tour for the time constrained. Skidegate Inlet divides Graham and Moresby Islands—the two big islands of the Haida Gwaii archipelago. This tour is not in the Gwaii Haanas park, but we see Haida village sites in beautiful places all along the way.

The two-day version cruises to the west coast, spends the night and returns the next day. This trip involves kayak paddling beach-line explorations or an old-growth forest walk, alongside a pristine creek, weather and interest depending. Expect to see a lot of greens; expect them to be wet and expect you will get that way too.

Price for the 2 day trip: $650 per person. 

 

The next longest trip we offer is a four (4) day trip to a Hotsprings Island, sight seeing, visiting rocky shores along the way there and back, doing a little kayaking if possible. Of course, the hot springs are a highlight and they are pretty special. There is a lot to see and do. There are a lots of islands and isolated islet outcroppings in the southern portions, with seabird rookeries; kelp shorelines, shallow seas, in the north. There are Haida villages where you can see the history where it was made.

Price for the 4 day trip: $1,350 per person. Parks Canada entry fees are additional and apply to this trip: $19.60 per adult, per day for 2012—they also offer season’s pass, youth and seniors discounts.

 

Our standard is a seven (7) day trip, which sails for Rose Harbour on Kunghit Island with stops on the way. This trip traverses the length of South Moresby Island/Gwaii Haanas and again there is much to see. We stop opportunistically, considering wind and rain and tides and passenger wants. On good days with an energetic group we climb rocky shores to views. We try and walk a rocky beach for the low tide animals and there are village sites all along with knowledgeable watchmen who can answer questions and who give the flavour of indigenous life in both olden times and now. The village sites are all beautiful and, of course they are in the best places... but then all the islands are beautiful (though i admit to bias) and are in the best place—out on the edge. And that is where you will be: at sea along the edge.

Often there is time to go kayaking and we usually stop at the hot springs.

Price for the 7 day trip: $2,275 per person. Parks Canada entry fees are additional and apply to this trip: $19.60 per adult, per day for 2012—they also offer season’s pass, youth and seniors discounts.

 

Please contact us for schedules. Until they are booked, schedules change in response to demand for custom tours (which take precedence until the scheduled tours are booked) . Schedules also change as tours are filled and become unavailable.

 

Variations on the Scheduled Tours:

In our experience our longer trips are best arranged as custom tours—these are often modified versions of our standard tours and are the most popular sailing ventures. For example we often do a 7-day trip with an option to be more thorough in our explorations—we arrange for either the return or the start of the trip to be by speedboat, allowing much more time for side-trips and generally more thorough explorations.

Please contact us for a quote with our specific suggestions for your requirements. Quite often custom tours are a bit cheaper, and of course, they can better meet your specific requirements. They do however require a bit of planning.

 

CUSTOM TOURS are explained above.