Category: Tours

I have said it before, but we sand, we paint, we varnish, we order food and supplies, we polish and clean and upgrade and inprove. We are inspected and measured (well the boat is!) and approved and improved. We answer emails and phone calls and letters and post cards . . . and FINALLY we get to put away all the tools, polish one last time, stow the final bits of clothes and personal effects and YAHOO!!! leave the dock at home to gather up our first group of guests for the season. I think we are as excited as our guests! Of course, some are returning to join us again, old friends now, and some are new faces. Its fun to meet the first fresh faces of the year and to show off all our hard work. This year we were especially lucky to have the painter, Robert Genn, join us for a painting workshop. Robert has owned several large and beautiful vessels and I was anxious that he would find our COLUMBIA III up to snuff. But all was well. Robert liked the boat and the paintings were abundant by all participants. It is always a marvel to watch a Master at work and catch a glimpse as his paintings unfold.

Here are a few photos from this tour. The weather was a little wet, but the group made good use of the covered aft deck.

















Each student and instructor! added a small painting to our guest book and Robert wrote, "Ross, Fern and Miray, Thank-you so much for the privilege of traveling on your precious vessel."

Category: Tours



We decided to run our annual "Christmas Tea and Cruise" again this year, our fourth. What we didn't anticipate was the response. Due to a Transport Cananda limitation, we are allowed to carry 22 passengers and we thought 2 cruises would be enough to satisfy demand. So we let a couple of local radio stations and newspapers know about the event and we waited. But not very long! The first two tours sold out very quickly and so we thought we might run a third tour .. . . but then that one filled too and then we filled a fourth tour! But the phone didn't stop ringing. In one day we had 18 requests for groups from 2 to 10 . . . we eventually had a hundred people on the waiting list.

We had all kinds of people join us, young and old, local and new to Campbell River, and some who remember, as children, the Columbia coming into their bay carrying Christmas gifts 50 and 70 years ago. Fern made tons of homemade short breads, ginger snaps in the shapes of holly and cookies decorated for Christmas. We had liters of cream on hand and caldrons of tea and coffee . . . . well, maybe not CALDRONS but you get the idea. The weather stayed dry and the wind calm and we even had White-sided dolphins join one group.








The response was so great we will have to think hard what we will do next year . . . how does a "Sing-a-long Caroling Cruise sound??



And everyone wanted a photo of the mast head Christmas tree and its lights as they left.

Category: Tours

And off the to BC Great Bear Rainforest we went again. Rounding Cape Caution is like pushing through an invisible gate to an entirely different world. Bigger spaces, less boats and people, more wildlife and the peace that wilderness allows. In no particular order, a random smatter of shots that caught my eye:

The land of waterfalls

An editor from Canoe & Kayak magazine with his potographer playing around


Stealing a quiet moment together

A rare residual snow patch that the summer can't seem to melt

Birthdays are just one more excuse to celebrate

A young biologist joined us and she just LOVES FISH!

The rainforest has many non-raining days!

Humpback whales are very numerous here


Anton and Sarena finally get their teaching schedule to cooperate and allow them to join us again, this time in the GB.



Crew shots: with a family like this of course I love my line of work!


Another tough end to a grueling day on the water . . . NOT!


And the guides tell me they had "such a hard day" on the water when they get back to the boat at the end of the paddling day!




Hey, I thought I learned in kindergarten that star fish have FIVE legs.


Fern met a young biologist from eastern Canada at a biosphere reserve in Mexico and slippered her onto a trip in the Great Bear. I think Juliette is saying, "Thank-you"!

And the BEAR in Great Bear Rianforest





Two of our kids, Lead Guide/cook/Office Manager, Miray. Skipper/Assistant guide/cook, Tavish.

We were very fortunate to have Ian McAllister back on the boat for a few trips with some of his supporters