Gulf Islands Sail Training with Youth Trips, March 2010:

Maple Leaf and her crew have been out in the Gulf Islands over the past few weeks, with our team-building and sail training program for youth.

The earlyish spring this year is glorious in the islands - making for great sailing and also just great days of being alive and cruising the channels and islands of this beautiful green and blue world.

A couple of notes from Capt. James Warburton and Capt. Kevin Smith:

• Watched a group of transient killer whales at a stellar sea lion haul out, mid-trip on our first trip out.
• Post from the ship: "Sailed right past a brown pelican today in BC waters. I know we've had a warm Spring but wasn't expecting that."
• Post from the ship: "Less than 1 hour till Spring Equinox. And already a gorgeous morning in the Gulf Islands it is going to be a great year."

2009

Tall Sails & Ales Adventure, Oct 22-27, 2009:

The bounty of brewery, island farms, and nature were evident every day on this trip. Paul Hadfield, the "father" of so much in craft brewing in B.C. kicked the trip off with a great tasting finished with a couple of bottles of an aged black-current brew from his private cellar. Magnifique. Superb tastings and incredible history as usual from all of the breweries and from Greg Evans our resident historian. And how about that "extreme picnicing" on a secret cliff overlooking the islands and channels! As if this weren't enough, as we set sail from the remote part of Saturna Island we encountered 30 members of the southern resident killer whale community's L-Pod. It's been a year of sailing with orcas - so this was a perfect end to the season.
- posted by Maureen, with reports from Capt. James Warburton and crew
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Gulf Islands National Park Adventure, Oct 15-20, 2009:

Playful stellar sea lions, bird colonies, and spectacular vistas across an inland sea filled with islands. These are a few of the highlights from our Gulf Islands National Park 5-day adventure cruise. Great winds for sailing among the islands on the schooner Maple Leaf. Stops at remote islands in the national park that are inaccessible any other way, including pretty D'Arcy with its heartbreaking history, and the sandy and rocky beaches of Cabbage Island. Boiling reef thrilled us with its strong tidal currents creating abundant food for clouds of gulls. Beautiful sea ducks and great forest walks. And Lila's spectacular food.
- posted by Maureen, with reports from Capt. James Warburton and guests
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Whales & Totems Adventure, Oct 5-10, 2009:

Spectacular week in the Broughton Archipelago (southern Great Bear Rainforest). The ultimate in whale watching, as we spent several days with the A30s and A36s of the northern resident killer whale community. Pacific whitesided dolphins (darting among the killer whales for hours one day), Dall's porpoises, humpback whales, stellar views of stellar sea lions, black bear viewing and a walk up a river filled with spawning salmon in time to view two sibling grizzly bears catch and share a fish. Blessed with beautiful weather and a great trip to U'Mista cultural centre. Much laughter and exploring and even naming an uncharted island we found as October Island.
- posted by Maureen, with reports from Capt. Kevin Smith
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Whales & Totems Adventure, Sep. 28-Oct. 3, 2009:

Started the trip with a great visit by the A36s northern resident killer whales, swimming under a rainbow. Humpback whales, Dalls porpoise, black bear, rainforest walks and a special viewing of 4 transient killer whales to round out our week-long experience whale watching among the coastal killer whale community. A great sail in Queen Charlotte Strait and a very special experience with pacific whitesided dolphins surfing beside our zodiac after we'd watched a beautiful black bear on the beach from the same zodiacs. Very appreciative of the biological richness of this very special part of the planet.
- posted by Maureen, with reports from Capt. James Warburton
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Great Bear Rainforest, Sep. 17-26, 2009:

Hard to say whether the stars of the trip were the spirit bears or the grizzly bear sow teaching her cub to swim in the river in front of us. But it could also have been the spectacular salmon filling the streams with their bodies, pulsing life back into this coast. Great tour of Klemtu and its Big House, hot springs, black bear, sea lions, humpback whales, A-12 northern resident orca matriarch, elephant seals, sailing and the beautiful white sandy beaches of the west coast.
- posted by Maureen, with reports from Capt. James Warburton
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Great Bear Rainforest, Sep. 7-15, 2009:

Began the trip with bears - black, spirit and some charistmatic grizzlies. Ended it with a very sociable, tail-slapping group of transient killer whales - while sailing! (Identified as T054, T058, T069, T069C, T069D and possibly T073 and T096E). In between was full of spectacular rainforest landscapes, more wildlife of all sizes, great pink salmon runs and too many adventures to list. As we met with researchers and residents of the Great Bear Rainforest, the question on many minds was why did it seem there were fewer bears fishing on the rivers than previous years? Dr. Chris Darimont from Raincoast showed us the painstaking research that his foundation is doing to accurrately estimate the bear population of this coast. Perhaps in a few years we will know the answer.
- posted by Maureen, from her experience on board
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