Spring-scapes and Ship Shape: Trips with Maple Leaf


Welcome to Spring! Spring means the Maple Leaf has been to the shipyard again.

She is now tuned and scrubbed and perfectly prepared for the season.

She's sailing in the Gulf Islands now, teaching the youth of the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets not only how to sail, but also teamwork and leadership.

Perhaps the most wonderful thing about spring is that we open our viewpoint from hearth and home.

We plan adventures for the year ahead.

Read on for updates from the shipyard, news about coastal wildlife, and trip highlights.

Got the itch to get out? Give us a shout. We do have some spots available this spring!



Kevin, Maureen and the Crew,
Maple Leaf Adventures



P.S. - See below for news of upcoming slide shows in your area!

In the Humpback Dating Game, Big Girls Have All The Luck

A new study on Humpback mating preferences has found that males choose the largest females for their partners. Adam Pack, the University of Hawaii researcher that lead the 5 year project, has found that the biggest females somehow suggest the greatest fitness to the males, and therefore the best breeding partners. Anyone whose been beside a 40-foot humpback whale cow, as she exhales with a blast next to the Maple Leaf, can attest to a feeling of awe in these females' presence! The biggest females also produce the biggest calves, so given another million years of evolution and this type of natural selection maybe humpbacks will become even bigger!

Conservation Victories and Recommendations - for Supporters of Wild Salmon, Killer Whales, Wolves and Bears

Wild Salmon On February 9th the British Columbia Supreme Court ruled that the BC provincial government did not have the jurisdiction to oversee fish farms. The ruling would put responsibility for regulating and managing salmon aquaculture with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. They also have a mandate for ocean conservation and pollution prevention - and the survival of the keystone species of the coast: wild Pacific salmon. The suit was brought by Alexandra Morton, with the support of the Wilderness Toursim Association of BC (of which Maple Leaf Advetnures is an executive member) and other organizations. See the full article in the Vancouver Sun.

Killer Whales After British Columbians celebrated the unexpected arrival of two newborn killer whales recently, there is another new cause for hope for BC's imperilled killer whale populations. The federal government issued an Order that will provide legal protection for the endangered species' habitat - a stunning policy reversal after a lawsuit was launched by environmentalists last year. For more information: www.ecojustice.ca

Wolves Based on a recent study, scientists are proposing these coastal wolves be recognized as an Evolutionarily Significant Unit deserving special conservation and protection status. Read the details about their findings and the upcoming recommendation on the Raincoast Conservation Foundation website. (And while you’re there, why not take a moment to hunt around and check out all the great work Raincoast does. If you like it, why not send them a donation?)

Bears As a co-founder of the Commercial Bear Viewing Association (CBVA) and also as a company that takes people for amazing bear viewing experiences, we’re very interested in a campaign (below) by conservation groups and First Nations to ban the trophy hunt of bears in B.C. The campaign was launched March 16 by Coastal First Nations, Humane Society International/Canada and Pacific Wild. Click here to link to the website of Pacific Wild to see a short online video and learn what you can do. (Note: the graphic nature of some scenes may be disturbing to viewers.)

The Maple Leaf Shipyard Report

by Paul Smith, first mate on the Maple Leaf Every year, Maple Leaf returns up the mouth of the Fraser River outside Vancouver for her time out of the water at shipyard. Here, crew do extensive maintenance, from sanding and painting to more complex projects, and some of our many annual coast guard inspections occur. This winter, Maple Leaf's operations manager, James, and I have been busy with a few upgrades to the Maple Leaf. A New Jib It's been raised on prime time television, splashed and sprayed by marine mammals and has flown Maple Leaf across the sea for twenty years. Now, the original jib that's lead the way through many years of exploration up and down the coast has been retired and replaced. Beds, Brightwork and Sundries On the interior, we've installed brand new custom mattresses in the beds. We've put on many fresh coats of varnish on all the interior mahogany bright-work. We've added a new filtered-water, bottle filling station to the galley, to make filling your water bottles easier. Other Work Of course there is our regular stint of sanding and repainting the entire hull many times. Some of the most important work you wouldn't even notice. This is the proactive maintenance and upgrade of mechanical systems buried deep in the ship. Engines, steering gear, anchoring hydraulics -- anything that keeps us safe is a "major priority" for Kevin and James. We also installed a new depth sounder. It will give us a more accurate picture of the bottom -- and hopefully any whales that might pass underneath us! I was fortunate enough to snap this unusual shot of a mother and calf humpback whale on our old depth sounder, as the whales passed underneath us last year in Darwin Sound, Haida Gwaii.

2009 Trip Availability (Sold out trips not listed)

Art at Sea - Drawing & Painting Holiday in the Gulf Islands, with Briony Penn, Apr 15-20 Learning to paint and draw nature, combined with natural history exploration. Lots of one on one instruction with Briony Penn, great artist, teacher and naturalist. Briony's enthusiasm and great communication skills will inspire people at both the beginner and intermediate level. 4 places available 5 nights, 6 days, $2050 CDN, all inclusive (approx. $1650 USD) See trip info  Book this trip   Ask about it    Download Brochure The Grand Adventure: Great Bear Rainforest Spring Supervoyage, Apr 27-May 6 2 days shorter - for this year's busy schedules and tighter pocketbooks The ultimate B.C. coast adventure, this trip explores the Great Bear Rainforest from its southern islands to its deep fjords as spring hits the coast. 4 places available 9 nights, 10 days, $3990 CDN all inclusive (approx. $3190 USD) See trip info  Book this trip   Ask about it    Download Brochure Queen Charlotte Islands / Haida Gwaii, May 9-17, May 18-26 The Canadian Galapagos. These amazing, wildlife-rich islands on the continental shelf are on many people's "must visit" list. Home to the powerful Haida culture and site of the best original, remaining northwest coast village (UN World Heritage Site SGang Gwaay). May 9-17 with influential ecologist Bristol Foster - 3 places available May 18-26 - 1 place available 8 nights, 9 days, $4250 CDN all inclusive (approx. $3400 USD) See trip info  Book this trip   Ask about it    Download Brochure Alaska Adventure, Jun 9-20 The ultimate southeast Alaska experience: calving glaciers, beautiful humpback whales, seabirds, sea otters, bears, fjords, and the wild west coast. Plus historic towns, natural hotsprings and the beauty of cruising through the grand rainforest islands. 2 places available 11 nights, 12 days, $5850 CDN, all inclusive (approx. $4680 USD) See trip info  Book this trip   Ask about it    Download Brochure Vancouver Island's Wild Side, Jun 24-30 If you're looking for a secret spot and bragging rights, this is the trip for you. Brooks Peninsula, Solandar Island, Kyuquot Sound ... the long sandy beaches, lush meadows the bears like, and west coast wildlife: puffins and sea otters. Join Capt. Smith in the place he explored and loved as a marine park ranger. 3 places available 6 nights, 7 days, $3210 CDN, all inclusive (approx. $2570 USD) See trip info  Book this trip   Ask about it    Download Brochure See all trips        Ask about a trip

New Video: A Spirit Bear "Outtake"

Oh, the magic moment, when a very rare, white spirit bear appears from the forest. Ah, the solemn majesty. But... you never know what an animal is going to do. Click to watch this spirit bear "outtake". The video was taken during one of our September Great Bear Rainforest trips. You can read about it here.

Photo of the Month

Summer strolling on a wild northern beach: This photo was taken on a Wild Side of Vancouver Island trip by Capt. Kevin Smith. Click image to enlarge. Visit the Photo of the Month page to view all photos of the month since the last newsletter.

Crew News

Heidi and Stephen Set Sail... Pictured here on a winter sail aboard their sloop. Heidi and Stephen embark on their next adventure this summer: circumnavigating the Pacific Ocean on their sailboat. Their route is: British Columbia south to Baja, Central America, the Galapagos, South Pacific, New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Guam, Japan then around the Aleutians and southeast Alaska back to B.C. You'll be able to keep up with their 4-year adventure on their blog. We'll share the link when it's available.

Gear Corner: Headwear

The myth that 40-50% of heat loss occurs through the head has been recently debunked by a UK science team. (The new findings state that you lose heat through your head at the same rate as anywhere else. So, depending on how much of your body is exposed, the percentage of your heat loss through the head changes.) But wearing a good toque or wooly hat (also called a knit cap) is still a great way to stay warm outdoors. We always recommend bringing along an extra toque for backup in case one needs to be hung up to dry. Another type of headwear we heartily recommend is a good ball cap. On sunny days the reason is obvious. But worn under a hood, it helps keep rain off your face. And, have you ever had a Gore-Tex jacket on with the hood up, looked sideways ... and seen the inside of your hood? The ball cap makes your hood turn with your head - a great improvement! Of course (caution: shameless plug ahead!) the best headwear to be seen in on the coast is one of our popular Maple Leaf Adventures ball caps (see Maureen in the photo). Want one or more? Buy them here.

Maple Leaf Clothes and Books for Sale

We're not Amazon.com, nor even Ocean River Sports or REI. But we do have some great, hand-picked gear you might enjoy, too. Our online "store" includes books written by friends and naturalists. They are excellent books and we highly recommend them. Plus, if you buy them from us, the full amount of royalty goes to the authors (in some cases, books bought at a discount may give only a discounted royalty to the author). The books for sale are: The Great Bear Rainforest by Ian & Karen McAllister & Cameron Young The Last Island: A Naturalist's Sojurn on Triangle Island by Alison Watt A Year on the Wild Side by Briony Penn There are also some of the popular Maple Leaf ball caps for sale in our store. Need something to keep spring showers off your hair ... or spring sunshine out of your eyes? Check out these adjustable, naby-blue ball caps with the Maple Leaf logo in white and red piping along the brim. Check out the store. (Ordering is done via email and telephone. See the store page for details.)

Maple Leaf Shows in Your Town This Month!

With Chris Darimont and Brian Falconer at Raincoast Conservation Foundation, we're putting on lectures on Vancouver Island this month. These two-part slide shows are a rich visual and scientific odyssey into the nature of the BC / Alaska coast: With photographs taken on years and years' worth of Maple Leaf trips, Maureen and Kevin take their audience on a "year in the life" of the coast. Chris and Brian will be highlighting the recent scientific discoveries by Raincoast that is making international headlines - from Chris' discoveries about coastal wolves (which prefer seafood to deer!), to Brian's odysseys along the ocean counting marine mammals, to the organization's innovative and tireless attempts to protect grizzly bears from trophy hunting. We'll also have information about Maple Leaf's trips available and will do a quick (5 min) overview of them during the show. We'll be available for questions and discussion following the presentations. Show Schedule Mon, March 23, 7:00 pm Nanaimo Malaspina Theatre, Vancouver Island University with Chris Darimont and Maureen Gordon of Maple Leaf Adventures Tues, March 24, 7:00 pm Qualicum Beach & Parksville Civic Centre Auditorium with Raincoast's Captain Brian Falconer and Maureen Gordon of Maple Leaf Adventures Wed, March 25, 7:00 pm Courtenay - Comox, Stan Hagan Theatre with Brian Falconer and Maureen Gordon of Maple Leaf Adventures Fri, March 27, 7:30 pm Victoria, University of Victoria's David Lam Auditorium with Chris Darimont and Kevin Smith Admission/suggested donation $10.00 Contact us at 1-888-599-5323 or email us for more info

About the Photos in This Newsletter

All photos in this newsletter were taken by Maple Leaf guests or crew, except the wolf photo by Chris Darimont of Raincoast Conservation Foundation. Photo credits are: Newsletter banner: Brooks Peninsula beach, Vancouver Island, on the "Wild Side" trip, by Kevin Smith Newsletter heading: Tufted puffin gathering nest material, taken on the Alaska Adventure trip by Kevin Smith Spring wildflowers (pink sea blush, blue-eyed Mary) in early April, taken on a Spring in the Gulf Islands trip by Kevin Smith Guests on the Maple Leaf's aft deck, viewing a seabird colony, April in the Gulf Islands, photo by Kevin Smith 3 humpback whales feeding together in early May on a Haida Gwaii/Queen Charlotte Islands trip, by Kevin Smith Video of spirit bear "outtake", by Kevin Smith Maple Leaf in shipyard, March 2009, by Paul Smith Guest on Maple Leaf's bowsprit with jib, taken on a Great Bear Rainforest trip, by Kevin Smith James sanding Maple Leaf's foredeck before painting, by Maureen Gordon A humpback whale cow and calf swimming under Maple Leaf shown on the depth sounder, taken on a Haida Gwaii/Queen Charlotte Islands trip, by Paul Smith Guest on a Gulf Islands "Art at Sea" trip, drawing from a viewpoint, photo by Kevin Smith Maple Leaf in one of the greatest fjords in the Great Bear Rainforest, spring, photo by Kevin Smith SGang Gwaay, from a Haida Gwaii/Queen Charlotte Islands trip, by Kevin Smith Bald eagle on iceberg, from an Alaska trip, by Kevin Smith Sandy beach on Brooks Peninsula, site of the Wild Side of Vancouver Island trip, by Kevin Smith (taken from a plane) Walking at low tide in summertime, taken on a Wild Side of Vancouver Island trip, by Kevin Smith Grizzly sow with chum salmon in jaws, taken on a Great Bear Rainforest trip by Kevin Smith Killer whale/orca doing a tail slap on the sea, taken on a Whales and Totems trip by Kevin Smith Coastal wolf on the beach, taken in the Great Bear Rainforest by Raincoast biologist Chris Darimont Grizzly bear cub, taken on a Great Bear Rainforest trip by Kevin Smith Humpback whale breaching (in the newspaper), taken by Kevin Smith on an Alaska Adventure trip Heidi Krajewsky on a winter sail in the Broughton Archipelago on the sloop belonging to her and husband Stephen Anstee, who took the photo Maureen Gordon and Paul Smith in Haida Gwaii/Queen Charlotte Islands, taken by Kevin Smith Presentation, taken by Kevin Smith Photo collage: Kevin Smith in Alaska by Mark Hobson; Maureen in Alaska by Kevin Smith; Brian Falconer and Chris Darimont courtesy of Raincoast Conservation Foundation James Warburton filming pacific whitesided dolphins (see a group behind him), on a transit between the Great Bear Rainforest trip and the Whales and Totems trip, taken by Maureen Gordon

Thanks for reading! Feel free to reach us anytime - we love hearing from you! Fair winds and following seas, - The Maple Leaf Adventures Crew

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