Not only are members of the Vancouver Fleet busy preparing themselves and their boats for offshore, but every year, a small committee within that group dedicates a not insignificant amount of time to researching, sourcing and assembling “leaver” or “bon voyage” packages for all BCA members who plan to cast off their lines and head south in that same year. The offshore package is a long-standing BCA tradition, and while not designed to contain the essentials for one’s voyage, the many diverse items in the 2015 package fit into multiple categories; they are all useful, entertaining, informative, educational, relationship-saving and/or life-saving (the latter items hopefully never needed) and more!
The contents of the package vary from year to year. Each committee builds on the experience of the previous committee and takes feedback from previous leavers into consideration; some items are now “standard” such as the waterproof case, letters of introduction, the BCA burgee, and a USB stick loaded with all sorts of information useful to offshore mariners, while others are new and innovative. This year, for example, committee members successfully lobbied industry for donations to the package, an initiative that has resulted in an amazing collection of goodies for the approximately 16 or so members who are heading offshore in the next few months.
BCA would like to acknowledge and thank this year’s generous donors:
- Chyna Sea Ventures
- Spectra Watermakers
- G&F Packaging
- WestJet
- Shelter Island Marina and Boatyard
- Nesika Insurance
- Travelers Insurance
- RBC Royal Bank
- North Sails
- Hydrovane
Kudos to the Offshore Packages Committee – Peter Jacobs, Susan McKechnie, Dale Gebhard, Elena Crippen and Anne Tichborne – for a job well done! In addition, as they have done for many years, Vancouver Fleet Coordinators, Cam and Marianne McLean also played an instrumental role, providing overall direction to the committee, and collecting and maintaining the list of leavers from all three Chapters.
Congratulations to BCA members who are counting down the days to their departure! May fair winds and following seas be yours.
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