Vancouver Club Night – Change of Plans: South to the Ice

In the spirit of a true sailing experience, plans change….

Unfortunately Barrie and Sandra Letts are not available to present their cruise to the Scottish Islands for Wednesday’s club night. Instead we will be taking a hard turn to starboard and heading south to Antartica.

South to the Ice

Larry Roberts and Mary Anne Unrau
on Traversay III

The huge continent of South America seems like a narrowing triangle that is reaching down towards the mysterious and wild land beneath it … the white continent of ice … Antarctica.

It seemed to call to us. Taking our triumvirate of Traversay III, Larry and Mary Anne to the Antarctic Peninsula brought us to the apex of life’s adventures. It took years of building sailing skills, engineering skills, planning, mustering our courage and strengthening our endurance to make the trip happen. We then branched out to see the Falklands, South Georgia, and communities along both coasts. We caught more of the flavour of South America by spending winters north in Valdivia Chile and Buenos Aires Argentina.

Moments of terror and trepidation came with these sojourns. On Drake Passage we watched a huge cruise ship crest beside us on a wave before totally disappearing in the ensuing trough. But there were also sublime moments. A blue whale surfaced beside us – twice as long as Traversay – so long that its dark rubbery back appeared to be flat. We heard it take a breath. Then it eased itself back into the water with a swish of its incongruously small tail.

Spectacular Antarctica was almost eclipsed by South Georgia. It is one of the world’s most populous breeding grounds for sea-going mammals and birds. We felt fortunate to be among the few humans to see it. The intense and constant sound of thousands of baby fur seals calling for their mothers is unforgettable.

Note: Payment is required for virtual attendance via Zoom – see below.

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Hybrid Meeting Format

In-Person Attendees:

• For those attending in-person, the format will be very much the same as “normal”
• Doors open at 7:00 and meeting starts at 7:30pm
• Cost: $5/Members, $10/Non-Members

Virtual Attendees: 

Virtual club nights (via Zoom) enabled BCA to continue our monthly meetings and presentations throughout the pandemic, with an added bonus of expanding our community to members and non-members across the globe.  With the return to in-person meetings, BCA has continued to provide a virtual component to our club nights, as it has significant benefits to our membership. This however comes at a cost for the purchase of cameras, audio equipment and the lost revenue due to a decrease of in-person attendance used to off-set venue costs.

Zoom meeting invitation:

• Click here to register for and purchase your virtual meeting ticket and receive the Zoom meeting invitation.
• Please note that you must be signed in to the BCA website to get the member price.
• Cost: Members – $5.00 per connected device; Non-Members, $10 per connected device.

Note: Due to the small cost of virtual tickets, and an equal or greater cost, to BCA of issuing refunds, no refunds will be issued unless the Vancouver Chapter is unable to deliver the Club Night via Zoom.

For More Information and to Register – Click Here