Join BCA member Nick Ward, as he shares stories of sailing across the Atlantic Ocean on his way to Canada, meeting up with his wife and young children in the Windward Islands, and learning to be a family together in paradise in a very small space – but with an awesome backyard! With lively anecdotes, lessons learned and lots of photos, Nick will share the family’s journey to a new life and a different outlook, while cruising the Caribbean and Eastern Seaboard on their 48 foot sailboat, Ty Dewi.
Nick has been sailing since he was a teenager. He raced and cruised around the British Isles, but held onto the dream of ocean cruising. He met Gesa when they were both living and working in England. She grew up in Montreal and, while she had thoroughly disliked the brief dinghy sailing experience she endured at summer camp, they fell in love and married. She later agreed to join Nick on Ty Dewi in the Caribbean with their two children, Issie and Max to try the cruising life, while on their way to make a home in Canada. The family now lives in the Comox Valley and, between work and schooling, continues to explore the BC Coast, which they consider to be a sailor’s paradise.