Vancouver Chapter

Marilyn Sanford

May 27 marked the final regular Fleet meeting of the season, with seven members joining via Zoom and twelve attending in person. “Show and Tell” featured a range finder, a handy anchoring tool used by Dugg and Kristen to measure the distance between their vessel and neighbouring boats, helping them assess swing room while at […]

On April 29, the Fleet hosted a live presentation with Rick Ellis. A scientist with a Master’s degree in Ecology, Rick has done an exceptional job of combining his passion for sailing with his deep scientific knowledge. Thoughtful and detail-oriented by nature, he designed the presentation to help sailors better understand the many changes we […]

Environmentally and Socially Responsible Cruising Working Group

Since the Environmentally and Socially Responsible Cruising (ESRC) Progress Report 2025 was published in Currents last December, the ESRC working group has continued to develop and share practical tools and resources. These have appeared in Currents and on the BCA website under the Responsible Cruising tab. The following highlights reflect some of that work over […]

Marilyn Sanford

The Vancouver Fleet met on March 25 at the Scottish Cultural Centre with 10 people present and 11 on Zoom. As always there was good enthusiasm. The meeting started with a show and tell where Duug presented a wire ‘Grabber Nabber’ which is great for retrieving objects from the bilge. He also spoke about a […]

Trina Holt

This month’s Vancouver Weather session was an absolute blast! We had a great turnout with 14 connections and about 18 people joining the conversation. After months of grinding through the “hard work”—learning weather principles, reading cloud signs, decoding charts, and mastering the tech we need at sea—we finally pulled it all together. We shifted from […]

Trina Holt

The introductory OpenCPN course offered via Zoom by Charlie Aram and the Vancouver Fleet on March 4 went swimmingly. Charlie’s dedication to learning the program and its many nuances—along with the considerable effort he put into creating a clear and comprehensive presentation—was appreciated by everyone in attendance. Participants learned how OpenCPN allows cruisers to view […]

Marilyn Sanford

Fleet Meeting James McDonald, Director of Sales with Navis Marine Insurance Brokers attended Vancouver’s Fleet meeting, February 25. Attendance was good with 19 people attending, 9 online and 10 in person. James presented an overview of the boat insurance market in 2026 including local and offshore and also discussed medical insurance. Many attendees were appreciative […]

Marilyn Sanford

Fleet Meeting The January Vancouver Fleet meeting brought together eight current and former BCA members who have been—or are currently—offshore. The group was enthusiastic, generous with their insights, and represented a wide range of offshore cruising experience. Moderated by Dugg Steary, the meeting featured a lively panel discussion on key takeaways for preparing to go […]

Marilyn Sanford

The 2026 Weather Group, a subgroup of the Vancouver Fleet, presented two sessions on Zoom in the fall, one in November covering both “Atmosphere & Global Circulation” and “Pressure, Wind, & Temperature”, and in December with “Air Masses, Fronts & Troughs” and “Clouds, Fog & Local Phenomena”. A few valuable take-aways from December’s presentations, led […]

Marilyn Sanford

November was a great month for the 2026 Fleet! The final numbers on Fleet participation are excellent; there are 28 vessels signed up with a total of 38 participants. The November Fleet meeting had a communication hiccup that resulted in a false launch at 7:00pm. In hindsight, it actually worked out because the Zoom Fleet […]

Marilyn Sanford

The Vancouver Fleet is officially under way for another exciting season! The second hybrid meeting took place at the Scottish Cultural Centre, where 15 members attended in person and 12 joined via Zoom. This year’s fleet includes 21 vessels and 37 sailors — a great turnout! Show & Tell After welcoming guests, Education Watchkeeper Kit […]

Marilyn Sanford

Each chapter has a Fleet group consisting of those members preparing to venture farther afield in the coming year or soon thereafter.  Members may include those planning to head offshore, sail around Vancouver Island or travel up the coast, exploring and venturing into new territories. This previous article here provides more information about Fleet and […]