The Official Magazine of the Bluewater Cruising Association

Vancouver Chapter

Vancouver Fleet Report: April 2019

Cameron and Marianne McLean, Vancouver Fleet Coordinators

The April meeting of the Vancouver Fleet of 2019 was held at the Scottish Cultural Centre on April 30. The topic for the evening was “Medical Preparation & Common Illnesses for Offshore Adventures” presented by doctors and Fleet members, Martin and Janet McKeown. Janet and Martin started their presentation by discussing issues around health preparation […]

Vancouver Fleet Report: March 2019

Cameron and Marianne McLean, Vancouver Fleet Coordinators

The March meeting of the BCA Vancouver Fleet of 2019 was held at the Scottish Cultural Centre on March 26th. The presentation was on Marine Electrical Design with Jeff Cote. Among the items he covered were: un-switched distribution switches, the proper use of starter and house batteries, alternator charge rates, inverter installation, wiring connections. The […]

Vancouver Fleet Report: February 2019

Cameron and Marianne McLean, Vancouver Fleet Coordinators

The February meeting of the Vancouver BCA Fleet of 2019 was held at the Scottish Cultural Centre on February 26 with David Sutcliffe presenting on Safety at Sea. The presentation revolved around a main theme: staying on board. It is well known that the chances of survival are greatly reduced after falling overboard. David provided […]

Vancouver Fleet Report: January 2019

Cameron and Marianne McLean, Vancouver Fleet Coordinators

The January meeting of the Vancouver Fleet of 2019 was held at the Scottish Cultural Centre on January 29. The theme for the presentation was, ‘Getting Ready to Leave’, presented by Fleet members Greg and Laurie Yellenik. The topics covered included: banking, wills and beneficiaries, BC Medical, MMSI numbers, Radio Station Licenses, Boat Registrations, communication […]

Vancouver Fleet Report: December 2018 – Solstice Potluck

Rosario Passos

Every December, rather than gathering at the Scottish Cultural Centre as usual, the Vancouver Fleet gets together at Cam and Marianne’s place in Vancouver to celebrate the Holiday season and share adventurous sailing plans amidst conversations that invariably involve watermakers, bilge pumps, switches, batteries…. I could go on. These gatherings keep “the dream” alive and […]

Vancouver Fleet Report: November 2018

Cameron and Marianne McLean, Vancouver Fleet Coordinators

There were two Vancouver Fleet meetings in November – both held in the Caberfeidh room at the Scottish Cultural Centre. OpenCPN The first was a workshop on OpenCPN and GE2KAP led by Malcolm MacPhail of Good as Gold. Eight people arrived with their laptops and followed Malcolm as he showed how to use OpenCPN to […]

Vancouver Fleet Report: October 2018

Cameron and Marianne McLean, Vancouver Fleet Coordinators

The October meeting of the Vancouver Fleet of 2019 was held at 1900h on Tuesday, October 30 in the Caberfeidh room at the Scottish Cultural Centre. Twenty five  boats are now registered representing more than forty people. The program consisted of a panel of Doners discussing the topic “What would I change?” Among the participants […]

Women’s Day: 2019 Vancouver Boat Show

Rosario Passos

Pacific Yachting Systems is once again presenting Women’s Day at the Vancouver International Boat Show.  The keynote speaker is Susan Pickrell, who will be speaking about her career with the Coast Guard and building confidence on the water. Plan to attend the Vancouver International Boat Show on Saturday, February 9, 2019 for a full day of […]

Safety at Sea Seminars

Rob Murray

Because it’s a Vic-Maui/Pacific Cup year, safety at sea seminars are again being held in the northwest. These seminars are required for the crew in these races and are recommended for cruisers, so spaces are limited! The seminars are being held in both Canada and the US and are designed to provide participants with a […]

Vancouver Fleet Report: September 2018

Cameron and Marianne McLean, Vancouver Fleet Coordinators

The first meeting of the Vancouver Fleet of 2019 was held at 1900h on Tuesday, September 25 in the Caberfeigh room at the Scottish Cultural Centre. Twenty two boats were registered, represented by the fifty people in attendance. These included doers temporarily back from offshore: Malcolm MacPhail and Dina Aloi, Dale Gebhard, Gary Peacock and […]

Fleets of BCA

Cameron and Marianne McLean, Vancouver Fleet Coordinators

In September of every year a number of BCA members get together to form Fleet. One group forms on Vancouver Island, one in Calgary and one on the Lower Mainland. These are people who are planning to sail offshore in the following year or soon thereafter. Fleet meets monthly or more often depending on the […]

Vancouver Fleet Report: May 2018

Cameron and Marianne McLean, Vancouver Fleet Coordinators

The May meeting of the Vancouver Fleet was held on May 29 at the Scottish Cultural Centre. Show and Tell included a GPS dongle that would work with OpenCPN. After a considerable amount of difficulty Cameron managed to get the BU 353 S4 to work with Windows 10. Janet McKeown showed us the surgical glue […]