Above:  Young trainees, guided by Bosun Jeremiah, furl the Jib aboard the Pacific Swift. Check out more photos below from their Field Trip to Remember. Photo by Mike Ross.
   
In This Issue
New Bursaries Available
Destination Profile: The Gulf Islands
Boats for Sale
Quick Links
  
  
Office Job Opening! 
  
We are seeking to hire a full-time Community Relations and Development Manager for our office in Victoria. Click here to view the position profile and learn more about this opportunity.
  
           
A Field Trip to Remember
  
It took a year to prepare for. Many lunch hours as a group reviewing sailing terms and learning to read a marine chart. Months of saving allowances and part-time job paycheques. A bus ride, a ferry ride and another bus ride. 
   
Above: Teacher John Arnold and OKM students furl the Pacific Swift's topsail during their 5-day trip in the southern Gulf Islands.
The result: a five-day SALTS trip for a group of 28 students from Okanagan Mission School (OKM) in Kelowna, BC. "The SALTS trip is the highlight of the year for many at our school," explains teacher Mike Ross. "We have students that have been saving up for this trip for a long time. SALTS isn't just about taking a class sailing. The community that develops on board is something that many of our students have never experienced before.  Our students come alive on a SALTS trip and come home more equipped with skills to live a full and quality life." 
  
Over 28 other school and youth groups will sail with SALTS this spring and fall on four or five-day sail training voyages. These trips are booked one year in advance with over eighty groups remaining on the waitlist in hopes an opening in the schedule will come available. It's for this reason that SALTS is raising funds to build a third ship. Click here to check out the latest on the new ship project.  
  
We'll let the photos below from OKM's recent SALTS trip aboard the Pacific Swift tell the story of what a group experiences during a trip, and why they keep coming back, year after year.

Above: When not on 'watch', trainees enjoy free time to climb the ship's rigging, work on knotwork projects and keep an eye open for wildlife including whales, porpoises and eagles. Trainees also participate in sail training lessons on rules of the road, navigation, chartwork, terminology and knotwork, and can work through different sail training levels.  

 

Right: OKM trainees find the best seat in the house in the Pacific Swift's 'whiskers' as the Pacific Grace sails past. Photos by Mike Ross.
  
    
  
Above: It takes a team to raise sail! Trainees are assigned a 'watch' while on board and work together in shifts to operate the ship under the guidance of the SALTS crew.
Above: From the moment they step on board, trainees enter a community where they are continually growing and learning to understand themselves, their shipmates and the world around them.

 

  

 

New - Bursaries for Aborginal Youth from the
Central Coast and Haida Gwaii   

 

 

In honour of First Nations communities along our new summer trip routes, SALTS is pleased to offer bursaries covering full trip fees for up to four aboriginal young people - two young men and two young women, age 13 - 25 - from communities in the Central Coast and Haida Gwaii region to participate in a 10-day summer sailing trip aboard the Pacific Grace. 

Applications are due June 9, 2014.  

 

From the Archives ...   

Above: On one of his first trips as a SALTS crewmember, a young Tony Anderson (SALTS current Senior Captain) teaches a knotwork lesson aboard the Robertson II in the early 1980s. 

  

Destination Profile: The Gulf Islands 

   

Above: A beautiful view of the Strait is the reward at the end of a forest hike in the Gulf Islands.
Located in southern Georgia Strait and within a quick day's sail from Victoria, the Gulf Islands feature a beautiful archipelago of islands steeped in rich history and are a much loved destination among SALTS crews. "The Gulf Islands offer great variety in terms of things to see and do from hikes on De Courcy Island through the intertidal zone to exploring the midden beach at Montague Harbour," explains Captain David Eggert. "It offers protected waters and secure anchorages that are great for building seamanship and navigation skills." 
   
    




Left: First Mate Sam and Forward Watch investigate the sandstone cliffs at Valdez Island from one of the ship's dories. Above: After rowing to shore at De Courcy Island, trainees explore the intertidal zone.
How to Outlive Your Life 
  
SALTS has benefited greatly over the years from estate gifts, as the plaque which hangs by the front door at our office indicates. Sixty percent of Canadians do not have a current will, and therefore, the courts will decide what happens to their estate. Without a will, there is no control over the decisions made and probate fees are more likely to reduce the value of the estate. You can create or update a will by visiting a lawyer or notary public. Whenever you go through a significant life change (e.g. marital status, childbirth, moving to a new province, etc.) it is a good idea to review your will.  Read more ... 
  
Boats for Sale at SALTS
  
Check out the latest inventory of boats for sale in the Boat Donation Program. The proceeds from the sale of these vessels will help fund our sail training programs for youth aboard the tall ships Pacific Swift and Pacific Grace. 
    
      
An excellent 1991 cruiser with capacity for family and friends. Many upgrades including engine overhaul in 2012 and extensive bottom work. Four spacious double berth staterooms and two single berths. Four heads w/showers. Bright and beautiful salon and galley. Very nicely equipped.
  
  

In excellent shape and lives up to its sterling reputation as an all-weather cruiser. Built in Canada, this sporty and hardy boat will handle most anything that comes its way. Efficient design allows for roomy berth and private head. Well maintained, 260 HP Mercruiser V-8 with new stern drive leg in 2006. A must see and ready to enjoy!

 

  
  
To find out more about how you can donate a boat to SALTS, call David Eggert at 250-383-6811.  

 
If you enjoy seeing beautiful photos such as the ones above, "like" the SALTS Facebook Page so they show up weekly in your news feed or follow SALTS on Twitter. To get in touch with us, reply to this email or call our office at 250.383.6811. Thank you for your support as we "train young people, by the sea, for life".
  
Yours aye,
Loren Hagerty, Executive Director and the SALTS Crew