Seas and Greetings from SALTS!      

As we near the end of our fortieth year of youth mentorship at sea, we're thankful for another amazing season and for the many new opportunities that came with it, such as our new summer trips to Alaska and Haida Gwaii with the Pacific Grace. We've included a 2014 summary below for those who would enjoy reading some highlights. Thank you to our trainees and their families, school groups, volunteers, bursary partners, donors and friends! We are blessed by your partnership and support. 

Amid the hustle and bustle of what can be a stressful season, the uncertainty of a global economy, and the lack of "peace on earth and goodwill to men," we are reminded that about 2014 years ago, a baby was born that changed history. He never held public office, created a new invention, led a company, nor commanded an army. He was poor and homeless, and died at a young age. But His birth, life and death changed history, so much so that we adjust our calendars by it. This Christmas, we celebrate the birth of Christ Jesus, whose arrival was announced 700 years in advance with these words:  For to us a child is born ... And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  

Merry Christmas! 

Loren Hagerty, Executive Director, and the SALTS crew

PS Please note that the SALTS office, marina and shop will be closed
starting from December 24 at 12:00pm until January 2 at 8:00am. 

A Season of Wonder

Our 2014 sailing season brought many new and exciting adventures as well as many familiar favourites. Our spring season was blessed by beautiful weather and some excellent days of sailing with school groups from throughout BC and Alberta. Along with those lovely sailing days always comes a few extremely calm days.  These are the days we sometimes call ourselves M.A.L.T.S (Motor and Life Training Society).

Once our summer season began, the two ships spent some wonderful days side-by-side in Desolation Sound before the Pacific Grace headed north to explore new destinations including the Central Coast of

Above: First Mate Sam & trainee Cayla invent new ice pellet protective face wear aboard the Pacific Grace in southern Alaska.

BC, southern Alaska and Haida Gwaii. These places on the coast have long enticed us with their remoteness, beauty, small coastal communities and wildlife. There is so much of our coast that we know so little about despite it being right in our backyard.

A bit further south, aboard the Pacific Swift, communities were growing through our own great adventures (albeit, with slightly less rain than

Above: The crew of the Pacific Swift explore remote Triangle Island at the northern end of Vancouver Island.

experienced aboard the Grace).  Through the summer, the Pacific Swift travelled our traditional trip routes and circumnavigated Vancouver Island. We were blessed with amazing weather, and many crew members and trainees came home without having touched their rain gear all summer! Desolation Sound was stunning, as always, and offered pristine lakes, waterfalls and beaches for us to explore. As we headed further north, we ventured up Knight Inlet where we rowed our dories into an estuary and watched Grizzly cubs tumbling along the shores of the inlet.  We spent time exploring Calvert Island and Fish Egg Inlet before venturing to Triangle Island, an ecological reserve that resembles the wild and lush jungles of Jurassic Park. We quietly took our dories for a row around the rugged rock pinnacles and kelp forests there, and listened to the deafening calls of the hundreds of sea lions and birds that call that place home.

 

Above: The Pacific Grace and Pacific Swift reunited on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

It is incredible to see that no

matter which ship you are on or who is aboard, we are wired for community and have a need to be known and loved for the person we are. To be part of a community that is formed through sharing our real selves with those around us while surrounded by moments of beauty, adventure, challenge and struggle - this is what makes these trips so memorable to me.