Alex is the author of “Becoming Coastal – Twenty-five years of exploration and discovery of the BC Coast by paddle, oar and sail” and numerous magazine articles about boats, boatbuilding and the people who sail them. Alex has been an avid outdoorsman and sailor all his adult life. The Navy gave him a basic grounding in seamanship, navigation and sailing. After that, he continued by teaching in the Canadian Power Squadron. He built all of his own boats; several kayaks, both of his sail and oar boats, the second of which he also designed. His latest boat, a small gaff yawl, was a pandemic project. He has put several thousand watery miles under the keels of his various boats but he knows that the sea still has things to teach him.
Title: Becoming Coastal - Twenty-five years of adventure in self-built small boats
The size of the adventure is not dependent on the size of the boat and my presentation will be a demonstration of that. It features stories, images and maps from journeys that I describe in my book “Becoming Coastal”, sub-titled “25 years of exploration and discovery of the British Columbia coast by paddle, oar and sail”. The journeys cover everything from short getaways to multi-week expeditions, all in wooden boats I built. I show how I built 5 different boats over the years, beginning with a solo kayak, and culminating in a sail and oar boat of my own design, which I rowed and sailed the length of the Inside Passage. I speak of the joys and the adversities of self-propelled travel and adventure. I cover wildlife, weather and nature, and some of the interesting people that I’ve met on the coast of British Columbia. I give a personal perspective on acquiring the necessary physical and mental skills for solo traveling. I tell the story of how I discovered for myself the coast's geography, its ecology, its people and my own growing capabilities. Above all, I’ll encourage everyone to get out and experience the coast for themselves.
Title: Becoming Coastal - Twenty-five years of adventure in self-built small boats
The size of the adventure is not dependent on the size of the boat and my presentation will be a demonstration of that. It features stories, images and maps from journeys that I describe in my book “Becoming Coastal”, sub-titled “25 years of exploration and discovery of the British Columbia coast by paddle, oar and sail”. The journeys cover everything from short getaways to multi-week expeditions, all in wooden boats I built. I show how I built 5 different boats over the years, beginning with a solo kayak, and culminating in a sail and oar boat of my own design, which I rowed and sailed the length of the Inside Passage. I speak of the joys and the adversities of self-propelled travel and adventure. I cover wildlife, weather and nature, and some of the interesting people that I’ve met on the coast of British Columbia. I give a personal perspective on acquiring the necessary physical and mental skills for solo traveling. I tell the story of how I discovered for myself the coast's geography, its ecology, its people and my own growing capabilities. Above all, I’ll encourage everyone to get out and experience the coast for themselves.
