Life took its turns but by my early thirties I was the proud owner of my first cabin cruiser, an old Richardson which quite often took on more water than she should. She was a good teacher. Next came a plastic cruiser with lots of bells and whistles. There were several dinghies, sailboats and the usual toys that yuppies with kids have. I also joined CPS in my early thirties and took Boating, Seamanship Sail and Advanced Piloting. I was on the Bridge, organized many Squadron functions including several large Christmas Parties, catered for the annual rendezvous, taught the Boating course (which at that time was a five-month course) and started The Georgian Challenge which was a very successful navigational rally for both power and sail and was open to anyone in Ontario. In that first year Canadian Yachting Magazine came and did a large picture and story layout for their September magazine.

Again life changed. The boats went and I came to start a new job and life in beautiful BC. I got off the ferry and settled in Sidney. I joined the Saanich Peninsula Squadron to meet new people with similar hobbies and crewed for anyone requiring knowledgeable crew. About eight months after arriving, my eldest daughter passed away unexpectedly. During the grieving process I realized life indeed was short and precious.  I hated my job and what I was doing generally with life, so after taking numerous courses, I applied to the Canadian Coast Guard for a position on one of their vessels.

As luck would have it, I was hired to work on the "Tanu", the CCG fisheries vessel. She is approx. 180 ft. and requires a minimum crew of 15. My job as helmsman and deck hand also included running the RHIBs with the Fisheries Officers aboard to various boats and places to check out the commercial fishermen and the Sporties. This was a wonderful and exciting time for me. I spent time running up and down the West Coast of Vancouver Island as well as up into the Queen Charlottes. From here I was able to acquire my Bridge Helmsman Certificate as well as my Captain’s Papers. This year I attained my Junior Engineers rating. I have now spent the last two summers skippering commercial passenger ferries in and around Victoria and Sidney.

Additionally, I am a Certified Instructor for teaching on-the-water training in any vessel up to 60GRT. I also hold classes at various locations for Pleasure Craft Operator Courses and do seminars for VHF radio. For fun I like to scuba dive and enjoy my motorcycle too.

I was Environmental Officer for the Squadron for a couple of years. A curriculum I wrote for the environmental department has now been adopted by “National” for training across the country. I am also the VISD Boat Pro Officer. I look forward to working with this year’s bridge and toward next year’s challenge as Commander.

Lesley Head