Learning to sail has always been a dream of mine. There’s something about being on the water that makes me feel so free. I’ve romanticized life ticking by on a sailboat — going from A to B with little worry, my next meal coming straight from the sea. In reality, sailing across oceans is no easy feat; it’s a mixture of danger, relaxation, monotony and euphoria and an emotional rollercoaster ranging from elation to fear of the unknown. Through it all, there is a deep connection with nature, the ocean and the species that inhabit it.

Before buying a boat and sailing across the Pacific, I needed lessons. Luckily, I live in Squamish, B.C., the meeting point between the towering Coast Mountains and glistening Howe Sound, a deep-water fjord. This is the perfect intersection of wind, water and la

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