2018: Crew Highlights
The Outer Shores Family continues to grow and evolve and we are amazed anew every year at the passion, expertise, and enthusiasm that each of our crew members brings aboard the Passing Cloud. We hope you’ll enjoy some of their highlights from our 2018 season.
Founder and President, Russell Markel: “I have so many highlights to choose from our 2018 expedition season, but a few immediately come to mind.
First, our new solar panels exceeded our expectations in every way. They produced more power than we expected, and on some days even allowed us to operate our water maker while we were sailing, amazing!
Second, this year we recommissioned our cruising spinnaker, or gennaker, and added a “sock” for easy deployment and take-down. As a result, we had numerous wonderful light-air sails throughout the season. Making miles under sail – good for the soul and good for the Planet!
Finally, my wildlife moment of the year has to be my first ever sea otter sighting in Haida Gwaii. Having witnessed and studied the profound ecological changes that ensue as sea otters return to their historical ranges, I am very excited to think that we may begin to see these changes in Haida Gwaii in the near future.”
“We had a wonderful encounter with a pack of coastal wolves in a quiet inlet on the west side of an outer island in the Great Bear Rainforest, in the morning mist surrounded by ancient fish traps. Super cool. Also, we had a particularly amazing day in Gwaii Haanas where we saw so many whales including a grey whale in the shallow waters of a secluded bay. “
2018 was Matt’s 4th season on the water with Outer Shores and continues to bring a wealth of knowledge, passion, and enthusiasm for exploration aboard the Passing Cloud. Matt is known to always bring the stoke (“all the things all the time”) and is always eager to discover new locations and untrodden trails.
Chef Courtenay Kohlhauser“On my second sailing with Russ and Dan, a pod of white-sided dolphins swam alongside the Passing Cloud in Burke Channel. It was amazing! They were so close and breaching in unison!”
Courtenay joined us for the first time aboard the Passing Cloud this season and we’re thrilled to welcome her positive energy and zest for adventure (not to mention her amazing cooking!) back aboard for our 2019 season!
“So many favourites! Grey whale at Woodruff, and humpbacks the same day; Grey whales breaching; Northern residents – almost all at once this spring; Mola Mola high five; Raven’s tour of Windy Bay!”
As our head chef, Erin designed our menu this year and put so much dedication into not only foraging and sourcing locally, but developing her craft as a culinary storyteller. Her passion to create shines through every dish she prepares aboard the Passing Cloud. We can’t wait to see the evolution of our menu next year!
Guest Services and Marketing Coordinator, Oriana Smy
“It’s so hard to pick just one! Each day is filled with magic. This year I had the pleasure of spending much more time aboard the Passing Cloud than usual. Filling in as so-called Mate for a few expeditions allowed me the opportunity to sail to all five regions we explored this year.
One of my favourite memories from this season was flying up the rugged west coast of Haida Gwaii on a perfect sunny day. Peter, the floatplane pilot, spotted 2 humpback whales and circled back to get a closer look. It’s so incredible to have a different vantage point of the remote regions we explore.
“We had an amazing encounter with wolves in the Great Bear this fall. I had been practicing my howls and trying to convince our guests I ‘spoke wolf’ when I got a response call in the distance. The howls got closer and then two wolves emerged from the forest. It was so awesome!”
Liam has been Mate aboard the Passing Cloud since 2015, and always brings a skillful calmness and mindfulness to our expeditions. As a Jack-of-all-trades, he does everything from guiding and sailing to working directly with our chef to provide our guests with the best hospitality possible. After an unfortunate broken bone this year, we’re excited to have Liam back fully healed for next season!
