We had read that when you move onto a boat to go sailing, to expect a period of mourning for the life that you leave behind. Preposterous advice!! Where will I find time to grieve during this laugh-a-minute instagrasmic nautical thrill-ride??

The advice was apt. Despite having a great time overall, this first period included a lot of introspection and self doubt. Why did we pull our kids from school and friendships to drift through the wilderness? Will they learn social skills from wolves? Seals!? FISHERMEN!??

The wild coast of BC stunned us once again with it’s natural beauty and abundant wildlife as we made our way north. We met a few people along the way, but no children whatsoever. I began to search in earnest for “kid boats”, those elusive families who have undertaken a similar adventure. There are online groups dedicated to helping kid-boats meet up, but it seemed like all the kids were in sunny southern waters.

As weeks passed my eagerness to meet up with other families grew. When a new boat would enter an anchorage I’d have the binoculars out. Could that shorter grey haired human be a kid? That furry golden kid pooping on the beach looks fun? Some boats clearly had advanced electronics on board, perhaps they have a robo-kid we could interact with?

Meanwhile I observed my own children for signs of social degradation. When did cutlery become optional? Did they always burp this much? When I tell them that screen-time is ending they snarl and stab at me with sharpened sticks… is that normal?

7 weeks after leaving home, we anchored in Pruth Bay on Calvert island. One of our favourite stops on the BC coast. While approaching shore in our dinghy, off in the distance we spotted… kids! We saw two small children near a trail head, and they saw us. They spoke to somebody out of site, and another kid emerged. Three kids! Then another. And a fifth? Am I hallucinating?

We docked our dinghy, hiked through to the beach, and there we met the family from the sailboat Pinocchio. The Pinocchio crew departed from Quebec 6 years ago, with 7 children aboard, currently ranging in age from 6 to 18. They had sailed across the Atlantic several times, around Cape Horn, through the Pacific and then back to the BC coast.

This was the first sailing family that we met, and it was a pretty big deal for us. They were kind and funny and the children were not feral at all. Seeing them doing it successfully made us feel better about our own decisions. Speaking with them was a huge inspiration, and feeling some community filled a big missing piece in our life puzzle.

We met them again at the beach the next day, and then we said goodbye. Something else we’d have to get used to!

Meeting another boat crew is like speed dating. Don’t come on too strong, but you’d better not take it slow because there’s southerly wind in the forecast and the anchor chains are rattling!

I think I parted with something like this: “I know we just met, but here’s my email, phone number, sat number and social media info. Maaaaybe we’ll see you around sometime. Cool. No big deal. Also here’s my satellite tracking link, AIS tracking identifier, and itinerary for the next 2 weeks. Let’s check in over VHF daily.”

Northward!