What do you think?
Rate this book
26 Feet to the Charlottes: Exploring the Land of the Haida
When June Cameron and Paul Holsinger set out in 1983 in Paul's ancient 26-foot wooden sloop, Wood Duck, to cross the perilous Hecate Strait and explore the weather-beaten west coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands (now known as Haida Gwaii), they knew they would face danger. But June had raced her own sailboat for years and Paul was a gifted mechanic, so they put trepidation aside and answered the call to adventure.
Their journey taught them much about the challenges faced by the area's First Nations inhabitants—and much about why skippers do not sail the outer coast of the Charlottes for pleasure. There are no lighthouses, and many rocks and reefs are uncharted. June and Paul's survival would depend on cautious, observant navigation—and luck.
26 Feet to the Charlottes takes readers to remote beaches, uninhabited First Nations villages, abandoned mines and sheltered coves. Compelling reading for sailors and armchair adventurers alike, June's story conveys the joys and challenges of travelling by boat and living off the sea, and recalls a coast that has changed dramatically in the last century.
Their journey taught them much about the challenges faced by the area's First Nations inhabitants—and much about why skippers do not sail the outer coast of the Charlottes for pleasure. There are no lighthouses, and many rocks and reefs are uncharted. June and Paul's survival would depend on cautious, observant navigation—and luck.
26 Feet to the Charlottes takes readers to remote beaches, uninhabited First Nations villages, abandoned mines and sheltered coves. Compelling reading for sailors and armchair adventurers alike, June's story conveys the joys and challenges of travelling by boat and living off the sea, and recalls a coast that has changed dramatically in the last century.
- GenresTravelNonfiction
240 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2009
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 19, 2023
A well written story of adventure on the BC Coast. It was hard to put this book down.
March 7, 2026
A cruising inspiration! 10/10 recommend for those travelling the pacific coast by small boat.
December 31, 2010
June Cameron is writing about an adventure some 40 years in the past, a cruise on a 26 foot wooden sloop to the Queen Charlotte Islands in the waters north of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. She writes with fond remembrance and respect, both for her own past and the vanishing traces of the first nation residents of the area. The book was of particular interest to me because I expect to sail these waters, and in a similar sized boat. Every morsel of experience, even vicarious, is important to a latecomer, and I came away from these pages with a feel for what awaits me. I wonder if it is still possible to harvest as much from the bounty of the sea as did June and her companion?
There is a measure of melancholy in the tenor of her relationship with her shipmate, who owned the little sloop. She is vague about the what went wrong: I couldn't decide if it was the conflict of their respective cruising and the racing cultures, or something else, but the voyage was apparently their last hurrah.
Anyone with an interest in the Salish Sea is likely to find this book entertaining and a worthwhile read. Can't wait to go.
There is a measure of melancholy in the tenor of her relationship with her shipmate, who owned the little sloop. She is vague about the what went wrong: I couldn't decide if it was the conflict of their respective cruising and the racing cultures, or something else, but the voyage was apparently their last hurrah.
Anyone with an interest in the Salish Sea is likely to find this book entertaining and a worthwhile read. Can't wait to go.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews