Transcribed from Episode One from the Podcast of the same name.
496 Words – 3 Minutes

In the year 2012, a middle-aged couple from Canada decided to embark on a grand adventure. Having often dreamt of sailing and exploring the world aboard their own sailing yacht, with hearts set on this dream, they acquired a sailboat, and planned to ready her to set sail on a journey of a lifetime.

This is Ron and Wendi, and over the next ten years, we dedicated ourselves to learning the art of sailing, spending countless hours learning to handle the vessel and honing our seamanship skills. Alongside our learning, we poured our love, efforts, and money into our boat, tirelessly fixing and improving every aspect, ensuring it was seaworthy and ready to face any challenge that awaited us.

As we sailed the picturesque coastal waters of British Columbia, fate led us to an unexpected opportunity. We were offered an opportunity to caretake a remote sport-fishing lodge on an island in the far-flung archipelago of Haida Gwaii, off the north coast of British Columbia. Thrilled at the chance to immerse ourselves in the natural, and mystical world of Haida Gwaii, we eagerly accepted the position.

For the next five years, except for the summer months when the lodge was open for business, we made this place our home. During the warm summer months, we would bid farewell to the lodge and set sail. Sometimes journeying as far as Vancouver or Nanaimo, sometimes Prince Rupert or exploring other places on Haida Gwaii itself.

Life on Haida Gwaii was idyllic. We embraced the serenity and formed a deep connection with the majestic coastal landscape. Each passing summer, we would embark on these sailing adventures, exploring the waters of British Columbia, and capturing the essence of true freedom.

Fate has its own ways of testing one’s mettle, though. As the world was struck by the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, we then found ourselves in a unique and challenging situation. As with much of the world, Haida Gwaii, too, was closed off completely to visitors. Our isolation, once a welcomed seclusion that we cherished, gradually transformed itself into a prison.

There we were, five months into our fourth year at the lodge on Graham Island, and as the world was plunged into the darkest times of the pandemic, our peace and tranquillity grew even more quiet. The once-daily sound of jets flying overhead thirty-thousand feet above ceased and the skies fell silent.

Images from the internet of piles of corpses, barren store shelves, and people brawling in the aisles over toilet paper and bread, brought a realization of safety and security, tempered though it was, by fears of how the next few months might play out.

Emails to and from head office with our manager tended to raise more questions than they answered. We were all just trying to navigate this strange new world that had descended upon us. Would the lodge reopen in June? Would we have our summer months off? Did we even want to leave?

Thanks very much for dropping in, we do hope you liked this introduction to what was, ironically, the end of our last chapter. If you’d like to know more about us and to follow our journey forward, please check out the social media icons below or navigate to the home page and explore our website further.

We also have a small storefront where you can purchase shirts or a few other small items for yourself or a loved one. We are always very appreciative of support in any form.

Cheers!

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SAILING INFIDEL: Def. An unbeliever, heathen, pagan, heretic, agnostic, atheist, non-theist, freethinker, libertine, dissenter, or nonconformist of the sailing variety