Welcome to La Sonrisa Sails

La Sonrisa II is a 40-ft. sailboat with accommodation for Elizabeth and Thomas in the aft cabin, and up to six guests overnight in the main cabin (two single bunks and two doubles). For day trips we can accommodate up to a dozen people. Guests share in the cost of food and pay whatever else they can afford. The suggested rate is $100 per group per day. (Note: Pay what you can. Those who are able to afford a bit extra help to balance those with more limited resources.)

La Sonrisa operates on two basic principles -- Simple Abundance and Participatory Ecology.
Simple Abundance means low-tech: We sail rather than motor; we work the winds and currents. We anchor rather than tie-up; eat simply, gathering and producing much of our own food (seafood, wild greens, berries, mushrooms; baking our own bread, making pasta, sushi, pickles, canning). We enjoy and give thanks. We attempt to sail/walk lightly on ocean and shore.
Participatory Ecology (as opposed to Museum Ecology, "look but don't touch") means we get involved. We enter the neighbourhoods into which we sail with respect for the creatures who live there-- sea creatures, birds, animals, plants, humans past and present. We seek to become part of the neighbourhood, sharing food and resources in a sustainable way. We celebrate with our neighbours, and give thanks.

La Sonrisa is available for a day, overnight, long-weekend or week-long adventure. Let us know what your interests are and when you can come. We will adjust our schedule where possible.

As we travel, we will continue our research for the book (working title), The Sustainable Coast. Many have written about the devastation of the coast--the decimation of First Nation peoples and cultures, the decimation of resources due to policies of extraction rather than nurture, the resulting depopulation and lack of economic opportunities. But here and there small, hopeful experiments are happening. We want to write about these "hope models," and the people who are bravely and creatively pioneering a new/old way to live on the coast.

Getting ready to sail north. Our bottom - sometimes mistaken for a whale!
Egmont lowtide playground - view from Billy's ways.
Little Coastal Whorehouse? Old Westview dock landmark.

Red tide? in Desolation Sound
The view from Irene's beautiful windows in her peaceful, weathered home.