Around July 2023, my dad introduced me to the ships2shores program while researching during his short-lived sailboat phase. I was intrigued but not too helpful. Sailing? That’s the rich old white men’s sport, But the program suppressed all my expectations.
The group was knit tight, despite the vast age difference we all got along well, and the group activities were great, like meeting with an indigenous woman to discuss the culture and history of the ocean.
We all had lunch together before entering the sailboats, where we would meet the owners, and learn both about them and the history of the boat, and the functions and purpose of certain things on the boat. We all took turns setting up the sail, pulling the rope, and steering the boat after turning off the gas engine to take full use of the sails. The sea was another experience, fierce ocean waves with a great view of the Toronto skyline- and I only got seasick once!
One of the vivid memories was being interviewed by the CBC on an actual boat and responding to questions on camera for a commercial.
But all good things came to an end, the program ended and we all headed back to our schools and jobs, but even then we had biweekly Google Meets with other people in the program to discuss our projects for our community, which was required to join the program. I did trash cleanup, and I think I made a sizable dent by cleaning up local areas near my homes for 120 hours and giving a presentation about it at a meeting with sponsors.
But that’s all from me, I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity and the sponsors/people making this happen. I hope to come back next summer, if possible.