Al personally conducts these tours, and has additional guides he has trained to assist him when required. He is especially knowledgeable about West Coast native history, marine mammals and the unique ecology of the kelp environment. Al is an adventurer at heart: an experienced sailor, kayaker and navigator, with blue water experience gained from sailing in Atlantic and coastal waters from Montreal to the Caribbean. If you are not careful he will regale you with his adventures ‘in running away’ from job, home and country.
Al began his tour-guiding career taking travellers on jungle and reef-sailing tours he organized in and around Belize, Central America and in the frozen wastes of the Arctic. Al’s professional background as a regional planner has given him added insights into the cultural and physical changes affecting the islands and waters of our BC coast.
Al proudly points out that it took him two years to build the big canoe you see in the program - a refection of his life-long fascination with West Coast native culture. The canoe's name: "Qaanas", is the Salish name for Killer Whale. This vessel was blessed by the Nanaimo Indian Band before launching (the first time in B.C. such an honour has been bestowed upon a canoe built by a white man) The Qaanas is presently the largest cedar strip canoe of its kind in North America. Al conducts EarthFoot's From Rainforest to Ocean program. |
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