Alex, before retiring from his main career, consulted on operationalizing sustainability in the buildings industry, for both projects and organizations. Alex was the Founding President of the Canada Green Building Council (CaGBC) in 2003. CaGBC became, under his watch, a recognized leader on the national stage. For many years prior to that Alex honed his professional skills in public works organizations in BC and Alberta. He started his professional career as a maritime engineering officer in the Canadian Navy. Effective writing was critical to his success throughout his career. Alex has been an avid outdoorsman and sailor all his adult life. The Navy gave him a basic grounding in seamanship, navigation and sailing. After that, he continued by teaching in the Canadian Power Squadron. He built all of his own boats; several kayaks and both of his sail and oar boats. He also designed the latest boat. He has put several thousand watery miles under the keels of his various boats but he knows that the sea still has things to teach him. He is the author of “Becoming Coastal”.
Title: Becoming Coastal - Twenty-five years of adventure in self-built small boats
The size of the adventure is not dependent on the size of the boat and my presentation will be a demonstration of that. It will feature stories, images and maps from journeys that I describe in a book I published just before the pandemic hit. The book is called “Becoming Coastal”, sub-titled “25 years of exploration and discovery of the British Columbia coast by paddle, oar and sail”. The journeys cover everything from short getaways to multi-week expeditions, all in wooden boats I built. I’ll show how I built 5 different boats over the years, beginning with a solo kayak, and culminating in a sail and oar boat of my own design, which I rowed and sailed the length of the Inside Passage. I’ll speak of the joys and the adversities of self-propelled travel and adventure. I’ll cover wildlife, weather and nature, and some of the interesting people that I’ve met on the coast of British Columbia. I’ll give a personal perspective on acquiring the necessary physical and mental skills for solo travelling. I’ll tell the story of how I discovered for myself the coast's geography, its ecology, its people and my own growing capabilities. Above all, I’ll encourage everyone to get out and experience the coast for themselves.
Title: Becoming Coastal - Twenty-five years of adventure in self-built small boats
The size of the adventure is not dependent on the size of the boat and my presentation will be a demonstration of that. It will feature stories, images and maps from journeys that I describe in a book I published just before the pandemic hit. The book is called “Becoming Coastal”, sub-titled “25 years of exploration and discovery of the British Columbia coast by paddle, oar and sail”. The journeys cover everything from short getaways to multi-week expeditions, all in wooden boats I built. I’ll show how I built 5 different boats over the years, beginning with a solo kayak, and culminating in a sail and oar boat of my own design, which I rowed and sailed the length of the Inside Passage. I’ll speak of the joys and the adversities of self-propelled travel and adventure. I’ll cover wildlife, weather and nature, and some of the interesting people that I’ve met on the coast of British Columbia. I’ll give a personal perspective on acquiring the necessary physical and mental skills for solo travelling. I’ll tell the story of how I discovered for myself the coast's geography, its ecology, its people and my own growing capabilities. Above all, I’ll encourage everyone to get out and experience the coast for themselves.
