Ahoy sailors, Captain Peter Francis at your service, thank you for visiting our site. You are in the right place if you want to learn how to sail safely, efficiently and have fun.
I learned to sail at the Jib Set in Vancouver in 1984 and have been sailing regularly ever since. A lot of my sailing has been racing one design and handicapped yachts in and around the Salish Sea, Howe Sound, Victoria, Seattle, Hong Kong and on Lake Biwa in Japan. We won the last 2 races entered in 2023 and quite a few more before that. I have also chartered in the Whitsundays and sailed in Sydney Harbor.
In 2013 I crossed the Indian Ocean leaving from Belitung Indonesia and going to Cape Town South Africa. We stopped over in Krakatoa, Reunion, Mauritius, East London and Port Elizabeth. Our boat was the 63ft by 38ft beam Shuttleworth Super Cat, Dulcinea. There were 2 of us and we took 3 months to complete the adventure.
When I am not on the water I owned and managed manufacturing and construction companies, for over 40 years I hired and trained workers to be safe, accurate and efficient in an industry that can be quite dangerous. Since becoming semi retired I have focused more on sailing and in 2023 decided to combine my love of sailing and proven teaching skills and started the Witsend Sailing School.
I am accredited by CRYA and NauticEd able to provide training and certification to Canadian and International standards. WSS is registered with Transport Canada as a Recreational Boating School and we follow the Canadian TP 15136E Standard for Recreational Boating Schools and the US EDU-3 Skills–Based Sailboat Standards.
This year we will add an Aloha 30 to our original Paceship 26 yacht. The Aloha is fully equipped for multi-day voyages while the Paceship is ideal for getting to grips with basic sail handling and management, she is mostly used in English Bay and environs.
We also expect to add David Ruffieux as an instructor this year. David and his wife have sailed internationally for years and will take the courses and become certified as an instructor in the spring of 2024. Welcome David.
We sail primarily for fun, adventure and to challenge ourselves. Sailing means always be learning and always be alert and prepared. The more alert and prepared we are the safer and greater the fun that can be had. Sailing can also be a wonderful place to relax and completely get away from the day to day stuff, its a new world that demands respect. It will be our distinct pleasure to introduce you to our sailing world and to share what we have learned and in the process learn also from you.