WILD AT HEART

THE OWNER OF THE ELEGANT 210FT SCHOONER ATHOS OPTED FOR A TRUE AWAY-FROM-IT-ALL ADVENTURE, EXPLORING REMOTE BRITISH COLUMBIA AND ITS INCREDIBLE WILDLIFE

- MIKE PICKERING

The Inside Passage is one of North America's great cruising grounds - an intricate, fjord-lined waterway stretching from Vancouver Island to Alaska. It's a route known for its remote anchorages, powerful tides and extraordinary wildlife yet it remains rarely explored by superyachts beyond the occasional high-latitude explorer design. That's precisely why the owner of Athos, the world's largest privately owned two-masted schooner, chose it for an extended expedition. Athos spent three months cruising from Victoria on Vancouver Island to Juneau, Alaska - some 900 miles as the crow flies, but with extensive detours exploring fjords, anchorages, and wildlife hotspots, the total distance covered was closer to 1,400 miles.

Whether on a 40ft cruiser or a 200ft superyacht, sailing British Columbia is both demanding and rewarding.

Careful planning is essential, but a truly successful voyage requires adaptability. Strong tides dictate daily schedules, deep fjords test anchoring skills, and avoiding floating logs requires constant vigilance. These conditions create the kind of raw adventure that gets you truly back to nature; something that's increasingly rare for superyacht owners to experience.

"A big part of the decision was wanting to get off the beaten track," Athos's owner explains. "British Columbia isn't a typical superyacht destination, and that's exactly why I wanted to go. The wildlife was a huge part of it; you're sailing alongside orcas, spotting grizzlies on the shoreline, and watching eagles dive for fish. That's not something you get in the Med.

"But the trip wasn't about proving Athos could handle it: we already knew that," he adds. "It was about taking advantage of her full capability. She's built for proper passagemaking, whether that's threading through fjords in BC or cruising between anchorages in the Caribbean.