We Sailed to Prevost Island and Found an Abandoned Orchard

Sailboat living in British Columbia's Southern Gulf Islands gives us access to some remarkable places. This time, a few days aboard W. Grebe led to hiking the old homestead orchards of Prevost Island. Mary and I sailed our classic wooden gaff-rigged sailboat to Prevost Island with no particular agenda. We found a quiet anchorage, went ashore for a walk, and ended up following traces of the people who homesteaded here long ago—old orchards, abandoned farms, forgotten clearings and fruit trees still growing wild in the forest. It was supposed to be nothing more than a quiet couple of days away. That's one of the things I like about sailboat living. The sailing gets us somewhere, but often what happens after we drop the anchor becomes the story. W. Grebe is our home. She's a classic wooden sailboat with a traditional gaff rig, and Mary and I live aboard her in the Southern Gulf Islands of British Columbia. From here, we explore the islands and coast by sail, finding quiet anchorages and going ashore to see what's there. Sometimes that's hiking through an old homestead. Sometimes it's fishing, gathering wild food, exploring a beach or following some small clue in the landscape simply because we want to know where it leads. Living aboard a sailboat has changed the scale at which we explore. A place doesn't have to be famous or dramatic to be worth visiting. Prevost Island is only a short sail from home, but travelling there aboard an old wooden boat, anchoring for the night and exploring on foot makes it feel very different from simply arriving somewhere by road. That's increasingly what I want these films to be about. Not just sailing. Not just destinations. They're about living a little more deliberately and remaining curious about the places around us. There will certainly be plenty of sailing British Columbia's coast aboard Grebe. There will also be traditional sailing and old wooden boats, hiking, wild food, fly fishing, remote places, natural history and the people and stories connected to these landscapes. Some adventures will happen almost within sight of home. Others will eventually take us much farther away. For now, we're exploring the Southern Gulf Islands and the Salish Sea—one anchorage, island and unexpected discovery at a time. ABOUT W. GREBE W. Grebe is a classic wooden gaff-rigged sailboat and our full-time home. She is based in the Southern Gulf Islands on Canada's Pacific coast. Living aboard Grebe gives Mary and me a way to explore British Columbia by sail and to spend more time in the landscapes that have always interested me. This channel follows our life aboard her rather than simply documenting passages from one harbour to another. Sailing is part of it, but so is everything the boat allows us to reach. ABOUT THIS TRIP We sailed W. Grebe through the Southern Gulf Islands to Prevost Island, British Columbia, where we anchored for a couple of days and went hiking ashore. Prevost still carries traces of its agricultural and homesteading history. Old orchards, farm sites and fruit trees remain scattered through a landscape that has largely returned to forest. We didn't set out specifically looking for them. We simply started walking and followed what we found. That's exactly the sort of day I hope to have more of. ABOUT THIS CHANNEL I'm John Fraser. I've spent much of my life outdoors—fly fishing, hunting, gathering wild food and learning to pay attention to landscapes and the things living in them. Now Mary and I live aboard W. Grebe in coastal British Columbia. This channel is where those parts of my life come together: sailboat living, traditional sailing, wooden boats, hiking, wild food, fishing and exploring the coast. It isn't intended to be a conventional sailing channel or a highlight reel of constant adventure. It's simply a record of the life we're choosing to live and the things we find interesting along the way. If that sounds like your kind of thing, subscribe and come along. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Preparing to set sail 01:20 - Starting the old diesel 02:00 - Underway 05:19 - Failed anchor at Portland Island 11:29 - Setting sail for Provost Island 12:20 - Anchored at Provost Island 12:40 - Going Hiking 17:12 - Huge Maple Tree 18:29 - Finding the Ancient Orchard 23:40 - Going Home MORE FROM ME Food Afield — wild food, field knowledge and stories from the natural world https://foodafield.substack.com/podcast Instagram — Food Afield https://www.instagram.com/foodafield/ #SailboatLiving #Hiking #SailingBritishColumbia