About Us
MEET THE TEAM
Get to know
the Starlight Sailing Team.
Welcome to Starlight Sailing Adventures. We are here to introduce you to sailing, seamanship, and cruising, in our sailboats or yours. Learn to sail during our day classes and practice sails, three day condensed courses, or come and cruise for a 5 day trip. We have three boats available so that we can meet your schedule.
Sailing in Sooke
Starlight an Aloha 32, is mostly used for the 5 day trips but is also available for day trips and three day courses, Prime Time a Catalina 27 is available for day trips and 3 day courses and Sea Wolf a 26ft. Wooden Folk Boat is here for day trips and 3 day cruise and learns
Get Certified With Us!
Starlight
Gord Fulcher – Sea-EO, Skipper, Instructor.
Prime Time
Dallas Duobaitis – Skipper, Instructor.
You will leave with your Basic Cruising Certificate, Coastal Navigation, Pleasure Craft Operators Card (PCOC) and VHF Marine Radio (ROC-M(DSC).
Starlight &
Gord Fulcher
Starlight
She is a 32 foot Aloha 32 built in Toronto in 1983. Designed to sail from Vancouver to Hawaii– which makes her more than adequate for Sailing in the near coastal waters area around Victoria BC. There is room for 5 to sleep but things are most cozy and comfortable with three or four.
Onboard is a new model Raymarine Chart Plotter and Standard Horizon VHF radio with AIS receiver. There is a full kitchen with running cold water, a propane stove/oven and a small barbecue outside. The Head (bathroom) also has running cold water and a composting toilet.
Certifications:
Sail Canada, Basic Cruising
Standard Instructor.
VHF Marine Radio
Instructor (ROC-M(DSC).
Pleasure Craft Operators Card Examiner (PCOC).
First Aid.
The Skipper
The Skipper: Gord Fulcher retired early to pursue his dream of introducing sailing to eager learners. He loves introducing the basics of cruising in keel boats. Before retiring he started The Sooke Sailing Association, with his wife Lis Johansen and a friend Robert Chouinard, to introduce kids safely to sailing and the ocean.
Starting with a youth sailing program was particularly inspiring, and eventually became a calling. As of 2019, the team has introduced over 500 kids to sailing and have nurtured some into becoming coaches and assistants.
Now, there are many people in the Community of Sooke that work together to keep the kids learning and safe on the water. There is even The Sooke Sailing Co-op for adults and families to share a keelboat and learn the joys (and challenges) of boat ownership.
Gord was the President and founding member of The Sooke Sailing Association and now devotes his time to Starlight Sailing Adventures and the Sea Cadets in Sooke.
Membership:
Navy League and Sea Cadets, Sooke Branch Sailing Director.
Sooke Sailing Association.
Sooke Sailing Co-op.
Sail Canada.
BC Sailing.
Bluewater Cruising.
Canadian Power and Sail Squadron.
Prime Time & Dallas Duobaitis
Prime Time
She is a Catalina 27 (26.83ft)– one of the most successful and popular boats ever made. She is hull # 3109 of a production run of 6662 and constructed in 1977, currently on her third owner after being very much loved by her previous owners.
The Catalina 27 is often described as ‘everyone’s first boat’, praising it as an affordable, versatile boat with easy handling and good accommodations for its size, while implying that everyone eventually grows into something bigger. She is a great all arounder and an excellent boat for learning, having no particular faults, just at the expense of not excelling at anything either.
In short she is balanced, affordable, easy to sail and easy to find. The Catalina has been mentioned many times in various books as a budget to go anywhere boat, with some circumnatiations to its credit to boot!
Primetime has a 9.9hp Yamaha board, allowing some maneuvering advantages at moving under power. A furling 130% Genoa head sail allowing fine sail trimming and easier solo sailing.
I have rigged Prime Time to be comfortable to sail solo with every control in the cockpit, and it is even easier when not sailing solo. She has a Lowrance 5.1 ti GPS, Standard Horizon VHF radio and a 100 watt solar panel making her independent from the shore for all her electronic needs. She is able to sleep 6, though 3-4 is more preferred.
Certifications:
Sail Canada, Basic Cruising
Standard Instructor.
VHF Marine Radio
Instructor (ROC-M(DSC).
Pleasure Craft Operators Card Examiner (PCOC).
First Aid.
Mary's list for solo sailing
Here’s my list of essential info a solo sailor needs to know (in addition to basic cruising curriculum):
(1) How to assess if your boat is adequately set-up for sailing solo (i.e. tiller versus wheel, furling headsail, all lines leading back to cockpit, lazy jacks etc)
(2) Extra safety strategies (I.e. starboard tack when leaving the cockpit, handheld radio, jackstays, go below as little as possible etc)
(2) How to leave the dock solo in different wind and current conditions – and choosing between bow, stern or midship lines when casting-off
(3) How to, unassisted,:
* hoist and lower sails
* heave-to
* reef
* anchor
* pick-up a mooring ball
(4) How to return to dock in different wind and current conditions and on crowded docks
