The Sail and Life Training Society (SALTS), founded in 1974, is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

organization based in

Victoria, British Columbia Victoria is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Gre ...

. SALTS provides

sail training From its modern interpretations to its antecedents when maritime nations would send young naval officer candidates to sea (e.g., see Outward Bound), sail training provides an unconventional and effective way of building many useful skills on a ...

and life lessons for 1,700 young people each year on

tall ship A tall ship is a large, traditionally-rigging, rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a r ...

s and provides a valued link to the area's maritime heritage. Currently, SALTS administrative offices are located on Herald Street in downtown Victoria, with a shop space located nearby in the Rock Bay area.

Programs

Young people ages 13–24 are given the experience of learning to sail a

, which the organization describes as "life-changing." In addition to learning a large set of sailing skills, they face fears (for example when climbing the rigging 115’ in the air on a moving ship) and learn teamwork, responsibility and interpersonal skills, which results in increased confidence.>
bursary program
is offered with help from other group partners, to make the program affordable to young people who are at risk, in low income households, or experiencing challenging life situations. In the spring and fall, 4- and 5-da

are made with school and community groups. Ship Point Wharf in

is the start and end point to the trips that travel through the

Gulf Islands The Gulf Islands is a group of islands in the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia Coast, mainland coast of British Columbia. Etymology The name "Gulf Islands" comes from "Gulf of Georgia", the original term used by Geor ...

. 10-da
summer sails
circumnavigate

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

, sail along the central coast of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

and the

Great Bear Rainforest The Great Bear Rainforest is a temperate rain forest on the Pacific coast of British Columbia, comprising 6.4 million hectares. It is part of the larger Pacific temperate rainforest ecoregion, which is the largest coastal temperate rainforest i ...

, and explore

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; / , literally "Islands of the Haida people"), previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago located between off the British Columbia Coast, northern Pacific coast in the Canadian province of British Columbia ...

. In the past
offshore voyages
to ports around the world were held, where youth participated in selected legs of the journey.
SALTS, accessed July 20, 2014. Due to new Canadian regulations for offshore vessels which the current tall ships do not meet, these trips are on hold until a new schooner is completed. All progress on the New Schooner Project can be followed along on thei

Group programs are offered with over 30 public and private schools, university programs, and youth groups bringing 20 - 30 young people and their adult chaperones.

are also made available to interested sailors of all ages.

Fundraising

SALTS is a registered Canadian charity. A large portion of program costs are funded throug

SALTS arranges a third-party appraisal for the value of the tax receipt issued, and handles moorage, transportation and broker's fees. A major campaign is underway for the capital cost of a new 116' Pilot Schooner. As of April 2019, approximately $3 million remains in the fund balance.

Ships

SALTS owns, maintains and operates two traditional tall ships, ''Pacific Swift'' and ''Pacific Grace''. Both were built by the Society in a shipyard at the former Coast Guard base on Victoria's Upper Harbour. A new 116' Pilot Schooner the "Leonora" had been custom designed to be built for offshore voyages. As of September 2022, its construction was cancelled due to regulatory hurdles and inflation.

Pacific Swift

The wood hull of Pacific Swift was built as a working exhibit at

Expo 86 The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo 86, was a world's fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from May 2 until October 13, 1986. The fair, the theme of which was "Transportation and Communicatio ...

in Vancouver, British Columbia. She is based on the brigantine ''Swift'' of 1778. The society had built another brigantine, ''Spirit of Chemainus'', in 1985. Pacific Swift has made four off-shore voyages, which have included visits to

Expo 88 World Expo 88, also known as Expo 88, was a specialised Expo held in Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, Australia, during a six-month period between Saturday, 30 April 1988 and Sunday, 30 October 1988, inclusive. The theme of the Expo wa ...

in Australia and Expo 92 in Seville, to the West Indies and to the remote communities of Easter Island and Pitcairn Island. Pacific Swift has a total sail area of 510 sq m and weighs 71.45 gross tons.

Pacific Grace

''Pacific Grace'' was built at the S.A.L.T.S. Heritage Shipyard in Victoria, launched in October 1999 and commissioned in May 2001. Her total sail area is 740 sq m. and weighs a total of 94 gross tons. She is based on the Grand Banks fishing schooner ''Robertson II'', one of the last fishing vessels to have been built in Canada which the society operated from 1974 to 1995. After two seasons of coastal sailing, she departed in September 2003 on her first offshore voyage: down the coast to Costa Rica, west to Galapagos and

Pitcairn The Pitcairn Islands ( ; Pitkern: '), officially Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, are a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four islan ...

, and back through the

Marquesas The Marquesas Islands ( ; or ' or ' ; Marquesan: ' ( North Marquesan) and ' ( South Marquesan), both meaning "the land of men") are a group of volcanic islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France in the southern Pacific ...

and the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

. From June 2007 to June 2008, she made a longer voyage, to the South Pacific, calling at: Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Guam, Okinawa, Shanghai, Osaka, Hawaii. Pacific Grace 1

Staff/Crew (2024)

References

{{coord, 48.42939, -123.37307, display=title Tall ships of Canada Sail training associations Organizations based in Victoria, British Columbia 1974 establishments in British Columbia