Ashley MacKinnon

Captain

Ashley was raised exploring the islands and inlets of the Salish Sea. A fourth-generation ‘Islander’, her love for adventure was fostered by the various small craft her family enjoyed.  Early on, Ashley learned to sail from her dad and was racing small sloops before she turned 11 years old.  Her earliest experiences of hosting and guiding marine adventures were with her friends in her family’s boats in the Saanich Inlet and Southern Gulf Islands. Although Ashley has participated in bear and whale research on the coast, fish diversity and habitat hold a special place in her heart.

She loves to share her knowledge on all of these subjects. Ashley’s experience at sea has taken her halfway across the Pacific Ocean, from Central America to Hawaii, as well as up and down the B.C. coast on many different vessels. In addition to her eight seasons with Maple Leaf, Ashley has worked for marine and fisheries research organizations, non-government conservation organizations, and small environmental consulting firms. The S/V Maple Leaf has been a staple in Ashley’s experience on the coast and Ashley has sailed many thousands of miles aboard.

“The magic of the coast is all around us, it’s just a matter of finding it — and travelling at eight knots allows you to do just that,” Ashley says. Ashley’s home is now in sunny Saltair, near Ladysmith on Vancouver Island, with her husband and dog, and many small boats.

Education & Certifications

• Master 60-ton Limited
• Small Vessel Machinery Operator-Restricted B.Sc. in Geography from the University of Victoria
• Post Graduate Diploma in Fisheries Biology at Vancouver Island University
• Small Vessel Operator Proficiency
• Marine Emergency Duties
• A2 Radio Operator Card – Maritime Commercial
• Marine First Aid Wilderness
• First Aid Gwaii Haanas Guide

Dave Holliss

Captain

Dave has worked as a captain aboard MV Swell since 2015 and brings his knowledge, skill, and humour to Cascadia as Captain.

With over 25 years of experience as a mariner on the BC coast, we are delighted to keep Dave in the Maple Leaf Adventures family.

Education & Certifications

• Maple Leaf captains are highly-trained and have passed stringent exams set by the coast guard. They are experienced wilderness expedition leaders and coastal navigators with a love of exploration. And they are genial hosts who enjoy welcoming the world to Maple Leaf and this spectacular place.

Greg Shea

Captain

Greg Shea grew up on the shores of the Salish Sea in Nanaimo, British Columbia. He discovered his love of adventures in nature as a teenager when he attended an outdoor leadership training program on Vancouver Island –something travellers in BC have been glad of ever since. A skilled and dedicated outdoorsman, Greg became a successful kayak guide, leading, scouting and developing trips for top companies in British Columbia, Belize and the Sea of Cortez. Greg has been sailing boats along the wild BC/Alaska coast for decades and has been a crew member in the Maple Leaf family since 2005. He is very experienced at leading expeditions and is a master mariner for Maple Leaf as well as possessing many wilderness guide certifications. He and his wife Jolie (a naturalist, writer and kayak guide) have been exploring the coast aboard their own sailboat, as well; first on their own, and now with their two children. Greg is also a professional photographer and his photos have enlivened the pages of many magazines including Cruising World and Pacific Yachting. He and Jolie are frequent and favourite contributors to Pacific Yachting magazine. We believe that some of Greg’s greatest attributes — his friendly smile, his leadership, and his love of this coast — are matched only by his prowess at catching crabs, prawns and salmon. When not exploring the coast, Greg can be found with his family on Quadra Island.

Education & Certifications

• 60-ton Limited Simulator Electronic Navigation Small Vessel Machinery Operator
• Restricted Small Vessel Operator Proficiency Radio Operator Card
• Maritime Commercial Marine First Aid Wilderness
• First Aid Marine Emergency Duties A2
• Gwaii Haanas Guide Food Safe Bear Guide

Kevin Smith

Captain

An adventurer and explorer all his life and a professional mariner since the age of 18, Kevin is also the leader of Maple Leaf Adventures and one of its owners. His experience as a geographer, backcountry park ranger and teacher all contribute to his leadership of one of the premier ecotourism organizations on the coast. Kevin continues Maple Leaf’s tradition of building the framework for ecotourism on the coast and is an executive member of many respected industry organizations. In addition to educating youth, Kevin developed and taught the Ecotourism for Entrepreneurs course for North Island College in British Columbia.

His 5-year tenure as a negotiator on the central coast (Great Bear Rainforest) land use plan brings a rare depth of understanding to the area’s history and current situation. Kevin’s extensive marine experience began with family cruising (under sail) while growing up on this coast. To pay for his university degree he took any job that involved being on the ocean. Skill and experience developed from years as a rowing coach and sailing instructor, a Coast Guard rescue training officer and rescue boat coxswain, fisheries research vessel Captain, backcountry (marine) Park Ranger, sail training instructor, and Captain on passenger carrying vessels.

He is one of the few Full Bear Guides certified by the Commercial Bear Viewing Association. Kevin is a true man of the coast. He was raised on Salt Spring Island in the Southern Gulf Islands, and, following his formal education, he was employed for a decade by the B.C. government to steward the marine parks of northern Vancouver Island.

He is a strong advocate for protecting the north coast. As Maple Leaf’s owner since 2001, he has continuously explored the breadth of this, North America’s last great rainforest, from Victoria to Juneau. He is a genial host whose love of B.C. and Alaska’s wilderness places is infectious.

Education & Certifications

• Fellow, Royal Canadian Geographical Society BA Geography (University of Victoria)
• Full Bear Guide (Commercial Bear Viewing Association of BC)
• 60-ton Masters Limited (Transport Canada)
• 60-ton Small Vessel Machinery Operator (Transport Canada)
• Advanced Wilderness First Aid for Leaders (Slipstream)
• CPR, Oxygen, AED Dive Master (PADI)
• Backcountry recreation and tourism representative
• Great Bear Rainforest land use plan Co-founder and Director
• Commercial Bear Viewing Association of BC, Director
• Wilderness Tourism Association of BC

Lynsey Rebbetoy

Captain

Lynsey grew up playing on boats on Lake of the Woods in Northwestern Ontario and later moved on to sailing ships. She spent 9 years sailing with the Picton Castle, including doing three global circumnavigations. Lynsey lived in St. John’s, NL while earning her Watchkeeping Mate’s licence and her 150-ton master’s, and has recently relocated to coastal BC with her husband and Newfoundland dog. She now calls Quadra Island home, and when not aboard Maple Leaf, you can find her in the garden or working on her pottery.

“I was initially drawn to Maple Leaf Adventures by a desire to explore the coast – culturally and geographically,” she says. “I was happy to discover a great community of sailors, wonderful well-loved ships, and an ethically-driven company that I’m very proud to work for.”

Education & Certifications

• 150 Ton Master’s (Transport Canada)
• Advanced Firefighting MED C Marine Emergency Duties A1, B1, B2
• STCW Radio Operators Certificate
• Maritime General Operator Certificate
• Marine Medical Ship Security Office Watchkeeping Mate Certificate
• Marine Advanced First Aid/CPR Level
• HCP/AED Advanced Wilderness First Aid

Matt Whelan

Captain

Matt first came to this coast on family holidays when he was ten years old, putting about in the wooden ketches his grandfather and great uncle had built by hand, and has been in love with the ocean-going lifestyle ever since.

Matt’s patrols on ships as a deckhand and quartermaster with the Canadian Coast Guard for the last few years have brought him tantalizingly close to so many of the special spots ashore he now gets to visit as crew on the Swell.

A marine mechanic, whale-watching guide, writer, and photographer, Matt feels blessed by the opportunities afforded as part of the team at Maple Leaf Adventures.

He still thinks of his grandpa and great-uncle often while out on the water.

Education & Certifications

• 150 Ton Master Ticket (Transport Canada)
• Small Vessel Machinery Operator (Transport Canada)
• S.T.C.W. Basic Safety
• S.T.C.W. Survival Craft
• Journeyman Marine Mechanic
• Marine Advanced First Aid
• Wilderness First Aid
• Restricted Radio Operator
• C.C.G. R.H.I.O.T. Certificate
• C.C.G. Bridge Watch Rating
• Swift Water Rescue Technician

Phoebe Gilday

Captain

Bio coming soon.

Robert Macklin-Lang

Captain

Bio coming soon.

Robert Oakes

Captain

Robert’s interests and experience cover so many aspects of Maple Leaf Adventures’ boutique expedition cruises, he may have been fated to captain the Swell. His early formal training at the University of Manitoba was in zoology and botany, which developed into studies of ethology (animal behaviour) and ethnobotany (how people use plants). He built upon this knowledge by studying herbalism, mycology, and wild food foraging. He also studied under a number of traditional medicine people, including ten years with the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) learning natural medicine and traditional ceremonies.

Professionally, Robert has worked in both the communications and maritime sectors. As a wildlife photographer, writer, commercial photographer and photojournalist, his photo credits include prominent Canadian and international publications and a regular column in Kanawa magazine. Robert has always loved boats.

Canoeing, kayaking, sailing, classic wood boats — in whatever floats, he likes spending time on the water. His maritime career includes time with the Canadian Coast Guard, BC Ferries (southern and northern runs), the whale watching industry, and marine search and rescue (as a training officer, first aid officer and deputy station leader). Robert was drawn to Maple Leaf Adventures because it allows him to continue to explore the natural world that fascinates him and share it with fellow travellers in a profound way.

Education & Certifications

• Master 150 gross tons Chief Mate 500 gross tons
• Small Vessel Machinery Operator STCW Bridgewatch rating
• STCW MED BST STCW MED
• Survival Craft Passenger Safety Management
• Incident Command 100 Marine Advanced
• First Aid Wilderness
• First Aid 20 hr Occupational
• First Aid Level 3 ROC- Maritime Commercial CBVA Bear Guiding Level 1
• Gwaii Haanas Guide Search and Rescue Navigation 1 & 2 NACC
• Instructor Development 1 &2 BA, University of Manitoba

Grace Gladstone

Captain

As a sea cadet growing up in Prince George, Grace was given the opportunity to develop a passion for sailing, including training aboard the Maple Leaf in 2008. Grace grew up outdoors with a love for camping and exploring parks in and around Prince George. Previous sailing experience has taken Grace to the UK with the cadet program as well as the Bahamas for bare-boat charters with friends.

The opportunity to explore the west coast of British Columbia, where she was born and raised, aboard a beautiful historic wooden vessel, with great people was a dream come true for her. In 2015 Grace joined the crew at Maple Leaf Adventures as a deckhand and in 2018 was promoted to mate and then captain in 2020. In her spare time, Grace plays the bass guitar. She divides her time with her husband between their home in Vancouver and with family on Haida Gwaii.

Education & Certifications

• 60-Ton Master (Transport Canada)
• Small Vessel Machinery Operator
• Small Vessel Operators’ Proficiency
• Marine Emergency Duties
• A2 Marine Advanced Fist Aid
• Restricted Radio Operator Card
• Maritime Pleasure Craft
• Operators Food Safe