Share What Inspired You to Make a Difference and, on World Oceans Day, You Could Win a $3800 BC Whales & Totems Cruise on the Schooner Maple Leaf

Deadline is June 5 for the Canada-wide “The Way I Sea It” contest by Living Oceans Society

The Maple Leaf, sailing in the company of killer whales, BC. Photo (c) Jose Larochelle / Maple Leaf Adventures

From a chance turn off a New Zealand highway, to a community choir performance, to an encounter with beach garbage …unexpected aha! moments have inspired travelers to make a difference.

Now, on World Oceans Day, if you’ve shared your story about such a pivotal moment, you could make a difference for yourself, too: by winning a spectacular multi-day Whales and Totems adventure cruise in the Broughton Archipelago, off northern Vancouver Island, and the opportunity to blog about it.

Just head to the Living Oceans Society’s website, find the “The Way I Sea It” contest, and write up to 300 words on what inspired you to make a difference in the world.

The examples above are real-life moments shared by participants in this Canada-wide contest, organized and sponsored by Living Oceans Society, and co-sponsored by Victoria-based adventure cruise company Maple Leaf Adventures. Entry deadline is June 5 and the winner will be announced June 8, 2011.

“All across Canada, many people are working to make a difference, big and small,” says Jennifer Lash, Executive Director of Living Oceans Society, a BC marine conservation organization. “We wanted to acknowledge and reward people with a chance to win an ocean adventure in our own backyard.” Living Oceans Society is based in Sointula, a tiny fishing village on Malcolm Island in the Broughton Archipelago.

The prize trip includes cruising and sailing the islands of the Broughton Archipelago, viewing killer whales, humpback whales, sea lions and other wildlife, visits to Alert Bay, and explorations of remote beaches and rainforest. A gourmet chef prepares all meals and snacks, the onboard naturalist makes the world come alive, and the classic schooner Maple Leaf provides warmth, comfort and excellent access to the natural world. Maple Leaf’s trips are rated a “Best Travel Experience” by Frommer’s Canada.

“As an ecotourism business, we make our living from strong communities and healthy ecosystems on the BC/Alaska coast,” said Maple Leaf Adventures president Kevin Smith. “We believe strongly in giving back and we love the idea of a website where people share their inspiring stories.”

For details and to enter the contest, go to www.livingoceans.org/thewayiseait/ and share your story in 300 words or less. Then, get friends and family to show their support by voting for your entry. Judges will choose a winner from the five contestants with the most votes. Stories will be judged based on creativity and originality, writing style, and relevance to the contest topic. Contest closes Sunday, June 5 and the winner will be announced on June 8, World Oceans Day.


Legal information: No purchase necessary. Residents of Canada excluding Quebec are eligible to enter. The prize is a trip for one person from Vancouver to Port McNeil with Maple Leaf Adventures worth approx. $3,875, and the opportunity to write two to five blog posts (possibly with photos and/or videos) for Living Oceans Society. To enter, contestants must clearly write a short story and be one of the five contestants to get the most votes. Judges will choose one contest winner from the five contestants with the most votes. The contest closes on June 5, 2011. The winner will be announced on June 8, 2011. See contest rules for details.

####
About Living Oceans Society
Living Oceans Society is a leader in the effort to protect Canada’s Pacific coast. Based in Sointula, a small fishing village on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Living Oceans Society is the largest organization in Canada focusing exclusively on marine conservation. Living Oceans Society is currently working to achieve
• A management plan that reflects the people who work and live on the coast
• A networks of marine protected areas to support abundant sea life
• Sustainable ecosystem based fisheries
• Healthy oceans free of the risk from oil spills, salmon aquaculture, and other industrial activities

About Maple Leaf Adventures
Maple Leaf Adventures has been offering boutique adventure cruises in B.C. and Alaska since 1986. Our trips are multi-day expeditions aboard the 92-foot schooner Maple Leaf in the coast’s spectacular fjords and archipelagos, most inaccessible except by water. Destinations include Haida Gwaii, the Great Bear Rainforest, southeast Alaska and Vancouver Island/Gulf Islands. Maple Leaf Adventures has been rated one of the top adventure travel companies on earth by National Geographic Adventure, and its trips listed as a “Best Travel Experience” by Frommer’s, and one of Canada’s top 5 guided trips by Explore. Maple Leaf Adventures is an ecotourism company and donates at least 1% of all trip sales to conservation. For more information, please call +1-250-386-7245 / 888-599-5323 or visit www.MapleLeafAdventures.com.

For information on our whale watching trips in the inside passage, see these pages: