Squamish locals Will Morris and Matt Lees love to share their passion for sailing with others.
Their excitement and dedication to the sport are evident in their recent success as Raven Racing in their keelboat at the Squamish Yacht Club's Squamish Open Annual Regatta; they won in the Melges 24 Class.
"This is not only challenging because of the local conditions, but also because of the fierce competition from many very skilled teams with fast boats," Morris told The Squamish Chief.
Morris, a Valleycliffe resident, co-founder, owner and head sailing instructor at Inflow Adventure Company, and Lees, a local realtor, have been pushing hard this year competing in the Melges 24 class across North America.
Morris described Lees as a "phenomenal" sailor who was professional before coming to Canada.
"And now he's also passing on that passion of sailing with other people. We had the younger sailors, university-level sailors, on the boat with us, which was really, really cool,” said Morris.
“Matt is really passionate about sharing his knowledge with the younger community as well."
Next, the two will travel to San Francisco to compete in separate teams at the Diversified 2024 Melges 24 World Championship from Aug. 17 to 24.
"We've been training really hard," Morris said.
As the name suggests, the competition draws sailors from around the globe.
"And really, really high-performance teams. There have been professional teams in there as well,” said Morris. He and Lees will compete in the amateur Canadian division.
"We're just going to go down there and do our best," he said.
Making sailing accessible
Morris said he knows the perception of sailing is that it is reserved for well-heeled folks, but he believes it doesn't have to be that way.
He and Lees hope to draw more people from all sorts of backgrounds to the sport.
Morris got into sailing as a kid in Australia.
"My mom's side of the family sailed. And we sailed out of a really grassroots club ... We weren't a high socio-economic family at all. We were just sailing on small boats, having a lot of fun," he said.
"What I'm really trying to do with my Inflow Adventure Company now is make sailing as accessible as possible for people who are trying to get involved and learn how to sail."
Morris also touted the Squamish Yacht Club's "really accessible" junior programs for youth.
