Specification
- Name: PACIFIC SWIFT
- Class: B
- Nationality: Canada
- Year built: 1986
- Rig: Topsail Schooner 2
About
- Number of trainees: 30
- Number of permanent crew: 5
- Special diets catered for: Yes
Biography
The Sail and Life Training Society (SALTS) was founded in 1974 and is a registered charity in Canada and the USA (FORGN tax exempt status in the USA). The Society operates two Tall Ships, Pacific Grace and Pacific Swift, and offers sail training to young people aged 13-25 (as well as Day Sails for all ages). These ships are maintained at the SALTS Marina in Victoria BC.
Each year, 1,700 young people have the life-changing experience of learning to sail a Tall Ship with SALTS. Voyages take them to the Gulf Islands of BC each spring and fall, and in the summer the ships circumnavigate Vancouver Island. Young people from all socio-economic backgrounds participate, and a bursary programme helps cover costs for those who cannot afford to pay. SALTS partners with numerous other youth organisations to provide bursaries to youth who are at-risk, from low income households, or from challenging life situations.
Built by SALTS as a working exhibit at Expo 86 in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Pacific Swift has sailed more than 100,000 deep-sea miles on training voyages for young trainees. Her offshore travels have taken her to Australia and Europe, to remote communities on Easter and Pitcairn Islands, and to many other unusual and far-flung ports of call. When not offshore, she provides 5-10 day sail training programmes for young people (and day sails for the general public) along the coast of British Columbia.
