Photos: You can sail through remote B.C. islands on a former Greenpeace ship – Vancouver Is Awesome

The breathtaking tours allow you to come up close and personal with orcas, bears, humpback whales, otters, seals, and more.

Have you ever sailed through the Gulf Islands or to the Great Bear Rainforest?

Manypeoplehave visited the awe-inspiring islands alongB.C.'s coast, but few of them have sailed through itspristine waters on a private tour.

Multiple cruise linessail up the coastline up to Alaska but most of them have upwards of 1,500 passengers on board; even some of the luxury lines carry close to 500 people.

For a decidedly more intimate experience, a Vancouver-based company is offering tailor-made charter expeditions for a maximum of nine passengers. The eco-friendly cruisestake passengers to places with protected waters that are home to an array of wildlife, including orcas, bears, humpback whales, otters, seals, and more.

The expeditions take place on "The Curve of Time" an ecotourism ship that served as an environmental awareness vessel for Greenpeace. Built in 1959 as a side-trawler, itwas laterconverted forecotourismand hasdecades of historical stories sailing the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Owner and guideSylvaintells Vancouver Is Awesome in a phone interview that the voyages take guests tosecluded gemsfar from the mainland where they'll find neighbouring sea creatures, land mammals, and mountainous forestry.

When asked what sets The Curve of Time Charters apart from other companies, Sylvainsays"we're nicer people" with a laugh, adding that the experience on and off the vessel is something folks won't find on other tours.

For one, guests willlearn about the history of the area as they sail across the smooth waters, as well asthe local wildlife.And with kayaks and paddleboards onboard, theycan look forward to peaceful morning and evening paddles during anchorages. Crab traps and fishing gear are also available to fish for fresh seafood, including lingcod, rockfish, halibut, and salmon.

"No question on every trip [guests] will enjoy fresh crab," notes Sylvain, who adds the captain hosts a sushi night during the trip.

Sylvaindives down and gently collects sea creatures from the ocean floor to bring up to show guests, which he says is always a big hit.

"I bring up a whole bunchof living creatures and put them in a small aquarium and then we do an identification and then we put them all back," he explains. "People love it; peopleget excited.

"When we're tied up to a dock and we do it, everybody on the dock shows up on our vessel."

During shore excursions, a naturalist accompanies guestsfor plant identification during walks through the rainforest."People will be able to collect their own [mushrooms] and learn to cook or dry them," explains Sylvain.

Chef Mike,theonboard chef, has a background in "adventure dining,"where he foraged for food andpreparedit in remote places in the Yukon. Guests would hike or fly into locations "in the middle of nowhere" and enjoy elaborate meals on the top of mountains or by the edge of rivers.

And weighing in at nearly 200 tons, the steel vessel is anexceptionally stable ship, affording maximum comfort to passengers.

"It's made for the biggest oceans in the world. So when we cruise it on these protected waters its just dead, dead flat calm," he describes, adding that ship is the most stable 12-passenger vessel in the tourism industry.

Captain Matthew is a "lifetime adventurer, always eager to explore and discover," Sylvainsays.Early in life, he travelled the Pacific as a diver in the Royal Canadian Navy.

The captainsays "the only two things I ever wanted were to be a navy diver and a radio DJ." After his term in the navy, he chased his second dream with a successful career in broadcasting.

But the "call of the sea" overcame the marine man, who plunged into the civilian maritime industry in 2005 when he acquiredall the credentials required by Transport Canada to hold the position of Master on TheCurveofTime.

Over the course of his adventures, Matthew has spent a great deal oftimeexploring and working in the Salish Sea, the Sunshine Coast and points sailing the west coast of Brutish Columbia.

"Matthew has an extreme passion for the science and art of navigation, and loves to share his knowledge with fellow adventurers! addsSylvain.

Josh, who doesmarketing and development for the company, also sails on some of the expeditions. He underscores that the people on the ship truly set the experience apart from ones like it. They engage with the guests throughout the journey, offering an intimateexperience.

"Because it's super flexible, everything's going to be adapted to the group that's onboard," Sylvainadds. "Most of the people that end up purchasing these trips or groups or families."

The Curve of Time Charters offers five- to nine-day sailings on itineraries including the Gulf Islands, Desolation Sound, the Broughtons, and the Great Bear Rainforest.

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Photos: You can sail through remote B.C. islands on a former Greenpeace ship - Vancouver Is Awesome