"Never turn your back on the ocean. People who do often do not return to port." This was some wise counsel given to the author as a child being raised in the Canadian Gulf Islands by an unusual sea-faring Anglican minister and his kindly wife. With the solid influence of British culture and the lush setting of Mayne Island and its highly individual and entertaining inhabitants, the author has brought a collage of tales together to reveal the flavour of West Coast living, from discovery days to current times. As a sea-going realtor, the author met many a character who left a story to be told. A considerable collection of photographs, archival as well as the author's own, illustrate this intriguing memoir.