How it all began

Our story with sailing began almost by chance, in January 2024, in Florida. Sitting in a park where several sailboats were anchored, we started talking with two Quebec couples who were sailing. Their way of traveling and the freedom that life on the water offered them made us want to try.

In May 2024, we took our first sail with the Ohana school in Longueuil. The trial quickly confirmed our interest.

On July 5, 2024, we purchased our first sailboat, a 1981 Tanzer 26 named Monkey Bean.

We plunged headlong into this new adventure, accompanied by Miela, to whom we obviously imposed our new passion. What she seems to enjoy most is simply being with us. Learning to sail, understanding the boat, tinkering, improving, planning and sailing quickly became a large part of our daily life.

After only three weeks of sailing, we set off on a ten-day trip to Ottawa. We rode out at the dock during Storm Betsy and, on the way back, we were struck by what we still believe to this day was a waterspout, while we were sailing with all sails set and there had been virtually no wind moments before.

Monkey Bean began to heel to one side, then the other, then the other again. I doused the mainsail as best I could, we furled the genoa as quickly as possible and sheltered under makeshift ponchos. Then everything calmed as quickly as it had come.

We resumed our course under engine, watching the storm behind us that seemed poised to catch up. On the way, we even towed a trimaran without an engine whose crew was exhausted after rowing for more than an hour. We didn't want to leave them alone on the water as the storm approached.

We also learned to drop anchor and sleep at anchor, an experience that would quickly become one of our favorite ways to spend the night.

Then, the desire to spend more time on the water led us to look for a boat that would better suit our plans. In October 2024, we chose Éolo, a 2006 Beneteau 343.

What fascinates me, looking back on all this, at our travel photos and even when thinking about the name choice for our most recent company, Qano, is realizing that, unconsciously, our whole life seemed to be guiding us toward the water and the nautical world.

As if Éolo weren't, after all, the beginning of the story, but simply the logical next step.