Horizon Unbound Sailing Ship and Dr. Phillip Ney

Dr. Phillip Ney is a Canadian Christian Psychiatrist. He taught psychiatry at University of British Columbia and in Hong Kong. Having been in the Navy in his youth,  he fell in love with sailing.  A father, and husband, he loves children and young people.  With the patience of a saint, he loves to teach them sailing and introduce them to the elements, the merits of a boat, and navigation by land and sea.  As a Christian, he follows in the steps of St. Peter and the first disciples of Jesus.  There are so many metaphors and so much to learn of the Holy Bible that is best learned at sea.  No surprise, mariners commonly say, “if you haven’t got religion, then you haven’t been to sea."
Horizon Unbound is Dr. Ney’s second ’teaching tool’.  Mount Joy College is his mountaintop retreat where he conducts courses in Hope Alive.  Dr. Ney believes fervently that the message of the Holy Bible is life.  Its a story of creation.  As a scientific researcher he has been a prophet in  the wilderness showing in study after study that abortion not only kills a child but it destroys the spirit, causing psychiatric and physical illness in the mother.  He teaches groups to help abortion survivals.    Having children is healthy and saves mothers the risks of cancers and early death.  Wheras Hope Alive focuses on therapy to prevent abortion and heal from abortion for all involved, Horizon Unbound has been principally a tool to help families.  The Bible is also a celebration of family.
On Horizon Unbound, Dr. Ney has domes cruises with parents and their teens with addiction problems, young people wanting to train as missionaries, families wanting to grow closer in their relationships with each other and with God.  This trip which I was blessed to participate in was a mixture of all of the above but mostly a training sail and a search for the best anchorages where children could play ashore safely.  Horizon Unbound has circumnavigated Vancouver Island with its Christian crew but this trip was an exploration of the Strait of Georgia with excursion up to the reaches of Desolation Sound.
Having sailed from Vancouver in my 40 foot sailboat, SV GIRI, I joined up with them in Genoa Bay, Cowichan.  Dr. Ney’s wife, Anna Marie had provisioned his boat.  I was certainly glad to be invited aboard for dinner and fellowship.   Ken, the resident psychologist was a masterful cook serving up New York chicken for a most appreciative crew.  The conversations that night were inspiring.
The next day we motored up to Nanaimo passing through the exciting race at Dodd’s Narrows.  That morning was glorious.  Departing at dawn we watched the sun rise and golden light spill across the placid seas.  In the channel porpoises played as the Horison Unbound passed through lifting fog.  I loved taking pictures  of this beautiful ship following in the wake of Salish canoes and the wooden sailing ships of English, Russian and Americans yore.
By the time we passed the Crofton Mills the sun was high up in the sky. A truly beautiful day so typical of all of July and August in the Strait of Georgia.
At Nanaimo Dr. Ney had to release his galley slave cook ,stopping at the wharf for him to jump off to return to the land lubber duties of an esteemed psychologist. I anchored while this was transpiring catching up later when the Horizon Unbound passed heading up the Newcastle Channel.
Leaving Vancouver Island we passed the five finger islands where Dr. Ney fished as a boy.  Facing into the wind, 20 knots with white caps spraying off the tops of waves , we each raised our sails in our perspective ships.  The Horizon Unbound is truly beautiful ship reminiscent of the famous Maritime clipper ships with all her glorious sails up. She has three masts and four sails.  I said to Dr. Ney she was definitely a ‘trinitarian’.  My cutter rigged sloop by contrast has a single mast.
It was a grand sail, close hauled, a perfect wind, all the way across the Strait of Georgia to the Merry Island Lighthouse.  Dr. Ney’s boat, some 60 tons compared to my 13.5 ton boat, sleeps 23 compared to my boat which sleeps only 6.  The waterline on his boat is that much longer and that is what defines the maximum speed of a sailboat.  So naturally despite my best efforts they pulled way ahead of me and were already anchored when I arrived at Thormanby Island.
In the bay we rafted boats and then took the dogs in their colourful life jackets ashore.  Not only the dogs but some of his crewleaped into the warm surf.  This is a terrific beach and we had it all to ourselves.  The dogs loved that.  Gilbert thinks the world of Star and Bosun, the big friends he’s visited at Mount Joy and was so glad to have as companions here.  Watching Bosun and Gilbert chasing sticks was an exercise in itself.
While the young frolicked, Dr. Ney spoke with us less frolicsome souls about the message of the Bible for difficult times.  The night before on the deck of the Horizon Bound a half dozen of us, carpenters, accountants, doctors and students had talked about God’s word for the world.  I often think listening to Dr. Ney is a bit like it must have been listening to Paul or perhaps Isaiah.
Of course the story of Jonah, the whale and Ninevah is not only a missionary evangelical story but it is a story of the sea like so many Biblical Stories. Where better to hear these stories than on board a ship or sitting on a log on the beach watching young people and dogs play as the sun sets in the west.
Whereas I just lift Gilbert into the boat, all 17 pounds of him, getting Star and Bosun into the dinghy is a matter of winches and harnesses.  The dogs knowing they’re going ashore tolerate this impunity.
More meals and prayer.  Then a night on deck looking into the skies at the stars.  Each of us tried to remember constellations and pointed them out.  Dr. Ney knew the names of individual stars and pointed out their relevance to navigation. Despite studying celestial navigation years ago I found I had forgotten so much being here with the master.  As he taught it, discussing angles and geometry, I understood how the ancients followed latitudes.  The Big Dipper and Polarus are such important stars to navigation.  Navigating life depends so much on the stars we choose. We talked of "true north" that night, how to find it, and how Polarus,the north star,  so bright in the night, was still off that  one degree from "true north".  That error could mean a 60 mile error in navigation.  The Bible is all about truth.
The next day we were up again at dawn.  Dr. Ney towed me along to the opening of the channel, just for the fun of it.  He’d told me that fishing boats sometimes rafted three abreast in these waters and let one captain drive them all while the other two captains slept as they journeyed to the fishing waters of the Charlottes and Alaska.  Here I was now, being towed in such a way.  Seeing is believing.
With that we departed. The Horizon Unbound was going north onto its next anchorage where a short hike leads to a lake where everyone could swim in fresh water.
I headed south to Vancouver back to work in the city.
Dr. Ney hopes to have another Horizon Unbound trip in the fall depending on interest.   I hope to join them again next summer again.  I joke, saying he’s only a Captain with one ship, but when I bring my sailboat along he  now has a 'fleet'. With that he can be an Admiral.
I think he's just happy when he can be in God's service.  Horizon Unbound, Hope Alive and Mount Joy College are all for God's service.
Thank you Jesus.
 

Mount Joy College, Hope Alive

Dr. Phillip Ney and Marie invited me to a dinner at Mount Joy College near Victoria.  Members and associates of the Hope Alive Counsellors would be present. I looked forward to an evening with Phillip. He’s so inspiring:  a brilliant academic, researcher, gifted psychiatrist, author of many books and countless articles, a world class sailor, world traveller, theologian and deep thinking Christian, father, husband and mentor. He founded the international scientifically based Hope Alive Counselling service to help women and families come to terms with the grief that followed abortion for so many.  He has devoted so much of his life to Pro Life, stopping the wanton killing of a whole generation.
Tonight he shared the Israeli doctors’ remark, “We are doing to our own people what Hitler wanted us to do. How can this be good."
I have long been appalled at all the Canadians who have died thanks to the madness of Morgentaller’s rage.
I had taken the ferry across driving my Mazda Miata M5 sportscar not anticipating the heavy snowfall that had me parking my Miata sport car half way of the mountain where Mount Joy College is.  I had to walk the rest of the way arriving just in time for dinner.  Gilbert, my cockapoo, was thoroughly delighted to meet Dr. Ney’s dogs, a shepherd and lab, Bosun and Star.  Together they ran circles around the place inside and out. Marie, Phillips wife and fellow physician, a genetics researcher  who left Paris for the west coast of Canada, is also a fabulous cook.  What a feast. Salmon and ham and salads and those scrumptious little potatoes I love so much, and more and more, with ice cream and apple something to top it off.
I’ve known Mel on line for years and we’ve communicated and shared patients but this was our first face to face. He’s as warm and knowledgeable in person.  I met Nikky, an electronics engineer and liked him right off.  Al, a construction contractor,  turned out to be the one who with Mel and Phillip had done so much of the work on the building we were in.  He, admitted he loved to work with his hands whether the tool was guitar or hammer,  and loved showing us the special features of this rustic complex with great hall, fabulous views and lots of furnished rooms for students and guests.
There was a  beautiful pianist from Toronto whose music was such a joy.  She and Al and Mel and Phillip so entertained us after the meal playing the songs that Phillip has composed for Hope Alive.  I love his simple messages and diverse uplifting music.  Together they played a blues pieces I especially loved.  Alex, a Catholic pro life advocate shared his love of his children and grand children. I enjoyed the men talking of the love of their children. Phillip and Maries, son now at university, was with us.  Another woman, the administrator, her name slips me, but her laughter I’ll never forget.  A couple shared the stories of their marriage and love and the love of their children.  We sat in comfortable couches about the wood burning stove or at the table where we had eaten and later shared tea.
We talked of the Bible, teachings. Phillip talked of the Hope Alive trainings in all the countries around the world where  counsellors, so many knew and loved,  were helping women and men deal with the devastations abortions had caused in their lives. So many post abortion had depressions which didn’t resolved till they came to terms with their terrible grief.   Phillip led us in prayer.  Eventually people had to leave.  The music concluded and the men stayed about talking before sleep called.  Then we went off to various rooms. Gilbert was disappointed his new friends Star and Bosun went off with Phillip to the family home.
I slept so well in the quiet of the country, awaking refreshed and content. I’d decided to stay on the West Coast a while longer despite my love hate with my boat and the increasing vulnerability in my work where the years of lacking resources and devolution of the health care system was increasingly telling on me.  Together we’d talked late into the night as each caring person expressed the same frustration with the feeling they are increasingly penalized and threatened  for being human. Legalism and militarization, perfectionism, and all the unrealistic demands. Drugs of stupidity,  abortion and now euthanasia were the ’new world order’.  It’s okay to be concerned.  Anyone awake would be.
I felt so much that I was not alone and wondered how I’d come to feel that the problem was mine and I alone had to solve it for myself.  That’s the beauty of Hope Alive.  Gathered together the most difficult decisions become simple in the presence of Phillip and other Christians.
It was a rushed morning gathering for church.  The trouble was the road down had filled with snow.  Alex’s truck got stuck up high while I got my Miata sportscar stuck half way down. My poor little miata like the city and highway royalty she is was very disturbed that I’d brought her to this wilderness with all this awful snow. We gave up trying to free it.  Together in one vehicles we headed out to church.  Marie had walked in the morning to her nearby mass.  We four men arrived late to the Bible Based Baptish church where the preacher was talking synchronistically about legalism and non conformity and the god of this world as compared to the need of a Christian  living up to the inner and outer ideals of Jesus.
I felt a bit like I was back in the church of my childhood, Trinity Baptist.  The curtains behind the minister concealed the full immersion pool.   I enjoyed standing and singing the closing hymn remembering singing like this with my mother, aunt, father and brother.  After we joined for fellowship over coffee and cookies.  I liked this part, meeting a biologist and talking more with Mel and Nikki.
Phillip drove us then then to Sooke to see the  great sailing ship, Horizon Unbound.  He takes families and youth out for trips around Vancouver Island. It sleeps 22.  I ‘d seen it once before when the mast wasn’t up and the insides weren’t finished. Then it was a real question mark to me if it really could become the sailing ship, Phillip envisioned. Well, here it was and good ship it is.  What a remarkable transformation.  it’s a veritable ocean going craft of skookum construction and design with back ups and safety features the very same as I made in my boat for my solo off shore sailing the Pacific.  Dr. Ney is an old Navy man and it sure tells in this durable ship.
Gilbert loved it too but he most loved a seal he met. He was startled and barked alarm but then got up the nerve to come closer. A fisherman had caught quite a few salmon and was throwing heads to the seal.
Back at Mount Joy College we began the feat of freeing all the vehicles.   First it we shovelled out Alex’s Ranger, then with Phillip in his jeep and a long rope pulling up hill, Phillips son on a come along to a tree keeping the truck from sliding sideways into the rock.  Amazingly we got it free. Marie had shovelling as well before deciding we all needed crackers and cheese for a snack.   Meanwhile Philip was under the vehicles tying ropes with bow hitches.
I provided weight in the back of the truck which I certainly had to contribute.  Then we  more easily cleared Phillips 4 by 4 which had become stuck trying to go around the Ranger.  After that it was my little Miata.  With a rope on the undercarriage I was able to drive the car backward while Phillip pulled downhill on a rope with his jeep. I turned the car around in a bare patch of road beneath a tree then drove the rest of the way down with Alex and Gilbert beside me.
At the bottom I did a happy dance.  Phillip had always had faith while I confess I was a doubting Thomas and amazed at the miracle of getting all the vehicles unstuck without any damage to undercarriage, paint jobs or bodies.
I thanked the Neys for their hospitality.   I really should have come in my truck but who would have guessed such an incredible snowfall.
It was a great weekend. We even celebrated Canada’s men’s hockey team winning the Winter Olympics against Sweeden. What an incredible time of good Christian fellowship, fine music, fine food, church, and ship and snow bound vehicle adventures.  It is never a dull moment around Mount Joy College and the Neys.