Neil Symons was a salty sailor and a good friend to many. On July 18, after a brutal 3-year battle with cancer, Neil had medical assistance in dying at the North Shore Hospice. He was outside in the garden with his daughters, Renée and Holly, and his granddaughters, Grace and Ellie. The sun was warm and the breeze gentle. There was rum (the good stuff) and laughter and song. Neil knew he’d had a good run and he had no regrets. He loved life and he knew he was loved.

Neil’s first boating adventure was crossing the Atlantic from post-war London, England to Canada in 1946 when he was 3 years old. At first the Symons family settled on a farm in southern Ontario in hope that the fresh air would improve the health of his mother, but she died when her son was only 4 and her daughter 16. Neil and his dad, then moved to Peterborough. At the time of his death, his dad had been working on the Avro Arrow aircraft. Neil found himself orphaned at the age of 13 and had to leave junior high school in order to support himself.

By age 16, Neil and his friends were able to pool their funds to buy a little runabout for waterskiing on Lake Simcoe. A year later, Neil joined the Royal Canadian Armed Forces, did basic training in Petawawa, and then was posted to the Jericho Beach detachment in Vancouver. He and a buddy drove a little MG to Vancouver where he soon met Esther when he rented a room from her mother. On his 21st birthday, Neil finally had access to his trust fund: he proposed to Esther and bought a brand new house for them in south Vancouver.

Working as a military policeman down on the docks did not suit Neil, so he studied at BCIT to get an electrical apprenticeship. He was working at BC Telephone in Vancouver when I was born. Shortly afterwards, Neil found himself transferred to northern BC quite by accident: when asked if he’d like to work in Houston, he assumed Texas rather than the small town of the same name in the North. Boating during these years was mainly canoeing the lakes and rivers of BC and Alberta, including an epic paddle around the Bowron Lakes.

In the early 1970s, Neil and his young family landed in Prince George where his daughters Holly and Julie were born. He became a journeyman electrician and eventually left BC Telephone in order to start his own electrical contracting business, Neil’s Electric. His boat at this time was just a 12-foot aluminum car topper, but he caught many fish from it the lakes around Prince George. By the 1980s, Neil had built a cabin on one of these lakes and got an old ski boat to entertain his daughters and their friends.

Neil had long been buying, building, and renovating houses. Neil and Esther also owned an apartment building that they moved their family into in the late 1980’s when Neil was working as the maintenance manager for a hotel in Prince George. Once their daughters were grown, Neil and Esther got a 24 foot trailerable sailboat named Breezin’ and joined the Prince George Power and Sail Squadron, where Neil became Commander and made enduring friendships.
Their next boat was Paraquina, a 34-foot sailboat that they sailed south from Vancouver in 1999, the same year their first granddaughter Grace was born. Aboard Paraquina, they enjoyed Mexico, El Salvador, and eventually went through the canal into Panama which ended up being their second home for decades. The other cruisers became dear friends that they cherished like family.

Neil and Esther upsized to Milagro, a 44-foot sailboat and their daughters and granddaughters spent some magical vacation time with them in Panama. Milagro was Neil’s dream boat and the years he spent on her were his favourite.

When Esther died in 2017, Neil knew that he wanted to get back to Milagro and his friends in Panama. He also knew that he wanted a boat for summers in BC, so he got Adagio, a 34-foot trawler. Even when Neil was diagnosed with cancer in 2021, his goal was to spend as much time on the water as possible. He continued to plan big adventures and made them happen against all odds.

For his 81st birthday in May 2024, Neil took Adagio from Richmond, BC to Washington State to celebrate with his cruising friends from across North America. Unfortunately, when he returned to the dock in Richmond, the tide was low, the cart was heavy, and he slipped going up the ramp, shattering his pelvis. After week in Richmond Hospital, he convalesced at the home of his daughter Holly. Even though his health was deteriorating, Neil was determined to get out of bed and get outside to see his friends who came from across BC to see him.

Neil worked hard and played hard and now he can rest.