The International Sailors’ Society Canada (ISSC) is pleased to recognize Glenn Taylor as the recipient of the 2026 Peter G. Bernard Volunteer Award, celebrating nearly two decades of exceptional service and dedication to seafarers through the Mission to Seafarers Halifax.

For almost 20 years, Glenn has been a valued member of the Mission’s volunteer family. While he may not recall the exact day he first walked through the doors and offered his services, he remembers beginning on the Wednesday evening volunteer shift alongside longtime volunteer Bernie Leonard. Today, Glenn continues his commitment through the Thursday morning shift, providing a welcoming presence for visiting seafarers.

Following a distinguished 34-year career with the Halifax School Board, where he served as a school principal, Glenn retired and began a second career as a tour guide with Ambassatours. It was during his time working on Halifax’s waterfront that he first discovered the Mission to Seafarers and began what would become a remarkable volunteer journey.

Over the years, Glenn has embraced countless roles in support of the Mission, including one of his most memorable duties as Santa Claus during holiday celebrations. More recently, his passion for history, combined with decades of experience in education and public speaking, has enabled him to become a powerful ambassador for the Mission.

Drawing on extensive research conducted in museums and archives, Glenn has shared the story of the Halifax Mission to Seafarers with community organizations, churches, youth groups, and historical societies throughout Nova Scotia. His presentations to groups such as the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, the Atlantic School of Theology, the Titanic Society of Atlantic Canada, and the Masons of Fairview have raised awareness of seafarer welfare while also generating important financial support for the Mission’s programs.

Glenn’s efforts have directly contributed to significant donations supporting initiatives such as the Mission’s free accommodation program and its annual Christmas Shoebox Campaign. Through his engaging presentations, he has helped connect more Canadians with the vital work of supporting seafarers who are often far from home.

What makes Glenn’s contributions particularly special is his belief in lifelong learning and teamwork. He often credits fellow volunteers and staff members for enriching his knowledge and helping shape the stories he tells. Whether learning about maritime engineering, ship operations, or the logistics of assembling Christmas shoeboxes, Glenn transforms these experiences into meaningful messages that educate and inspire others.

In addition to his volunteer and public outreach work, Glenn plays an important role behind the scenes as an editor and contributor to the Mission’s newsletter. His strong communication skills, engaging writing style, and sense of humour have helped strengthen connections with supporters and stakeholders alike.

Glenn exemplifies the spirit of volunteerism through his generosity, enthusiasm, and unwavering commitment to seafarer welfare. His passion for welcoming seafarers to Halifax and sharing the Mission’s story has touched countless lives and strengthened the maritime community.

On behalf of ISSC and the Mission to Seafarers Halifax, we extend our sincere congratulations and gratitude to Glenn Taylor, a truly deserving recipient of the 2026 Peter G. Bernard Volunteer Award.

Bravo Zulu, Glenn, and thank you for your extraordinary service.

The 2026 Day of the Seafarer Peak Challenge brought one of our most competitive groups yet, with participants powering up the Grouse Grind at an impressive pace. This year’s turnout was both enthusiastic and fast, creating a lively, good‑natured rivalry on the trail. The collective energy was amazing and seasoned climbers and first‑timers alike pushed themselves, cheered each other on, and embraced the spirit of the day. It’s inspiring to see this annual tradition continue to grow, with more supporters taking on the challenge and celebrating the strength and resilience of our seafarers who carry global trade while carrying the risk.

Thank you to our PLATINUM sponsor – Teekay Shipping GOLD sponsors – DP World, Pacific Pilotage Authority and Seapeak and BRONZE sponsors – Chamber of Shipping and Group Ocean.  

2026 Fastest Teams

1. 1. Colliers Conquerors – 2:09:47
   2. Seaspan 1 – 2:12:42
   3. SSA Marine 2 – 2:22:17
   4. Seapeak 3 – 2:22:53

 

Individual REsults

Rank	Bib	Name	Time
1	894	Brandon Flumerfelt	0:36:49
2	884	Nelson Nilo	0:37:20
3	885	Jade Lenning	0:38:06
4	901	Luke McCloskey	0:38:18
5	910	Lewis Seitz	0:40:40
6	826	Reid Muddiman	0:40:50
7	853	Kate Ferguson	0:42:44
8	861	Mark Kamau	0:42:57
9	923	Maz Butkus	0:43:04
10	899	Alex Stewart	0:44:17
11	908	Nikolas Dragicevic	0:44:22
12	810	Scott Weston	0:44:26
13	872	Matt Taylor	0:44:39
14	909	Tom Parkes	0:44:45
15	913	Andreas Avgousti	0:47:44
16	864	Veraaj Kapoor	0:47:52
17	823	Rich Anelay	0:48:35
18	852	Ian Fraser	0:49:11
19	897	Jerome Mulrooney	0:49:44
20	900	Kyle Russell	0:50:06
21	866	Brook Walker	0:50:15
22	911	Adam Rawski	0:50:23
23	859	Mark Kremin	0:50:36
24	851	Shashank Nampalli	0:50:57
25	855	Christina Chow	0:52:08
26	893	Amy Ling	0:52:11
27	924	Nicola Rotrakarn	0:52:44
28	870	Dhaval Shah	0:52:47
29	809	Jill Sharland	0:53:01
30	895	Caleigh Boland	0:54:51
31	827	Olivia Buckley	0:54:53
32	811	David Lava	0:54:56
33	874	Michael Hoffman	0:55:02
34	808	Hamish Fairweather	0:55:47
35	876	Alex Tenev	0:55:49
36	875	Ivelin Tenev	0:55:51
37	839	Ciaran McAteer	0:56:38
38	880	Tristan Marchetto	0:56:57
39	888	Julia Aliabina	0:58:20
40	001	Dillon Maher	0:58:56
41	822	Marjan Aktary	0:59:14
42	903	Danny French	0:59:14
43	857	Scott Gayton	0:59:31
44	824	Stephanie Snider	0:59:37
45	881	Rajat Gautam	1:00:15
46	869	Liam Hastings	1:00:55
47	835	Boran Xue	1:02:27
48	828	Mio He	1:02:28
49	928	Simon Brown	1:02:45
50	916	Greg Uchida	1:03:01
51	914	Briti Shahi	1:03:19
52	858	Geoff Kennedy	1:03:49
53	834	Robert Hadden	1:04:07
54	921	Lucy Day	1:04:31
55	904	Charlo He	1:05:17
56	807	Karime Chamma	1:06:00
57	886	Trevor Johnson	1:06:50
58	829	Cecilia Egli Brisson	1:08:39
59	854	Melis Begimkulov	1:09:45
60	889	Kevin Batal	1:10:08
61	920	Lawrence Wong	1:10:43
62	882	Freddy Thomas	1:10:56
63	844	Gabriela Roque	1:11:28
64	856	Olivia Zhu	1:11:55
65	906	Danny Espinoza	1:12:31
66	836	Cassandra Carr	1:12:35
67	845	Nathan Kim	1:12:58
68	820	Charlotte Kobza	1:13:26
69	819	Allison Switzer	1:13:28
70	843	Juliana Cazarim	1:13:38
71	818	Kingsley Chong	1:14:28
72	840	Mike Vietorisz	1:14:38
73	860	Jatinder Dhaliwal	1:15:21
74	825	Donald Ukpong	1:16:08
75	902	Maxwell Squire	1:16:39
76	922	Matthew Banister	1:16:59
77	915	Emil Rajan	1:17:35
78	879	David Cook	1:17:37
79	871	Elena Grassi	1:18:44
80	907	Hamed Zaeima	1:20:10
81	850	Andrea Liu	1:20:12
82	838	Aren ‘Tin Knee’ Northey	1:21:17
83	898	Simon	1:21:22
84	837	Mawuli Gardemor	1:21:36
85	802	Jason Michell	1:21:45
86	877	Wing Tsang	1:22:30
87	801	Lee Hammond	1:23:30
88	887	Felipe Godoi	1:23:58
89	905	Daniel Colmont	1:24:06
90	846	Suah Park	1:25:39
91	821	Jamie Marshall	1:27:45
92	847	Ellen Lee	1:28:15
93	929	Skye Wang	1:31:46
94	814	Jenny Tran	1:33:27
95	842	Jasmine Jan	1:34:43
96	833	Tanvir Wander	1:36:05
97	878	Matthew Bode	1:38:04
98	815	Amanda Wong	1:40:50
99	816	Mohsen Adami	1:41:17
100	817	Shima Nejat	1:41:24
101	812	Tamanna Mali	1:42:06
102	883	Amanda Bell	1:42:12
103	813	Charmagne Munoz	1:43:39
104	806	Luis Hernandez Capacho	1:44:45
105	830	Stephanie Lane	1:47:39
106	831	Adam Schmitt	1:47:40
107	930	Tony Lew	1:48:38
108	873	Simon Houston	1:49:48
109	868	Francois Chapelle	1:51:53
110	918	Jeremy Freeman	1:52:06
111	800	Meraz Sekhon	1:52:41
112	849	Jenny Wong	1:57:00
113	832	Unknown	1:58:37
114	863	Grace McGrath	2:05:22
115	841	Johnny Ng	2:05:52
116	892	David Walton	2:06:10
117	917	Happy Ho	2:07:37
118	805	Kunal Chattrala	2:08:54
119	896	Sean Poole	2:12:35
120	803	Kuldeep Datta	2:15:13
121	804	Bhavin Anand	2:16:27
122	848	Nicholas Schmid	2:24:28
123	919	Krunal Sachdev	2:30:00
124	925	Nipaben Bhadja	2:30:00
125	926	Peter Nuksa	2:30:00

team results

Rank	Team Name	Combined Time	Member 1	Time 1	Member 2	Time 2	Member 3	Time 3
1	COLLIERS CONQUERORS	2:09:47	#908 Nikolas Dragicevic	0:44:22	#909 Tom Parkes	0:44:45	#910 Lewis Seitz	0:40:40
2	SEASPAN #1	2:12:42	#899 Alex Stewart	0:44:17	#900 Kyle Russell	0:50:06	#901 Luke McCloskey	0:38:18
3	SSA MARINE #2	2:22:17	#884 Nelson Nilo	0:37:20	#885 Jade Lenning	0:38:06	#886 Trevor Johnson	1:06:50
4	SEAPEAK 3	2:22:53	#851 Shashank Nampalli	0:50:57	#852 Ian Fraser	0:49:11	#853 Kate Ferguson	0:42:44
5	NO CRANE, NO GAIN (DPW)	2:23:53	#893 Amy Ling	0:52:11	#894 Brandon Flumerfelt	0:36:49	#895 Caleigh Boland	0:54:51
6	FREIGHT EXPECTATIONS (DPW)	2:32:25	#809 Jill Sharland	0:53:01	#810 Scott Weston	0:44:26	#811 David Lava	0:54:56
7	SEAPEAK 1	2:53:57	#857 Scott Gayton	0:59:31	#858 Geoff Kennedy	1:03:49	#859 Mark Kremin	0:50:36
8	CRUDE ASCENT (TRANSMOUNTAIN)	2:56:36	#824 Stephanie Snider	0:59:37	#825 Donald Ukpong	1:16:08	#826 Reid Muddiman	0:40:50
9	UPHILL CREW (TRANSMOUNTAIN)	3:06:00	#827 Olivia Buckley	0:54:53	#828 Mio He	1:02:28	#829 Cecilia Egli Brisson	1:08:39
10	BCCP OFFICE TEAM	3:12:27	#869 Liam Hastings	1:00:55	#870 Dhaval Shah	0:52:47	#871 Elena Grassi	1:18:44
11	SEAPEAK 2	3:13:49	#854 Melis Begimkulov	1:09:45	#855 Christina Chow	0:52:08	#856 Olivia Zhu	1:11:55
12	MOUNTAIN VIPERS (OLDENDORFF)	3:14:12	#875 Ivelin Tenev	0:55:51	#876 Alex Tenev	0:55:49	#877 Wing Tsang	1:22:30
13	COLLIERS PROJECT LEADERS	3:15:35	#821 Jamie Marshall	1:27:45	#822 Marjan Aktary	0:59:14	#823 Rich Anelay	0:48:35
14	SEASPAN #2	3:21:12	#902 Maxwell Squire	1:16:39	#903 Danny French	0:59:14	#904 Charlo He	1:05:17
15	BCCP PILOTS	3:29:30	#872 Matt Taylor	0:44:39	#873 Simon Houston	1:49:48	#874 Michael Hoffman	0:55:02
16	SSA MARINE #1	3:32:27	#887 Felipe Godoi	1:23:58	#888 Julia Aliabina	0:58:20	#889 Kevin Batal	1:10:08
17	PIER PRESSURE (PPA)	3:41:23	#818 Kingsley Chong	1:14:28	#819 Allison Switzer	1:13:28	#820 Charlotte Kobza	1:13:26
18	TM PIPELINE TO PEAKS	3:42:40	#833 Tanvir Wander	1:36:05	#834 Robert Hadden	1:04:07	#835 Boran Xue	1:02:27
19	PROJECTS IN MOTION (DPW)	3:46:32	#806 Luis Hernandez Capacho	1:44:45	#807 Karime Chamma	1:06:00	#808 Hamish Fairweather	0:55:47
20	MOUNTAIN GOATS (OLDENDORFF)	3:52:40	#878 Matthew Bode	1:38:04	#879 David Cook	1:17:37	#880 Tristan Marchetto	0:56:57
21	SSA MARINE #3	3:53:24	#881 Rajat Gautam	1:00:15	#882 Freddy Thomas	1:10:56	#883 Amanda Bell	1:42:12
22	SEAPEAK 8	3:55:28	#832 Cassandra Carr	1:12:35	#837 Mawuli Gardemor	1:21:36	#838 Aren ‘Tin Knee’ Northey	1:21:17
23	CRTL+ALT+DEFEAT (DPW)	3:56:49	#905 Daniel Colmont	1:24:06	#906 Danny Espinoza	1:12:31	#907 Hamed Zaeima	1:20:10
24	SEAPEAK 6	3:59:51	#842 Jasmine Jan	1:34:43	#843 Juliana Cazarim	1:13:38	#844 Gabriela Roque	1:11:28
25	SEAPEAK 5	4:06:54	#845 Nathan Kim	1:12:58	#846 Suah Park	1:25:39	#847 Ellen Lee	1:28:15
26	SEAPEAK 7	4:17:09	#839 Ciaran McAteer	0:56:38	#840 Mike Vietorisz	1:14:38	#841 Johnny Ng	2:05:52
27	OCEAN CLIMBERS	4:23:42	#896 Sean Poole	2:12:35	#897 Jerome Mulrooney	0:49:44	Simon	1:21:22
28	NANAIMO PORT AUTHORITY	4:37:57	#800 Meraz Sekhon	1:52:41	#801 Lee Hammond	1:23:30	#802 Jason Michell	1:21:45
29	SLOW & SUMMIT (DPW)	4:59:13	#812 Tamanna Mali	1:42:06	#813 Charmagne Munoz	1:43:39	#814 Jenny Tran	1:33:27
30	CAPITAL GAINS (DPW)	5:03:31	#815 Amanda Wong	1:40:50	#816 Mohsen Adami	1:41:17	#817 Shima Nejat	1:41:24
31	TRANSMOUNTAIN GOATS	5:33:57	#830 Stephanie Lane	1:47:39	#831 Adam Schmitt	1:47:40	#832 Cassandra Carr	1:58:37
32	WARRIORS (DPW)	6:40:34	#803 Kuldeep Datta	2:15:13	#804 Bhavin Anand	2:16:27	#805 Kunal Chattrala	2:08:54
33	SEAPEAK 4	6:41:40	#848 Nicholas Schmid	2:24:28	#849 Jenny Wong	1:57:00	#850 Andrea Liu	1:20:12

T‍he International Sailors’ Society Canada is pleased to announce that
registration is now open for the 8th Annual Day of the Seafarer Peak Challenge on the iconic Grouse Grind. Join us in the afternoon of Thursday, June 25th as we come together to recognize and celebrate seafarers. 

Register now to secure your spot as space is once again limited and is sure to sell out quickly!  Sponsorship opportunities are also available and details can be found on our registration page found on our website at: Day of the Seafarer Peak Challenge – International Sailors’ Society Canada. 

If you have any questions, please email thepeak@sailorssociety.ca.

We look forward to seeing you in June!

On Friday December 12th we were pleased to present certificates to the two winners of the ISSC, 2025 “Sue Hanby” maritime awards at a ceremony held at the BCIT Marine Campus in North Vancouver.

The winners were cadets William Lea-Smith and Sebastian Slack. William is enrolled in the Nautical Sciences Cadet program and Sebastian in the Marine Engineering program and our Bursary Committee Chair, Richard Smith, was on hand to make the presentations.

Having completed his first sea phase, William is now in his second year at BCIT and aspires to ultimately achieving the position of Ship Master and the title of “Master Mariner” after graduation sometime in 2027. Eventually, after retiring from international voyages, he hopes to settle down in a closer and calmer career as a coastal pilot. Ideally at home on the beautiful coast of Vancouver, British Columbia.

We wish William nothing but the best for his future and hope that this award will go some way to assist in making it a reality.

Sebastian has been working as an Engine Room Appren5ce since 2021 with BC Ferries. Having made the difficult decision to leave his watch and regular paying positon he has pursued a path allowing him to progress his career more quickly and in a structured classroom setting in the BCIT Marine engineering cadet program.

His goal is to graduate the program with a fourth-class motor ticket and then return in the fall of 2027 to complete his first-class ticket part A exemptions allowing him to return to work at sea as an exemplary fourth engineer set on the path towards becoming a Chief Engineer and, eventually, a superintendent or being part of new ship building projects.

We hope that our award will help make these aspirations a reality for Sebastian and we wish him the very best in his endeavours.

The ISSC is pleased to present the 2025 Peter G. Bernard, Q.C. Volunteer Award to Revered Judith Alltreefor her invaluable service to seafarers with her longstanding work with the Missions to Seaman around the country.  Rev. Alltree is a lifelong servant-leader, and Judith’s recognition celebrates years of quiet, compassionate service — visiting ships, supporting crews, and being there when it matters most.And most recently, Rev. Alltree was nominated and shortlisted at the 8th Annual Mission to Seafarers, 2025 Seafarers Award.  This is an annual international crew-welfare awards event held in Singapore.  Although she did not win an award the organizers were delighted that she traveled to the event as the nomination itself was considered by many to be something of an “award”. 

The ISSC Board of Directors established the Peter G. Bernard, K.C. Volunteer Recognition Award in 2015 to recognize Peter’s contribution to the Society as a member of the ISSC Board from 1977 to 2014 (37 years).  This annual award seeks to recognize others that generously contribute their time to support the welfare of seafarers.  “