Coastal bear watch with Captain Dora By Erin Linn McMullan
What great fun on the zodiac with Captain Dora. Loved her imparting her own and family stories and their deep enduring ties to place and her knowledge of the area and its flora and fauna. Slow start as the bears were hiding that morning! But Dora came up with the goods – wonderful sighting of a mother bear and her 2 cubs foraging and playing. And we also saw harbour seals, California sea lions, and a raft of otters – very special to see them lounge, groom, play, relax, holding hands to form this long raft! Thank you, Dora for going the extra mile to let us see this all and your expert and safe navigation of the zodiac. – Cat T
Captain Dora Sabbas is quickly emerging as a natural leader and mentor both at Ahous Adventures, where she is their first female Indigenous captain from ʕaaḥuusʔatḥ, and at Coastal Nations Coast Guard Auxiliary (CN-CGA), where she is the first Indigenous female to complete the Coxswain Leadership program with the Royal Canadian Marine Search & Rescue (RCMSAR), receiving national recognition for her volunteer efforts on Saturday May 2nd at a gathering of CN-CGA in Tofino.
Having her Coxswain certification allows her to take the lead, creating the Search and Rescue plan and route, and if her Senior Coxswain isn’t available, to serve as the next point of contact. “It’s more of a leader role in seeing the big picture of responding to calls,” explains Dora.
“I want to be able to continue that pathway and try to get more females involved with being on a rescue team,” says Dora. Encouraged by her instructors, her long-term goal is “to work with the official Canadian Coast Guard as a rescue specialist or continuing leading and mentoring for the Coastal Nations Coast Guard. That’s one of my priority goals is I get to teach the next generation with safety on the waters. Keeping our community and the seas safe.
“Let’s start now and get the ball rolling for all this training,” she enthuses.
Her focus on safety and empowerment beautifully dovetails with the ʕaaḥuusʔatḥ-owned eco-adventure company’s mandate of safety first and its overarching intent to raise the community up. A company whose goal is 100% Indigenous management within five years.
There is a smile in Dora’s voice as she recalls this last whirlwind year since she first obtained her SVOP (Small Vessel Operator Proficiency) through all her rigorous training at CN-CGA: from crew training with many Nations in Bamfield to Search and Rescue with the Canadian Coast Guard in Sooke and Marine Advanced First Aid (MAFA) in Victoria, to now training other captains at Ahous Adventures.
Game for anything from driving the Canadian Coast Guard Legacy, a 10-metre Search and Rescue vessel to Bamfield to practicing scenarios in open water, in closed areas, daytime, nighttime, fog and winds. “We went way offshore as well to practice wave mitigation in four- or five-meter swells in RHIBs (Rugged Hull Inflatable Boats). That was a lot of fun!”
Dora is especially grateful to her daughters, Paris, 17, and Rhianna, 18, for their support as she undertakes long days of training away from home.
From the beginning of her journey with Ahous Adventures, a company proudly Indigenous-owned and operated, she began asking herself, “How are we showing that?”
When she first started in the front office, she welcomed guests in her language to say thank you for choosing Ahous Adventures. She wrote her language on the blackboard and explained the meanng of the boats’ names. “So being able to speak, read, and write our language.”
Then she suggested using Ahousaht place names during location checks with captains over the radio. “We say Waasik; Where are you? I’m at Kwatswii (Warren Bay).”
One morning, when a family of nine arrived to book a bear watch, her supervisor, Whʔaala reminded her, “Dora, you’re a captain too. You can take them out.” “So not only did I make the reservation,” Dora recalls, but, “I’m going to go get the boat ready.”
“So, starting off with bears, I put all my attention into route planning, checking out the hazards of the area. I always go counterclockwise around Meares Island. And I like to take a look at other areas as opposed to where everyone goes down Fortune Channel all the time.
“I have such a success rate in going into other areas,” she estimates 80-85%, “and it basically becomes a nice little private show with my guests.
“And these animals that I find, which is absolutely beautiful to see them in their natural behavior at our safest distance from them. Turning off our engines. We’re minimizing the noise so that we actually get to hear them chewing and flipping rocks over.”
Ahous Adventures has created their own safe distance guidelines for the best experience for humans and bears alike.
Among Dora’s favourite encounters was a black bear on a hot summer’s day who alternated between flipping large boulders to retrieve and eat massive crabs and then just taking the sun in, sitting with its body half in the ocean.
Čims – Clayoquot Sound black bears – are a subspecies also known as Ursus americanus vancouveri. “Proportionately, (their) skull is larger, far often more dense due to the coastal climate and their food access,” Dora reads from a spreadsheet they created to help train new captains.
With her sharp eye for spotting bears, “I have a luxury of these beautiful shows of these bears just feeding and sitting in the ocean or berry picking and standing on their back legs. They’re huge when they stand up.”
Describing colleague Captain Richard Thomas as “one of the great teachers I’ve had working with Ahous Adventures,” he inspired her to discover new ways to surprise guests.
During a bear watch last week, a radio shoutout announcing kakaw̓in (Orcas) in Browning Passage, helped her do just that. “The majority of my guests were from all over the world. Everyone was just over the moon excited and we’re able to interpretate every animal we’ve seen. And we’re able to give the Indigenous name of the animals we’ve seen.” One guest was so completely in the moment, he didn’t use his long-lensed camera once.
What sets Ahous Adventures apart, emphasizes Dora, is that “we get to talk about the history and our connection with the animals and then the history of where we are: certain landmarks, locations.”
With her grandma’s permission, Dora shares family stories she learned over meals with her grandparents. As she explains, she comes from the Manhousaht household and her dad, from Hesquiaht in Hot Springs Cove.
Most guests choose this company because they’re interested in “the history of the area, living out on the lands and waters, and how we amalgamated into a Nation.
“Hearing their excitement and their connection to Ahous Adventures and how we’re all dedicated to being proudly Indigenous-owned and operated is magical for sure.”
When Ahous Adventures recently won “Employer of the Year” at the 2025 Business Excellence Awards Gala, Dora accompanied GM Brent Baker up onstage to accept the award from the Tofino Chamber of Commerce. “It was a beautiful event,” she recalls, remembering being surrounded by friends from local tourism in Tofino.
This past Thursday, April 30, Dora had the opportunity to put her Coxswain and MAFA certifications to use during the 2026 SAR Pod exercise hosted in Tofino. She participated in Search & Rescue simulations from a boat afire to rescuing real live people, and a mannequin, in the water and on the beach. Involved in this exercise were the Tofino Coast Guard, the Coast Guard auxiliary of Ahousaht and all five regions across Canada, the RCMP, and BC Emergency Health Services, as well as two ʕaaḥuusʔatḥ youth who wanted to oversee what CN-CGA does. “Every single part of it aligns with what I want to do,” reflects Dora, who also had a chance to work with navigation and communication, and use all her gear.
On Saturday, May 2nd at the CN-CGA hosted event in Tofino Browns Socialhouse at Tin Wis Resort, president Alec Dick called Dora up to recognize her nationally. She was wrapped in a ceremonial blanket for protection – purple, her favourite colour – and presented with a t-shirt honouring her as the first Indigenous female to complete the Coxswain program.
She recalls how deeply touched she was when the president acknowledged how quickly she had arrived at this moment in the auxiliary. “I basically sprinted everywhere to get into the crew, CN-SAR, and especially my Coxswain. As Alec was saying, it’s a very special gift for someone to thrive and continue to improve on what they want, and for their personal goals. And just such a special gift for, especially a female Indigenous to be in this line of work.”
Dora was surprised by a further honour, when her CEO Dawn Wilson asked if she would be a mentor at the “Women in SAR” event in Sooke this August.
Her answer: “Absolutely, yes please!”