My name is Courtney Edwards
I make maps.
Meet the Map Maker
I am the captain of a fine little ship called Whisky Jack II. I live at sea with my husband Tristan (an animal enthusiast, marine biologist, and commercial diver). Most years, we travel up and down the BC coast doing marine science and mapping work.
Being on the water feels like home, so I’ve built a life that revolves around the sea.
I am obsessed with my craft. Not just because I love it, but because I think people have forgotten what printed maps are for. My goal is to make beautiful ocean maps for waterpeople, for people who work and play on the water. Maps that bring your sea stories to life and inspire you to plan your next adventure. I want you to be able to walk into a room and see the whole coast all at once: everywhere you’ve been, and everywhere you still want to go.
Where Craft Collides with Coastlines
My journey as a mapmaker began long before I studied Geography. University gave me technical skill and precision, but the heart of my craft comes from from a different place.
I grew up rural on the British Columbia coast, surrounded by makers: weavers, painters, photographers, and boat builders. “Making” is in my blood, whether it’s shaping wood, developing film, or bringing a coastline to life on paper.
My real education comes from the ocean. Years spent sailing, surfing, and living in wild, salty places has filled me with a thousand stories and endless inspiration. For me, cartography is more than science; it’s a way to honor adventure, capture the experience of waterpeople, and tell the stories of the sea.
Each map I create blends accuracy, grit, and artistry. Made for those who know the ocean isn’t a backdrop, but a way of life.
An Idea Born from Staring out to Sea
The seed for this work was planted during the winter of 2021. I was on a three‑month lighthouse shift, with plenty of time to think. I realized that, despite being a professional cartographer, I didn’t have a map that told my story: the tens of thousands of miles sailed, the hundreds of marine science sites, the countless shared adventures.
So I set out to make maps for people like me: maps that are for more than just navigation. Maps that hold stories, spark memories, and carry the spirit of the sea.
That small idea started a multi-year journey into large format printing and cartography as art (with a slight distraction in the middle when I spent a year sailing to California, Baja, Hawaii, and back to BC). In the process of building this map shop I discovered that making maps is the easy part, the rest (websites, printing, shipping, marketing) is still a work in progress.
You're a Part of This
Every map I make is tested: always by my salty‑af friends, sometimes with a random fishermen I meet along the way.
These maps are for those who feel the ocean’s pull, for anyone who has built part of their life around the water. When you hang one on your wall stories start sea stories become a daily part of your life. You trace coastlines, swap memories, and dream about where to go next.
Over time, the map becomes more than art. It’s a quiet reminder of what matters. Amid the daily noise, it's a piece of clarity that pulls you back to what you value: a life shaped by the sea.
Maybe you start talking about your next trip. Maybe you get out a little more often. Maybe you remember that you love salt water. That’s the kind of magic I hope each map brings into your life.
