For sail:Woman wins 16-foot sailboat after treasure hunt at P.E.I. campground

A woman living on P.E.I. is the new owner of a sailboat after completing a treasure hunt at Ben's Lake Campground.

"It was quite a shock to be honest with you," said Valerie Vuillemot, who went to the campground Thursday to pick up the boat.

She said she didn't think she would win the boat when she came to the campground to do a scavenger hunt with her family.

Josh Lindsay, ownerof Ben's Lake Campground in Belfast, P.E.I., was inspired by the story of someone who traded up from a paperclip to a house, and decided earlier this year to trade a gold coloured fish hook to see what he could get.He ended up with a 16-foot sailboat.

To draw some business into his campground, he decided to host a scavenger hunt where people would search the property for clues until they found a fish hook, he said.Those that found the hook were entered in a draw to win the boat.

"Everyone that went in and was a participant got to put their name in even kids," Lindsay said about the 100 to 150 namesin the draw.

"I pulled out a name Alice," but Lindsay said it also hadVuillemot's name attached.

"Which turned out to be a girl I went to Holland College with," Lindsay said.

He called Vuillemot and asked if she knew Alice. Vuillemot told him she did Alice is her eight-year-old daughter.

'You are not trading my boat'

Vuillemot brought her truck out to claimthe boat, but she said Aliceis feeling like it is rightfully hers because her name was drawn.

"I suggested maybe we would be able to continue the trade idea, but she said, 'No you are not trading my boat."

Vuillemot said she decided to do the scavenger hunt on her birthday with her family, Alice and her two brothers, along some friends. She said the hunt took them all over the property with clues.

"The hardest one was actually, there was a clue hidden in the geese and it took us a while to find the right goose and then the goose was kind of pointing us in a certain direction," she said.

Now Vuillemot has the boat she has a problem.

"None of us know how to sail, so it'll be interesting," she said. "My sister knows how to sail so hopefully, maybe, she'll be able to come over at some point and help us out."

I brought my pack of fishhooks for whatever his next big idea is going to be. Valerie Vuillemot

The sailboat needs "a few things replaced," Vuillemot said and she will deal with maintenance before testing if the boat is seaworthy.

"We're close to a lot of water so we may as wellget it out there if we can," she said. "We have a big yard so we have a place to store it."

Vuillemot knew Lindsay had traded up from a fishhook to get the boat, so she brought something to trade with him when she collected her prize.

"I brought my pack of fish hooks for whatever his next big idea is going to be," she said. "Maybe he will use my fishhooks to take it to the next level."

Lindsay said Vuillemot didn't have to bring a trade for the boat but now he is starting to think his trading adventures might not be over.

"Maybe, my trading journey isn't complete," he said.

On the Ben's Lake Campground Facebook page, Lindsay posted one of the fish hooks Vuillemot gave him Thursday afternoon asking if anyone has anything interesting to offer.

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