Patrick Shannon has wanted new sails for the 16-foot sailboat he has been building in his spare time.

The retired teacher from Nanoose Bay will now get those sails, after scratching his way to a $675,000 top prize win with a ticket.

Shannon says the extra money means he can buy the sails as opposed to having to make them himself.

鈥淥riginally I was going to buy a sewing machine and teach myself to sew the sails together, but now I won鈥檛 have to,鈥� says Shannon.

Shannon admits he rarely buys Scratch & Win tickets, but was stopping for gas and decided to buy a Set for Life ticket on a whim. He later scratched the winning ticket at the family dinner table and soon discovered he was a big winner.

鈥淲e were all a little confused at first,鈥� said Shannon. 鈥淲e thought that it couldn鈥檛 be real鈥� we had to go to the local grocery store to have the retailer scan the ticket just to be sure.鈥�

Shannon says aside from sailing around the Gulf Islands, he鈥檚 excited to use the money to provide a better life for his family.

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鈥� NEWS Staff, submitted

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