Consummated professionals: jungle love in ecuador.
Photo BRyan SMith
Bryan Smith
Guiding rafts for over 10 years in Quebec and B.C. and filling in the financial holes with
first aid instruction, spa therapy, ski patrolling and whatever else happened to be in
season, Lise-Anne Beyries is accustomed to following a challenging line through life.
&
Lise-Anne
So when fate seemed destined to keep her and Bryan Smith—an equally versatile (and
equally enamoured) professional kayaker—apart, she persisted.
Beyries
Falling in Love: Like many paddling couples,
by pulling away from kayaking and recognizing
Beyries, 40, and Smith, 33, met in kayaks.
that it doesn’t define all of what we do and
Adventure FiLmmAkerS,
Although, technically, Beyries was no longer
who we are,” he says. While Smith is the
mASSAGe therApiSt
in her boat. “i was surfing Skookumchuk and
dominant force on their paddling adventures
SquAmiSh, B.C.
i took a swim; Bryan and his friends fished
together, Beyries wears the proverbial ski
me out of the water!” she remembers. After a
pants on winter trips, drawing on her decade
series of stumbling blocks seemingly scripted
of experience as a ski patroller in the Coast
from a romantic comedy—including a missed
mountains. At play or at work for their film
ferry and a few awkward assumptions—the pair
production company, Smith says their secret is
finally hooked up in Whistler. “We hiked to a
identifying where each other’s strengths lie and
granite overlook and we shared this tiny, quiet
figuring out how to integrate them. Beyries and
kiss—it was really sweet and gentle and it just
Smith are understandably proud of the success
felt like we fit together perfectly,” says Beyries.
of Reel Water Productions. “When you pour
They carried on a long distance, cross-
yourself into what you love, there’s a certain
border relationship until Smith decided
faith that it will work out, but at the same
to leave the sea kayaking school
time you can start to doubt yourself,” Smith
he co-founded on Orcas island,
philosophizes, inadvertently drawing a parallel
Washington, and move to B.C.
between work and love.
Romantic Ideal: Given that they met,
What’s Next: With lots of projects on the slate
married and recently celebrated their
for 2009/2010, including an instructional sea
second anniversary at Skooks—not to mention
kayaking film and a first-descent documentary,
honeymooned on a whitewater paddling
it’s shaping up to be a busy year in the editing
expedition in Ecuador—it’s no surprise that
studio. Beyries is shaping up in a different
Beyries and Smith find romance where rivers
way—she and Smith are expecting their first
flow. “Paddling together is confirmation for me
child in the summer. The free-spirited couple
that we are well suited to and love each other,”
isn’t troubled by claims that child rearing will
says Beyries.
cramp their style, “We’ll continue to travel,
work and paddle,” says Beyries, “it will be a
Secret to Success: Paddlers’ relationships
transformation but it won’t be an extinction of
are challenged by needing non-kayaking time,
our lifestyle.” —V.m.
warns Smith. “We keep our relationship healthy
2 Rapid early summer 2009
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