This&That From Coast to Canvas to You Artist Cory Trepanier is bringing the Great Lakes


Heritage Coast to Ontario art galleries this summer. Trepanier spent one month of each season painting along the Great Lakes Heritage Coast to create more than 35 oil paintings for his Coast to Canvas Exhibit. The Heritage Coast is a rugged and largely undevel- oped coastline stretching 2,900 kilometres where the big waters of lakes Superior and Huron merge with the Canadian Shield. The paintings are like a catalogue of Ontario’s premier paddling destinations from Georgian Bay to the international border south of Thunder Bay on Lake Superior. The exhibit is part of the Coast To Canvas Project


which began in autumn of 2001 when Trepanier, his wife Janet and daughters Sidney, 3, and Andie, 7, paddled parts of Huron and Superior. Following excursions in winter, spring and sum- mer meant tenting along remote stretches plus a mix of coastal accom- modations including hotels, rustic lodges and an abandoned wilder- ness cabin. Travel by helicopter, fishing vessel, kayak, canoe, snow- shoe and on foot meant experiencing the coast in seasonal disguises few have witnessed.


Flotsam&Jetsam


Transport Canada’s Office of Boating Safety has produced two little-known videos and a useful safety handbook for sea kayakers, available free of charge from your local Office of Boating Safety. Inquire at 1-800-230-3693….Join the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup to clean up your local river, lake or seashore between September 11 and 19 and you’ll get supplies, educational materials and support for FREE! Register before August 15 at www.vanaqua.org/cleanup….Paddle to a Cure has raised over $750,000 for breast cancer and is looking for women to help them reach the $1 million mark in 2004—the fifth and final year. Paddlers of all abilities are invited to participate in one of five expeditions in Ontario, B.C. and Nova Scotia: www.paddletoacure.com…. British police sergeant Sean Morley is attempting the first solo full circum- navigation of Great Britain and Ireland. He started the trip on April 3 and plans to take six months to paddle the 4,200 miles, averaging 23 miles a day. Updates at www.expedi- tionkayak.com…. Rob Walker and Karen Holm completed their 3,000-kilometre Chilean Passage Expedition, arriving in Ushuaia, Argentina, on April 17 after almost six months out. Watch www.mountainminded.com for upcoming reports….Canadian adventurers Les Stroud and Sue Jamison and their children, Raylan, 8, and Logan, 6, are setting out this summer to paddle around the entire coastline of Canada. They are producing a documentary film, Adventure Family— The Coast of Canada: www.wildernessfilms.ca...Adventure Kayak magazine is selecting amateur submissions to run alongside the best pro images in its upcoming photo annual. Send us your submissions before June 15 and you may win a prize!


14 Summer 2004 Superior Morning by Cory Trepanier The Coast to Canvas Exhibit will visit The Dufferin County


Museum June 4 to July 11, Fort William Historical Park in Thunder Bay July 16 to August 2, and the Art Gallery of Algoma in Sault Ste Marie August 26 to September 26. For info and glimpses of Trepanier’s work visit trepanieroriginals.com. —James Smedley


Current Designs leaves Vancouver Island


One of the major players in the booming popularity of kayaking, Current Designs, is pulling up stakes and decamping from its Vancouver Island birthplace. The West Coast icon is being relocated to Winona Minnesota by parent company Wenonah Canoe. Founded 20 years ago by Victoria kayak designer Brian Henry, Current Designs grew to be one of the world’s premier kayak manufacturers. The U.S.–based Wenonah bought into the company in 1999. Wenonah’s cash and extensive dealer network helped to take Current Designs to new levels of production and popularity. By August 31, kayak construction will come to an end at the Victoria, B.C., manufacturing facility. Equipment will be shipped east and installed in a


Brian Henry, founder of Current Designs. Brian Henry collection.


new 40,000 square foot building near Wenonah’s canoe plant. Kayak production in Winona will resume in October. Wenonah has offered to relocate employees


from Victoria who wish to stay with Current Designs. Minority owners Henry and Current Designs General Manager Mike Henderson will remain in Victoria and sell their shares back to Wenonah.


“I was saddened,” said Henry. “We have a longstanding culture of boatbuilding here.” He said a few of the current employees may go to Winona to help with the initial setup of the new plant but believes few will make the move permanent. Wenonah President, Richard Enochs, said the decision to relocate was based on reducing business costs. Centralizing production will reduce transportation, administrative, and production costs. Staff will be cut from 70 employees to about 50 as duplicate administrative positions are eliminated.


Enochs said the supply of boats to dealers and consumers will not be affected. Current Designs will continue to build every boat in its line and plans to add two new recreational models this August. —Gordin Warner


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