Good Morning Paddlers & Brigade Friends;
Your 2017 CVBS & VBS executive, and your 2016 & 2017 Brigade Leaders have been working hard these past few months. Wally Wright was passed "the paddle" last year on the Red Deer River Badlands Brigade and he has done a stellar job in prepareing the Broughton Archipelago Canoe Brigade for this summer. Due to the nature of the area this is a smallish brigade and it looks like there will be some 50+ participants. Wally has arranged a great program and I'm sure all the participants will be bringing back great memories, stories and pictures from this adventure. Maybe we can get Wally to run a repeat in a few years for those of us unable to join him this summer. We look forward to reports and photos from participants for the fall newsletter.
For next year, we have a whole series of brigades for 2017 - Canada's 150 Anniversary! Hundreds of keen paddlers will be able to wet their blades in the waters of both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and the fresh water in between. I was excited to post the schedule and locations at the top of this e-note.
To participate next year may we suggest:
1) Go to our web site and read the initial details of each brigade. These will be updated over the summer.
2) Round up a crew to paddle with next summer and decide just how many brigades you will join. Maybe your crew will need a little skills development, check out the Paddle Canada website to see if there is a Big Canoe Instructor in your area offering programs.
3) And of course, see if there is a local brigade that you can help out with. Brigade Leaders are listed, and nothing "warms their hearts" like a "How can I help?"
4) Check back on our website about mid-October, by then we will have the final plans for each brigade and their registration details posted.
5) Registration for the brigades should open on December 1, 2016! Do not miss this opening we expect many of the brigades to fill quickly. There will be a cap on the number of boats and paddlers for some brigades. You need not to have a full crew, we will help link small crews with paddlers who are unable to form or find a crew on their own.
Yukon River Quest 2016
We have a good many of our paddling colleagues heading north next week to paddle big canoes in the Yukon River Quest. This event is essentially a none stop paddle (two required rest stops) over some 715 km and 72 hours under the midnight sun! Maybe we can convince Ted, or Katie or Brian... or one of the many others participating to submit a report and few pictures for our fall newsletter. Ted and our attending VBS members will be promoting our 2017 events to this year's participants.
Alberta's Lieutenant Governor
We have just recently received notice that the Honourable Lois E. Mitchell, CM, AOE, LLD and her husband have accepted our invitation to become patrons of our Brigades next summer! We look forward to having our Lieutenant Governor out to our events here in Alberta next year.
Pass this On!
We encourage you to pass this note onto other paddlers, friends of paddlers, and folks interested in reliving a bit of Canada's history, enjoying the waterways of our nation and the camaraderie offered through our brigades.
We trust everyone has a full summer of paddling planned, and as my Irish friends would bless you;
"... May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,..."
Mark for the 2017 CVBS & VBS executives
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