It has been a busy fall, personally, professionally and with the 2017 Canadian Voyageur Brigade Society, and thus the delay in getting this e-note out. Our apologies! We have much to report!
2015 Badlands Brigade
This past July saw ten canoes on the water for , with 112 paddlers participating in this brigade on the Red Deer River from just north of Red Deer, Alberta, and pushing through to Dinosaur Provincial Park. Due to low water, pushing was required at times! As you can tell from the photos below a grand time was had by all.
The above pictures have been supplied by Trent Enzsol. The 2015 Badlands Voyageur Canoe Brigade Photobook is available to preview and purchase using the links below. The book contains about 180 images capturing participants paddling and enjoying the community of Brigade within the spectacular landscapes of the Canadian Badlands and Red Deer River Valley. The first link is for a standard sized landscape book (10x8 in, 25x20 cm) which is available in soft cover or hard cover (ImageWrap) and the second link is for a large landscape book (13x11 in 33x28 cm) available in hard cover (ImageWrap). When you click on the link you will be able to preview the photobook prior to purchasing.
Also people will receive a free eBook with a purchase of a photo book. When you have completed ordering a photo book, please send me an email and I will provide you a link to upload your copy of the eBook.
New Web Site
Ted Bentley and Brooke Martens have been working with Derek Gomez (of Gomez Designs) to redevelop the joint website of the Voyageur Brigade Society and the 2017 Canadian Voyageur Brigade Society. This e-mail preparation and delivery through "Mail Chimp" is just a part of the work that Derek has been doing for us. A first draft of the web site is up for viewing and comment on our developers server at: http://vbs.gomezdesign.com/ . If you would like to help with the evaluation of this site, or are willing to help draft content (past brigade reports, updating and editing brigade support files/waivers/registration/etc.) please drop Ted a note at: <ted.c.bentley@gmail.com> for either role. Having experience with Word Press would be advantageous.
Canada 150 Grant Proposal
In the early fall it became clear that Heritage Canada was accepting grant requests and proposals for events to celebrate Canada's 150 Anniversary. Don Galloway, Marian Stuffco and Ted Bentley worked long and hard to prepare a proposal. This proposal is now submitted and we have some expectation that we may, just maybe, will hear something positive by late winter. This proposal is somewhat generic in terms of brigade specifics, but grand in scope. The proposal would include as many as 15 week plus long brigades, a nearly $3 million ask, and a total budget (donations, services, in-kind, fees, etc.) of nearly $15 million. And yes... if accepted we will be looking for staff starting next spring to organize and manage these brigades on our behalf.
Our proposal opens with:
"The 2017 Canadian Voyageur Brigade Society (2017 CVBS) will implement a Pan-Canadian celebration, traveling by Voyageur canoe through scores of communities, imprinting Canadians with;
Canada’s historic narrative and,
Responsibility for future water preservation.
Communities along the water route will be invited to celebrate their unique regional heritage while commemorating Canada’s 150th birthday. The arrival of the canoes in each community will coincide with local Canada 150 celebrations, coordinated through local service groups, museums, arts organizations and others."
RVP Call for 2017 Brigades
Last spring we put out a Request for Proposals for brigades in 2017, and we received proposals for some seven brigades.
#1 - Starting in the west, we have from the Gibson Padde Club the following: A journey that will take five days, starting mid June 2017. The journey will be open to Voyageur and West Coast style canoes from across Canada. We may reserve places in our Sunshine Coast canoes for paddlers coming from off the Coast. In the event there is demand for more places we may arrange for canoe rentals from Ridge Wilderness Canoes and our club may be able to supply skippers for these craft who are familiar with coastal waters. Smaller canoes, single and double kayaks, and SUPs will not be permitted for safety reasons.
On the Sunshine Coast we strongly support and uphold a native canoe culture that has survived here for thousands of years. As we journey on the waters, passing through the traditional territories of the Sechelt and Squamish peoples, we will observe all appropriate protocols.
Day 1
Assembly and registration in Egmont.
Day 2 -22km
Paddle from Egmont to Pender Harbour via Earls Cove ferry terminal and the Agamemnon Channel.
Day 3 - 34km
Paddle from Pender Harbour to Sechelt via the Malaspina Strait, Welcome Passage and Georgia Strait.
Day 4 - 25km
Paddle from Sechelt to Gibsons via the Georgia Strait. We pass by the communities of Davis Bay,
Day 5- 35 or 32km
Paddle from Gibsons to Vancouver via Bowen Island or directly across the Strait.
We will plan a closing ceremony on the north shore of Burrard Inlet.
For further information please contact: Jerry Rolls <kegarne@yahoo.com>
#2 - In Alberta we have both Hinton and Edmonton based crews preparing a joint brigade for late June that will involve some four to six days of paddling the Athabasca River from Jasper to possibly as far down stream as Fort Assiniboine, and then three or more days on the North Saskatchewan River from upstream of Devon through to at least Fort Saskatchewan if not Victoria Settlement or beyond. Present plans are for Canada Day to be the Devon to Fort Saskatchewan reach with opportunities to join Canada Day celebrations in all three communities. For further information on these brigades please contact M. Lund <marklund@shaw.ca> (Edmonton, and B. Kreiner <bernie.kreiner@shaw.ca> (Hinton).
#s3, 4, 5 & 6 - arriving in Ottawa, possibly for Canada Day, we have four coordinated brigades of one week or longer proposed:
The North Wind Brigade coming down the Gatineau River along a traditional Anishinabe route. contact Celine Whiteduck <Chilli1717@hotmail.com>
The South Wind Brigade over the Rideau Canal. contact Peter Au <peter00au@gmail.com>
The East Wind Brigade coming up the Ottawa River from Montreal or possibly even further east on the St. Lawerence. contact J. Castonguay <jcastonguay@cegep-heritage.qc.ca>, and finally,
The West Wind Brigade comingdown the Ottawa River. contact D. Stoneman <prez@omckra.com>
#7 on the St John River in New Brunswick Atlantic Canada wants to welcome all paddlers to our leg of the 2017 celebration of Canada’s birthday. We are planning a week long paddle down one of Canada’s Heritage Rivers, the Saint John River in New Brunswick. Our hope is to have a brigade with 8 to 12 Voyageur canoes. We anticipate 5 full days of paddling, beginning from above Fredericton (probably Kings Landing) on Monday, July 17 and finishing with a half day paddle in Saint John harbour, Saturday July 22. The dates and route are tentative and may be a week later, but will be established to fit into the Brigade Series. The organizers are working with local communities along the river to incorporate events such as welcoming ceremonies at various stops and the inclusion of Aboriginal peoples, given the importance of this river to the Maliseet and Mi’kmaq First Nations. More information will be available as the planning progresses.
Contacts:
Brian Smith bksmith660@gmail.com
John Mills jkmills@eastlink.ca
Mike Murphy michaelmurphy@eastlink.ca
2016 Brigades: At the Badlands Brigade in July, Wally Wright accepted "the paddle" and reports the following:
"I’m fairly well along on the planning for a trip next summer in the Broughton Archipelago {this is along the NE coast of Vancouver Island}. We have a proposed route and some tentative dates but neither are set in stone because of some still-to-be-resolved issues. It will be a much different trip than the Red Deer River one last year for three reasons. First, it will be self contained with one or two supply stops so most boats will only have room for 4 plus gear. Second, we will need to limit the people and boats because some of the campsites are tiny and third, we have some big stretches of open water with strong currents to cross, so only strong teams with wilderness experience will be allowed to participate.
I am working with a local guide who has a very fast boat to resupply and to be on-call in case of an emergency and am planning one or two nights at his lodge. The trip will incorporate two main themes. First is to build an appreciation for the First Nations here, the second is to see and better understand this ecosystem. We are tentatively including a visit to an isolated FN community, a whale research station, a massive colony of sea lions, one or two archeological sites (if we can get FN approval), and an amazing museum in the middle of nowhere that is one man’s life work."
Looking out towards the Broughton Archipelago from Donegal Head, on the east end of Malcolm Island.
Well this pretty much winds up our Fall newsletter. We have executive, Annual General, and Brigade organizer meetings ahead and the plan is to have another e-note out by mid to late winter to report our progress. If there are any projects that you would like to help with please drop the appropriate noted folk above an e-mail, or send one directly to me, Mark <marklund@shaw.ca> And, this is our first run with Mail Chimp... I'm suspicious of how it might be formatting for various views/browsers...I would appreciate some feedback.
