This is a report from the Ottawa Citizen (Canada) describing an unfortunate occurance this weekend in Ottawa. John Monday 8 February 1999 Outdoor filmmaker drowns kayaking Frantic efforts fail to free award-winning artist trapped under ice Jake Rupert The Ottawa Citizen An award-winning outdoor adventure filmmaker from the Ottawa Valley died yesterday doing what she loved to do. Lynn Clark, 35, of Foresters Falls, about 100 kilometres west of Ottawa, was in a kayak on an open stretch of rapids on the Ottawa River in Westmeath Township near Beachburg at 3 p.m. She was getting ready to film two other kayakers when her vessel overturned. Ms. Clark floated out of her kayak and the swift current took her down the rapids, then under the ice at the bottom of the run. The two other kayakers got help, and, for 40 minutes, several people with ice picks, an axe and a chainsaw frantically searched for her under the ice. When she was found, she was rushed by ambulance to Pembroke General Hospital, but could not be revived. Ms. Clark began making films in the mid-1980s and quickly made a name for herself. She is best known for her films of people rock-climbing, bungee-jumping and, particularly, kayaking, all of which were made in her home studio, Greenhouse Productions. In 1995, her documentary Drowning Horses: An Alternative Rodeo, beat more than 80 films to win the People's Choice Award at the 1995 Waterwalker Film Festival, held in the Ottawa area. In 1994, I Really Wanna Know, a 31Ú2-minute movie about whitewater rafting shot on the Ottawa River near her home, won a special jury prize at the Banff International Festival of Mountain Films. It took one of only seven prizes awarded at the festival, which featured more than 300 films. Ms. Clark's main 1996 project, Kayaks and Coconuts, a breathtaking account of kayaking adventures from Ottawa to South America and back, was one of 25 works chosen from 180 entries in the Banff International Festival of Mountain Films for The Best of Banff collection that year. Her winning film toured internationally, with 700 screenings worldwide. News of her death swept through the area's diving community yesterday. "She started out on the Ottawa River, and her filmmaking took her all around the world," said Peter Nor, 28, of Ottawa. "But she always came back home. She was really a pivotal member of our community. She'll be missed by a lot of people." "She was a true artist," said Mark Scriver, 37, also of Ottawa. "She had an eye and a talent that made her films reach everybody." Both said it is not unusual for kayakers to paddle rapids in the winter. Ms. Clark had done so many times before. While adventure films were Ms. Clark's passion, they weren't her bread and butter. She worked primarily on promotion and instruction videos for outdoor training facilities and local companies such as Arnprior's Boeing operation. Her work has also been featured on the Women's Television Network. An autopsy will be performed today. Police are treating her death as accidental. No one else was injured. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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