[Paddlewise] Good Bye My Friend

Derek Bamforth was a good friend of mine. He was just about to retire,
but died fairly suddenly last week of Prostrate cancer. He was the owner
of Pacific Canoe Base in Victoria. He sold me my Nordkapp over 20 years
ago. He ran one of the first west coast sea kayak symposiums here, at
the University of Victoria, even before the popular Task event. He was
editor of the Ocean Kayaking Association of BC for many years, ruffling
the feathers of many paddlers like Matt Broze and John Dowd.  Derek was
opinionated and biased toward narrow, heavy British boats, and never
compromised those "values." He sold many VCP kayaks over the years, and
a lot of canoes. He made many people very happy in their new-found sport
of paddling. He introduced Derek Hutchinson to the west coast, which
brought up the skill level of most paddlers in the area. He
reinvigorated production of the Thermofloat Sea Seat, trying to sell
thousands, but it never panned out. Derek wasn't a paddler himself. He
loved fishing and making his own beer, which he shared with his friends
whenever they dropped by. He loved his Irish Setters over the years and
his Jazz music.

I'll miss you Derek. I'm sorry I never ordered that Kevlar Nordkapp. And
despite your gruffness, you were a good man. Rest in peace.

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