by Thelma Thwartbender (attorney at law and gourmand)

travelling with James Raffan on the National Treasure Tour

Hooo-weee did Jimmy put his foot in it this evening in Victoria! At each stop along the National Treasure Tour, he's made a point of scurrying around town to find examples of canoes in public art, sculptures, murals, signs, what have you. And in Victoria he was particularly pleased with himself that he found a new (to him) and quite arresting canoe sculpture in Bastion Square just outside the Maritime Museum of British Columbia. As usual, he popped a shot of this structure into the opening of his show and ... ever the curious one ... he asked what this bouquet of tulips holding a likeness of a Haida or Coast Salish dugout might be doing in the centre of town.  Well ... the voice of the people rang out.  Turns out no one in the audience really knew what the sculpture meant, what it symbolized, or why it might be flying through the air over Bastion Square.  It wasn't that what people said was derogatory but there was something of an air of ... shall we say ... irreverent perhaps even ribald appreciation for the long slender poles, the brilliant red finials, and the flying canoe so centrally displayed.

 But all this guffawing came home to roost at intermission when a chap walked up to Jimmy at the front with a very intense look on his face indicating that he'd like "get a couple of things straight" about the canoe sculpture.  Seems it is called "The Commerce Canoe" and it celebrates the starch trade on the West Coast.  It was the winner in a public competition for a piece of sculpture to mark and celebrate the rewewal of Bastion Square.  The green stalks could be wheat or wild rice and the canoe symbolizes the vessel that is gathering, collecting and/or transporting the grain.  Jimmy's a perceptive guy ... sometimes ... and it was only after this chap introduced himself as Illarian Gallant that a flicker of mild panic crossed his face. 

You could see Jimmy joining the dots.  The encyclopedic knowledge of the sculpture.  The stern look on the man's face.  The artistic sounding name. 

"You wouldn't happen to be the artist—the person who designed and made The Commerce Canoe, would you?"

Nervous smile.

"I am."

Long pause.

Mercifully, Mr. Gallant did not wring Jimmy's neck.  He actually managed a smile and eventually showed a magnanimous sense humour as he and Jimmy laughed and talked about how the sculpture had almost mysteriously drawn in the stranger from out of town who was looking for canoe connections in Victoria, to the point that without prior knowledge of it being there and a series of random turns on a wander through downtown Victoria en route from the bus station to the presentation venue Jimmy had ended up underneath The Commerce Canoe almost before he actually looked up and saw the art.

Jimmy's still mumbling about what the chances might be that an artist who created a piece of public sculpture might a) be from the town in which the art is displayed, and b) present at a presentation about The Canadian Canoe Museum.  Higher than you'd think, my friend.  Higher than you'd think.  Fortunately for him, my client did not need the services of his personal attorney.  Fortunately for me, his personal attorney, my client did not need any emergency legal aid just then because I'd spent most of the afternoon sampling brews at the Canoe pub next door and was in no real shape for a fight, legal or otherwise. 

Here are the labels of just three of a host of special canoe beers on offer at Canoe Brewpub, Restaurant and Marina on the Victoria harbourfront.  Excellent brews all.

The event hosted by owner Brian Henry at Ocean River Sports in Victoria was a huge success.  Great turnout.  Great enthusiasm for all things kayak and canoe.   And, thanks to the kindness of a group from the Ocean River Paddling Club and the Victoria Canoe and Kayak Club, Jimmy and I got out in an OC-6 outrigger canoe the following morning before flight time.  We toured the site of a proposed marina and restaurant and talked about how this will impact on public spaces on the Victoria waterfront and then we headed out to sea ... all good until somebody in the canoe mentioned that the boat we were headed for in the Straits of Juan de Fuca was an American nuclear submarine headed in or out of the naval pens in Puget Sound.  Gulp.