Written By Jamie Dawson
A 1986 Pisces outside Ocean River at Oak Bay Marina.
Every once in a while, a kayak comes through our doors that is more than just an old boat.
Recently, we took a 1986 Pisces in on trade toward a new Current Designs Solstice GTS.
Normally, a nearly 40 year old kayak coming in on trade might not be much of a story.
This one is.
This Pisces was designed by Ocean River founder Brian Henry and manufactured on Vancouver Island by Blackline Marine. It comes from a time when Ocean River Sports was not simply selling sea kayaks. We were helping design them, build them and shape the early days of the North American sea kayaking industry.
Now, nearly four decades later, this important piece of Ocean River history has found its way home.
The 1986 Pisces alongside newer generations of Current Designs kayaks.
Where the Story Began
Ocean River Sports opened in Victoria in November of 1981, when Brian Henry started a tiny 250 square foot paddling shop in Market Square.
Sea kayaking was a very different sport back then. There were not racks of touring kayaks to choose from, and spotting one on the roof of a car was still pretty unusual.
Brian loved paddling and exploring the coast of British Columbia. He also believed there was a need for kayaks designed specifically for the waters we paddle here.
One of his earliest designs was the Pisces, a large, hatchless sea kayak created for exploring the BC coast.
The first boats were built with help from Mike Neckar with Necky Kayaks. Before long, Brian’s designs were being produced here on Vancouver Island, and by the early 1980s the beginnings of Current Designs Kayaks were taking shape.
Ocean River Sports and Blackline Marine
The original label identifies the Pisces as a Brian Henry design for Ocean River Sports in Victoria, BC.
Campbell Black and Blackline Marine became an important part of that story.
Campbell founded Blackline Marine in 1980 and brought extensive knowledge of plastics, fibreglass, composites and marine manufacturing. Brian brought the paddling experience, the ideas and the kayak designs.
Together, their skills helped move Current Designs from a handful of locally designed boats into a serious production kayak company.
The partnership is still documented inside this particular Pisces.
PISCES: Designer: Brian Henry, Ocean River Sports. Victoria, B.C., Canada. Made in Canada.
MANUFACTURED BY: Blackline Marine, Reinforced Plastics. Sidney, British Columbia.
The Blackline Marine label remains visible inside the hull, documenting where the kayak was manufactured.
It is one thing to read this history in an old catalogue or article. It is something completely different to see the Ocean River Sports and Blackline Marine names preserved inside a boat that has survived for almost 40 years.
Campbell’s knowledge of composite construction helped improve production methods, consistency and quality. Combined with Brian’s designs and understanding of sea kayaking, that expertise helped establish Current Designs as an important name in the growing paddlesports industry.
The boats were being designed and built right here on Vancouver Island.
From the Pisces to the Solstice
The Pisces was one of the designs that helped start the story, but it would not be the last.
In 1984, Current Designs introduced the Solstice. The Solstice family would become one of the company’s most recognizable lines and help carry the Current Designs name far beyond Vancouver Island.
That is what makes this particular trade so fitting.
The owner of this 1986 Pisces traded it toward a brand new garage found 2023 Current Designs Solstice GTS Kevlar.
A locally built Pisces from the early days of Ocean River and Current Designs has come home, while its former owner continues paddling in a modern kayak carrying the same Current Designs name.
The original Pisces and Ocean River Sports branding remains visible on the well travelled hull.
Almost 40 years of sea kayak development are represented by these two boats.
One was designed by Brian Henry and manufactured by Campbell Black’s Blackline Marine in Sidney.
The other is a modern Kevlar Solstice GTS, descended from the company and designs that grew out of those early years.
There is something pretty special about that.
The History Is Still Here
Current Designs would eventually grow beyond Victoria. The company was sold to Wenonah Canoe in Minnesota in 1999, and production later left Vancouver Island.
But the history did not leave with it.
It is in boats like this Pisces.
It is in Blackline Marine, which continues operating in Sidney.
It is in Current Designs kayaks still being paddled throughout Canada and around the world.
And it is here at Ocean River, where we are still putting people in good boats, teaching them how to paddle and helping them explore the same BC coastline that inspired Brian Henry more than four decades ago.
A closer look at the kayak, its original markings and its return to Ocean River.
From a 1986 Pisces to a 2023 Solstice GTS Kevlar.
Forty years apart. The same lineage. The same coast.
And somehow, this old Pisces found its way home.
Getting you out there since 1981.