Mailing Address:B.C. Marine Trails Network Association |
Treasurer's address is:B.C. Marine Trails Network Association
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Donations:Donations support our efforts. We can issue a charitable receipt upon request. |
Board and volunteer descriptions below.

Contact Us
Please leave a message who you would like to contact and we will forward this to the appropriate person in the BC MarineTrails.
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Our board
Paul Grey - President
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Paul has been a kayaker for twenty years and has paddled a number of locations around Vancouver Island, Thailand and Hawaii. He has his Paddle Canada I and II and level 1 kayak guide training and certification. He has worked for the BC Marine Trails as a volunteer for approximately eight years in a number of capacities. He is also the co-author of Easykayaker: A guide to laid-back paddling and Kayaking Vancouver Island. Paul is a fourth generation islander with his roots in the Nanaimo-Extension area. He also enjoys hiking, traveling (Paul is on the left with a guide for the Inca Trail) and reading. He has received awards in 1993 and 1996 from the Prime Minister of Canada for his work in education; Paul is a recipient of a Royal Bank of Canada fellowship to Queen's University. |
President, webmaster |
Kelly Patterson - Secretary
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“I grew up in an outdoorsy family who enjoyed camping and fishing on almost every weekend that the weather allowed. My first experience with kayaking was as a 10-year-old child on Vancouver Island where I had a 20-minute game of hide-and-seek with an otter! I always wanted to take up kayaking after that. My Husband and I did so in 2015 and have been hooked ever since. We have been members of BCMT for a few years now and use the online information to plan our kayaking adventures, whether they be day trips or multi-day trips. I was happy to find a volunteer opportunity that was suited to my ability. I am passionate about the goals of BCMT and the work they do to secure safe marine trails for all to enjoy, and I am proud to be able to contribute to that vision.” |
Secretary |
Robert Holley - Treasurer; Chair Trails Development Committee
Robert has been a resident of Vancouver since the early 80's and has been an avid fan of water sports since washing up on the coast. He is a Paddle Canada Level 1 kayaking instructor, a decent rower and stand-up paddler, a moderately capable windsurfer and not a very good sailor. Robert was so inspired by the creation of the Salish Sea Marine Trail that he paddled it with his wife Barb the year that it was officially opened. This opened his eyes to the many possibilities and challenges involved in connecting the coast for paddlers, and made the decision to join BC Marine Trails an easy one. He is a CPA (which makes it inevitable that he takes on the role of treasurer) and is also a fan of long, complex projects, maps and charts (and hence a good fit to chair the trail development committee). |
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Treasurer; Chair Trails Development Committee |
Francine John - Director-at-large
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Francine has enjoyed kayaking and camping while exploring the beautiful Vancouver Island coasts for the last 20 years. As a long time member of the Nanaimo Paddlers she has had the opportunity to learn from many local paddlers who have shared their knowledge and expertise of the area with her. She is pleased to join the BC Marine Trails and she looks forward to working, learning and contributing to the work and vision of the organization. |
Director |
Allan Edwin - Director
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Allan came to BC as a teen in the mid 80's and fell in love with the mountains and the sea. He has hiked, camped, canoed, and kayaked around much of the Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast, and Vancouver Island, often with kids in tow. He also recommends paddling in Venice and the Amazon, despite the arduous challenges of those destinations. Allan has a deep interest in bringing together everyone who loves this coast to protect it for future generations. Whether First Nations, paddlers, weekend sailors, or those who work every day along our shores, we all have a part to play in preserving our home waters. |
Director |
Nick Heath - Director; Data Manager
Nick lives in Coquitlam and is a founding director of the BCMTNA with broad experience gathering and field checking site data. He has a long history in the outdoors both on land and water, with 22 years service as volunteer in Ridge Meadows Search and Rescue, sailing, canoeing, mountaineering, cycling, hiking and kayaking. He was a certified Provincial Search Master and Rope Rescue Team Leader. He holds degrees from the University of Oxford and Simon Fraser University in philosophy, political science and economics. Retired from university administrative roles, he now prefers hand-on tasks, but inevitably gets caught up in never-ending paper and screen work instead. |
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Director; data manager |
Gene Gapsis - Director
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I have been a resident of Coombs for 35 years, and enjoy kayaking, sailing, hiking, camping, and organic gardening. I feel very blessed to live in such an extraordinary place, and feel passionately about protecting and preserving it, as more and more people come. The BC Marine Trails Network Association is a grassroots organization, run by volunteers like myself, who hope to preserve the natural integrity of our home for generations to come. I have enjoyed doing site assessments and beach cleanups with other members, and look forward to more time after retirement to devote to stewardship projects, and the development of marine trails. |
Director |
Steve Best - Director
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Steve moved to Vancouver in 1980, and shortly after bought his first sea kayak which he used to commute to work, four miles across Burrard inlet. Since 1995 he has been paddling the outer coast of BC in mostly solo two to three week trips. So far he has covered the outside of the Central Coast and Vancouver Island from Bella Bella to Tofino and Barkley Sound. More recently he has been exploring the west coast of Haida Gwaii, and became active in the BCMTNA as Haida Gwaii Region Manager and a member of the Trail Development Committee. Recently retired from his career as an architect and relocated to Squamish, Steve is looking forward to devoting more time to kayaking and to his new role as a director of the BCMTNA. |
Director |
Martin Ryer - Director; co-chair of the Communications Committee
Jerry Kaye - Director
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Jerry has been paddling and sailing the B.C. coast for 35 years, including a two-month sea kayak expedition from Bella Bella to Tofino with his wife Julee. After collecting B.Sc. and MBA degrees from UBC, Jerry worked as a corporate banker handling large corporate and government accounts for a major financial institution for 30 years. An avid paddler, Jerry has been contributing to the BC Marine Trails and its predecessor from their origins. Jerry has introduced his three sons to kayaking and hopes to help spread the BC Marine Trails message to a younger generation of paddlers. |
Director; Communications committee member |
Fred Pishalski - Vancouver Island Region Manager
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I have been a an ocean kayaker since the early 1990s and have paddled extensively all over Vancouver Island plus trips along the central coast and Haida Gwaii. I have been fortunate enough to have kayaked along the Baja in the Sea of Cotez plus short paddles in Hawaii, Cuba, Viet Nam, Costa Rica, Colombia and a few other places. I am an active member of the South Island Sea Kayak Association, live in Victoria and retired. |
Trails Development Committee Member; Vancouver Island Region Manager |
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Email directory:
Role | Contact |
First Nations Coordinator and Public Outreach Coordinator | Liam Ragan |
Technical issues with membership and the website |
Paul Grey |
Membership inquiries |
Paul Grey |
Secretary |
Kelly Patterson |
Treasurer |
Robert Holley |
Operational Assistant; Discovery Islands Project Manager |
John Kimantas |
Director, Stewardship Committee member | Gene Gapsis |
Chair, Trails Development Committee | Robert Holley |
Director, Stewardship Committee Chair, Vice-president |
Louise Thompson |
Director, Co-chair Communications Committee | Martin Ryer |
Director, Trails Development Committee Member, Data Manager | Nick Heath |
South Coast Mainland Region Manager |
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Director, Haida Gwaii Region Manager | Steve Best |
Vancouver Island Region Manager | Fred Pishalski |