Kayak leader behind Ocean River Sports closing up shop
After nearly 40 years, Brian Henry is closing the retail division of Ocean River Sports, a business he founded at a time when kayaking was not nearly as popular as it is today.
Henry, 68, has been a leader in promoting kayaking in the region, and in designing and manufacturing kayaks locally. Now, he says, he wants to “enjoy some slightly slower things, such as retirement, going biking with my wife and friends, paddling more with family and friends and exploring more of this amazing place we live.”
Ocean River Adventures will continue to offer rentals and tours, he said Wednesday. When pandemic-related restrictions are relaxed, courses will again be offered on Victoria’s waterfront.
The adventure side of the business is based out of Victoria — with more than 200 feet of docks and 85 feet of covered storage in front of the 400 block of Swift Street — as well as Oak Bay and Saturna Island.
Thousands of kayakers have gone out on the water and taken courses through Ocean River.
“It has been a great ride, with so many amazing people along on the journey through the years,” said Henry, who emphasized that he is not closing because of COVID-19. He said the decision was already made to leave the retail side of the business.
His leased 1630 Store St. store has been closed for eight weeks because of the virus, but opens again on Friday at 11 a.m. Much of the merchandise has been sold online.
The store will shut sometime between June 1 and June 15, depending on sales, Henry said.
Although Ocean River’s retail outlet is closing, manager Jamie Dawson is aiming to open Paddlers Pro Shop in Ocean River’s current site in late June. It will be a smaller specialty paddling shop, selling kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddleboards.
Jeff Bray, executive director of the Downtown Victoria Business Association, said Henry has been a mainstay for downtown retail. “But also really a bit of a trailblazer, ahead of the curve, in terms of recognizing the great amenity we have in the downtown with the Gorge Waterway and the harbour, and promoting healthy recreation.”
Born and raised in Victoria, Henry was trained as a sheet-metal mechanic and used to make his own sea kayaks, heading out with friends around Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii and paddling on major rivers in B.C.
With no business experience, Henry decided to open a 250-square-foot store in Market Square selling a brand of white-water kayaks. The space was just slightly more than two metres wide. “I think I did $82,000 in my first year.”
When he wanted to kayak, a sign would go up that said: “Out product-testing.”
Kayaking was such a young sport at that time, “if I saw a kayak on a car, I’d know who it was,” Henry said.
He soon started working with Campbell Black, who manufactured the kayaks for their new company, Current Designs. They took on two more partners and sold the company in 1999.
When Current Designs started out, Henry would take a truck and trailer filled with about 60 boats and drive as far as Maine. Eventually, their boats, built in a 30,000-square-foot space by about 80 staff, were sold throughout North America and in Japan.
Ocean River Sports has moved three times since it opened. Challenges these days include increased competition, online sales and customers who say it is difficult to find parking downtown, Henry said.
Looking back, he said, the business has always been about people.
“Staff and customers were always very important to me, and I’m proud to have had so many good people pass through Ocean River and feel everyone left a bit better off after working at Ocean River.
“Lots of people were just passing through and others used the experience to stay in the industry.”
He met his wife, Rosemary Baird, when she came in as a customer. They have been married for more than 30 years and raised two sons, Graham and Russell, who also love paddling.
Paddling has taken him to “some of the best places in the world,” Henry said, including Haida Gwaii, the Yukon, Alaska, Greenland, the Scottish Hebrides, Japan, New Zealand and the Caribbean.
“It has been a wild ride and I feel very fortunate to have had the ability to do what I love to do.”
