Our first meeting of the Captain Cook Society members on Vancouver Island and the west coast of Canada went off like a dream come true.  There were seven of us from the bottom of the island in Victoria to the upper middle from Campbell River who met on March 1, 2014, at the beautiful Tigh-Na-Mara Resort & Spa.  It is located on the outskirts of Parksville, a picturesque seaside community just north of Nanaimo, BC. 

Hal Hicks, a new member since October, 2013, is a retired military person living in the Comox Valley, site of Canada’s search and rescue command for western Canada and the Arctic.  Blair Haggart of Campbell River is an Anglican minister and attended with his wife Jerryann.  Blair is also a new member since last October 2013.  We were also joined by Alasdair Polson, an active ICU physician from Victoria, British Columbia.  Randy Komar of Courtenay was the organizer of this meeting, and attended with his wife Maggie, who took notes of the proceedings.  We gathered at noon on Saturday, March 1st for our first lunch and to meet each other for the very first time.

Right from the start we all knew we were beginning a new chapter of the CCS on the west coast of Canada and possibly the US.

The introductions and history of how we all had become interested in Captain Cook began in earnest as we shared our unique backgrounds and what our personal goals were for the society.

Here are a few of the thoughts compiled:

• Everyone email Randy a list of the books they’ve read about Capt. Cook or related topics
• Plan a group trip to Friendly Cove and Nootka Sound this summer or fall
• Start offering talks to the public about Capt. Cook, Capt. Bligh, etc
• Plan something around the anniversary of Cook’s voyages
• Meet on an annual or semi-annual basis on Vancouver Island at this time of year – Mar.1 or perhaps in the fall as well.  We need to maintain momentum
• Find ways to reach out to the public to generate interest in CCS
• Attract potential members
• Make contact with possible speakers for future events such as history experts
• Plan a one-day or weekend mini-conference with speakers
• Start a Facebook group for our branch of the CCS
• Push for posthumous knighthood for Capt. Cook (like that was going to happen but it was fun to talk about)

We all agreed that we would go back to our homes and start to plan our next gathering.  We hope to have a much larger attendance the next time with current members and maybe some new ones.  It is good to note two other CCS members were very interested in joining us but, because of prior commitments, said they would have to pass until the next one.

All in all, it was a great start to such a very enthusiastic and committed group of Captain Cook followers. 

Randy Komar

Originally published in Cook's Log, page 22, volume 37, number 2 (2014).