TriNav Group Directors (from left) Trevor Decker, Paul Pinhorn and Rick Young discuss the launch for the first edition of The Navigator back in 1997.
No one said it was going to be easy.
And it wasn’t. There were a few choppy seas along the way but it worked — The Navigator Magazine is 20 years old this month and going as strong as ever.
It all started in 1997 — a milestone year for me.
After spending more than 30 years behind a microphone, I took an early retirement from the CBC that spring. A few months later, in the fall of 1997, one of the TriNav Group directors called and said they’d like to have a chat about a business idea they had.
He only gave me sketchy details because that’s pretty much all they had themselves at the time. All I knew at the end of the call was they were considering some type of fisheries publication and that they had also asked Ray Andrews to attend the meeting. Ray was a former deputy minister of provincial fisheries in Newfoundland and Labrador who also had a list of other fishing industry credentials as long as your arm.
One of his lesser-known accomplishments was paving the way to get me through high school. Ray was my grade nine teacher.
Ray and I met with TriNav directors Paul Pinhorn, Trevor Decker and Rick Young. In retrospect, it must have been an exceptionally productive meeting because at the end, there was no question that the first-ever magazine dedicated solely to the fishing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador would soon be on the street.
It was also known, although barely mentioned, that the magazine would expand its reach to include the Maritimes, especially Nova Scotia, as quickly as time and resources allowed.
But, first things first.
Ray and I were hired on the spot as contributing writers to the magazine. Rick, Trevor and Paul, all naval architects by training, would also write monthly articles.
Someone at the meeting mentioned that journalist Ted Warren had recently quit his job with The Telegram newspaper and might be a good choice as the magazine’s first editor.
Amazingly, within a few weeks, a brand new fisheries magazine was set for the printers.
The fishing industry needed The Navigator.
For the first time, fishermen and other industry insiders, had a platform to see what was happening in all regions, especially with the addition later of seasoned fisheries reporters like Mac Campbell in P.E.I. and Alain Meuse in southwest Nova Scotia.
We had some of the best fisheries reporting and editorial commentary anywhere.
People took notice and it wasn’t long before the little magazine that started out with only 44 pages on black and white newsprint was soon adding pages with higher-grade paper accompanied by several glossy pages in the front and back sections.
For thousands of industry people, it became a “must-read.”
Many fishermen told us their copy was either “in my ass pocket” or “in the galley of my boat.” Skippers often keep them in the wheelhouse while at sea and in the bathroom at home.
It was always difficult to know how many readers we actually had at any given time because Atlantic Canadians are a generous lot and they like to share things. Hundreds told us they pass their magazine on to relatives and/or friends when they’d finished reading it and the same copy makes the rounds to several more before it was reduced to tatters from overuse. Some readers tell us they have stored away every single copy since the first issue in November 1997, up to this edition.
My association with The Navigator has been deeply gratifying.
It was a classic case of a window closing and a new one opening with precision timing. At age 50, my retirement from the CBC came much earlier than I had expected. Corporate brass came around one day in late 1996 and said there were deep cuts coming to the corporation and they were offering a “package” to staff who had enough service to qualify for a pension.
It was a daunting decision for me. I had no prospects of work and I was far too young for the rocking chair — still am. So, when the phone call came to have a meeting and the decision to start a fisheries magazine was made, I was ready to give it my best shot.
For five years I wrote four articles a month. Life was good. And then I had another call from a TriNav director. He told me that Ted Warren had become ill and was moving on. He said they needed a managing editor and asked if I’d be interested.
I don’t recall my reply, but I know it must have been along the lines of the old cliché; “is the Pope Catholic? Does a bear…” You know the one.
I took possession of the editor’s chair just when it was time to expand. We needed to crack the Nova Scotia and the Maritimes’ market, but it was going to be a lot of work.
Sou’west Nova was home to the most concentrated inshore fishing fleet in Atlantic Canada and we spent the next couple of years working hard to build a readership there. We knew we could only accomplish our goal by being on the ground there and getting to know the players face-to-face, including fishermen, fish processors, buyers and sellers as well as fisheries association folks and anyone who would talk to us.
One company that was watching us closely was Master Promotions Ltd. based in Saint John, New Brunswick.
As producers of various trade shows across Canada, Master Promotions was also in expansion mode and saw The Navigator as a good fit to present its fisheries shows in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland. It was a positive partnership that worked well for both companies.
The Navigator was never flashy, sensational, mean spirited or funny. It set out on a journey 20 years ago and stayed the course as we steamed on without a lot of fuss, but always providing a dependable and solid forum for all sectors of the fishing industry to use as a sounding board and a place for all sectors to communicate with and learn from each other in Atlantic Canada.
The Navigator will always have a special place in my heart. I have the distinct honour of being the only person who has written in every single edition of the magazine — all 239 of them. Being part of the organization from the day when it was no more than a concept to this 20th anniversary edition has always been a great source of satisfaction and pride.
I am very thankful.
To Paul, Rick, Trevor and all the others who worked very hard to make the stellar publication that it is, congratulations and best wishes for another 20. And, if it’s OK with you, I would like to write in the 480th edition in December 2037.
