This will be the ONLY canoe in the expected 11 km flotilla parade event next weekend - Canada's designated vessel to the flotilla parade: a Voyageur Canoe from Paddle Canada in partnership with the Canadian Canoe Museum!!

Sunday June 3: - Watch Live: The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant will be live on CBC News Network and CBCNews.ca at 9 a.m. ET and on CBC-TV at 9:30 a.m. ET. The pageant features up to 1,000 boats on the Thames River, assembled from across the Commonwealth and around the world. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will travel in the Royal Barge, forming the centrepiece of the flotilla. Peter Mansbridge hosts the broadcast.

Original Post: A few weeks ago, I got a call from James Raffan, Executive Director of the Canadian Canoe Museum with an unusual request.  The Canadian High Commission with orders from the Prime Ministers office, had tasked James with the job of finding a big canoe to paddle in the upcoming Queen's Jubilee Celebration Flotilla in England on June 3.  After convincing the pageant organizers that a voyageur canoe was sea worthy and safe,  a 1st Nations group was then contacted in western Canada, who said yes initially to using their dugout canoe, but then upon further inspection said their boat woudn't be ready in time,  due to repairs needed to the vessel.  Thus the phone call to Paddle Canada office.  It just so happens, that the two PC's Canots du Nord were not in use (and not since 2008). So after some quick discussions with the Board of Directors, the decision was to give the green light to James to use one of the canoes needed for the event. 

Fast forward to today, on very short notice (about an hour), I rushed up to Seeley's Bay, ON this afternoon for the christening and launch of the refurbished "Canada One" canoe that is going to Queen's Jubilee.   Half the town folks were there along with a film crew from CBC The National,  and the local fire department with fire house to recreate the fountains on the Thames River perhaps?

By Brian Johnston

Bastedo, Jamie. (2010). Trans Canada Trail: Northwest Territories. xiv + 256 pages. Fitzhenry & Whiteside, $16.00 paperback. 

I picked up this attractive book and was taken aback by its weighty mass. It was heavy enough that I brought out the kitchen food scale and weighed half a dozen similar sized volumes—all were lighter. In anticipation, I dropped myself into a cozy arm chair palming my Canadian Canoe Museum mug.  With the warmth of tea in my hand, I cracked open the official handbook Trans Canada Trail: Northwest Territories. 

   "Seclusion and surprise await the traveller."

Your Learning "Break Through" Moment

We always put ourselves in the learners shoes when we teach paddling. I want you to think back to the most important "break through" moment you had when learning to paddle and tell us about it.   

Learning to roll. My friend, Mark, and I had spent hours around his kitchen table talking about the technique and trying to visualize how to roll. When we thought we finally had it figured out, we headed for the lake. We tried our Pawlatta rolls again, but still without success. We took a break on the beach, a little frustrated.While I was chatting with friends, Mark snuck back on the water with his kayak. As I watched, he began to set up for a roll, but this time he set up for a screw roll. His paddle arced across the water surface and he flew up out of the water on his first attempt! He did another one and I jumped in my kayak and tried a screw roll too. Presto! It worked for me! I was thrilled. We were both finally rolling. 

 Submitted by: Gary Doran,  Instructor-Trainer ( Victoria, BC)

Once upon a time pivots were my sticking point.  I was working for Manitoba Pioneer Camp where they had two sections of dock that were about the right distance apart for the manoeuvre.  Despite attempt after attempt, I was hit and miss.  Sometimes they were spot on, other times I hit the dock.  It was going to be total luck if I could do them when the instructor trainer came to call.  In the end, what brought me to that next level was totally relaxing and letting go. Not watching the dock or the corridor, but looking up and noticing the trees, the lake, the environment around me.  Just being in that moment, when the IT was watching someone else, made me relax and release control enough that the paddling just naturally happened.  It was a huge step for me in terms going from paddling being technical and precise to the intuition, freedom and art of it.

Submitted by: Catherine Holmen,  Instructor ( Winnipeg, MB)

When I realized that if both the bow paddler and stern paddler were doing technically perfect forward strokes, the canoe would always turn to the bow paddler’s side.  That is why the stern paddler needs to learn corrective strokes. So it was not my fault that the canoe was going in circles. It will happen to everyone if there is no correction stroke added.

Submitted by:  Mike Crowtz, Instructor (Truro, NS)

Leadership is one of the hardest skills to teach in the outdoors. What tips and tricks do you have to shape better on-water leaders?

Field experience is necessary to develop leaders. There are plenty of books that talk about leadership styles, but you can never substitute being on the water observing someone in a leadership role and participating in decision making. 

- Christopher Lockyer, Sea Kayak Instructor Trainer (Nova Scotia)

Mentors must consistently demonstrate positive leadership skills, offer opportunities to assume group responsibilities and provide guided reflection and sincere feedback. 

- Mark Lund, Waterfront Instructor Trainer (Alberta)

Think of the decision that will benefit the group best instead of just the leader.  

- Nick Castro, Sea Kayak Instructor (British Columbia)