On July 1, 2011, Frank and Jeff Kitching will mbark on an event called ’Cross Canada with a Canoe, carrying a canoe across Canada in efforts to raise awareness and funds for the ALS Society.

The brothers will start by paddling the canoe in Quidi Vidi Harbour near St. John's, NL, where the canoe will come out of the water and be portaged until the Kitchings arrive in Victoria, BC, where the canoe will enter the water again.

“I know people wonder what would make us want to do this,” said Frank. “The answer is that it’s something our father would have loved to hear about and loved to do.”

Wayne Kitching, their father, was diagnosed with ALS in 2005 and passed away in 2008.

“The canoe is quintessentially Canadian and the challenge of portaging across Canada would have made dad laugh,” said Jeff. “His spirit of adventure will be with us as we portage this great nation.”

Paddle Canada member Dave Turgeon and in his son are at the half way point (just entering Ontario) in their quest to canoe across Canada to raise money for the sick kids foundation over a period of 5 months. Their trip started in Vancouver in April of 2011. They canoed as far as Hope B.C. then walked with a canoe cart to the North Saskatchewan River then paddled down the North Saskatchewan to Edmonton, then on to Lake Winnipeg and now are entering NW Ontario via the Winnipeg River. Their goal is to get to Montreal using the traditional canoe routes of the Voyageurs. They are going west to east because most of this route will be downstream. Any donations to the Sick Kids Foundation will be greatly appreciated. They could also use any help and support that anyone could give to use to make this trip possible.

Location : All across Canada Contact : This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

http://www.canoeacrosscanadaforsickkids.com/ (to track their progress)

Atlantic Paddle Symposium 2011 May 20-23 Terra Nova, Newfoundland

The committee for the 2011 Paddle Canada APS with the coordination from KNL knocked it out of the park this year.  28 world-class coaches lead 120 paddlers at the three-day event, held from May 20 to 23, 2011 near Terra Nova, Newfoundland. Newfoundlander’s say it is not a proper May 24^th weekend without a little snow. Sure enough, Saturday morning began with an air temperature of 2 degrees and a 25 knot wind from the North, then it snowed for a brief moment. So, that was a great start for the event. I am sure everyone was thankful they had some decent thermal protection to keep them warm.

Highlights of the fourth annual event, which featured sessions for canoeists and white water kayakers and sea kayaks, included:

 

• Mark Scriver teaching solo canoe sessions in white water and then hitting the sea to help run a rock hopping session
• Canoe Poling with Kevin Silliker, the master of the pole
• Maligiaq Paddilla, world Greenland rolling champion, teaching Greenland rolling and paddling techniques
• Ontario coach, Brenna Kelly leading paddlers down some of the most challenging white water Newfoundland has to offer
• Christopher Lockyer leading two dynamic rock hopping sessions,  one in 20 knot winds and 3-meter swells
• Ontario's Kevin Callan sharing tips and tricks about enjoying the outdoors
• Loads of stokes and skill development sessions
• And Matt Nelson working with students on incident management

 Pictures from this year’s event can be found at http://www.atlanticpaddlesymposium.com/Atlantic_Paddle_Symposium/Gallery/Gallery.html