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Have big canoe, will travel |
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Have big canoe, will paddle
explore: Canada's Outdoor Magazine, June 2004
250 words
A nautical inventor explores Canada in a huge way
As kayaking has grow into the most popular mode of self-propelled travel along our country's shorelines, big canoes have become a rare sight. That's just one reason why Chris Cooper's 42-foot Montreal-style canoe is bound to turn heads during a four-month expedition this summer down the West Coast.
The 56-year-old explorer and outfitter from Pitt Meadows, B.C. has designed a unique vessel for the 3,500-kilometre trip from Alaska's Glacier Bay to Gibson's Landing, B.C. Spirit Dancer, Cooper's fibreglass-and-wood boat, features a pair of aluminum masts (for sails or a tarp) and two double kayaks as outriggers; a crew of up to 12 can sleep on trampolines stretched between the detachable kayaks.
"It's like Huckleberry Finn or Robinson Crusoe," admits Cooper, whose exploits have included ski, canoe and kayak expeditions in B.C. and the Arctic. "It's good to think of what else you can do to a canoe to make it more usable."
The trip began in mid-May and is expected to run until the end of August. Nine other adventurers will help Cooper tackle the challenging 1,500K first leg through Alaska's remote Alexander Archipelago; on the four subsequent stages, rotating crews will include aboriginal youth and recreational paddlers.
The inaugural expedition will let Cooper fine-tune Spirit Dancer for his ultimate journey: a multi-year navigation from Lake Superior, up the St. Lawrence, around Labrador and beyond.
"The idea would be to work our way through the Northwest Passage," he says. "Right now, it's in between a dream trip and a reality."
- Karin Mark |
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