VOYAGEUR CANOE INSPIRING STORY: “Down Under Dogs. Yukon River Quest 2012”
By Geoff Wright, (Racing Team Member)
with permission from the Australian Outrigger Canoe Racing Association
| Voyageur Centennial Races | History of the Voyageurs |
HISTORY OF THE NCKC VOYAGEUR CANOES:
In 1988, the NCKC (at that time the Nanaimo Flatwater Racing Club) incorporated and began its history at Long Lake out of the transformed picnic shelter compound at Loudon Park with funds from the BC Games Legacy Project.
Shortly after that, two of the voyageurs were acquired from the Nanaimo’s White Ravens Canoe Club (WRCC) that was based at Departure Bay by the Kin Hut. The WRCC was active in the community throughout the 70’s and 80’s with its members successfully competing in war canoe events hosted by the Snuneymuwx. They gained respect locally at those events and later in their fundraising efforts over multiple years for the Children’s Variety Telethon. Club members would paddle these voyageur canoes across the Salish Sea from Nanaimo to Vancouver in February while accompanied by safety boats for around a decade.
Prior to the White Ravens Canoe Club, these canoes were used in part of a Cross Canada Tour and a race called the Double 20 as part of a Centennial Year Celebration to paddle the route of the settlers.
Interested in paddling a Voyageur Canoe? Contact: commodore@nckc.ca