Canoe to Ketchikan

On June 4th 2015, the first ever Race to Alaska  will begin. This race is both beautiful and daunting in its simplicity. Port Townsend Washington State to Ketchikan Alaska, no motor, self supported, 2 waypoints, first team there wins $10 000, and the second team there gets a set of steak knives. We are entering, and think we have a damn good shot at winning. 

The Plan

We are going to paddle a 6-man outrigger canoe outfitted with a sailing rig continuously for the duration of the race using a staggered sleep schedule and a whole lot of determination. While nobody knows what type of boat is best suited to win this thing we believe we will be ready for any of the variable conditions we could face. If there is no wind we will be a fast moving craft that can paddle at close to 10 km/h. With wind we will be able to throw up our sail for a big added boost. While not a craft designed specifically for sailing, we will still be able to cruise at a good clip as it is long, narrow, sleek, and fast. The outrigger canoe has been paddled, sailed, and explored with for thousands of years. We are going to bring this to the Race to Alaska and show everyone why.

The Team

We are a crew of 6 young men in our early twenties with boatloads of experiences in expedition and outdoor adventure.

The team has been put together by brothers Russell and Graham Henry. In 2013/14 they sea kayaked 6,500 kilometers from Brazil to Florida. Paddling first up the South American coast and then island hopping across the Caribbean the Henrys paddled for nearly seven months straight. Three months after returning to Canada Russell then set off on his next mission - to break the human powered circumnavigation record of Vancouver Island. 12 days, 23 hours, and 45 minutes later he had shattered the previous record by 2 and a half days. They spoke about their Caribbean adventure at outdoor shows and schools to try and inspire kids to get outdoors and dream big. Check out  www.henrykayak.com for full details.

The other members of the team, while not having expeditions of such a scale under their belt, are equally ready for the challenge ahead. Tanner Ockenden is a raft guide and incredible whitewater paddler; Ryan Schissler is a man of many talents (who is just naturally good at everything he tries) who works in outdoor education, skis, climbs, mountain bikes, and we hear (but haven't yet seen) that he is quite the unicyclist; Niklaas Rampen works as a paramedic up north, is an avid skiier, and has aspirations to work for BC Ambulance; Mackenzie Punter is a long distance trail runner, climber, and generally just a beast.

The Take a Hike Youth at Risk Foundation
All of us on the team have at one time or another worked with kids in the outdoors. From summer camps to outdoor ed. lodges, we are all big fans and believers of education through adventure. That's why we are tying our fundraising to the Take a Hike Youth at Risk Foundation. 

What is Take a Hike?

Take a Hike is a unique and proven full-time education program that engages at-risk youth through a powerful combination of adventure-based learning, academics, therapy, and community volunteer work. Our purpose is to enable at-risk youth to positively change their lives, graduate from high school and realize their full potential.
Not every student fits into the mainstream school system. Even the brightest youth have the odds stacked against them when they are trapped in a cycle of poverty, abuse, mental illness, and/or neglect. The youth at Take a Hike struggle with a number of these personal issues. Take a Hike provides them with a stable and supportive environment to work through their issues, build confidence, improve their academic abilities and eventually graduate from high school.

Not only is Take a Hike's mission statement something we love and agree with but it's also relatively local, being located in Vancouver and we have some personal connections to it. Therefore we will be donating half of every dollar donated to us to the Take a Hike Youth at Risk Foundation. 
Unfortunately we cannot issue tax receipts for this. 

Check out our website www.canoetoketchikan.com  for more info or to get a hold of us!