Don will also revisit select classrooms at Dickens Main to share his motivational experience of goal setting and execution.
In his own words:
"The crossing went well. I did a fair amount of research on the Strait and trained as much as possible. I was really happy with respect to how everything unfolded and also learned a lot while I crossed. I set my schedule to the tides, flows and winds but underestimated my average speed in the first 22 miles and arrived an hour too early at my 25-mile waypoint. This made the next 1.5 hours of paddling brutal and it took a lot out of me.
Once the hour passed and the tide went slack and turned, I was off again at good average speeds. I crossed in 8 hours which included my resting times: 3 to 5 minutes every hour and two 15 minute breaks.
I was really looking forward to seeing some wildlife along the way and maybe have porpuses or white-sided dolphins swim alongside me but I did not see anything except a couple of seagulls and a harbour seal - Lol!
I was a bit of a 'deer in headlights' experience on this crossing because I really had no idea how my body would respond physically. I had another mishap the night before I took the Ferry to Nanaimo. I was setting up my OC1 for Sat Nav and checking all the vulnerable areas of the canoe, when I noticed a slight fracture in my rudder cable. A friend came over to replace the part but when doing so, the internal cable housing broke which rendered the OC useless.
I have a second OC1 but it's not a racing hull and weighs about 4 to 5 pounds heavier and was not properly fitted to me. I was crushed at this mishap and beside myself. Six months of prep and all of a sudden I am staring at my broken OC that cannot be fixed inside of two weeks. I got up at 6am the next morning and brought my other OC back to my home and did a refit of the OC plus an install of the brackets for the navigation devices.
The OC performed perfectly and was a touch more work to paddle but I had a lot of sizable swell and wind in the first 22 miles so this made up for the extra weight.
Arriving at the Vanier Park boat launch at Kitsilano was a great feeling but once I stepped off the OC I kinda had to learn how to walk again for the first few meters. There was also a small welcoming party which was completely unexpected but so appreciated...Thank you!" www.facebook.com/Solo-OC1-Georgia-Strait-Crossing
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