FEATURED FELLOW: MYLÈNE PAQUETTE
When Mylène Paquette decided to confront her fear of water, she didn’t just take a swimming lesson — she set out on a 5,000-kilometre solo trek across the North Atlantic Ocean in a rowboat. The Montrealer completed the journey from Halifax to Lorient, France, in 129 days in 2013, becoming the first North American to make the crossing. Paquette continues to push boundaries in the water, participating in ice canoe races and working with organizations to protect the St. Lawrence River. On May 28, she was named an Explorer-in-residence of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society.
On setting her cross-atlantic record
The weather made it so difficult. My land team and I discussed giving up every week. For the first 50 days, I was mostly trapped on my bed, helmet and harness on, waiting for better conditions to row. After 50 days, I had only made it to just south of Newfoundland. The easiest part was the rowing. The hard part was not giving up. When mid-september arrived, I was still right in the middle of the ocean during hurricane season. One of the biggest lessons I learned on my journey is that even in a big storm, keeping a positive attitude will make your life much easier.
On becoming an Explorer- in-residence
Last year, I was honoured to meet Jill Heinerth, the RCGS’S first Explorer-inResidence, so when I was asked to be part of the program I was really excited. I have plans to explore more of Canada, including an expedition through the Northwest Passage (although I can’t discuss details yet), and I’m excited about the new public platform this gives me: I train for ice canoe races on the St. Lawrence River year-round, and it’s important for me to spread the word about protecting it.
On ice canoeing’s history and challenges
Ice canoeing is hundreds of years old. Samuel de Champlain wrote about how Indigenous people crossed the frozen St. Lawrence River by canoe. The first ice canoe race was in 1896 from Quebec City to Lévis, a competition that became an annual event in 1965. There are now six other races across Quebec. My team is named Vive Montréal 375. Racing is very difficult. You have to jump out of the canoe onto big pieces of ice, run alongside the canoe as you push it, then jump back in and row in the open water. It’s much more dangerous than rowing across the Atlantic.
On protecting the St. Lawrence
The St. Lawrence River is an environmentally critical waterway treasured around the world. It’s home to 27,000 species, and nearly half of Quebec’s population gets its drinking water from the watershed. There are plans to expand the Port of Quebec City but many are worried that we don’t have a strategy to protect the river if something such as an oil spill happens. We must make people aware of the health of this river.