Report from 58th Sourdough Raft Race
Admiral Nick Danger here, filing to you at the Edmonton Journal from Her Majesty’s Canadian Raft CASA taking part in the 58th annual sourdough raft race.
We have just set off on the North Saskatchewan River from Terwillegar Park with 14 other craft for about a 31/2 hour cruise down to Rafters’ Landing.
“I have lain awake for 20 years dreaming of building your raft,” says Roger Kehoe, who has been involved in the raft race for a couple of decades. “I believe you may have the most innovative raft on the river.”
Our 2.7-metre by 2.4-metre raft, with a beautiful cedar deck, takes its speed from the pedal power generated by some of my cycling friends.
“Together they have jointly logged more than 100,000 km on rides for CASA, the provider of services for youngsters and their families with mental health issues,” said Jack Geldart, principal of Delwood School.
Other crew members are Jan Wallace, Jen Mikula, Jean Anderson and John Beaton.
Two scouts in the forecastle looking for sand banks and gravel bars are West Bradley-Taubner, 12 and his sister Eden BradleyTaubner, 10.
“You guys are awesome,” said West Bradley-Taubner.
Oilers legend Joey Moss sang O Canada before the race began. We immediately took the front.
Two CASA cyclists acting as paddleboard escorts alongside our raft were lawyer Jan TerHart and divorce mediator Sue Lambert.
“I began paddleboarding four years ago, thinking it would be a fantastic way to fly fish and navigate shallow water,” said TerHart. “My first trip was to Jasper’s Talbot Lake where I caught pike after pike in halfmetre-deep water.”
He went on to paddleboard in ocean water off Belize, Cuba and the Turks and Caicos.
“I did question the wisdom of an inflatable board when I paddled by a large shark in Belize,” said TerHart.
Lambert says she received a paddle board for Christmas two years ago and thought the sport was a pretty dumb idea, until she tried it and conquered balancing.
“My worst mishap was when I was carried out to sea by a wind in the Turks and Caicos,” she said. “I desperately tried to turn the board around, but was being carried farther and farther out. Finally I just sat down — and the board was easy to handle. I practised and now I am proficient, even in white-capped waves.”
ESKS HELP VALOUR PLACE
The Edmonton Eskimos are 4-0 this season, but they scored a win for all of Canada last week by again celebrating the club’s Grey Cup wins with Valour Place.
“The brick we are placing on the Pathway to Valour marks our 2015 championship win, our 14th,” said Eskimo president and CEO Len Rhodes.
“Valour Place is a temporary residential home for Canadian soldiers, veterans, RCMP, first responders and their families when they are from outside Edmonton and here for medical treatment.”
At his side was Bayne Norrie, who joined the Esks in 1968 and won a Grey Cup ring in 1975, the year he retired. He was named the CFL Alumni Man of the Year in 2010.
David Kent, Valour Place Society president, said no one imagined the future when Dennis Erker, then honourary colonel of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment, raised nearly $10 million to create Valour Place.
“In four short years, it has provided more than 10,000 accommodation nights to keep families living together,” he said.
“Accessing state of the art medical and rehabilitation therapies is imperative for the injured and ill, but can be expensive for families living outside Edmonton.
“Valour Place is a home-awayfrom-home where, for no charge, loving families can help rehabilitation in a warm and welcoming environment.”
Valour Place executive director Lydia Migus said the facility has so far saved families an estimated $1.2 million in lodging costs.
Donations for nearly 1,000 bricks, such as the 14 donated by the Eskimos, go toward a planned $8 million endowment fund.
NEED $1 MILLION?