DAVID MERPAW
Victoria Island, June 22
“I was born and raised in Cornwall, but I live part-time in Ottawa. I wanted to do something special for Canada Day, and I’ve been thinking about it for a while. I wanted to give back to my country, and I wanted to do something cool. So I want to swim the 150 kilometres from Petawawa to Ottawa, on the Ottawa River, to celebrate our country’s 150th anniversary.
“It’s our country, and we’ll never see another 150th. And it’s an honour to do this out of respect to the history of Canada. Some of my ancestors were voyageurs — two of them are buried in Minnesota — and it’s really kind of nice to swim in some of the rivers that they paddled on. I think about that when I’m out there swimming.
“It’s been in the planning for six months. My original plan was to arrive in Ottawa on July 1, but I’m going to back off on that now because things haven’t fallen into place. But I will do it this summer.
“I plan to swim about 50 kilometres a day, so three days and two nights. I’ll swim day and night, with minimum breaks — maybe some power naps, but when the mosquitoes get to me I’ll get back in the water. I’ll be swimming with the current, but it’s still tough. And the hardest parts are the portaging. I’ll be towing a very small kayak with me — just large enough to carry my supplies. It can’t carry me. Food, water, emergency supplies and some clothes.
“I started doing this a few years ago. I have a history of marathon swimming and triathlons and Iron Mans. I swam the St. Lawrence River from Kingston to Montreal, more than 200 kilometres. I’ve done many rivers: the Gananoque River, the Gatineau River, the Rideau River, the Richelieu River. Last year I swam the Ottawa River from Ottawa to Montreal.
“I really like the challenge. But another side of me is the environment. I really want to promote the environment. So I’ve been promoting the St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Studies, which is
located in my hometown of Cornwall. They do a lot of research and environmental programs and promoting awareness. So that’s how I caught that buzz. Swimming rivers is tough, but it’s more of a challenge to convince people of the importance of the environmental issues we’re facing. It’s a tough sell, but I really think it takes small steps: one person and one message at a time.”