Kayaker on trek along Great Loop
Passes through Peterborough on 10,000-km journey
A Royal Navy veteran paddled through Peterborough Wednesday as part of a 15-month kayak trip of The Great Loop.
Steve Chard made his way up the Trent-Severn Waterway after leaving the south side of Rice Lake early Wednesday morning.
He’s been on the water over 80 days now and plans to keep going until August 2019.
That’s when he expects to be back in Halifax, where his brother lives, and where he started his trek on June 1.
The journey was inspired by Chard’s 60th birthday.
He wanted to do something big, other than marathons, long-distance cycling and open water lake swimming (he’s already done all that).
So, he decided to plan a kayak trip. Initially, he set out to do a 193-kilometre canoe trip in England, where he’s from, but a book about the Great Loop altered his plans.
Chard read about a couple who travelled The Great Loop in their boat, later creating The Great Loop Cruisers Association. The Great Loop is a system of waterways that covers the eastern portion of Canada and the United States.
“I decided that if they can do it in a boat, I can do it in a kayak,” Chard said.
At the time, Chard only kayaked for leisure, so he had to step up his game.
He bought a sea kayak and trained for two years before flying over the pond to start his adventure this year.
Originally, Chard had a different route of The Great Loop mapped out. Then he found out he had a cousin near Hastings and decided to travel the Trent-Severn Waterway instead.
His cousin dropped him in Rice Lake on Wednesday and Chard paddled up river arriving at Lock 19 off Lansdowne St. E. early in the evening.
The retired health care worker is travelling in an 18-foot explorer sea kayak, packed with his tent, supplies and safety gear.
So far, Chard has paddled more than 2,400 km of his nearly 10,000 km trip. How’s he feeling?
“Better than I should be, I think.” That said, the England native said he realizes he needs to increase his calorie intake – he’s already lost 46 pounds since June.
The biggest challenge to date, though, has been the wind.
“You cannot paddle into a strong wind,” he said, adding it’s set him back 14 days.
But that hasn’t dampened Chard’s spirits, he’s eager to experience every kilometre of the trip. So much so, that he doesn’t have a favourite designation picked out.
“It’s all equal ... I’m going to be seeing so many different things, it’s unbelievable.”
During his journey, Chard is raising money for nine charities: Four British, three American and two Canadian. In Canada, he’s collecting for the Kidney Foundation of Canada and the HMCS Sackville, a ship that served in the Royal Canadian Navy, which needs to be restored.
Chard has a Facebook page for people to follow his journey – it’s Kayak ‘The Great Loop’ – paddle with Steve.
As for any big plans for his next meaningful birthday, Chard isn’t sure he has anything else up his sleeve.
“I think this might be the final thing.”