PADDLER PROFILE

Picture a youngish couple standing on the sandy beach at a beautiful, remote campsite on the north bank of the Mattawa River, some distance upstream from Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park. He, tall, muscular, athletic looking. She, petite (at least next to him), but also obviously athletic, with a crown of reddish hair.

Why are they standing there?

The answer is to be found in Max Finkelstein’s book “Canoeing a Continent: On the Trail of Alexander MacKenzie”, which they have read during the long evenings of the past winter.

Inspired by Max’s reference to the annual North Bay to Mattawa canoe race and his description of that portion of the old Voyageur canoe route, but somewhat daunted by the 60 km course and it’s numerous portages, they have wisely decided to reconnoitre the route at a leisurely pace in their cottage canoe and observe first hand the participants in the race.

What they first see from their vantage point on the beach are sleek canoes with bent shaft paddles flashing at 60-70 strokes a minute, and changing sides every 5-10 strokes. The canoes whiz by. Eventually, along come the familiar “cottage” canoes with their traditional J-stroke paddlers.

Steve and Lynn Hebert, now of Ottawa, have been paddling most of their lives - Steve at the family cottage on Hart Lake near Chaffeys Locks on the Rideau Canal system and Lynn, born and raised at Chapleau in Northern Ontario, on the rivers and lakes of the area. Following their marriage they continued paddling at Hart Lake and it’s easily accessed adjoining waterways, which they found preferable to the crowded canoe routes of Algonquin Park.

But they are both athletic, fitness and health food addicts, and competitive by nature, so it seemed natural to raise their paddling ability to a new challenge.

What they learned watching the paddlers on the Mattawa River that summer day in 2003 were two basic facts: 1) to go fast in a canoe over a long distance you need to use the marathon style of paddling, and 2) it helps to have good equipment, ie. a canoe and paddles crafted with “fast” in mind.

Keen observers and students, they quickly mastered the basics of the marathon style with the help of paddling books and videos. With the acquisition of a Jensen 17' kevlar canoe and bent shaft paddles, their leisurely trips at the cottage morphed into serious training sessions.

The summer of 2004 found them ready for their very first canoe race - not some dinky 2 hour event, but the challenging North Bay to Mattawa race. After the 8 hours of paddling, rapid running and portaging, Lynn confesses to having been slightly zonked out. Nevertheless, with the camaraderie enjoyed at the finish line and banquet in Mattawa, the aches and pains soon disappeared and plans for “next year” were under way. They were now hooked on marathon canoe racing.

Properly psyched up by the successful completion of their first canoe race, Steve and Lynn spent the winter months cross country skiing (a perfect complement to paddling) and determined to enter more races in 2005 in preparation for the “big one”.

Their season started with our own Upper Jock Race in early May, followed by the Nonquon (Port Perry) and the local Pakenham Regatta in June, before heading to North Bay in July.

Despite the low water and unexpected headwind, they finished with an improved time and a 2nd place finish in their class. Not only that, but their team uniform was none other than the “Jock River” T-shirts!

What does the future hold for this pair?

With a used C2 Proboat now in their canoe stable, perhaps we’ll see them testing the waters with the really serious paddlers. In any case, more races are planned for the 2006 season. Will they take on the General Clinton at Cooperstown, NY, or the Ausable Marathon in Michigan? Maybe not this year, but they seem like a couple determined to explore new challenges, so stay tuned. Expect to see the names Steve and Lynn Hebert showing up frequently on our “Results Page”.