Last week in the office at Prince Albert National Park while booking in for camping on Kingsmere Lake, I met a fellow boat builder that is currently building a Redfish Spring Run. This fellow was also at the boatbuilding workshop hosted a couple of years ago by Kisseynew Canoe Company. If you happen to be the guy I was chatting with, could you please contact me? I'd love to chat some more and check out your current build.
By the way, we had the guillemot & the kid's kayak out for that trip (actually my entire fleet of 4 boats was used on that trip). We camped at Southend for 4 nights and took day tours up to Grey Owl's cabin, the Bagwa Route, and just to play on the beach. I'll try to post specifically about this trip and the one immediately before on the Churchill River.
Showing posts with label Kisseynew. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kisseynew. Show all posts
Monday, August 10, 2009
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Congratulations Kisseynew!
Well Martin Bernardin has yet another Yukon River Quest in the bag. Based on the unofficial results, Martin's team has set a new record in the voyageur class as well as a new course record.
You can see the race results as they come in here.
They left Whitehorse at 6/25/08 12:30 and finished in Dawson at 6/27/08 14:02 for a total time of 49 hours, 32 minutes. There was a mandatory 7 hour layover at Carmacks, and a mandatory 3 hour Layover at Kirkman Creek, for 10 hours total to be subtracted, giving a 39:32 finish time.
The previous course record was set in 2006 by Brandon Nelson and David Kelly with a time of 40:37:05 in a tandem kayak. The Voyageur record set last year (breaking the record Martin et al set in 2006) was 41:15 by team Coureur des Bayou. That team is 5/8 the same as this year's 2nd place team, the Texans. Martin will be very happy to have beaten them. He told me he thought that he could have beaten them last year, as they were closing the gap prior to the end of the race but fell a bit short (if I recall correctly). I don't doubt that there would have been some interesting dynamics on the river as these two teams chased each other. I look forward to hearing Martin's stories.
You can see the race results as they come in here.
They left Whitehorse at 6/25/08 12:30 and finished in Dawson at 6/27/08 14:02 for a total time of 49 hours, 32 minutes. There was a mandatory 7 hour layover at Carmacks, and a mandatory 3 hour Layover at Kirkman Creek, for 10 hours total to be subtracted, giving a 39:32 finish time.
The previous course record was set in 2006 by Brandon Nelson and David Kelly with a time of 40:37:05 in a tandem kayak. The Voyageur record set last year (breaking the record Martin et al set in 2006) was 41:15 by team Coureur des Bayou. That team is 5/8 the same as this year's 2nd place team, the Texans. Martin will be very happy to have beaten them. He told me he thought that he could have beaten them last year, as they were closing the gap prior to the end of the race but fell a bit short (if I recall correctly). I don't doubt that there would have been some interesting dynamics on the river as these two teams chased each other. I look forward to hearing Martin's stories.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Yukon River Quest 2008
The start of the 2008 Yukon River Quest is only 8 days away. Again, Martin Bernardin of Kisseynew Canoe Company will be there with his sights set on another record for the voyageur canoe class in his custom built canoe, the Precipice. Martin will be in Team Kisseynew #15. I expect the "Texans" (#1) to be his toughest competition as most of this team was part of the group that won last year. Another Saskatchewan team, #59 Hatchet Lake, may also prove to be competitive.
Here is a YouTube video from last year's race. Martin's canoe can be seen at about 4 minutes in. It's black with a big Canada flag at the stern and a white bow. I didn't see Martin's other canoe in the video, the Sainte Anne, a cedar strip voyageur canoe that Martin used to break the record in 2006.
Here is a YouTube video from last year's race. Martin's canoe can be seen at about 4 minutes in. It's black with a big Canada flag at the stern and a white bow. I didn't see Martin's other canoe in the video, the Sainte Anne, a cedar strip voyageur canoe that Martin used to break the record in 2006.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
They Did it Again! And Again!!
Way to go Kisseynew! Martin Bernardin & Kisseynew Canoe Company were again in the Yukon River Quest last week. The YRQ is a 740km race down the Yukon River from Whitehorse to Dawson City with 2 mandatory stops, one of 7 hrs and one of 3 hrs. Last year Martin Bernardin entered his strip-built voyageur canoe in the Yukon River Quest (see here for my post from a year ago) and team Kisseynew - Denesuline Dalutweh broke the record for voyageur canoes with a time of 42:56:13, came first in their class and second overall.
This year, Martin wanted to do better. He built a new canoe this winter for the race, the "Precipice". The new canoe is 28' long, 36" wide (built to the limits of the rules allowed in the current YRQ rules) and looks like a rocket. It was stripped with 1/8" thick cedar strips, glassed on the outside with carbon fiber cloth and on the inside with kevlar cloth. Inside a couple of kevlar stringers were added to stiffen the lightweight hull. Fitted with seats & footrests, the completed canoe weighs 150 lbs (I think) which is pretty light for something of that size.
A team of 6 was assembled and has been training hard. The older 25' 10" canoe, the Sainte Anne, was used as well with a second team of 6 (the 2006 team was 8), called Kisseynew Skookum Asphalt.
This year, Kisseynew bettered their time by nearly 45 minutes with a finish of 42:16:47 in the Precipice. The competition was tough though and the 8-member team Coureur des Bayou finished about an hour ahead of Kisseynew at 41:15:00 for the first place finish, the first time a voyageur canoe has taken top honours in the YRQ. Third place overall, out of a field of 85 teams and 200 paddlers, was Kisseynew Skookum Asphalt with a time of 45:08:11. It appears that the Kisseynew has played a large part in changing the voyageur class of the YRQ from something of a novelty to a seriously competitive class as evidenced by the fact that the top 4 finishes in the 2007 race are all Voyageur canoes. This year the Kisseynew boats took home $1000 and $500 for second and third place, respectively. First place in the voyageur class received $2500, an improvement from 2006 as last year Kisseynew won $1500 for their first place finish in the voyageur class, $100 less than their entry fee! Ryan Martin of the Kisseynew Skookum Asphalt team was the first Yukoner across the finish line for the second year running.
By the way, there were at least 2 other wood boats in the race. Ken Brunton, a regular over at the Kayakforum.com trips forum was in the race but unfortunately scratched part-way through. Dave & Lisa McGee finished midfield in their cedar-canvas canoe.
Congratulations guys and hat's off to all who completed the race!
p.s. The kayak is completed and has been officially launched. However, I'm behind in posting. I'll get some photos of the completed boat and the launch up sometime soon.
This year, Martin wanted to do better. He built a new canoe this winter for the race, the "Precipice". The new canoe is 28' long, 36" wide (built to the limits of the rules allowed in the current YRQ rules) and looks like a rocket. It was stripped with 1/8" thick cedar strips, glassed on the outside with carbon fiber cloth and on the inside with kevlar cloth. Inside a couple of kevlar stringers were added to stiffen the lightweight hull. Fitted with seats & footrests, the completed canoe weighs 150 lbs (I think) which is pretty light for something of that size.
A team of 6 was assembled and has been training hard. The older 25' 10" canoe, the Sainte Anne, was used as well with a second team of 6 (the 2006 team was 8), called Kisseynew Skookum Asphalt.
This year, Kisseynew bettered their time by nearly 45 minutes with a finish of 42:16:47 in the Precipice. The competition was tough though and the 8-member team Coureur des Bayou finished about an hour ahead of Kisseynew at 41:15:00 for the first place finish, the first time a voyageur canoe has taken top honours in the YRQ. Third place overall, out of a field of 85 teams and 200 paddlers, was Kisseynew Skookum Asphalt with a time of 45:08:11. It appears that the Kisseynew has played a large part in changing the voyageur class of the YRQ from something of a novelty to a seriously competitive class as evidenced by the fact that the top 4 finishes in the 2007 race are all Voyageur canoes. This year the Kisseynew boats took home $1000 and $500 for second and third place, respectively. First place in the voyageur class received $2500, an improvement from 2006 as last year Kisseynew won $1500 for their first place finish in the voyageur class, $100 less than their entry fee! Ryan Martin of the Kisseynew Skookum Asphalt team was the first Yukoner across the finish line for the second year running.
By the way, there were at least 2 other wood boats in the race. Ken Brunton, a regular over at the Kayakforum.com trips forum was in the race but unfortunately scratched part-way through. Dave & Lisa McGee finished midfield in their cedar-canvas canoe.
Congratulations guys and hat's off to all who completed the race!
p.s. The kayak is completed and has been officially launched. However, I'm behind in posting. I'll get some photos of the completed boat and the launch up sometime soon.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Boatbuilding Workshop Review
The Saskatoon Canoe Club boatbuilding workshop held on Feb 3rd was a great success if I do say so myself. We had a turn-out of approximately 25 people which was a nice number for the space. We could have coped with 35 or so people but beyond that things would start getting crowded. Thank you to Heather for allowing me to post some of her photos here. For more photos, visit the Kisseynew Canoe Company web site, and Warren Long's album. The event was attended by experienced builders, aspiring builders, struggling builders and paddlers of all sorts. We even had 50% of the famous rockabilly band, Five Star Homeless.
The photos below are all taken by and courtesy of Heather Dunning. For the larger versions and more photos, view the full album on the Kisseynew Canoe Company web site..
Above: Yours truly welcoming participants and introducing the first speaker of the day. My kayak can be seen hanging in the upper left.
Above: Carl describes aspects of building his Waters Dancing stitch & glue kayaks.
Above: I am introducing Jesse who told us about some of the more challenging aspects of building a skin-on-frame baidarka.
Above: Martin & Gordon (?) of Kisseynew Canoe Company demo steam bending stems. That's a pair of record-breaking paddlers you are looking at by the way.
Above: Martin demonstrates fiberglass & epoxy techniques. Martin was incredibly well prepared and had built a panel to demonstrate (from right to left) wet-out of the glass cloth, filling the weave, and applying a 3rd coat of epoxy.
Thank you to everyone for coming, to Martin Bernardin & Kisseynew Canoe Company for hosting the event, and to Jesse, Carl & Martin for teaching us all a few things. The presentations were interesting and informative. Thanks especially to Heather for baking cookies!
The photos below are all taken by and courtesy of Heather Dunning. For the larger versions and more photos, view the full album on the Kisseynew Canoe Company web site..
Above: Yours truly welcoming participants and introducing the first speaker of the day. My kayak can be seen hanging in the upper left.
Above: Carl describes aspects of building his Waters Dancing stitch & glue kayaks. Above: I am introducing Jesse who told us about some of the more challenging aspects of building a skin-on-frame baidarka. Above: Martin & Gordon (?) of Kisseynew Canoe Company demo steam bending stems. That's a pair of record-breaking paddlers you are looking at by the way.Above: Martin demonstrates fiberglass & epoxy techniques. Martin was incredibly well prepared and had built a panel to demonstrate (from right to left) wet-out of the glass cloth, filling the weave, and applying a 3rd coat of epoxy.Thank you to everyone for coming, to Martin Bernardin & Kisseynew Canoe Company for hosting the event, and to Jesse, Carl & Martin for teaching us all a few things. The presentations were interesting and informative. Thanks especially to Heather for baking cookies!
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Rabid Boatbuilder Goes Wild
The result perhaps of inhaling too much green epoxy dust? See what happens when a boat builder lets loose. I'm pretty sure that's cedar dust on Martin's shirt. Fun with Five Star Homeless.
Friday, June 30, 2006
Kisseynew & the Yukon River Quest
I just checked the results of the Yukon River Quest which is currently underway. The race has already been won by a tandem kayak from the US, but in second place after the last checkpoint is team #84: Kisseynew - Denesuline Dalutweh! Martin Bernardin, the fellow behind Kisseynew Canoe Company, and his team are paddling his strip-built voyageur canoe and look like they are headed for a finish time of about 45 hours. They are probably actually done already, but the race results haven't yet been posted. In the meantime...
Go Kisseynew Go!!!
p.s. I just found the gallery of photos from the race here.
Go Kisseynew Go!!!
p.s. I just found the gallery of photos from the race here.
Update (July 4th, 2006): The official results have been posted and the awards made. Team 84 Kisseynew - Denesuline Dalutweh finished first in the Voyageur class with a record-breaking time of 42 hours, 56 minutes and 13 seconds, and won the prize of $1500 (which almost covers the $200 per person entry fee).
Congratulations Guys!
N.B. - I originally had the name of the team mixed up, interchanging the words Denesuline Dalutweh (which refers to the name of the first nation to which 3 of the paddlers belong). I had simply copied it from the YRQ website which had it mixed up as well. As it appears above is the corrected name, sorry for any confusion. Thanks to Heather for pointing out the mistake.
While I'm editing this post, I might as well add that one of the members of Team Kisseynew has written an article about his experience in the 2006 YRQ. You can find Ryan Martin's article here, and some photos here .
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