Chesterfield Inlet (Jun 14/06) - Kayak fever is alive and well at Victor Sammurtok school in Chesterfield Inlet.

Led by teachers Glen Brocklebank and Ana Leishman, students finished building six more kayaks earlier this month.

The students are working to increase their fleet in time for the regional science camp this coming September.

Victor Sammurtok will host about 40 teachers and students from across the Kivalliq at the event.

"We also have a big expedition planned for September and the more kayaks we have, the more kids we can have on the water participating in the trip," said Brocklebank.

"We now have 15 finished kayaks ready to go."

Brocklebank won't name a set destination for the expedition because he doesn't want the trip to be regarded as a success or failure based on how far the students travel. He said the journey is far more important than the destination.

"We'll focus on visiting places the elders have identified as good hunting spots or camping areas.

"In reality, the kayaks are a vehicle for our students to develop more land skills."

Brocklebank and Leishman hope to have 20 students on the expedition.

The group will be accompanied by students and adults in power boats for safety reasons, as well as to lend a helping hand at the campsites.

Brocklebank said the school held exams before the local fishing derby this year and billed the latest kayak-building project as a way to reward the students for their efforts this semester.

He said the students accepted the challenge of completing six kayaks before the end of the semester and wasted no time getting to work. "We did in 10 days what took us 15 last year. The students have become more efficient during the construction process and have a better eye for detail.

"We learned from our first efforts and corrected our mistakes.

"We changed the ribs in these six significantly, so now they're more stable in the water and easier to paddle."

The project has taken on a life of its own since starting with cardboard kayaks about four years ago.

Brocklebank said the cardboard project led to model kayaks and the program just kept growing.

"Once we completed the models, we decided to make full-size kayaks in October, 2004 and it's been growing steadily since then."