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CHESTERFIELD INLET - It may not exactly have been The Song My Paddle Sings, but a group of about 20 students in Chesterfield Inlet earned rave reviews for a kayak trip they took this past month.

Victor Sammurtok teacher Glen Brocklebank said the students ranged from Grade 9 to Grade 12, with the majority being from Grades 9 and 10.

Roger Tautu, Darren Tanuyak and Jordin Ippiak, from left, paddle along during a kayak trip near Chesterfield Inlet in September of 2008. - photo courtesy of Glen Brocklebank

"It was pretty incredible because about half the group were first-time paddlers," said Brocklebank.

"We used kayaks we build right here in Chester.

"We took them to First Lake by trailer and then paddled First, Second and Third Lake."

The idea of the trip was to prepare the students for a big kayak adventure planned for 2009.

The group will paddle the same lakes in 2009 but will then continue on through a number of creeks until they reach the ocean.

The trip will end in an area that has a couple of cabins and a reputation for great fishing.

Brocklebank said his focus during the September trip was on how the kids handled the two portages involved.

He said one portage was about 600 metres, while the other was more than 1.5 km between two lakes.

"The kids held up very well and did a lot better than I had anticipated. This is going over the land we're talking about. "It's not like they had a nice path or road to follow. It was tough going in places and they handled themselves quite well."

Once the students reached their destination, they set up camp for the night near a well-known picnic area to the people of Chester.

Brocklebank said about 20 parents came out to visit the kids at the camp that evening, which was a nice surprise for everyone.

"The trip was a lot of fun and the kids met the challenge with flying colours.

"We're going to try to spend multiple nights on the land next year, but, being as how this was our first time, we wanted the students to get used to being in the boats all day, moving them over land, getting wet and cold and then waking up in the morning and doing it all over again. I didn't want to go any longer than one night because I wanted everyone to know they would be inside and warm by the next afternoon.

"It was incredible to watch the students in action because kayaking is almost instinctual to these kids."