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INUVIK
These paddlers are aiming to go around to the top of the world in 80 days.

Inuvik's Kevin Floyd, back, is helping advise kayakers Sebastien Lapierre and Olivier Giasson as they tackle a passage of the Northwest Passage by tandem kayak.- Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

An Inuvik paddling expert is helping Quebec kayakers Sebastien Lapierre and Olivier Giasson as they tackle an ambitious crossing of the Northwest Passage this summer.

It's a journey that Kevin Floyd, the president of the Inuvik Qayaq Club, said he dearly wanted to make for himself, but those plans changed when life and bad luck intervened.

Floyd, an authority on building traditional kayaks, said he had hoped to attempt a solo crossing of the passage, or at least some of it, this year. However, a persistent respiratory malady that has defied accurate diagnosis caused him to put those plans off for at least a year.

Floyd said he also needs to search for sponsors for the trip

"My health just isn't there," said Floyd, although he looked more than robust working on two craft at the Great Northern Arts Festival July 17.

He had recently returned from a medical evaluation in the south that left him with no further answers as to the nature of the bug. He said it's "just a weird virus" that's been spreading around town for some time and debilitating people.

Floyd said he graciously agreed to help Lapierre and Giasson, who are seasoned adventurers, with their trip after they contacted him. Floyd said he's a little concerned the duo may have started the attempt too late, but believes they have a decent shot at completing their journey from the Beaufort Delta to Igloolik in Nunavut.

The paddlers come hard on the heels of a group of four rowers who are attempting a non-stop crossing of the passage.

As for Lapierre and Giasson, the two said they're hoping to put their experience gained on a skiing expedition together in Greenland to good use.

They laughed at the suggestion their friendship might be more strained after the expedition, although they readily agreed it was possible.

"We're going to be travelling all the way to Igloolik," Lapierre said. "I guess, physically, it is for the challenge. We came back three years ago from Greenland looking for another expedition and people were talking so much about the Northwest Passage and the ice there, so we said that might be something to do and we thought to do it by kayak."

They're planning on stopping to camp every night along the way, which Lapierre said should help to soothe any frayed nerves.

"That's kind of why we're doing the expedition, with just the two of us," he said. "It will help reduce the conflict. In Greenland, it all went good, so we will see. An expedition is always the same. It's a challenge and you go over your limits.

"Physically, we think this will be less challenging than Greenland. We trained on the St. Lawrence, which is a challenging river."

Their biggest fear is encountering bears, since they will be carrying supplies in their kayak. The plan is to replenish them at drop points in the villages along the way as they hug the coast.

"We have the idea, but we have no control over the Arctic," Lapierre said.

Floyd agreed that could be a huge problem since their projected path puts them in the way of polar bears, grizzlies and their unpredictable hybrids.

He's outfitted them with a supply of bear bangers to help ward off any inquisitive or hungry bruins, as the men will not be carrying any firearms.

Floyd said he was also concerned that, like other adventurers before them, they might deviate from their plans for the sake of expediency and try to follow the ice rather than hug the shore.

While that strategy can work, if you're lucky, Floyd said it's also a recipe for disaster. The movement of the ice is wholly unpredictable and they could wind up trapped.

He estimated the men could do as much as 150 km per day in good conditions, and he was advising them to try to do so. They had planned on averaging 100 km daily, but Floyd warned there would be days when they wouldn't be able to travel at all.

Giasson and Lapierre are outfitted with communications equipment that will allow them to call for help and post regular updates on their progress.

Their estimated completion date is early October, as the sea will likely begin to freeze again by then.

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