Post Brigade Reports & Links

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Exciting news to announce: There will be a second brigade in Atlantic Canada, this one in the Birthplace of Confederation, Prince Edward Island. 

The Brigade will consist of two legs. Leg One will be a paddle across the Northumberland Strait from Cape Tormentine, NB to Borden, PEI with crews to assemble on July 23 and paddle across on July 24  (July 25 is set aside as a weather date for the Strait paddle).  Leg Two will be a paddle on the West River from Bonshaw to Charlottetown July 26, then from Charlottetown to Mt. Stewart on the Hillsborough River July 27

Overview: The Confederation Brigade will consist of three days of paddling by voyageur style canoes, typically from 24’ up to 30’ and crewed by 6 or more paddlers. Crews can opt to participate in either leg or in both.
The Strait crossing will embark from Cape Tormentine, NB and follow the path of the Confederation Bridge to Borden, PEI.  Our route will be approximately 20 kilometers across open water.  Permission to paddle under the last few piers of the bridge will be sought. Crews will assemble on the 23rd at a campground in Cape Tormentine.  If the 24th is a poor day for crossing, the trip will be postponed until the 25th. If that is a bad weather day as well, then the trip will be cancelled and the crews will proceed to Bonshaw for the river portion of the Brigade.

The 25th will be registration day at Bonshaw with crew leader meetings and safety briefings. On the 26th, the route will start in Bonshaw on the West River and canoes will paddle to Charlottetown, finishing at Founders Wharf. The 27th will see the canoes depart Charlottetown and paddle up the Hillsborough River to Mt. Stewart. It is expected that at least 5 or 6 voyageur canoes will participate, although more may be interested.

We are working with our partners, the Hillsborough River Association, to plan a welcoming ceremony in Charlottetown when the canoes arrive in mid-afternoon.  After the ceremony, the voyageur canoes would be available to give people tours in the canoes, a program called People in Boats. Day 2 provides a number of opportunities to celebrate the Hillsborough River, either at the start point in Charlottetown or at the finish in Mt. Stewart.

More details will be available soon and registration will open later.  We are working with the HRA to set an appropriate entrance fee based on services provided such as camping, meals, etc., so stay tuned if you are interested in this event.  It is scheduled to begin just after the St. John River Brigade especially for those crews travelling to NB for this event.  

Contact:    michaelmurphy@eastlink.ca