Sibbo Kanotklubbens Diskussionsforum

ECT Feasibility study 9-5-03

Postat av: Harri Luukkanen
Datum: 9.5.2003, 22:23

file: ECT feasibility study 9-5-2003.doc

Written by Harri Luukkanen

EUROPE CANOE TOUR 2004
A proposal and feasibility study on a canoe tour trough Europe

Proposal for paddlers and clubs in Europe: should we arrange together in summer 2004 a long international canoe tour, or relay, starting from the Finnish east border at Gulf of Finland (Virolahti) and ending at the Mediterranean, France, in Marseilles?

The route – basic plan

The route would follow the Finnish coast to Helsinki, then Åbo (Turku) and further to Åland Island. From there we could paddle (and sail if there are sailing canoes participating) over the Åland Sea to Stockholm. In Sweden the route would follow the Swedish coast via Kalmar, Malmö to Helsingborg. From Sweden the ECT team would continue via Helsingör further to Denmark, and in Germany, along inland water river and canal system, to the Netherlands, Belgium, direct from there to Paris and trough France down to the Med, entering the Rhone river and ending after a 5 month touring somewhere near Marseilles.

Local paddlers will lead the international ECT group

The local clubs and paddlers along the route - familiar with their home waters, good places to go and stay - would be leading ECT team and supply the pilots, guides, for the team of international paddlers. The requisite for the smooth plan is that there is clubs participating, which coordinate their plans in advance

The whole distance and tour is divided in stages (etappe), performed in one week. The distances (at the sea) could be some 200+ km per week, which you could normally paddle in 5-6 days. Extra days are used for bad weather and/or sightseeing local places.

The ECT would in principle be open to all paddlers in Europe (we may consider US and Canadian participation?). Those paddlers taking part into the canoeing venture could choose one or several weeks, which they like to cover and places (stages) where they like to take part in the tour. The stages and places where the new members could entry the paddling ECT team will be published in advance.

Shared responsibility – joint success, pleasure and benefits

The point in my plan is, that we paddlers organize ourselves virtually for ECT and share the responsibility of leading and guiding the tour. If each club involved lead and guide the international ECT paddling group (team) for one week, as long as the tour goes on their home waters, then the next club will take the lead and the tour continue from stages to stages, from countries to countries until we reach our goal - the Med.

The task: To lead and guide the ECT team would be not difficult for any of established clubs, because kayak touring is what we all know very well and do regularly. For one local club the ‘duty tour’ may rest maybe only for one week or so, so I assume it would be easy to find group leaders and local guides, along with a paddlers trained in kayak rescue techniques.

The benefit: On the other hand, those clubs leading and guiding the international ECT team, have in first hand the right to send their own paddlers to participate in ECT on other stages and in other countries. When message spread about this unique opportunity to paddle trough Europe, there will probably be plenty of offers to participate.

The benefit – to see the main part of Europe from kayak level - will be shared by all of us equally. And when a club decides to participate, we can share the pleasure among our club members taking part in this grand tour. And finally, the ECT can succeed only if we all (clubs and paddlers) work for it - for its joint success.

An alternative route plan

It would be possible to continue from near Marseilles to south along the channel system up - if we have time - to Beziers in Southern France. And If we like to continue, from Bezier we could take two alternative routes, one along the great Canal due Midi going to the Atlantic coast and Bordeaux, the other possible route going the sea route on the Med along the Spanish coast south to Barcelona, or further.

But now I think that starting in early May and ending the tour in end September, the Med is a good goal and we hardly have time to go further in five (5) months. Next time more…

On rivers and canals of Europe

While going into the German canal and river system, we could maybe rent a barge or a boat for supply purposes, and that boat would follow the paddlers all the way in inland water system. Support boats are plenty to rent in the Netherlands (maybe in Germany too) where they make similar biking tours along the canals.

Support/supply barge would make things easier and much more comfortable to the participants because we need a rather large supply train - tents, food, extra canoes, first-aid, rest place for those unfit, if we do not carry all those things in a canoe. If we have rented a 20m barge, maybe the food could be made and served also on board of a barge. Three warm meals a day would make life comfortable, if you have only to concentrate in canoeing and enjoying the good company. Sleeping on a barge could maybe be also possible, but during summer months camping in tents in Central Europe is fine for us used in outdoor life. Maybe there would be too hot in the late summer for paddling exercise?

Question: shall we look for a voluntary skipper and a cook and a nurse for the tour, if we rent an unmanned barge (cheaper)? Maybe among paddlers, or paddlers’ friends there are some who would take a voluntary summer job?

How we could manage with sailing canoes in rivers and canal system it do not certain. Maybe we will find it out sooner or later. At least on the seaside the sailing canoes could be useful. But if they are not practical on canals and rivers, then we may skip them over while entering Germany and take only kayakers along.

Preliminary timetable

From Finland we could start the tour in first weekend of May and we would be in Sweden /Stockholm about four (4) weeks later, in the beginning of June. Paddling down the Swedish coast from Stockholm to Helsingborg may take some 4-5 weeks? Denmark may be crossed in 2-3 weeks and Copenhagen seen? Thus, the seaside kayaking may take some 10-12 weeks. We would be entering Germany inland waters in mid July, and then we would have some 10-12 weeks to go to the Med, via Holland and France, if tour will be finished at end of September. Stages will be planned and timetable drafted later in detail.

I ones calculated that it would take about 3500 km to the Med (Marseilles, France), and some 100 'working' days, if you could cover 35 km per day. But while we are not only paddling - we may make sightseeing and meet canoeing friends at clubs along the route, we may need more time, maybe up to end of September (five months, or 150 days).

How many people would be involved totally? I guess some 10-30 paddlers will be on each stage, a part of them local (we may meet also ‘unofficial’ paddlers along the route who like to escort the ‘official’ group, not calculated here). If we have some 20 stages (=weeks), and there are some 25 persons per stage (per week), then the total number of participants would be at the end about 500 people, or more.

Some stages require more skill than others. In the beginning, in Finland, in early May the water is ice cold and much care, skill and dry suits are needed on the first four legs, maybe also later along the Swedish and Danish coast. Thus, some kind of selection (prequalification) should be done to get only the seasoned kayakers along, where the margin of a fatal error will be small.

Costs, financial support, sponsors?

Later, we could maybe also turn to the sponsors and EU Commission, the sports Commissar for help and for some monetary support for this venture, our Europe Canoe Tour, to cover the car rents, barge, supply/ security boats etc).

But we could start from an assumption that the participants will themselves cover the main, if not all costs. Canoe touring is not expensive, as we all know, and surely enough people are willing to pay for travel costs in this unique European venture.

Greetings

Harri Luukkanen
Seakayaker, canoe sailor

Member of the Board of Sipoon Kanoottiklubi (SKK)
See: http://www.sipoonkanoottiklubi.net/

Chairman
FCU, Canoe Sailing Committee
http://194.100.44.195/slu/skal/liitto.nsf/Sivut/Kotisivu

Contact address:
Harri.Luukkanen@pp.htv.fi
Phone (home/office) +358-9-79 88 79