Winter Presentations – Maxime Geoffroy

     Paddling the Northwest Passage

        Hampton Hall, Marine Institute

As a research scientist with the Marine Institute, Maxime studies arctic oceanography which has included annual cruises on research vessels over the past decade. During this time, he wondered what it would be like to experience the harsh waters of the Northwest Passage from the seat of a kayak.

The exploration took precise planning which included tracking the weather conditions for every ten kilometres of the route along with detailed study of mapping. Maxime and his partner had a narrow window to complete the paddle, so rest days were not an option! Following the 5,000-kilometre drive to the starting point in Tuktoyaktuk, the guys concluded they had to be fit enough to paddle 10-12 hours a day, for 50 days! Maxime stated in a CBC interview, the exploration was at times “a mental game” as he was always on high alert for grizzly bears and other wildlife.