Taking on the Yukon 1000

By Joanie Veitch - The Weekly News
Allan Billard knows almost to the minute the day the ice came off Lake Banook. Not only were he and fellow paddler Gordon Warnica waiting anxiously to get their boat in the water to train for their fifth Kenduskeag Stream Canoe Race in Maine, over the winter the two had cooked up a plan to paddle the Yukon 1000, the world's longest canoe event.
The ice came off the lake on March 24. On April 18, Warnica, 63, and Billard, 60, took second place in their class at the Kenduskeag, and on July 20 the two will set out from Whitehorse, along with 18 other teams, to see who can paddle 1,000 miles along the Yukon River the fastest.
Race officials estimate this inaugural event will take between seven to 12 days to complete. Billard and Warnica are hoping to be done in 10.
"It's going to be challenging but we've done well enough in other races so we know we can do it. We don't want to just finish it, we want to win it," Billard said.
Having grown up on Silvers Hill, overlooking Lake Banook, Billard has paddled since he was a boy. It was after his two children began their time at Banook Canoe Club that Billard's love of the sport took a more competitive turn as he got involved in sprint racing and marathon paddling events.
He also became involved with officiating, training to an international level - even officiating at the Beijing Olympics last year.
"I had the best seat in the house. It was a dream come true," Billard said.
To prepare themselves for the Yukon 1000, Billard and Warnica, who lives in Fall River, have been training on the Shubenacadie River, paddling up to four hours a day.
The 1,600-km race starts July 20 at Whitehorse and travels down the Yukon River, along Lake Laberge (made famous in the Cremation of Sam McGee), past Dawson City and into Alaska, where it finishes at the Yukon River Bridge on the Dalton Highway, just north of Fairbanks.
The two will be travelling in a rented canoe so they're arriving in Whitehorse a couple of days early to get used to their vessel and have ample time to load food and other supplies.
Food will be mostly freeze-dried, quick-fix items packed in bear-proof containers. As the route will take the duo through vast uninhabited wilderness, the duo's cargo will also include pepper spray to ward off any aggressive animals, such as an attacking bear or moose, and plenty of mosquito repellent too.
The Yukon 1000 is an unsupported wilderness race, which - according to the race website - means there are no safety checkpoints along the way and teams must be equipped to be self-sufficient for at least two weeks, preferably three.
"We're not allowed to reprovision. There are not many places to do it even if we wanted to. Basically, we're on our own," Billard said.
Competitors are, however, required to wear a SPOT device in their lifejackets. Using GPS technology, the SPOT acts as both an indicator beacon to monitor their progress and a tracking device should they run into trouble.
Although there will still be about 19 hours of daylight, a six-hour rest rule is in place and will be monitored via the SPOT device.
"This is an amazing adventure," Billard said. "My wife figures it's my midlife crazy. She's probably right. It's going to be physically very challenging, but we're ready for it."
joanie.veitch@gmail.com
To follow Billard and Warnica's progress, check http://yukon1000.com