Trivia Night

Our Recent Fund Raising Rodney Brown Concert

Back Row - Rick Zroback – Chair ARVCB , Craig MacMillan – CoChair Brule, Lorraine MacKay - Vice Chair ARVCB, Rodney Brown – Canadian Historical Troubadour, Colleen Darbyshire - Co Chair Jasper, Darryl Trahan - Treasurer ARVCB. Front Row – Diane Watson – CoChair Hinton.

Our River The Athabasca

Our Goal

GOAL 

• To organize a 4 day voyageur canoe celebration from Jasper to the Emerson Creek Bridge (approximately 40 kms downstream from Hinton) just downstream from the mouth of Obed Creek.

The Brigades

ATHABASCA RIVER VOYAGEUR CANOE BRIGADE 
 
 

Thursday Aug. 18, 2011- Sunday Aug. 21, 2011

ORIGINAL BRIGADES 

• The original brigades were prominent in the early and mid 1800’s paddled by predominantly French Canadian paddlers known as voyageurs
• Made up of 4-6 canoes manned by 24  to 36 voyageurs transporting furs from the interior of western North America to designated forts and then returning  with manufactured goods from Europe

ORIGINAL BRIGADES 

• Crew members – Avant (bowman) sat in the front of the canoe and acted as Navigator and Guide 
• Gouvernail (steersman) sat or stood at the stern (rear) and steered as per directions of the Avant
• Milieu( middleman) least experienced could aspire to become Avant or Gouvernail
• A conductor, or pilot, which all were obliged to obey, was appointed to every 4 or 6 canoes

BRIGADE TRIVIA 

• The original Brigades would travel up to 160 km per day for up to 14 hours at 40 strokes per minute
• At portages the voyageurs used tumpline, a leather strap that went across the forehead, then back and around the load. Each voyageur was assigned to carry a minimum of two 90 pound bundles.

RECENT BRIGADES 

• 1967 – Canada’s Centennial –  8 Provinces and 2 Territories raced voyageur canoes from Rocky Mountain House to  Montreal – over 5,000 kms
• 2007 –Columbia River Brigade – Southern British Columbia – 700 kms – 10 days
• 2008 David Thompson Brigade – Rocky Mountain House to Old Fort William  (Thunder Bay) 3200 kms - 63 days

FUTURE BRIGADES 

• 2010 David Thompson Brigade – 1700 kms from Thunder Bay to Montreal- 43 days
• 2011 David Thompson Brigade – 1700 kms from Invermere BC to Astoria Washington -45 days Brigade will end on July 15^th 2011 – 200 years after David Thompson arrived at the Pacific
• 2011 Athabasca River Voyageur Canoe Brigade – 140 kms – 4 days

VOYAGEUR BRIGADE SOCIETY 

• Fostering awareness of waterways and fur trade stories via paddling brigades. 
  
• The Voyageur Brigade Society (VBS) arose from the enthusiasm generated by the 2008 David Thompson brigade. Many of the 300 brigade members expressed interest in future brigades. The VBS was established in April 2009 with a mandate “to commemorate the fur trade by fostering paddling brigades and other events that celebrate the achievements and activities of fur traders, surveyors, merchants, First Nations people and women of the fur trade era (1602 1850)”.

VOYAGEUR BRIGADE SOCIETY 

• GOALS :
• Provide access of information from previous brigades which will ease the planning task
• Archive documents and images from    completed brigades
• Link paddlers with adventure
• Insurance Requirements

VBS connection

Assistance

Training

Team

What’s required 

ATHABASCA RIVER VOYAGEUR CANOE BRIGADE

Thursday Aug. 18, 2011- Sunday Aug. 21, 2011