Mylène Paquette
Navigator
Mylène, 27, was working as an orderly for sick children at the Sainte-Justine hospital, when a project was beginning to take form in her head. While searching the Internet, she found out about an international event: ocean rowing. More than impressed, Mylène literally fell in love with the event and the challenge. She had also found a goal, a rather unusual one to say the least, to row across the Atlantic Ocean!
Only 395 people have crossed the planet’s oceans in rowboats. Six Canadians have taken up the challenge up to now, two men soloed and a team of four other people made a crossing – Mylène among them! From January 12, 2010 to March 10, 2010, she was part of a 6-rower team that travelled the 2,800 nautical miles separating Morocco from Barbados. During that crossing, she chalked up more than 680 hours of rowing over 58 days.
To see a video about Mylène and her latest feat, visit: http://vimeo.com/12692666
During this first trip, Mylène was the only person from the Americas, the only Francophone, and the only woman in the rowboat – she thus had the opportunity to come to grips with her feelings of loneliness. Whereas her teammates only had eyes for Barbados, Mylène was coveting the North Atlantic. This first crossing was for her only a first step towards acquiring the necessary experience to set off again alone. The observations she was able to make during the voyage strengthened her conviction that is crucial to protect the oceans and their marine ecosystems.
Up to now, only two women have successfully accomplished this feat. To be the first Canadian to row solo across an ocean represents a very powerful motivation.
A navigator, a public speaker, an ambassador for the St. Lawrence River, and a David Suzuki Foundation partner, the young 32-year old woman has finally decided that the momentous departure would be in June 2013. In a 7.31-metre by 2.08-metre rowboat, Mylène will row alone to accomplish this crossing, an achievement which no Canadian, or American for that matter, has pulled off before her.
Furthermore, this will be done on one of the oceans which is the most feared by seafarers, the North Atlantic, where Mylène will travel the 2,700 nautical miles (5,000 km) between Gaspé (Quebec, Canada) and Brittany (France). She will need one hundred days to reach this goal, during which she may very well encounter cold temperatures and 12-metre waves. Winds up to 100 km/h are also to be expected.
She wishes to use a less frequently chosen itinerary, an extraordinary sport challenge, to thus demonstrate that it is possible to do things differently – she hopes to raise awareness in a different fashion. The route chosen will not be the easiest, but to know that her voyage might encourage some people to think critically about their own environmental choices gives her wings. During the crossing, her onboard telecommunication equipment will afford her some influence over numerous more responsible actions via interviews, blogs, and publications.
To see an informational video about the Odycean Project titled “Come on Board”, visit: http://vimeo.com/21098473
Summer 2011 / Training:
As a training run, Mylène will be sailing down the St. Lawrence River from June 25, 2011 to August 31, 2011, that is from Montréal, her home town, to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. By following the St. Lawrence Seaway, Mylène wants to make people aware of both the importance of preserving the health of the River and the interdependence between our terrestrial way of life and the aquatic environment. As an ambassador for the St. Lawrence River in the David Suzuki Foundation program "The Saint Lawrence: Our living river”, Mylène encourages the general public to get to know better this great river, a true heirloom.
Between Montréal and the Magdalene Islands, she plans to stop in more than thirty communities along the St. Lawrence River, to give talks and share her Odycean Project with the general public. Come meet Mylène and find out all about the rowboat with which she plans to row to France next summer. Keep tabs on her adventure by reading her blog, her Facebook page or her Twitter feed.