Kayak 4 a Kure

Kayak 4 a Kure
Overview

Trip Route

Starting at Lake Itasca, Minnesota, we will be navigating through the headwaters of the Mississippi River and continuing along the river to the end where he empties into the Gulf of Mexico south of Venice, Louisiana. The trip will be made in expedition grade tandem kayaks and the River Team will be comprised of two individuals. The length of the trip is approx. 2,350 miles taking us through 10 states and we expect to complete the trip in 30 days or less. Unlike previous trips using this route, we will be attempting to make this trip in, as far as we know, world record time.
Interesting to note is that rivers and bodies of waters are generally referred to as feminine; however the Mississippi River is referred to in a masculine gender as “Old Man River” or “Father of Waters”. The Mississippi River is the third largest river and second largest watershed area in the world and is the primary watershed for over 40% of the United States covering all or parts of 31 states including 2 Canadian Provinces and one eighth of North America. The river basin measures 4.76 million square kilometers. Mississippi is an Ojibwa (Chippewa) Indian word, which means “Great River” or “Gathering of Waters”.

Team Members

Our Support Team is comprised of one individual to date, Kristi Dunn, who handles the majority of the River Teams Press and New Releases, Fundraising, Sponsorship Negotiations, and Tracking the progress of the River Team. She has had numerous years of experience in fundraising on projects benefiting such organizations as the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life, and Jaycee’s Burn Center at Duke University Medical Center, and really shares a passion for this area of work. We are grateful to have her as part of our team. We will assist her with whatever tasks are at hand, whether that is, soliciting sponsors, donations for charity, fundraising, logistical support volunteer coordination, or helping to construct news releases.
Our River Team is comprised of two adventurous men, John Dubina and Louis Breckenridge. Together they plan the trip route, logistics of travel, compilation of gear and supplies, logo design, brochures, presentations, and much of the footwork that is necessary for the success of the trip.
Since 1997, John Dubina tackled the Caribbean by SCUBA diving Cozumel, Belize, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos, St. Kitts, St. Maarten, Statia, and Saba, visiting the same places many times. Sky diving and skiing have balanced out the underwater exploits. When he tried Whitewater Rafting last year he fell head over heels for it.
John’s sense of adventure all began as an 11 year old while living in Europe for 4 years. From that time on new and challenging objectives found their way into his life. Blindly and with no prior research or reservations he traveled to Spain for 2 weeks and toured the whole of the country from the heart of Spain in Madrid to the Basque Country of the North, through Hemmingway's Pamplona down to the coast through Barcelona, Malaga and finally landing in Gibraltar. Visiting Germany many times he found the pleasure in meeting new people and learning new cultures. The trips to Austria, Czech Republic, Poland and Paris heightened this.
And now through a friendship with Louis a new and more demanding exploration has an opportunity to start. John states, “Not only will this trip stress the physical limits of my abilities but also the mental ones. And if this trip succeeds the possibility of other trips titillates me beyond measure. As with everything else in life this trip will benefit Children’s Cancer Research by way of contributions. Having a 2 year old makes me look at life under a new light, and if I have the opportunity to help other children then that is the least I could do for being blessed with a healthy child of my own.”
Louis Breckenridge is an adventurer to the core of his being, having served in the U.S. Army as a Special Forces Trained Soldier. He is an avid Kayaker, Hiker, Whitewater Enthusiast, Outdoorsman, and S.C.U.B.A. Certified Diver. Louis is a Mississippi native and has spent most of his life exploring the Smoky Mountains, the barrier Islands of the Gulf Coast, and kayaking the plethora of river and streams that have crossed his path. Beginning in the early 1990s, he has had the opportunity to explore the Netherlands, Belgium, France, southern Spain, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. His travels have taken him from the ocean, to the mountains, to tropical forests to the high plains, to the deserts in search of adventure and the exploration of this world we live in. This trip is one of his dreams and he plans to carry forth many more adventures which will bring to reality his vision of being a world class adventurer while bring awareness to various world issues from cancer to the environment.

Media

We will be compiling a video documentary of the trip and plan to post daily blogs on the Internet, via a laptop and a wireless connection. The documentary will cover our experiences on the river and personal thoughts/views that form along the way. It will be very interesting to see changes in personalities, team dynamics; physical/mental differences, due to fatigue and environmental effects. Media coverage will be attracted through use of Press Releases and the promotion of our blogs, website, and video documentary. Press stops are being planned for Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN; St. Louis MO; Memphis, TN; Vicksburg, MS and at trip’s end in New Orleans, LA. The resulting coverage will help bring attention to the sport of Kayaking and adventure trips.

Charity

We have chosen the name “Kayak 4 a Kure” as we shall hope to raise $500,000 in donations from individuals and companies for Children’s Cancer Research. The cancer cure rate for leukemia in children has risen from 4% to over 80% cure rate at present. With your help hopefully we can find a total cure for this type of cancer and help to fund research that would find cures for other childhood type cancers. Currently in development is our website, www.kayak4akure.com, where anyone can visit and read about our progress and information on contributions.

Sponsorship

Advertising for our sponsors will be accomplished via video/news coverage, blogs, product reviews, logo placement, and equipment endorsements. We hope to court and gain weekly coverage on a national level on an outdoor sports based network. Sponsorship levels will be determined by equipment donations, monetary donations to offset trip expenses, and will be reflected in the logo size & placement.
Our website will include a links to sponsor’s sites so visitors will be able to click though and visit our various sponsor’s sites. Hopefully, this will increase site traffic sales for our sponsors. We would ask the same of our sponsors by adding our link to their sites, which would help to attract more attention to our cause and donations from those visitors.

Logistics

Dates have not been officially set at this time, however we shall be starting the trip in the spring of 2007. We will transport our crafts and gear to Lake Itasca, Minnesota where we will ready ourselves for departure. A spring start should aid us by taking advantage of the spring thaw and rains, which in turn should increase the river level and speed. Paddling days will be lengthy; we are hoping to paddle a minimum of 10 hours each day in a tandem kayak. Utilizing tandem kayaks will allow us to focus our energy by paddling one craft together, multiplying our endurance and distance.
The Mississippi River is a dangerous river, with swift currents, giant eddies, and very unstable below the surface. Observation of the river in many locations gives one the impression that the water is “Boiling” from the turbulence that “Old Man River” generates. The kayaks that we will be using must be able to cope with such a massive and powerful river such as this.
Weather will still be somewhat unpredictable and we expect to encounter everything from cold temperatures, ice, snow, rain, sun, strong winds, and even hot temperatures. Our gear should help keep us comfortable in those weather changes. Wildlife challenges will present a different concern altogether. Our major concern will come from mosquitoes as we make our way south so bug protection gear and repellants will be of utmost importance. In the extreme southern portion of this trip there have been documented cases of dogs and other animals actually dying from loss of blood due to mosquito bites. Since our time will be exclusively spent on the river and surrounded by swamps and floodplains, we will be under constant threat of mosquito attacks both day and night. Bear, rattlesnakes, cottonmouth moccasins, and bobcats will be additional threats to be reckoned with throughout the length of the trip.
Re-supply will be accomplished by picking up food, water, and other expendable supplies at the various towns and cities along the way. Since we will re-supply often, our load will be lightened allowing us to make the best of our paddling energy. We will be pitching camp along the river as we progress.
We will be updating this so anyone that wishes to contribute to this cause may do so.

I may be contacted at: breck79118@yahoo.com for questions