Vankleek Hill Scouts to set sail down the river

The First Vankleek Hill Scouts are planning a sailing trip down the Ottawa River, but not in the conventional sense.

The adventuresome group spent this past weekend on a farm near Lefaivre, building a raft completely out of wood. In fact, the Scouts used 50 logs, 21 barrels, and three kilometres worth of twine to build the 18-by-24-foot raft.

The entire raft, including the 20-foot sail, has been lashed together for ultimate flexibility; no parts have been screwed together.

The group will set sail from Lefaivre on Friday, July 8 and expects to arrive at Voyageur Park in Chute-à-Blondeau on Monday, July 11. Local residents are invited to keep an eye out for the Scouts, as they sail down the Ottawa River - and live life on the raft - over the long weekend. (To identify the raft, dubbed the S.S. Coon and Friends, look for the pirate skull and raccoon face at the top of the sail.)

"Usually, we've gone canoe-camping or whitewater canoeing to the Rouge River, but this year we wanted to try something different," explained the Scouts. "The idea is not to get off the raft, except for one quick stop in Hawkesbury."

One part of the raft is designed as a makeshift shelter for sleeping and relaxing, and everyone on board will have their separate chores. A fire pit will be incorporated into the raft to cook meals on an open fire - and a plank will be installed "in case anyone has to walk off," the Scouts joked.

The group is bringing two boxes of gear on the trip and will pull two canoes in back as rescue boats. A rudder has also been installed at the bank, but nevertheless, there is lots of paddling expected. Activities will include name-that-song games, a pie-baking contest, and swinging from the sailboat's Tarzan rope.

The Scouting leaders going on the trip are Willy Suter, Marc Duval, Stephane Leclair, and Stephane Lamothe. The Scouts are Ryan Yeaman, Chloe Golden-Duval, Philippe Morin, Philip Lamothe, Anthony Louis-Seize, and Liam Erdei - and they were lucky enough to get a helping hand to build the raft from former Scout Lisa Suter and future Scout Rhea Suter.

The Scouts also had some help from the community: Victor Reasbeck donated the logs, Serge Fournier lent them the trailer to bring the logs down to Serge Leclair's farm - who provided the space to build it - and D.M.D. Enterprises Inc. donated many of the barrels.

Look for the Scouts on the Ottawa River next month, and stay tuned to The Review's Facebook page for a "Spot the Scouts" photo contest.