Charity, KayakingEvan HoltPaddle for a Cause, Nick Fauset, Andy FausetComment

Trail Swag Interviews: Andy and Nick Fauset

Charity, KayakingEvan HoltPaddle for a Cause, Nick Fauset, Andy FausetComment

The Father and Son team of Andy and Nick Fauset will be kayaking the Trent-Severn Waterway from Trenton to Peterborough, Ontario to raise awareness for Prostate Cancer Canada.  Their 14 day journey, Paddle for a Cause will be taking place in September and they are aiming to raise $5,000. We caught up with the duo to ask them a few questions...

Trail Swag: We love gear, give us a rundown of some of the items you will be taking...
 Andy: 

  •  Kayaks: We have one 17' 6" Necky IV Looksha" kayak (rudder model). This is a great cruising kayak with a very comfortable & multi-adjustable seat.  The shell is polypropylene, meaning that it is very durable and resistant to rocky landing spots on the TSW. The other kayak is a 17' 6" Solex Extreme by Waters Dancing Inc. This is a wood / epoxy & glass composite boat built by myself in 2008. It is comfortable with good storage space.
  • Paddles: was are waiting on the delivery of Bending Branches Hybrid paddles. These have carbon fibre shafts & paddle heads from glass & epoxy.  We use 230mm and they each weigh in at 30oz. or 850g.
  • GPS: We use a Garmin Oregon 450 with Ontario Backroads Maps. 
  • Stove: Jetboil
  • Food: we use dehydrated foods from Backpackers Pantry with a variety of energy bars and trail mixes that we have been buying from Costco.

Nick: 

  • We have a standard issue jetboil stove, also just purchased a MSR Universal stove that can burn almost any fuel. Looking like this will be along for the trip.
  • Last year we had one tent, but decided that this was a bit of a mistake due to some of the storms that we ended up in. I recently purchased a Eureka Alpenlite Tent – It is a very durable 4 season tent
  • We both have BlackBerry smartphones and will be tweeting while on the water – I recently upgraded to a Q10, also have a backup battery
  • We have a GoPro Hero 2 camera, with all the floats and straps for water use – hopefully will have some footage up from last year soon
  • All the standard paddle gear including safety gear, lifejackets, skirts, paddle floats, lines, etc.
  • Andy just upgraded his kayak for this years paddle, last year he didn’t have a rudder, which became a serious problem during a few storms – he now has one.
  • We use Black Diamond and Petzl headlamps, Black Diamond lantern
  • We actually lock through each lock, so we don’t carry any kind of gear bags or backpacks
  • You’d be surprised, but the most useful piece of gear turned out to be a sad looking piece of carpet that Andy bought from a dollar store – We lay the carpet on the edge of the concrete lock walls and are able to pull out the kayaks without damaging them.

Trail Swag: Are you camping just along the route?

Andy: We camp at Trent Severn Waterway Lock Stations, wherever this is practical or possible.  The camping fee is only ~$7.00 and there are restricted access toilets and washrooms provided for overnight boaters. On this trip, we will also camp at a Resort on Rice Lake to break the Hastings/ Peterborough leg, as there are no Lock Stations until just before Little Lake, Peterborough.

Nick: To make life easier, we usually try to lock through and camp on the far side of the lock – It enables us to leave in the morning without waiting for the locks to open. 


Trail Swag: Has paddling been something that you and your Father always done together?

Andy: We have been paddling together since ~ 2008, starting at our cottage with Nick in his white water, Fun-Boat (Dagger RX 6.9)  initially and me in my kayak (the one mentioned above); a pretty unfair advantage on flat water! 

Nick:  Andy is of course referring to kayaking only – We have canoed together since I was very little, mostly in the Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park. We have always used Eureka Tents while on these trips – The new tent that I just purchased is the third generation of Eureka tents that we have owned.

Trail Swag: Share with us why you feel passionate about preventing/curing Prostate Cancer

Andy:  It was Nick's idea to combine our desire to take in longer kayak trips with the raising of funds for a charity.  We decided to focus on Prostate Cancer Canada because one of our friends died from the effects the disease.  Prostate Cancer is an exclusively male cancer and is treatable when detected in the early stages.  We hope that our efforts will indirectly save the life of at least one man, by getting the information out there.

Nick: The background for the initiative is somewhat summarized on our site – but what Andy said is correct.

“In the summer of 2011, my father (Andy) and I (Nick) completed a four day kayak trip along the Rideau Canal from Kingston to Perth Ontario.  Although we didn’t have the opportunity to complete the second half of the journey that summer (from Perth to Ottawa, Ontario), the experience was a bittersweet reminder of how beautiful our country is, knowing that not everyone is fortunate enough to experience it as we did.

With the summer of 2012 fast approaching, we began to discuss the possibility of a second kayak trip.  Our experience during the summer of 2011 made it possible to anticipate some of the obstacles that we would encounter, but this year seemed different somehow.

After several discussions, “Paddle for a Cause” was born.  Through PaddleforaCause.ca, we will be promoting information about our yearly kayak trips in support of Prostate Cancer.  We have both known individuals affected by prostate cancer, and would like to do our part toward supporting research and spreading awareness.”

Head over to Paddle for a Cause to make a donation,  follow them on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date, and meet up with them on September 29th at the Silver Bean Cafe to celebrate the end of their fundraiser.