HALIFAX – There were cheers and champagne as a Nova Scotian man’s handmade boat was christened before it embarks on a major adventure.
Peter L’Esperance, 24, spent two months planning and six months building a dory by himself. It was unveiled and officially launched at the Halifax harbourfront on Saturday.
“I’m excited. The row, the boat, I just tried it out there and it works wonderfully,” said L’Esperance.
The water lover but self-confessed inexperienced rower plans to row the dory more than 150 nautircal miles to raise money for the Nova Scotia Nature Trust. He will row from Halifax to La Have River and back.
The journey will take between two and three weeks, and there will be long stretches of rowing solo, but it will all be done to help better preserve Nova Scotia’s coast.
“I’m interested in doing something to confront some of the environmental challenges that society perhaps faces,” he said.
“”There’s a lot of ecologically important habitats, rich biodiverse areas that are important to conserve,” said Alice Morgan with the Nova Scotia Nature Trust.
Spectators packed the harbourfront for the launch, many snapping pictures of the dory and some making sure to snap pictures with its creator.
The solo trip may worry some families but not L’Esperance’s.
“As a young boy, he would go swimming and just keep on swimming,” said mother Paula. “I would say come back Pete but he just loves the water. He’s very competent. He will have some safety in mind and won’t go beyond what the boat is capable of.”
L’Esperance leaves for his journey in August.
If you are interested in donating to the cause, click the following link: http://www.canadahelps.org/GivingPages/GivingPage.aspx?gpID=24187
For more information on the Row the South Shore project, click here: http://nsnt.ca/rowthesouthshore/
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