The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Modern-day voyageurs will make use of satellite-based location and communication technologies when they re-trace the main fur trade route of "les hommes du nord" across Northern Saskatchewan. Guardian Mobility Corporation and Waypoint Information Technologies Inc. are pleased to announce their sponsorship of the Saskatchewan Centennial Canoe Quest which gets underway Monday, Jun 20. The canoe race, covering a course over 1,000 kilometres long through some of the most remote regions of Canada, is one of the major events organized to celebrate the Saskatchewan Centennial. Under the sponsorship agreement, Guardian will equip each canoe team with a satellite tracking unit designed to compute the latitude and longitude of the team at regular intervals making use of Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites orbiting 20,000 kilometres above the earth. Every 30 minutes, a new position is transmitted to the Guardian network server in Ottawa using the Globalstar satellite communications network. The positions are then digitally plotted on a detailed topographic map of the route using technology developed by Waypoint, and can be viewed in a browser window by logging onto the web site www.saskcanoequest.ca With location coordinates of each team acquired and transmitted every 30 minutes, a near-real time view of the teams' progress will be shown throughout the entire two weeks of the race. See 'Route' P.# Con't from P.# The race is considered to be quite grueling and dangerous, covering a swath of territory through northern Saskatchewan that, in places, is very remote and always under the influence of highly unpredictable weather. Safety issues are therefore first and foremost in the eyes of race organizers. While all crews are required to carry satellite telephones for emergency notification, the Guardian/Waypoint tracking system provides an added level of security by showing exactly where everyone is at any one time. According to race organizer Sharalyn Reitlo: "While there is definitely a safety benefit in using the Guardian/Waypoint tracking system, we feel that having the race progress shown in near real time over a web site will be a great attraction to canoe enthusiasts world-wide in addition to friends and family of the crews. The tracking system will not replace the official time keeping for the race but it will certainly allow everyone to experience the day-to-day excitement of this historic event." Amit Nandi, Director of Product Management at Guardian Mobility, enthusiastically agrees saying: "Nobody has ever tracked a wilderness canoe race in near-real time on this scale before. And since television coverage will be impossible to maintain for the entire race, the fact that the race can be followed on an hourly basis by logging onto a web site makes it even more unique. We are very pleased to be part of the premier event of the Saskatchewan Centennial and to help people across Canada get caught up in the excitement." Phil Wyatt, President of Waypoint Information Technologies said: "The Canoe Quest event is a unique application of Waypoint's powerful and flexible on-line asset tracking and analysis capabilities. We are pleased to be able to provide a high-quality solution tailored for Canoe Quest that is accessible to anyone with an Internet connection." About the Saskatchewan Centennial Canoe Quest A total of 31 teams from Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba and Scotland will paddle 8-metre voyageur canoes from the western border of Saskatchewan across 1,018 km of lakes, rivers and land. The historical route will follow the Churchill and Sturgeon River systems and will begin in Clearwater River Dene Nation on June 20th and finish in Cumberland House on July 5th. The route will follow the 1928 journey of George Simpson and a hand-picked crew of nine Iroquois who paddled upstream along the same route in 12 days, stopping to do business along the way. The course is designed to pass through a number of northern communities who have organized a series of events to welcome and entertain the paddlers during the two week race. More information can be found at http://www.saskatchewancentennialcanoequest.info/.
