Terence Cantarella launches on his four day Canoe Project exploration on Monday morning from near NE 69th St. and Biscayne Blvd. in Miami.
On Monday, April 16, listen to WLRN Miami Herald News (on 91.3 FM/91.5 FM in the Keys) at 8:04 a.m. and 1:04 p.m. for launch coverage. We’ll also be airing updates every morning and afternoon through Thursday.
WLRN Miami Herald News anchor Arianna Prothero spoke with Terence Cantarella about why and how he’s doing this. He says that he became interested in the canals because
Nobody seemed to know the names of the canals, where they lead, what their purpose is. I started doing some research because I had the idea of doing a multi-day excursion into the canals and I actually discovered that somebody had done it before–New Times writer Sean Rowe back in 1991. Recently I discovered that Sean died so I thought it was time for somebody else to take the baton and do it also. I guess like most people, I crave adventure, but I don’t have the time or the money to shoot off to the Amazon or Antarctica or anything like that. You do the best with what you’ve got and I’ve got the Miami-Dade canal system.
Thanks to those of you who submitted your questions and advice for Terence via social media.
Here are some of the questions and advice that didn’t make it into the interview:
Lydia Beyoud asked how Cantarella plans to keep his digital recorder dry if he capsizes. More on that soon. We have an ingenious plan informed by decades of scientific research.
Bill said “About 200 yards into his journey he’s going run into a spillway forcing him to portage. Get ready to carry that canoe, Terence. I’m sure there’s other along the way. ”
We also heard from a few people who tried this before and felt it could be accomplished in about a day. Daniel Madrigal commented that he actually did this just last month! He paddleda different route than Terence. Luckily Madrigal, only had to portage (carry) his canoe once–for fifty yards at the golf course by Miami International Airport. He also didn’t have WLRN Miami Herald News covering every breath and paddle of his voyage–so what was the fun in that?
Terence Cantarella realizes that the trip can be completed in a shorter amount of time, but
The point is not to get from point A to point B. It’s to actually take a little tour of the canals, maybe stop off for a beer here and there and just visit the different neighborhoods and hopefully meet some people along the canals.
You can follow more of the the conversation on our Storify feed, on Facebookor on Twitter with the hashtag #CanoeProject. Check here and listen on WLRN daily for updates.
