Don Lowther has been around kayaking longer than most of us, combined.  And he’s good at it, too.  Kayak for a Cure™ and Don Lowther might as well be one in the same in the sense that he’s been around the organization since year #1 and leads his local kayaking community in Victoria, British Columbia on one of the most inspiring paddles of year.

Don also shows his support and makes the trip to Vancouver, BC and up to Comox Valley, BC every year to support his fellow Kayak for a Cure events.  From our perspective, Don’s a pretty quiet guy – actions speak.  With that, we’re pumped to ask him to finally ‘pipe-up!’ a bit so we can share his story on our blog.

This is your 4th annual KAYAK FOR A CURE event in your local community – what motivated you to make this an annual event in the fight against cancer and how have you kept it going so long?

My motivation to bring Kayak For A Cure to Victoria and to make it an annual event was the loss of my mother to cancer in January of 2005; adding to that was the loss to cancer of my two grandmothers, a great grandmother my Aunt Evelyn and since starting the Victoria event my cousin Nicole and several respected colleagues.

What drives me now to continue this fight are not only those that have gone before us, but more importantly, those who are still here.
My daughter and her little sister, my niece, nephews, sisters, dad, family, friends, colleagues and millions of people I’ll never know or meet who ‘deserve’ a life free of the fear of cancer.

How did you learn about KAYAK FOR A CURE as an organization?

After my mom passed away I was on a 40 day kayak trip completing a circumnavigation of Vancouver Island; there was a great deal of time to think during those 40 days. I made up my mind during that trip that I was going to honour my mother’s life and memory by using kayaking to raise money to fight cancer. My mom was not a fan of small boats , so would never have tried kayaking herself but through photographs I would take on my paddle adventures mom was able to experience the the beauty and freedom of the ocean environment that only a kayaker can truly understand. Those pictures I would store on the Flickr photo website and it was there that I came across the Vancouver Kayak For A Cure event pictures. From there I was able to track down Mark Starkey by email; we talked at length about the Kayak For A Cure vision by phone and then over  coffee in Kitsilano. My name was written all over this, I wanted to be a part of Kayak For A Cure and with help from Mark and his team we made it happen.

Tell us a bit about the local area in which you organize your local KAYAK FOR A CURE event?

To borrow a line from Blaine Brown, organiser of the Kayak For A Cure Comox Valley and a man for whom I hold tremendous respect and admiration, “Victoria is a paddler’s mecca” !
Here in Victoria you can’t travel more than 5 minutes without passing by a car with one or more kayaks on the roof heading for a put-in. Go to any beach or waterfront (we’re surrounded by waterfront) look out onto the water and you will invariably see kayakers. On one side of town we have the incredible southern Gulf Islands, across the Salish Sea behind them the majestic Mt. Baker stands watch in the background. Looking to the south ,we have a backdrop of the magnificent Olympic Mountains with Juan de Fuca Straight shimmering out in front.
It just doesn’t get any better than this for kayaking in your own back yard !

What is the goal for this year’s event?

The goal for the 4th Kayak For A Cure Victoria is the same as for the three that came before it; to attract good people to take part in a fun, safe and healthy day on the water while at the same time raising money to pay for the dedicated researchers and specialists supported by the Canadian Cancer Society.