A Montreal woman will soon be setting sail on a solo journey along the St. Lawrence River. Calling herself the Courrier du Fleuve (River Courier), Gwenn Duval, an experienced sailor and trained oceanographer, will travel from Montreal to Ile-Aux-Coudres, delivering letters and teaching people about the wonders of microscopic plankton. “All the connections that you can have with the water is something that I want people to look for and find,” Duval said. The 33-year-old has been sailing almost since birth, with her parents fostering her love of sailing from an early age when the family lived in Brittany, France. “The first time she was on the boat she was a very small baby,” her mother, Sanja Stojanovic, said. “After that all the time she sailed often. I think that about four years old she was able to drive a boat, alone, with us around her, but she was that able.” Duval completed the Transat Quebec Saint-Malo transatlantic sailboat race in 2024 with an all-woman crew. Now she’s heading out on a solo journey aboard the Méaban, her small wooden Seil 18, a sailing-rowing boat powered only by wind and Duval’s muscles. She plans to set sail on Aug. 9 from Parc Clémentine de la Rousselière on the eastern tip of Montreal, and will sail approximately 400 kilometres along the St. Lawrence River before reaching Ile-Aux-Coudres around Sept. 15. Along the way, she will stop in at least 11 communities, where she will hold workshops teaching people about the plankton that feed the river’s ecosystem. Duval is grateful for the powerful Curiosity microscope she will use during her workshops, on loan from the company. She will collect water from the marina and will project the fascinating organisms she sees under the microscope onto a big screen for workshop participants. “We can take some water and there’s nothing in it and then we can watch it?” she said. “I’ve seen the fascination in the eyes of others and this, I love it.” The workshops were designed with Macronautes, an artist collective specializing in environmental education. Following the exercise with the microscope, she’ll be encouraging people to write letters to strangers about the river. She’s planning to hand-deliver the letters from one community to the next, which she compares with sending a message in a bottle. “I suggest you write to someone the same age as you, and you’re connected to this person by the river,” Duval said. Conditions could be challenging, even treacherous, once she passes Quebec City. There are many strong currents in this area, which can cause big waves. Even so, Stojanovic says she’s confident in her daughter’s abilities “She knows very well the river, she knows the weather, the currents, and she will not go if it’s not the time to go,” she said. Many marinas along her route have invited Duval to be there. She says she’s thankful for this form of sponsorship, which will help with her budget. She’s also crowd-sourcing funds to cover costs for the remaining stops on her itinerary. People can follow Duval’s adventure on her Instagram. She hopes her journey will help others to realize the importance of protecting the river. “When you feel it very strongly the connection with the nature, you don’t want to hurt it. You feel that you’re part of a plankton world!” Duval’s itinerary so far: (* - invited by the marina)
