Evanston Patch — Kayaking isn’t something business owner Bob Danon 71, from Evanston Illinois grew up with. It’s something he picked up later in life, some 20 years ago.
“I fell in love with it,” said Danon, owner of The Danon Gallery on Evanston Central Street. “My whole life I’ve been a competitive swimmer, so I’ve always been interested in it and comfortable in and under the water.”
Now Bob Danon will embark on quite a kayaking journey, and one for a really good cause.
He plans a 250-300 mile kayak trek around the coast of Crete, the largest of the southern Greek islands. He’ll be doing it to raise money for Alzheimer’s research via the Alzheimer’s Association.
It’s not the first time Danon has embarked on such a voyage. In 2007, Danon completed a similar journey to raise money for Pediatric Cancer Research at Children’s Memorial Hospital in honour of a 13-year-old girl who died of brain cancer a year earlier. In 2014, he covered about 260 miles for the Alzheimer’s Association in honour of a friend who suffers from the disease.
This year, he will post updates on his journey regularly on his ‘A Paddle to Remember, 2016’ blog. A link to donate to Danon’s cause will be posted on the blog once his trip begins.
How far he’ll go hasn’t been determined exactly. Danon will check wind and water conditions before each day to find out what distance is feasible.
“There are no tides, but the water does change quite a bit over there,” he said, remembering how he did get stuck at one point in the 2014 trip due to the heavy winds.
In all, Danon will be gone for 24 days. He’ll fly in the coastal village of Matala on Aug. 25 and paddle for 18-20 days, about 7-8 hours per day, with his United States return set for Sept. 17.
