Paddling on the cool waters of the Pacific Ocean, they shared stories and experiences.

And for many, they bonded. The impetus of Pulling Together, a canoe journey along B.C.'s Sunshine Coast, was strengthening the relationships between Mounties and First Nations youth.

From July 2 to 10, Maple Ridge Constables Mathew Condon and Oliver Broermann travelled on the same canoe as young members of Katzie First Nation including Jordan Florence, Christopher Preus, Christina Kenworthy, Donovan Sylvester, and Andrew Sylvester.

Youth workers Janna Dahlin and Sandy Lipscombe and Mavis Pierre - an adult member of Katzie - were also on the local canoe.

The Pitt Meadows Lions Club donated funds to help make the journey possible for the Katzie youth.

The focus of the journey is to improve the police relations with the First Nation communities.

For the two officers as well as Florence, this was their first Pulling Together experience.

The journey saw canoes carrying aboriginal youth and RCMP officers travel through Sliammon First Nations (Powell River) territory.

A total of 150 paddlers on 15 canoes travelled more than 100 kilometres over five days on the water, and they covered roughly 25 kilometres each day.

Sliammon First Nations were the hosts and welcomed and sent off the group from one shoreline to the next during the nine-day journey.

"Each day, when we'd leave, we'd have to get permission," Condon explained. "So every day, a different person here spoke and talked to the chief there, and asked for permission to land. There was drumming on the beaches that we came in, someone would stand up and speak, request permission, and we'd be granted and we'd be able to go up on the land, there."

Condon got to know the young people from Katzie while learning a little bit about B.C.'s First Nations culture. He described the journey as "pretty long."

"I've never canoed that far," Condon said. "It was long and it was hard but it was really fun. You get to know each other, you're in the middle of the water and you get a view that you've never seen before."

Broermann, a youth resource officer, said the journey "was a good opportunity for me to get to know these guys."

"Pitt [Meadows] Secondary is one of my schools and that would be the school where most of the Katzie would go, so it was a good way for me to build some relationships there and learn a lot about the First Nations culture and the canoe culture," he said.

Florence described the experience as "absolutely amazing."

"It's a great cultural experience," he said. "Just getting closer with Mat and Oliver was just great. The canoeing was very fun. I enjoyed travelling on traditional territory and just experiencing our history. It was awesome."

This was Kenworthy's second year on the journey.

"It's a good trip," she said. "You meet a lot of people; you learn a lot of things."

Condon described the wildlife the group encountered during the trip: "There were eagles, there were whales, and there were seals, a family of sea lions-"

Preus chimed in, tongue lodged in cheek, "-Seagulls-"

Condon said the stories, from the Sliammon elders, remain with him.

"They would speak about their heritage and they brought us to some cultural sites," Condon said. "Just being there and hearing them explain what happened in that location, and they're currently doing excavations in some of those areas, so for me seeing how long the history has been there for, and the fact they're still connected with it, that was the most important part."

Both officers plan on repeating the journey.

tlandreville@mrtimes.com