A pair of British men christened their canoe with a water melon Tuesday and named it the Li-Su. They will spend the next three months in the Li-Su raising money for sick children.

When Barry Ballard first suggested coming to the Yukon to canoe from Whitehorse to the Bering Sea, he had a group of friends who wanted to go.

But one by one, they all dropped out.

Luckily Ballard, a tree surgeon from Petersfield, England, found Brendon Hogan. Hogan, also a tree surgeon but from Portsmith England, wanted to make the trip.

Now they just have to wait for the ice to melt on Lake Laberge.

'It's a long way to go. It's a bit of a challenge for me I've really got to do this now,' said Ballard, adding that he's nearly 63.

Ballard met Hogan when Hogan asked permission to pass through his yard to tend to a tree. In England, tree surgeons will tend to broken limbs and other maladies of old and valued trees.

'He came out and was giving me a hard time,' recalled Hogan of meeting Ballard. 'He was calling me a butcher.'

Ballard told the younger Hogan about his trip and Hogan said, 'I'd like to do that.'

Later, when all of Ballard's other crewmates bowed out, he went back to find Hogan and invited him to go.

Along the way, Ballard heard of Dreams Come True, an English charity very similar to the Children's Wish Foundation.

Instead of just going for a three-month canoe ride, Ballard and Hogan decided to use their trip to raise money for terminally or seriously ill children.

'It was a chance to help kiddies who are not as well off,' said Ballard.

The charity helps fulfill an ill child's wish. Popular wishes include visiting Disney Land and swimming with dolphins, says the charity's website. Ballard recalls a wish that was a little more unusual.

'There was a girl in London that wanted to see a cow from her bedroom window.'

The charity worked with the city to close off a street and brought in a herd of cows, a major feat in a metropolis like London.

'A lot of people can't afford to do the things that need to be done,' says Ballard. An example is taking holidays that would require a doctor to come along for the trip.

'It's not a matter of jumping on a train to travel, or going down the road.'

Ballard is quick to point out that every dollar raised goes directly to the charity, and the quicker they get to the ocean, the more money they will raise. Several pledgers have said they will double their donation if the team gets there quickly.

The duo has already raised $11,000 CAD and could be leaving today.

The Li-Su is named for the partner's of the canoeists, Lilly and Susanne.

If you would like to contribute to the project visit www.justgiving.com/yukonchallenge.