Voyageur Canoe Brigade Visits Fenelon Falls!
On August 1st, a unique brigade of canoes arrived at Garnet Graham Beach Park, in Fenelon Falls. The 11 Voyageur canoes were filled with volunteers from across Canada on a historic paddle through the Trent Severn Waterway. To find out more about the brigade visit www.voyageurbrigade.org or read on to learn the inside scoop from Ashleigh, our lead Tourism Ambassador.
Growing up I have always jumped at the opportunity to get into a canoe, so when I was asked if I wanted to try paddling in a 10 person voyageur canoe on Tuesday, I couldn’t say no! Paired up with the team representing the Big Canoe Project, dubbed “The Misfits" by their fellow paddlers because none of them knew each other before committing to paddling over 250 kilometers together!
Provided with a borrowed PDF and paddle, myself and many other eager participants got ready to climb into these MASSIVE canoes at Garnet Graham Beach Park. Going into this experience having only paddled a ten foot canoe, nothing truly prepares you for the speed that these canoes can get up to. Cutting through the water like butter, having 10 to 16 people in a canoe without any resistance can reach speeds of up to 13-14 km/hour! The Voyageurs chatted away with their guests about Fenelon Falls, asking questions about the local history that I was happy to share with them while they told us about their journey through the Trent Severn Waterway. Inviting guests on to the canoes was done with the goal of “Passing the Paddle” and encouraging more people to relive the past.
At about 2:30pm, it was time for the Voyageurs to go through Lock 34 in Fenelon Falls and head off to Bobcaygeon for the evening. As a Tourism Ambassador for Fenelon Falls, the Voyageurs asked me if I'd like to go through the locks with them and of course I said yes! After all there aren't many people who can say that their first time going through a lock was with 8 other 20 to 36 foot canoes filled with people at their hometown lock! Going down a hydraulic lock is a luxury for these canoes, that 100 years ago would have needed to be portaged from one lake to the next. An unexpected highlight was the water war that occurs every lock the voyageurs go through, prepped with water guns and paddles, chaos explodes as they splash each other! Hopping out at the other side, I waved as they paddled down the gorge towards Sturgeon Lake and wished them luck on the rest of their journey to Peterborough.
I could not be more grateful for this experience with the Voyageur Brigade Society! Definitely my top experience that I have had while working for the Tourism Office in Fenelon Falls!
