Tippy kissing

“Paddling Canadian solo on Grousehaven Lake one misty morning we completed a figure 8 pattern, meeting in the middle, we bent in towards each other for a kiss. Little did we know, our friend Rick was watching from shore and captured this photo of us which we’ll always treasure.”

– Tom Brandau

Photo: Rick Lalonde

Vintage canoedling

“The picture below is of my grandparents, Francis Hayes and John Gick. This is only their second date! They went to my grandmother’s best friend’s cottage on the labour day long weekend of 1939, and heard news of the declaration of war while there.

My grandmother has no insight into whether this news had any impact on the rather early on canoe make out. They married six years later and had 5 children and 9 grandchildren, whom were raised with a love of canoes at the family cottage in St Donat Quebec. My grandfather has passed but my grandmother is still going strong at the ripe old age of 95! She really enjoyed the idea of this photo being part of a photo exhibit on canoes.”

– Charlotte Gick

Photo: courtesy Charlotte Gick

Anniversary paddle

“On September 17th 2011, my Ray Kettlewell ottertail paddle plied the glassy waters of Lake of Bays as I soloed toward the cottage dock, packed with family, friends and my husband-to-be. The Indian summer sun was warm on my face and a lake breeze fluttered the white feathers on my wedding dress as my cedar strip canoe glided across the lake. A year earlier, my hubby had proposed on that same dock, at sunset. Ten years earlier, it was there that our love of each other, paddling and adventure began. Short paddles at the cottage had flowed into leading trips for summer camps in Muskoka and beyond. Soon, we were guiding Arctic river expeditions, together, under the midnight sun.

Back on the cottage dock, with the ceremony complete, we pushed off in the Langford cedar strip for our first paddle as a married couple. Now, wherever we are on September 17th, we take to the bow and stern seats to paddle on our anniversary and continue the flow of our journey together.”

– Chloe Vance

Photo: Mike Last

Camp love

“My partner Brad and I met 8 years ago at YMCA Camp Wanakita, where we both participated in the intense month-long Student Counsellor training program. We were 15 years old. We made fast friends from our shared love of paddling, but didn’t confess our attraction for each other until many years later. We then taught the SC program at camp, leading numerous canoe trips, and passing on our passion for canoeing to a new generation of paddlers. We have now been dating for nearly 4 years, and our passion for paddling hasn’t faded. We canoe together (and fight over who will get to stern) at every opportunity. Here is a recent photo of us paddling on Lake WahWashKesh in September 2013 at sunset. We hope to paddle together for many more years to come.”

– Claire Webber

Photo: courtesy Claire Webber

Family tradition

“35 years ago I was proposed to in a green fiberglass canoe in a quiet clean lake in northern Vancouver Island. My adventure began there over time in many canoes, many portages, and many magical moments. We eventually headed back to Muskoka, and my husband was given a 1937 cedar strip Peterborough Prospector to restore, and the next leg of our journey began. Such a beautiful canoe. We hugged the shoreline many an evening with our standard poodle Ben perched proudly and gracefully in the bow, after working on our dovetail log cabin. Many dreams were whispered whilst we glided softly across the lake watching the loons and the moon and each other.

Our daughter was on many a paddle and when she brought a fella home, he asked if he could take the “Dorothy” out for a paddle, and watching them across the lake as he proposed to our daughter, brought such hope and a rekindling of our love playing forward. Sadly Ben passed away and our canoe treks were so empty without him. My daughter wanted a Muskoka wedding, and my husband was eager to paddle his daughter in the finely decorated “Dorothy” to be wed on the dock of our uncle’s vintage cottage. Now, our blessed grandaughter has had her best nap so far in the “Dorothy” tied to the dock. There’s nothing like wood on the water, a canoe requires patience, teamwork or solitude, balance and whimsy, all important aspects in a loving lifetime relationship. We will continue to travel by canoe for a good while yet.”

– Bea Keeler

Photo: courtesy John Keeler

Relationship test

“Canoes have been a big part of my relationship with my husband, Ray. When we met, I knew that to win his heart, I’d have to learn to love Ray and all of his paddling gear. Over the years, this has consisted of 3-6 canoes, at any given time, kayaks, endless amounts of camping gear and at least 20 paddles between the two of us – although this number continues to grow as Ray handcrafts his own paddles now. As a former canoe guide in Atikokan, Ontario, canoeing ran deep in Ray’s history.