As the group has grown bigger than I had ever dreamed it would become and I would like to recount how we got to where we are, today. Way back when I was using my Riot Quest 10X to explore small rivers and creeks, I realized I wasn’t keeping track of the launch and camp sites I was discovering. I am not an old guy but I was in no way up to date with social media. I asked my wife if she could think of a way to track the trips in chronological order, with a picture and a description. What did we come up with? Instagram. I called the account Kayak Ontario because I had only ever gone kayaking in Ontario. I couldn’t think of a reason why I would ever kayak anywhere else. What happened next surprised me, people started following the account. I remember the first picture that 10 people I didn’t know liked. I remember thinking, I can’t believe 10 people would care. Then the summer came, the numbers exploded. I was posting pictures with detailed descriptions of where I parked and how long my trip was. That was it.

Soon enough, I was getting tons of messages for ideas about places to launch, maybe I had a secret spot I hadn’t posted yet? It became clear to me that I should start blogging the trips, I could expand on the details and show more pictures. www.kayak-ontario.com was born. I poured hours upon hours of time cataloging the paddles I had done. In honesty, I am something like 80-100 trips behind on my blog posts. The people who know me personally know how much I paddle.

One fall weekend afternoon, I decided to paddle the Credit River, I hadn’t done a post about it yet. At that time the water levels were so much lower then they are today. The trip was far shorter than I had anticipated so I decided to explore the lake, I wanted to see if I could find the Etobicoke Creek. I ventured out into Lake Ontario in a 10 foot rec kayak, completely unprepared. I had no idea I was in danger. A friendly lady in a sea kayak noticed me and paddled up to me, she explained the danger I was in. She said if you want to explore the lake, you need a sea kayak. I had no idea, I was actually a bit in disbelief. I went home and in the typical “me” way, started obsessively researching sea kayaks. I was very much drawn into the Kayak Hipster’s videos. He was a super positive, passionate guy and he seemed like he probably had a similar introduction to kayaking, as I did.

I decided, yes, sea kayaking is what I want to do. I saw the pictures that Jill Brown, Steve Lutsch, Todd and Shanne, Kayak Hipster, and Alter._.Eco’s accounts were posting. I made the plunge and bought a Sea Kayak (Delta). Something unexpected happened next. Even though I upgraded to a sea kayak, instead of the enthusiasm and passion I had expected to find, I was met with odd posts from people telling me I was most certainly going to die in the kayak I had just bought. It was extremely confusing. I had a brand new Delta with a matching deck bag, paddle leash, Werner Paddle, brand new PFD. All new and expensive. What did I do wrong here? I will say it again, very confusing reaction from the online community. I shrugged it off and kept posting on Instagram. I would get very positive comments mixed with predictions of my demise by paddle leash, lack of helmet or a deck bad carrying my sunscreen and a water bottle. I didn’t really know how to react. I guess in retrospect, it was helpful as it got me thinking about ways to improve. Overall, I think it could have been presented in a more calm and succinct manner.

After awhile a weird thing started happening, after years of paddling alone, people started reaching out to paddle. Sarah, Michelle, Matt, Todd, Ryan and Rebecca stick out as some of the amazing people I met in the early days. Later on I met many friends and the coaches I have trained with (Dave, Amber, Santi, Jarrod, Lee and Trey’s group at GLSKA) and so many more (I am sure I have missed someone). The group was expanding, coordinating trips was becoming more complicated. It was discussed and I started a Facebook group called Kayak Tripping. It was a total bust, a few members had a disagreement and it was deleted. The next season I tried again. I set up the group with the name of the blog (Kayak Ontario) and we started discussing trips. It was a good way to communicate our trip ideas. I think if you scroll back far enough, the posts are still there. The Facebook group was where I can most easily post the trips I wanted to do. I found it helpful to read others trip reports. It’s how I discovered coaching and why I went to take my first course.

For the second time in my extremely average kayaking career, my social media creation accidentally took off.

I realized at one point, not only did KO have huge amounts of content, some very cool bloggers were reaching out to contribute. We actually released two editions of a digital magazine called Kayak Ontario Magazine. It was a fun project but it was way too much work and it had to be abandoned. Those articles have been mostly reposed on the website under the blog post tab. It was replaced with what is supposed to be a monthly newsletter. I try my best to keep it up to date but that pesky detail called real life gets in the way.

As the group expanded, so did the rules. It became a place to discuss the trips, not plan them. Connecting with paddlers has always been encouraged, but it became painfully clear that it was impossible to keep everyone happy. As the numbers grow, so did the complaints. Balancing the needs of, coaches, outfitters, community events and races was an impossibility. If I post a meme one company created, their competition gets upset that they aren’t getting that attention. If you say, look at this video made by this coach, another coach feels left out. It was clear that the only solution is to focus on the paddlers who do it for the passion, not for a profit.

There is nothing wrong with choosing to be a kayak coach or an outfitter. They are an important part of the community, the community is stronger when they are healthy. That being said, the spirit of Kayak Ontario is to support the paddlers. It is a place to connect, find launch sites, discuss safety, ask for help, and get a respectful answer. I proudly display the pride colours in our logo as a commitment to that principal. The sport is for everyone, it doesn’t matter what kind of kayak you prefer or who you are, the only prerequisite is the desire to paddle.

In a nutshell, that is the story of how I accidentally created and recreated Kayak Ontario three times. I had no delusions of grandeur, no desire to become sponsored, no idea you could make money from kayaking. To this day, I have never made a dime from this creation, I am not sponsored and I have yet to achieve a significant caste or become aggrandized.

UPDATE : Since this was written KO is now offering courses. So yes I’ve made some money. Part of the proceeds from each course is donated to the BruceTrail Conservancy.

To the 11,000 people on Instagram, the 2,000+ who follow the page/group on Facebook, the hundreds subscribed to our mailing list or the tens of thousands of people who read the blog directly every year: Thank you for being a part of this. It is for you. You all make it worth all of the hard work. Getting an email from someone telling me how much they love the sport and how this creation may even have something (small) to do with that is humbling, and my inspiration to continue.

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