2023 Lake of Bays Silent Boat Rally

On Saturday, July 29th, members from the Northern Lakes Chapter participated in the annual Lake of Bays Silent Boat Rally in Dwight, Ontario. Hosted by the Lake of Bays Heritage Association, roughly two dozen watercraft launched from the public beach to paddle the lower Oxtongue River to Marsh's Falls.

Though most paddlers were in plastic kayaks and composite canoes, there were a few wooden canoes in the mix, including a 13 foot model built by local trapper Clarence Bouges (1909 - 1981), a 15' Peterborough Minetta, a 14 foot Cherish from Pam Wedd's Bearwood Canoes, a 16' Roy Allman and an unconfirmed, but early looking 17 footer thought to be a pre-50s Chestnut Aster/Winter.

13ft Clarence Bouges canoe

17 foot Chestnut Aster/Winter with 14foot Bearwood behind

During the 5km upstream paddle to the falls, paddlers were encouraged to stop in the many curves and nooks to try and identify as many plant and animals species as possible. A helpful Naturalist headed up the group providing assistance to learn about some of the plants and animals that inhabit this ecologically rich river valley. 

Marsh's falls was once the bustling site of a large sawmill and later a sprawling cottage complex but now the adjacent property has been purchased by the Lake of Bays Association and converted into a nature reserve. Water levels were quite high given recent storms in the area and the current at the base of the falls allowed for some fun maneuvering...

This year, the host group extended the event to include a shore lunch next to the falls and a chance to explore some of the new trails on the Marsh's Falls Nature Reserve. Those that took the time to explore to explore discovered some ripe wild raspberries and plentiful blueberry bushes along the routes!

The Northern Lakes Chapter covered the $20 registration fee from our fundraising efforts this year and will consider doing so again in the future. We encourage folks to consider attending this enjoyable day paddle at next year's event. For more information about the Lower Oxtongue and the Marsh's Falls area, the Lake of Bays Association has published a PDF format heritage paddling tour guide available for download.