Lake Ontario Expedition to Benefit Great Lakes Nonprofit
Jeff Guy, Joe Lorenz and Kwin Morris have set a goal to cross Lake Ontario on standup paddleboards in June. They have already successfully paddled Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Superior and Lake Erie. Lake Ontario represents their final journey across all five Great Lakes and is the culmination of an eight-year quest.
The trio will begin from the shoreline of Toronto and touch the shore near Niagara-on-the-Lake and Fort Niagara in New York, then paddle back to Toronto. The 65-mi. round trip is expected to take about 24 hr.
Each man will carry all of his supplies on his own paddleboard: food, extra clothes, and straws that filter drinking water from the lake. Obstacles along the way include the risk of hypothermia and fatigue, high winds and big waves, and passing through shipping lanes in the dark.
The group will be escorted by two safety boats, with an emergency medical technician on one. Each paddler will wear a drysuit and personal flotation devices.
Guy, Lorenz and Morris founded a nonprofit called Stand Up for Great Lakes, which has raised more than $80,000 so far. This year, their goal is to raise $25,000. All funds will be donated to the nonprofit, which is dedicated to protecting the Great Lakes Basin. The nonprofit supports the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR), which conducts algal bloom research and aims to safeguard the Great Lakes ecosystem.
Learn more at: StandUpForGreatLakes.com. You can also follow the team on Facebook.com/
Watch the award-winning documentary about their Lake Superior Crossing here and Crossing Lake Erie here.