Ancient Mariners invite new paddlers to dip into Grand tradition

The Ancient Mariners Canoe Club has long revered one of the most powerful symbols of Canadian identity.

Every fall, the Cambridge club prepares for a new season of keeping those traditions alive by recruiting new members, offering seniors an opportunity to stay active, socialize, and help the environment through community service.

Anyone interested is welcome to join next fall for training sessions to be held in spring, 2025.

Registration is now closed for the upcoming season, but people are invited to join a waiting list for next year. They will then be invited to attend a mandatory orientation session in October, 2024.

Since it began in 1988, the Ancient Mariners Canoe Club has grown from just 22 members to almost 140.

New members must be 55 to join.

The only qualification is membership to the Cambridge 50+ Seniors Centres for an annual fee of $35.69, plus HST. The Ancient Mariners Canoe Club membership fee is an additional $50 per year.

“If you are a senior who enjoys the fellowship of other seniors who enjoy being active outside, this is the club for you,” said past club president Mary Sealey, who currently serves on the membership committee.

Every Tuesday, members hit the water, ready to embark on a new adventure downstream.

“But it isn’t just any Tuesday get together,” said Ancient Mariners Canoe Club president, Steve Tuck.

“We do so much in the community and within the club itself. It’s about working together. You will get out of the club, what you put into it.”

Sealey says the club encourages a healthy lifestyle but the social aspect keeps the mind healthy too.

"I’ve been a member for 10 years. It’s given me the opportunity to learn to paddle and be confident on the river," Sealey said.

“It’s great to be part of this social group and there’s so many opportunities to take part in various activities. If you would like to learn to canoe, this is the club to join.”

From May to October, members explore rivers such as the Grand, Nith, Conestoga, Speed, Eramosa, and Saugeen.

“We’ve gone the Grand from beginning to end. We’ve gone to the U.S. and the Spanish River, just north of Lake Superior," Tuck said.

In the Winter months, the club hosts regular hikes on trails in and around Cambridge, Kitchener, Guelph, and Milton.

“Hiking is a pivotal activity for us because that allows everyone, especially the new members, to get to know one another,” Tuck said.

Club co-director Dave Reed joined eight years ago.

“It was my wife's idea. But since I joined, I have made some really great friends. We do so much together. The social aspect is so important,” he said.

“And I just love canoeing. I love the waves and just being on the river.”

Reed says members vary in age from 55 to over 80. 

“There are younger folks joining. This is great because we are trying to encourage participation to keep the club going.”  

The club owns its own equipment, including canoes and paddles, plus trailers for hauling.

The Ancient Mariners were born 35 years ago with Eric Thomlinson and a group of Cambridge residents who liked to paddle. They borrowed canoes from Mr. Coleman and his canoe company here in Cambridge.

“He then sold them to us for a very reasonable price to get us going. We have donated one those canoes to the Canoe Museum in Peterborough,” Tuck said.

"He applied for a new Horizons Grant with the Federal Government and in partnership with the City of Cambridge, the club began," Reed said. "The city supports us and we are affiliated with them as part of the 50 plus recreation centre programs."

Initially, the club purchased canoes and equipment and the city provided a space for storage. In 2001, the city and the club jointly financed the boathouse at Riverbluffs Park.

There is no requirement for minimum participation from club members.

“You can come out as little or as much as you would like, whatever you are comfortable with," said Martine Beaulieu from the club membership committee.

There are several committees people can join including programming, training, safety, membership and social committees.

Social events include the annual Christmas party, corn roasts, a strawberry social in spring, BBQs, bowling, and potlucks.

“There are lots of ways for people to take part, come out, and enjoy social time with the friends that they have made at the club,” Sealey said.

The Ancient Mariners Canoe Club also volunteers to help the community through a variety of local environmental initiatives.  

“We maintain the gardens at the Lisaard House Hospice. I love gardening and after moving into a condo, this gives me the opportunity to do it,” said Donna Carter, a club membership committee member.

“Volunteers from the club come out and help. We have a really great time together and you don’t need to know how to garden.”

The club also operates the city’s first pollinator preserve.

“The goal is to have something pollinating in as many months as possible,” Carter said.

The Ancient Mariners Canoe Club hosts a river clean up twice a year along the length of the Grand River through Cambridge.

“It’s amazing what we can find. We will soon have our Fall River Cleanup. We will paddle down from Preston and scour the shores and get lots of stuff from tires, lumber, garbage, you name it,” Sealey said.

Young doctors in training also join club members for an annual paddle. 

"We take them for a paddle, and they just love it. It’s one of the ways to encourage them to work and live in city," Carter said.

“We also have a Seniors Paddle that involves a contraption where we tie two canoes beside each other, with a lawn chair in the middle. Older seniors are always overjoyed to take part," Carter said.

The Ancient Mariners Canoe Club is a voluntary participatory club.

"The key word is participatory in that it is built on the friendships made within the club,” Tuck said.

“It’s the new people coming in that help keep the club going. You can really enjoy your time here and help the club carry on."

To learn more about the Ancient Mariners Canoe Club and memberships for 2025, email: [email protected]