Georgian Bay, ON - Andrea Ong
My Watermarks are Georgian Bay and Lake Ontario, both in Ontario.
The connection to Georgian Bay is because I scuba dive there. I’ve probably been scuba diving in Georgian Bay for 10 years, but recently stopped diving there. Part of the reason is because it’s a lot of effort to drive up to Tobermory every weekend, but for a long time, it was worth it. Being in that lake and seeing the shipwrecks that have been there for over 100 years makes a huge difference to me. It’s amazing – it’s very quiet, sometimes eery, but always beautiful. And I love drinking the water there; I’ll dive and have a sip of water! And I know it’s clean.
I dive in Lake Ontario as well, but I mostly sail here. Living so close to the (Lake Ontario) waterfront, and being able to sail here everyday with a body of water that’s clean and accessible to everyone that lives in Toronto is very important to me. 75% of this planet is water and we live close to some of its most famous bodies – Lake Ontario and the Great Lakes – it would be such a shame if were not able to be on and in these waters.
In Lake Ontario, about two and a half miles off Humber Bay West Park, there are some shipwrecks – mainly little schooners that used to ply the waterways from the 19th century. Some of them are in better shape than others, but it’s really a great way to reconnect with our water and our past.