OttawaA small group of military veterans paddled nearly the full length of the Ottawa River over five grueling weeks, raising money for charity in the process.Journey raised more than $100k for charity supporting post-trauma victimsBen Andrews · CBC News · Posted: Sep 21, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours agoA group of paddlers, some of whom had travelled nearly the full length of the Ottawa River, approach Westboro Beach Saturday morning. (Submitted by Wounded Warriors Canada)After paddling more than 1,000 kilometres down the Ottawa River, Sean and Will Groves stepped onto Westboro Beach Saturday morning.The father-son duo were among a small group of paddlers — including some military veterans — who were greeted by dozens of supporters at the end of five grueling weeks on the river.”On the easier days, we were probably paddling six or seven hours,” Will Groves said. “On the harder days, we were reaching 12 hours. It was quite the journey.”The journey — which raised tens of thousands of dollars for mental health charity Wounded Warriors — started Aug. 18 at the river’s headwaters on Lac des Outaouais in Quebec.It continued down the waterway through long stretches of untouched wilderness, over rapids and high swells.The Groves paddled alongside Mark Gasparotto, a military veteran and experienced canoeist who conceived of the trip after getting the idea from his cousin.The eventual route was split into five legs, including a stretch of rugged portages early on where the paddlers were forced to cut their way through the bush.The core group was joined by a rotating cast of supporters, who followed along for shorter stretches of the journey.Military veteran Mark Gasparotto addresses the crowd on Westboro Beach after paddling for five weeks along the Ottawa River. (Submitted by Wounded Warriors Canada)Gasparotto, a former combat engineer who fought in Afghanistan, said the group covered between 40 and 50 kilometres a day, six days a week.”As a former military man, everything went as planned,” he said.More than $100k raisedGasparotto was serving in Kandahar when four Canadians were killed and many others wounded by a suicide bomber.One of the wounded was Mike McTeague, whose father and family friend established the Sapper Mike McTeague Wounded Warriors Fund, which later morphed into the charity Wounded Warriors Canada.The Ottawa River odyssey raised more than $100,000 for Wounded Warriors, which provides mental health support for people who have experienced trauma.”It’s what that money translates into in terms of programs and services and impacts on humans,” Gasparotto said.”When you get a group of people who want to support a noble cause and come together like that — it felt like the mission was accomplished.”
1,000-km canoe odyssey on Ottawa River makes landfall at Westboro Beach
