1,200-mile odyssey by paddleboard, including Erie Canal, now detailed in book

Author says connecting with ‘blue space’ is good for physical, mental health

File photo by Tom Rivers: Dan Rubinstein of Ottawa is shown on Aug. 1, 2023 on the Erie Canal in Albion headed west. The canal was part of a 1,200-mile adventure two years ago. His book Water Borne: A 1,200-Mile Paddleboarding Pilgrimage has just been released and is available from several sources, including Author’s Note Bookstore in Medina, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

In June 2023, writer Dan Rubinstein of Ottawa lashed camping gear to his stand-up paddleboard and embarked on an improbable solo voyage which would take him more than 1,200 miles on rivers, lakes and canals of a landlocked region.

During the 10-week journey, he explored the healing potential of “blue space,” the aquatic equivalent of green space, and sought out others drawn to their local waters.

The cover of Dan Rubenstein’s book shows him on a paddle board. The 336-page book was published last month by ECW Press, an independent book publisher in Canada.

Rubinstein has announced his book, Water Borne: A 1,200-Mile Paddleboarding Pilgrimage,  has been published and is available from several sources, including Author’s Note Bookstore in Medina, Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Click here for more information.

Rubenstein turned 50 on the trip, on which he traveled the waters to Montreal and New York City, then took a Greyhound bus to Albany, where he entered the Erie Canal, which took him to Buffalo and the Niagara River above the Falls. Here, friends took him to Lake Ontario, and he spent two days getting around the western tip of the lake to Kingston and the Rideau Canal.

Rubinstein said the farther he paddled, the more he realized that being in, on or around water does more than boost mental and physical health and prompt stewardship toward the natural world. He discovered that blue spaces are also a way to connect with the kaleidoscopic cross-section of people he met and the diverse geographies and communities he passed through.

His love of paddleboarding stems from the fact he can jump in and swim if he wants to; he can see down in the water; and he can see all around.

“Everyone knows what green space is,” Rubinstein said in a phone call from his Ottawa home. “But blue space is good for your physical and mental health. It makes us want to take better care of our planet.”

During his journey, Rubinstein said he arranged interviews with people along his route whose whole lives revolve around water.

“I met so many strangers who were kind, welcoming and generous,” he said. “They gave me food, cold water, let me stay in their spaces (most of the time camping), but some let me stay in their houses and hotels. It’s really about community and people when we meet by the water. The Erie Canal might be the most beautiful and where I met the most amazing people.”

He described Tomtuga campground at Gasport, where he spent a night, and the canal basin in Medina where two men he met on a boat sent him up the hill to the Captain Kidz restaurant.

Paddling down the canal, he was enchanted with the towpath, where he could look over and see beautiful farm country. He said the locks in Lockport were fun to go through, but he was also taken in by the culvert.

Rubinstein said he took a year off from his job as a writer for a university to write his book. He has one explanation for what he did:

“I love stand-up paddleboarding,” he said.