Shipwrecks and Geocaches – A River Reveals a World of Shipwrecks

Shipwrecks
Shipwrecks

The gurgling waters of the Credit River in Ontario, Canada tell a story of seafaring disaster.  Nearly every 1/10th of a mile those floating the lazy waterway unlock the story of a shipwreck. That’s if they know the secret. The stories of more than 140 shipwrecks are recorded in geocache after geocache.

Tubing the Credit River
Tubing the Credit River

Keith Watson (username Keith Watson) and a crew of more than a dozen geocaching friends hid the geocaches. But their original intent was a walking tour, not floating the river in a tube or canoe. Keith says, “At the beginning of the summer a few of us decided to start placing caches along a local river. The plan was to walk down the river placing caches and others would have to walk down the river as well to find them. After walking down the first section we decided that walking down a river sucked and we would use tubes to do the next section. After using tubes to do the next section was a blast and we decided that was the best way to do it.”

The team used technology and old tales from the sea to make the string of geocaches more inviting. It’s an age-old recipe for geocaches: history + discovery + adventure. Check out this interactive map of the Credit River – Shipwreck Series the team created to help people navigate to river and unlock seven seas of history.

The Shipwreck series went live over the summer. It started small, Keith says, “Cachers are going out in groups floating down the Credit River having fun. I have taken my son a few times and he loves it.” Testimonials and videos started turning up, like, “This was probably one of the best caching days I have ever had, and I can’t wait to do more.” And, “You’ve created a unique caching experience that I really don’t think can be found anywhere!” And, “Thanks to all of the COs s[cache owners] for placing this fun-filled series of caches.”Keith says he and the other geocache owners were blown away, “The extent of the series has surpassed in size and popularity far beyond what we thought it would be.”

If you’re in Ontario during months warm enough to float a river, you too, can enjoy a river float with a side of history, that didn’t float.

Check out one of the videos from the river float:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVDMT35j3eA]