The first ripple
Annaleise visited Camp Trillium Rainbow Lake with the North Shore Swimmers after completing a 10 km open water swim and a 10 km run through Norfolk County. The group raised around $15,000 for the camp.
Annaleise Carr speaking in Port Dover, Ontario. Photo from the Radical Crossings archive.
Field report / open water / one ripple at a time
One drop.
Many ripples.
In 2012, Annaleise Carr became the youngest person to swim across Lake Ontario. She swam for Camp Trillium, and the ripples have kept moving ever since.
26 h 41 min
Lake Ontario crossing
$200,000+
Raised for Camp Trillium
75 km
Lake Erie goal
The crossings
The water has a memory.
A swim that began as a way to help a camp became a record, a book, a speaking practice, and a community project. The distances changed. The reason stayed the same.
Lake Ontario
At 14, Annaleise finished the traditional Marilyn Bell route from Niagara on the Lake to Marilyn Bell Park in 26 hours and 41 minutes. At the time, she was the youngest person to complete the crossing and the youngest member of the 24 Hour Club.
Lake Erie
The next challenge was a 75 km crossing from Erie, Pennsylvania to Port Dover, Ontario. Annaleise also raced the 36 mile END WET on the flooded Red River, finishing second in the women’s division.
Why the water
For the kids at Camp Trillium.
Camp Trillium offered year round recreational experiences for children with cancer and their families. Annaleise first visited in 2011 and never forgot it. The camp is now part of Campfire Circle, continuing that work under a new name.
“Until there is a cure, there is Camp Trillium.”
The logbook
Notes from the water.
Annaleise wrote these entries in her own voice: training days, book launches, sponsor news, weather checks, and the long hours before a finish.
August 31, 2014
And NEVER Give Up!!
Six hours from the finish, a message about patience, storms, and never giving up.
Open the entryJuly 24, 2014
The DAY is Already Here!
The night before the Lake Erie attempt, with gratitude for everyone who made it possible.
Open the entry
July 16, 2014
Not Very Long Now!
Wind, waves, a shift to calmer water, and gratitude for a growing circle of support.
Open the entry
The book
A promise made in open water.
Annaleise Carr: How I Conquered Lake Ontario to Help Kids Battling Cancer was written with award winning author Deborah Ellis, with a foreword by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, David Onley.
Ripples in the record
Honours, art, and a film.
The crossings opened doors to new ways of telling the story. Some of those moments live here, alongside the people who helped carry them.
Silver Birch Non Fiction Award
The book received the 2015 Ontario Library Association Silver Birch Non Fiction Award. Readers across Ontario voted for their favourite titles.
Look to the Sky
An award winning Tampa Bay filmmaker featured Camp Trillium and the work of Annaleise and the camp in the documentary Look to the Sky. The story travelled farther than the water.
The Power of One
Lanny Horne created a framed print of Annaleise that was offered in support of Camp Trillium. Prints and enquiries are part of the archive of the crossing.
The story behind the print
The North Shore Challenge
A race with a reason.
Marathon swimmers Josh Reid and Annaleise Carr imagined an open water race on Lake Erie that would bring the sport home to Norfolk County and raise funds for Camp Trillium.
- 2015
The first RE7 North Shore Challenge took place at Turkey Point on June 28.
- Races
750 m, 1.5 km, and 3.8 km open water distances for swimmers of different levels.
- Purpose
All profit went to Camp Trillium through Annaleise’s Radical Crossings.
In the press
The story travelled.
Television, radio, newspapers, and local magazines followed the swims. These are the outlets and moments recorded in the original press archive.
- August 17, 2013CHCH, Mia GordonTelevision
- May 17, 2014680 News, Kris McCuskerRadio
- 2014SNAP LondonCommunity press
- 2014SNAP NorfolkCommunity press
- 2014The Weather NetworkBroadcast
From the archive
Two moments on film.
The original homepage included these two videos. They remain here as part of the record of the 2015 book season.
Watch the Festival of Trees presentation teaser
Annaleise’s introduction and the #TOGETHERweAREaGREATlake presentation teaser at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto, May 13, 2015.
Watch the Silver Birch winner announcement
The announcement of the 2015 Silver Birch Non Fiction Award winner.
A note from Annaleise
Amazed. Inspired. Grateful.
My family and I have been overwhelmed by the support we have received. There have been so many people, organizations, and businesses who have supported and believed in me, a little girl from the country with some crazy big dreams.
Thank you for believing in me and my dreams and letting me spread my wings and try.
Annaleise Carr, from the original Broadcast page
Keep the ripple moving
The next ring starts with you.
Read the story, support the camp, or invite Annaleise to speak. The water is wide, but no one has to swim alone.