Ayr woman completes 40 paddles in 40 different waters to celebrate turning 40

Krista Vivian wanted to give herself a challenge to mark her 40th birthday, so the Ayr, Ont., woman decided to paddle in 40 different bodies of water.

For Vivian, she counted a paddle as travelling on a body of water using any form of transportation that requires a paddle, like a canoe or a kayak.

Ironically, Vivian does not enjoy paddling as much as other outdoor activities.

"It's not my favourite thing to do," she said. "Being a taller person, the kayak can be kind of confining."

Still, she was inspired to take on the 40 paddles challenge by her former co-worker, David Jackson. Jackson swam 50 lakes to celebrate his 50th birthday.

"I thought it was really cool," she said. "I thought it would be a really interesting process to try and figure out."

7 months to complete

Her first paddle was on April 18 in the Nith River, which runs through Brant, Oxford, and Perth counties.

After nearly seven months, Vivian completed her 40th paddle in Lake Ontario on Nov. 9.

According to Vivian's rules, each paddle had to be at least 15 minutes long, and the name of the water body had to be mapped.

She says finding time to complete 40 paddles was challenging, but her family helped her along the way.

"The hardest thing was still making sure my family had an awesome summer," she said. "My husband was with me on every paddle, not always paddling but always at the pickup and drop off points."

Important to be safe

One of Vivian's most memorable paddles took place at Saugeen River — a day she refers to as the "Saugeen River Debacle."

Vivian was familiar with the area and felt confident that day. Unfortunately, she ended up travelling in the wrong direction down the river.

"Because it was so windy, and the Saugeen is so wide, I actually didn't feel the current pushing me," she said.

After travelling in the wrong direction for a while, Vivian realized she had to turn around. As she began to turn around, a swan approached her kayak and began to attack.

"It was a completely unprovoked attack," she said. "I end up screaming and taking on water."

As her kayak began to sink, Vivian was able to get her belongings out and bring the kayak to shore. During the entire ordeal, Vivian was on the phone with her husband.

"It's one of those things you wish you had recorded," she said.

Vivian eventually found a main road and was picked up by her husband.

"That was supposed to be an hour paddle, and I was out there for four hours," she said.

The experience with the swan is a good reminder about why it's so important for people to wear proper personal floatation devices when in the water, Vivian said.

"Proper PFD when paddling, always," she said.

"There's a common misconception that if you're a strong swimmer you don't need a life jacket, but you definitely do. You never know when an accident is going to happen."

Hopes to inspire others

Since completing 40 paddles, one of her sons has decided to take on his own challenge. His goal is to jump out of a plane 40 times.

"I don't know if I'm ready for that, but adventure on," she said

Vivian hopes to inspire people to set goals for themselves and do their best to achieve them.

"There's this awesome feeling that comes from finishing something you set out to do," she said.