Welcome to Bernie’s Boat
We’re A Team of Breast Cancer Survivors
We’re a supportive community of breast cancer survivors who first came together in May 2024 to enjoy the powerful experience of dragon boat paddling. Dragon Boating for Breast Cancer Survivors is a renowned international movement inspired by Canadian sports medicine specialist Dr. Don McKenzie. By paddling together, we enhance our physical health and emotional well-being while also creating lasting friendships.
Our team is named in honor of Bernie Schlauch, the founder of the Grey Bruce Dragon Boat Club, who sadly passed away from metastatic breast cancer before she had the chance to create a team of breast cancer survivors.
We support the development of recreational dragon boat paddling as a contribution to physical, mental, emotional, and social health for those diagnosed with breast cancer. We encourage breast cancer survivors to paddle with us within the framework of participation and inclusion.
Our Mission
GET INVOLVED
Have Fun. Make New Friends.
Our team welcomes everyone, regardless of prior experience in dragon boat paddling! You don’t need any special athletic talent or muscle strength to join us. Right now, over fifty of us, all proud breast cancer survivors, have found joy in paddling with Bernie’s Boat. We have plenty of room for more participants, and we’d love to invite more breast cancer survivors to join our amazing community. The day you are diagnosed is the day you become a survivor!
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“Bernie’s Boat is better than any formal therapy.”
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"We started as strangers; we became friends."
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"Who knew a boat could hold so much fun, friendship and occasional chaos?!"
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"Bernie’s Boat has given us a Sisterhood that we didn’t know we needed."
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"What an incredible group of strong, beautiful women!"
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"Be bold, be true, be kind, be you."
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"Bernie’s Boat: so challenging, so many new friends, so much support, so much joy!"
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"Bernie’s Boat! We are all for one and one for all."
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"Bernie’s Boat is a ROCK for so many women. What a team!"
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"Paddling together moves us in so many ways."
Meet Cristina
Cristina is a family physician, a wife and a mom living in Saugeen Shores. She first joined Bernie’s Boat in 2025 as the team physician – supporting women through their breast cancer journeys.
Then her own life changed. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2026.
“My connection to Bernie’s Boat began as a team physician. I was fortunate to support women in our community as they navigated their breast cancer journeys. Then, my own life changed. I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Suddenly, I was no longer experiencing breast cancer only through the eyes of a physician. I was experiencing it as a patient—and my family was experiencing it alongside me.
That shift changed my understanding of what it truly means to live with breast cancer. I came to understand that the journey is about so much more than appointments, scans, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or medications. It is about the fear of diagnosis, the uncertainty of treatment, the physical side effects, the emotional toll, the financial and practical burdens, and the moments when you simply need someone who understands. Bernie’s Boat was there for me and my family. The support I received from this team became an integral part of my healing journey. The camaraderie, compassion, practical resources, and sense of community helped me feel supported at a time when so much of life felt uncertain. And now, I see Bernie’s Boat differently—not just as a physician, but as someone who has personally experienced its impact.
More Than Support—A Community
Patients at every stage of breast cancer can benefit from Bernie’s Boat: those facing a new diagnosis, undergoing treatment, living with metastatic disease, navigating survivorship, or receiving palliative care. The common thread is simple: No one should have to go through breast cancer alone. As a physician, I believe in evidence-based cancer treatment. As a survivor, I now understand that healing requires more than medical treatment. It requires community. It requires someone asking, “How are you really doing?” It requires practical help when the everyday things suddenly become difficult. It requires a place where you can be understood without having to explain. Bernie’s Boat provides that.” — Cristina Musngi, August 2026
The Sisterhood Support Fund
“Together, we lift one another.”
Bernie’s Blog
Your generous donation helps keep us paddling!
Bernie’s Boat operates entirely on volunteer contributions and is managed by its members. As a non-profit organization, we rely on donations, sponsorships, and fundraising to sustain our activities.
Contributions to Bernie’s Boat are tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by the Canada Revenue Agency. Charitable tax receipts will be issued for gifts of $25.00 or more, upon request.
