Ollie's 2023 & 2025 Itineraries: He Made it!!!
August 2023 Ollie made it!! 475 miles Pittsburgh to Cincinnati.
He did GREAT!!! and raised nearly 1 Million for shelters.
August 2025 was "Ollie's River Adventure Part 2: Finishing the Job". To raise more for shelters, Ollie Jet Skied 510 miles from Cincinnati to the Mississippi River!
Dams
August 2023 Ollie skied 475 miles and went through 12 dams. 2025's trip was 510 miles and 7 more dams. It’s called “locking” through because barges, boats & Ollie’s Jet Ski enter a “lock” (a large chamber that "locks" on both ends) where they lower the water to match the level on the other side then open the doors for Ollie to pass through. The Army Corps of Engineers runs the dams. They're great people.
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Speaking of Barges
Ollie rides close to shore, far from the barge channel. Mom tracked him by GPS. There are mile markers as shown on the map below to indicate how far West you are of where the Ohio river starts in Pittsburgh at Mile Marker 1. He started where he left off in Cincinnati and skied all the way to the Mississippi 510 miles!
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Safety First. Always
We use the latest safety gear: life vests, cell phones and GPS so mom is always just minutes away. All boat ramps were mapped out. Ollie was connected to Michael. Safety First. There were Zero falls.
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This was the 2025 trip: Day 1 Wednesday August 13th
Wednesday morning, as shown on the map below, Ollie left Cincinnati. 😊 He covered as many miles as possible with stops at local marinas. It was hot.
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Day 2 Thursday August 14th
He locked through the Louisville dam, stopped to meet people and do media interviews. He always had extra water because it was Hot! He also spent time with his mommy when he was on shore.
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Day 3 Friday August 15th
He covered about 100 or more miles in pretty smooth waters, at an average speed of 15-20 miles an hour. Dad kept him nice and cool.
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Day 4 Saturday August 16th
He “Kept it green on the bottom & blue on top.” and covered a lot of miles. After his last dam on Sunday, he will have locked through 7 dams with a total water drop of nearly 200 feet since Cincinnati. That's how much water the dams hold back. The river averages 25 feet deep. Without dams, we'd call it the Ohio Creek! Barge travel would be impossible. As usual, he made stops for interviews, and Naps!​
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Day 6 Sunday August 17th
Ollie locked through his last 2 dams and skied the last 65 miles and arrived in Wickliffe Ky on the Mississippi River to finish his adventure, all 510 miles!​​
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We say thank you so much to ALL those who donated, volunteered and sponsored.
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Most Sincerely,
Ollie, Cammy and Michael
