Bring ‘em back alive

Andy Adams 2018 Edited 400

July 25, 2023

I recently had the pleasure of a private tour through the new York Regional Police Marine Unit’s headquarters in Jackson’s Point on Lake Simcoe, guided by Staff Sgt. Aaron Busby. For a fairly young guy, he has already had a ton of experience and that includes some arduous search and rescue emergencies. He shared the story of one experience that was fairly typical and could have been deadly.

A group of women were having a summer fun day on Lake Simcoe and they rented stand-up paddleboards. Paddling along, talking and having fun, they didn’t notice that the wind was picking up. 

Suddenly, one woman realized that they were being blown offshore. They tried to turn and paddle back but they couldn’t make any headway against the gathering wind. The four all wound up in the water, in life jackets, but as the waves grew higher, they were not able get back on the boards or to see where they were. Luckily, one woman actually had her cell phone with her and it was working. She called 911.

The dispatcher asked where they were and the women really could not tell the dispatcher anything more than where they had started off. They could barely see the shore and had no idea how fast they were blowing.

Staff Sgt. Aaron Busby and the police boat were dispatched but by the time the boat reached the general area, the waves were making it almost impossible to see the people or the SUPs in the water. Almost incredibly, the women were located and rescued but Sgt. Busby wanted us to share two critically important ideas with our Boating Industry Canada News Week readers, for your own benefit but mainly, to share this with your customers for their safety.

It was a near-miracle that the four women were located before darkness fell and it was a long and arduous search. If the one woman had not had a cell phone, this would almost certainly have been four fatalities.

In this edition of Boating Industry Canada News Week, we have a feature story by Allegra Smith-Herriott about an app called “what3words”. If that app had been on the cell phone that day, the women would have been rescued far faster. It’s a simple system that would have guided the police boat to within 10 feet of the phone (and the women). It’s free. It works all over the world as long as you have a cell signal.

The other point is to use a float plan and to encourage your customers to all leave a float plan with some responsible person before they head out. It’s simple, cheap and can make a huge difference if the winds shift, the motor stops or some other problem arises.

Here in the middle of the summer of 2023, with record-breaking heat and many extreme weather events, we should all be more focused on safety than ever before.

By all means – go boating! But bring ‘em back alive.

Andy Adams – Editor

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The provincial marine associations from across the country, collectively representing over 80,000 jobs and $9.2B in national annual economic impact, announced the formation of a new national association whose mandate will be to represent the interests of recreational boating including recreational boat retailing and brokering, boat and engine & trailer sales, accessories, slip rentals, service, storage, fuel sales and more. Headquartered in Penetanguishene, Ontario, the newly formed Canadian Marine Retailers Association (CMRA) will focus on national issues facing the sector.

“The formation of a national voice to address the many aspects of our sector that affect the jobs and lives of Canadians from coast to coast is something many of our provincial associations have been calling for, for years,” says Brett Ramsey, President of Boating Ontario. “This is a positive step to ensuring issues facing our sector are represented to decisionmakers in the federal government.” READ MORE




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Stainless steel combines long-lasting corrosion resistance with an attractive, classic appearance to enhance any deck. That’s why Hubbell Marine uses it in its premium Stainless Steel Flip Covers to protect electrical terminals from impacts, weather, even curious children and pets.

Both styles of Hubbell Marine Stainless Steel Flip Covers, and associated hinge pins, springs and mounting hardware, are built from heavy-duty polished 316 stainless steel. The easy-to-clean covers are enhanced by durable elastomer base gaskets and EVA back gaskets for weatherproof reliability. READ MORE