By Mike Anderson

What began as a pleasant day sail to Friday Harbour turned into a life-threatening ordeal for a Willow Beach couple and their dog when their 19-foot sailing dingy capsized during their return trip on September 11.

Karl and Katie Pfisterer and their dog Buddy, a 13-year old English Cocker Spaniel, spent 16-hours, mostly overnight, in Lake Simcoe before an OPP Marine Unit rescued them near Georgina Island on the morning of September 12.

When they were pulled out of the water, both were suffering from hypothermia. Katie’s body temperature had fallen to 32 degrees Celsius, Karl, 35 degrees – average normal body temperature is 37 degrees. While both were hospitalized, Karl was discharged after ten hours, while Katie, due to complications, spent four nights at Southlake before being released. Buddy, treated by paramedics, spent two nights at an emergency vet.

Karl and Katie believe they are lucky to be alive. They told their story to The Post because they want other boaters to learn from their experience, including not taking Lake Simcoe, with its potential for high winds and big waves, too lightly.

“We sailed to Friday Harbour just to grab some lunch,” said Karl. “We checked the weather in the morning, and they said the wind was coming from the south and maybe a little stronger than we’ve been in before. But we just shot over there in about an hour and a half. It was probably the best sail we’ve had on this boat because of the south wind, and the water was flat, no waves.”

But Karl said after they left Friday Harbour at 4:30 p.m., three hours before nightfall, the wind picked up, and the water got choppy.

However, Karl, an experienced dingy sailor, was confident that their 19-foot Lighting would handle the changing weather conditions.

“I knew it was going to be a tough sail, but I wasn’t concerned,” he said.

But just 20 minutes into the return trip, the port side shroud, which supports the mast, came loose. The dingy could no longer tack against the wind, so they were forced to cut across the waves to stay on course.

“In hindsight, maybe then, I should have taken out the cell phone and called for help,” he said.

But they pressed on for another hour and a half, and then, between Fox Island and Snake Island, disaster struck.

“I was steering over the waves to try to keep the boat level. We got a gust at the same time as I was going down a trough of a wave, and the water, within a second, swamped us. It just came over the entire cockpit,” he said.

“The boat went over, and the mast was flush with the water. We stood on the centreboard and tried to right it. We did get her up twice for just a couple of seconds, but she went over again.”

“Everything you’re required by law to carry on the boat, the paddle, lifejackets, and the little Fox 40 Marine Safety Kit, started to float away.”

“That’s one safety tip. Make sure everything you need is lashed so it doesn’t float away,” he said.

Lighting sailing dingy

While the dog was wearing a lifejacket, Karl and Katie had to grab theirs out of the water.

Their cell phones, which they usually keep in a zip-locked bag, were soaked and no longer worked. There was no way of contacting anyone for help.

So began their 16-hour ordeal in the water.

The dingy was capsized, with the water just a few inches below the gunnels, but they were able to hang on.

“We spent a little time trying to get our stuff together and get organized, staying with the boat. And then Katie saw another boat,” Karl said.

While they tried getting the boat’s attention, blowing the whistles on their lifejackets and shouting and waving, it was too far away.

Under maritime law and the Criminal Code of Canada, boaters must come to the aid of any vessel in distress. However, Karl and Katie don’t believe the boaters saw them.

“I think they were preparing to get underway, and they were facing south. So we saw them for maybe about five, 10 minutes, and then they were gone,” he said.

With the onset of nightfall, the couple decided to hunker down and stay together to prevent heat loss. Hopefully, someone would spot them in the morning.

“We spent the majority of the time with the dog between us, holding on to the boat,” Katie said.

“There was a temperature change in the middle of the night, the waves and the wind started coming from the north, and I felt the water temperature get cold.”

They used the boat to protect themselves from the waves, which Karl estimated were two feet high, peak to trough, by 3 a.m. But the worst ones would wash over the boat and hit them.

“I was watching for those because I got badly banged up and bruised on my left side because I was holding on to the halyard,” she said.

“Karl got it on this right side because he was holding on to the boat with his right hand. He held onto my lifejacket with his left hand. And we had the dog between us with his face always facing towards the shore away from the waves.”

Katie said verbalizing helped to get them through their ordeal.

“They say that’s a good technique to verbalize your situation, especially in a crisis,” she said.

“I talked all that night and was singing songs. And when I ran out of songs, I started doing the alphabet.”

While the couple said they hadn’t told anyone they were going for a sail, Katie did text Karl’s mother Janet, who lives in Toronto, from Friday Harbour.

“I texted her that the sun was setting at 7.30 p.m., and the wind was coming from the southwest about 40 km,” she said.

“So I thought she’s going to start worrying at 8:30 p.m. And she’s getting help probably around 9:30 p.m. And they’re going to find us before midnight. But none of that happened.”

“When it was about 1 a.m., we thought, okay, we’re not going to be found tonight. We’re going to have to make it through the night on our own.”

Karl’s mother did call YRP on Saturday at 9:15 p.m. But, she was told that because she lived in Toronto, she would have to complete a missing persons report with Toronto police before a search could take place.

After Toronto police interviewed her at her home, Janet called YRP back at 12:30 a.m. and was told that they had not yet received the missing persons report, but things were in motion, and they were looking for the couple on the lake.

But it wasn’t until 10 a.m., Sunday morning, that the OPP Marine Unit found them trying to swim to shore between Sibbald Point and Georgina Island.

“We were only 30 feet from our boat when we heard the OPP boat coming from behind us, and it was going fast. And I don’t know where I got the strength, but I pushed my torso out of the water and yelled,” Katie recalled.

“I went first, and then Karl went next, and they immediately got on the radio to say, we’ve got them. Because they were about to launch a plane out of Trenton.”

“But it was my understanding, at least from the officers, that they weren’t looped in until that morning.”

According to Orillia OPP Const. Ted Dongelmans, OPP were contacted by YRP on the morning of Sunday, Sept 12, and began the search around 8:30 a.m.

When The Post asked YRP to explain why it took so long to find the couple, a detailed explanation was not provided, including the exact time YRP Marine Units were dispatched.

However, a YRP spokesperson did provide the following response:

“The initial call came in at about 10 p.m. on Saturday night. The investigation began from there with officers on the ground initially, and then a Marine Unit call out was made within a few hours. Several of our resources were involved, and partnering agencies were also engaged, which is a common practice in these types of incidents.”

While Karl and Katie are grateful to the OPP officers for finding them, they wonder why it took so long to be rescued.

Still, they’re not giving up sailing on the lake. They’re buying a hand-held VHF radio for the boat, and they’ll make sure to tell their neighbours next time they go out for a sail.

“One thing that shocked me was how quickly something can go bad. I’ve sailed for 40 years. I was a lifeguard when I was a kid. We went from a challenging sail to be completely out of commission in a second,” Karl said.

“Lake Simcoe is a tricky lake, and people should know the limitations of their boat.”

“It also really speaks to remaining calm,” Katie added. “Don’t panic. Don’t compound your problem with another problem.”

Mike Anderson
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