By Angie Sullivan
Imagine being on a paddleboard without a life jacket and being blown more than a kilometre and a half into the middle of Lake Simcoe.
“This incident happened on the May long weekend and they didn’t have a life jacket,” said Staff Sgt. Frank Abreu with the York Regional Police Marine Unit. “The water is cold. If they had fallen in, hypothermia could set in within 15 or 20 minutes. It would potentially be a fatality.”
With boating season underway, the York Regional Police would like to remind everyone to be safe on the water.
Abreu said, “We want people to be prepared before they go out on the water. We are in a recreational area with a very beautiful but treacherous lake. This is about education.”
Safe Boating Awareness Week ran from May 16 to 22, ending with an open house at the York Regional Police Marine Unit in Jackson’s Point on May 23. Visitors were able to tour the facilities, check out the boats, ask questions, eat ice cream and take home some swag.
The Canadian Safe Boating Council uses this week to promote five key boating safety messages:
Wear your life jacket. Over 80 per cent of Canadians who drown while boating were not wearing a life jacket, or were not wearing it properly.
Boat sober. Whether it’s prescription drugs, alcohol or cannabis, the use of intoxicants is both irresponsible and illegal. In Ontario, impaired boating can affect your driver’s licence.
Be cold water safe. Cold water can severely impact your ability to swim or even stay afloat. No matter your swimming ability, your best chance of surviving an accidental immersion is to wear your life jacket.
Take a boating course. Anyone operating a power-driven boat needs proof of competency, such as a Pleasure Craft Operator Card.
Be Prepared — You and Your Vessel. Make sure both you and your boat are ready for your planned activities. Know your trip, equip your boat with the required and recommended safety gear, check that the weather suits your voyage, carry sufficient fuel, and file a trip plan.
“The number one thing we saw happen this past long weekend was that people are not wearing their life jackets or PFDs,” said Abreu. “The law requires one properly fitting PFD per person on the vessel and some people have them stored underneath seats, and if there’s an emergency, they can’t get to them fast enough.”
The York Regional Police Marine Unit will be patrolling the lake all year long.
Abreu said, “We want people to be comfortable approaching us. We are not just there to enforce the laws. That’s important, but we’re also there to educate and help.”
For more information on safe boating visit www.csbc.ca
