Canadian Yachting April 2023 - 39

TWO SEPARATE
COMMUNITIES,
ONE COMMON
PURPOSE
- by Jeff Evans, Sarnia Power and Sail Squadron
Sunday July 24, 2022 was like many other summer days in
Grimsby, Ontario - hot and sunny with a stiff wind out of
the southwest. As is the case with such days, many locals
had flocked to the beach to cool off.
Elsewhere in town, four individuals went about their separate
weekend activities. All had varying careers and social
groups but they shared one thing in common, each being
a volunteer member of South Shore Search and Rescue
(GAMRU). On this particular weekend, they were the crew
on call should a water emergency arise.
That afternoon, each received a message on their phones
advising of a mayday call with a report of four persons
floating on an inflatable pool toy west of Fifty Point Beach
on western Lake Ontario. The strong southwest wind of 20
knots and seas of two feet meant that any floating object
was at risk of being blown further out into the lake. The
crew assembled at Fifty Point Marina and set out on GAMRU
240, their search and rescue (SAR) vessel.
Arriving at the last known position for the reported victims,
no victims were found. The crew then spotted what
appeared to be individuals one nautical mile east of their
position and rushed to that location in the company of the
Hamilton Police Marine Unit boat. What they discovered
there shocked them. In total, seven people - four of them
children - were hanging onto three paddleboards.
The crew of GAMRU 240 recovered all seven and began
treatment for potential hypothermia from the 20C water.
First aid-trained crew paid particular attention to the four
crying children, reassuring them and warming them.
The crew discovered that originally five people (an adult
and four children) were on one paddleboard that had been
blown too far from shore to return. None were swimmers
and only the adult had a PFD. They floated a short distance
from shore where they discovered they could not touch
bottom. Seeing the group in distress, two other paddle
CANADIANYACHTING.CA
39
boarders came to their aid only to discover that they, too,
could not make any progress against the wind.
Once aboard the rescue boat, one of the additional paddle
boarders informed the crew that he had left his five-year-old
son on the beach alone. The GAMRU 240 crew contacted
one of their crew ashore who acted as liaison between the
rescue boat and Grimsby Fire Department to locate the
child. A Grimsby firefighter stayed with the child until his
father returned ashore.
As the rescue boat was returning to its base at Fifty Point,
crew spotted yet another person alone in the water - a
man wearing a black PFD waving his arms to draw the
attention of the crew, who quickly went to the scene and
recovered him. Once aboard, he declared he had not been
injured, despite being thrown from his personal watercraft
and knocked unconscious. He estimated he had been in
the water for one hour while the PWC floated away. He
was assessed for injuries and was warmed by the crew.
He subsequently refused medical treatment for a potential
concussion.
The rescue vessel returned to its course and arrived at the
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Canadian Yachting April 2023

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