NEWS RELEASE
ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE
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MIDLAND - Members of the OPP marine unit attached to the Southern Georgian Bay Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police logged over 15 hours of patrol over the first weekend of regular marine patrol for 2019.
Officers checked seven vessels looking for required safety equipment and operator sobriety while patrolling the waters of Georgian Bay.
On Saturday, May 12, 2019 at 10:03 a.m. OPP marine officers along with County of Simcoe Paramedic Services and Tay Fire Service personnel were dispatched to a report of a capsized vessel off Lighthouse Point in Hog Bay, Tay Township.
An area resident noticed a vessel in distress who alerted police resulting in a 59-year-old male Tay Township resident being rescued by a private vessel before he could be reached by marine emergency services personnel.
The lone male boater had been in the 9-degree Celsius water for 30 minutes after his aluminum boat capsized while fishing in the stormy waters. He was treated for hypothermia and transported by paramedics to Georgian Bay General Hospital for treatment.
The life-jacket he was wearing is credited for saving his life while he was alone in the cold, stormy waters of Georgian Bay.
OPP marine unit officers remind all vessel operators "vessel operators need to check that they have on board sufficient life jackets for every person(s) on board and required safety equipment prior to leaving the shore".
For anyone who is unsure of the equipment required for their vessel please view the following link to get the app for their mobile device https://csbc.ca/en/ or https://csbc.ca/fr/ or view the Transport Canada Safe Boating Guide at http://www.tc.gc.ca/documents/TP-511e.pdfhttp://www.tc.gc.ca/documents/tp511f.pdf
Police remind vessel operators that an essential part our enforcement effort is to save lives and reduce injuries on our waterways while promoting and educating the public about safe boating practices.
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