Missing canoeists Opeongo.

[captpierre]

Hope they find these guys.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/police-search-for-missing-canoeists-in-algonquin-park-1.2645394

 

What's the water temp up there 50 degrees?

 

Careful out there, everybody

[Musky or Specks]

Hope they find these guys.

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/police-search-for-missing-canoeists-in-algonquin-park-1.2645394

 

What's the water temp up there 50 degrees?

 

Careful out there, everybody

I dumped on Monday on Dickson Lake It's a lot colder than 50. I was there on Opeongo that Thursday and I took a water taxi back to the Access point. No way was it safe to even think of canoeing.

[Tim Mills]

Very sad story when young people die. Some details on Algonquin Adventures.

 

4 people in 2 canoes, left outfitters on Opeongo in raining and choppy conditions mid afternoon Thursday

 

both boats capsized, not sure if one boat capsized, then the other capsized while trying to help the other boat?

 

2 paddlers rescued by water taxi, 2 were not, not sure if the 2 missing bodies have been found.

[lew]

Always lousy to hear these kind of stories.

[davey buoy]

Terrible news.Saw two people in a canoe heading out to the deep waters of Lake Simcoe yesterday.At least they had their life jackets on.The water temp was 44 degrees.A good chop to the water as well.Scary all the same.

[muskymatt]

Very sad, I was in the park the same week. People need to completely understand what they are up against and exercise all safety measures while doing it.

[woodenboater]

Tragic story. I wonder if they made it out of the bay past swimmers island or not.

 

A pfd is not going to do much good in the spring if you can't get out of the water. A floater suit, wetsuit or drysuit may well be the only thing keeping you alive. Also wonder if the outfitters warned them of conditions ?

[Musky or Specks]

Tragic story. I wonder if they made it out of the bay past swimmers island or not.

 

A pfd is not going to do much good in the spring if you can't get out of the water. A floater suit, wetsuit or drysuit may well be the only thing keeping you alive. Also wonder if the outfitters warned them of conditions ?

Winds were really stong out of the SW which meant the dock area was reasonably calm but once you cleared Fishgut Bay and got out into Sproule Bay the waves were 4 ft. I waited for a taxi at East Bay of Opeongo from noon till 4pm at the portage to Dickson. And the winds and waves were nasty! I had already prepared myself to have to spend the night. When I dumped on Dickson I was not wearing my PFD(stupid I know) but still managed to cling to my canoe and push it to shore.If you don't panic you can survive.

[Gnote]

Very sad.

[moxie]

Sad indeed but when are people going to stop putting themselves in harms way? When?

[bigugli]

Sad indeed but when are people going to stop putting themselves in harms way? When?

Never. It is part of human nature to take risks/gamble. If not we would still be in Europe in the dark ages.

[moxie]

Never. It is part of human nature to take risks/gamble. If not we would still be in Europe in the dark ages.

Understood but you have to know when to hold them and fold them, no? It'll be nothin but dark ages for those that keep failing .

[HTHM]

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/4528417-teen-tossed-from-boat-rescued-on-lake-ontario/

 

Niagara Regional Police are crediting a Grimsby couple for saving a stranded teen in Lake Ontario.

Police say a 17-year-old boy built a one-person watercraft using instructions he found on the Internet, and set out on Lake Ontario without a life-jacket.

The boat got caught up in the current and began drifting away from the shore, and rough water tossed him into the water.

A Grimsby woman had noticed the boat, and called 911 while her husband paddled out to the boy in a kayak with a life jacked and a rope.

The man pulled the teen to shore, where he was taken to West Lincoln Memorial Hospital to be treated for exposure.

[Tim Mills]

One of the missing is an aquaintance of my son. I understand he was in great shape and had military and survival training. Hard to beilieve but speculation is that there was 1 lifejacket for 4 paddlers. I'm not sure if they had they're own boats of rented gear from an outfitter.

 

I believe it is the repsonsibility of the paddlers to aquire the knowledge, experience and skills to keep themselves safe. Researching trips online on sites like this one or myccr is a big part of that. They are also repsonsible for equipping themselves with the right gear as well.

 

However, do you think the park or outfitter (if they used one) bear any responsibility in a situation like this?

Should someone have said you should not be paddling Opeongo in these conditions?

Maybe they did and they did not listen.

[woodenboater]

If they rented from the outfitters, then I can't see how they can be short 3 pdfs. No way. I know the manager who runs it and he's solid. They most likely would have told them of the conditions past Sproule Bay as well but not sure what powers they have to stop them.

 

Hope the two missing paddlers will be found/recovered so their families can move forward.

Edited May 20, 2014 by woodenboater

[BillM]

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/4528417-teen-tossed-from-boat-rescued-on-lake-ontario/

 

Niagara Regional Police are crediting a Grimsby couple for saving a stranded teen in Lake Ontario.

Police say a 17-year-old boy built a one-person watercraft using instructions he found on the Internet, and set out on Lake Ontario without a life-jacket.

The boat got caught up in the current and began drifting away from the shore, and rough water tossed him into the water.

A Grimsby woman had noticed the boat, and called 911 while her husband paddled out to the boy in a kayak with a life jacked and a rope.

The man pulled the teen to shore, where he was taken to West Lincoln Memorial Hospital to be treated for exposure.

 

I can't help but laugh at this, glad the kid got back to shore but what was he thinking?

[lew]

 

 

However, do you think the park or outfitter (if they used one) bear any responsibility in a situation like this?

Should someone have said you should not be paddling Opeongo in these conditions?

 

 

I spose the outfitter could tell a paddler if he thought the conditions were too bad, but I don't think he actually has the responsibility to do so. It could even backfire on him if he said it looked OK but then it got nasty and someone died and the family tried to sue him for it.

 

IMO, it's completely up to the renter to know what's going on.

 

You can't look after everybody.

[SuperDave]

There are not many of us who would arrive at a destination like that and say to ourselves... " its too rough lets call it off". Unfortunately our love of the outdoors and anticipation of fun and excitement overrules our ability to make a rational decision. Been there, done that. Some are just luckier than others. I have paddled Opeongo many times and almost every time it was "too rough" to go.

[DRIFTER_016]

 

I can't help but laugh at this, glad the kid got back to shore but what was he thinking?

 

The same thing you and I were @ 17 Bill.

WOOHOO!!!!!! ADVENTURE!!!!!

[davey buoy]

 

The same thing you and I were @ 17 Bill.

WOOHOO!!!!!! ADVENTURE!!!!!

Agreed,how many times have we done something similar back at that age.We now like to forget that we were just lucky a lot more than once.

[woodenboater]

It's probable that the conditions in the bay were calm enough to give them a false sense of what might lay past the gap. Also, much would depend on how tight the waves were. If they were very close, they probably swamped from the stern. I don't mind large waves if they're spaced wide enough that you can ride the trough up and over the crests. Still, snugging real tight to shore on the lee side is always the plan if you can't sit tight for whatever reason.

 

and the single pfd still bugs me…why only one ?