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tragic canoe accident sat afternoon on opie,, just a shame
sources reported that the man was wearing a life jacket,, ottawa citizen
Last edited by swedish pimple (10/13/2020 9:52 am)
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There was an abrupt change in the weather on Travers early Saturday afternoon and I expect the same thing happened on Opeongo. My wife and I travelled to Travers on Friday and late on Saturday morning we travelled back to the landing to meet the rest of our party driving up from Ottawa. There was a light wind from the SW at that time. After waiting for our friends to arrive and having lunch we start paddling back to our campsite at around 1:30pm. Once we got into the lake it was apparent that the wind had shifted around to the NW. Not a problem at first but it continued to build into a good blow by the time we got back to the campsite. I would not have wanted to be paddling on the much larger Opeongo lake in those conditions.
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A detailed account from one of the rescuers
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yellowcanoe wrote:
There was an abrupt change in the weather on Travers early Saturday afternoon and I expect the same thing happened on Opeongo. My wife and I travelled to Travers on Friday and late on Saturday morning we travelled back to the landing to meet the rest of our party driving up from Ottawa. There was a light wind from the SW at that time. After waiting for our friends to arrive and having lunch we start paddling back to our campsite at around 1:30pm. Once we got into the lake it was apparent that the wind had shifted around to the NW. Not a problem at first but it continued to build into a good blow by the time we got back to the campsite. I would not have wanted to be paddling on the much larger Opeongo lake in those conditions.
I was paddling north on Smoke in a solo boat during Sat afternoon and it was pretty nasty crossing West Bay. Once I had the west shoreline for protection it was significantly better. But I basically paddled into and out of West Bay in a big V shape so I never had to hit the waves sideways.
Very sad what happened to the group on Ope. It's an unfortunate but good reminder how dangerous tripping can be at this time of year. It's very lucky that help was nearby and that they weren't further in the backcountry otherwise it likely would have had an even worse ending.
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How terrible! Martin, thanks for sharing the instagram account of what happened. Had it not been for a very, very capable rescuer, it sounds like this could have been far worse than it already was. Thank goodness he was there to help.
Opeongo scares the H out of me, and I have no plans to ever paddle it again. I was on that lake in the 1980's, pushing off from a campsite near the 285 meter portage from Wright. We woke up to 2-3 footers crashing on the shore. We had no business being on the water that day, our adult leaders should have known better, it was a terrible decision to push off. We were very fortunate that day. Worst conditions by far that I have ever paddled in or ever will. That's big water, cold now, things can go very wrong, and I'm so sorry to hear that a life was lost.
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Very sad, but very avoidable. I really think outfitters and/or PP's (especially Algonquin) need to start vetting paddler's abilities vs. their route choices and drilling home water safety. It's pretty scary to read this person was wearing a PFD and still drowned.
In September I took my family on a trip out of Kiosk where winds were strong and kicking up enough caps that we almost didn't put in. While at camp in the east bay of Kiosk, I saw a least 15-16 canoes pass our site each day over the weekend. Guess how many of those people were wearing PFD's? I counted 1 out of 30-40 paddlers, almost all of them in rented canoes.
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[ It's an unfortunate but good reminder how dangerous tripping can be at this time of year.
"Reminder" implies that one had the knowledge to begin with.
As for vetting, do we want to/can we foist that kind of responsibility onto the outfitters? I fear there may be greater measures taken - I see an opportunity for an unscrupulous politician to come in and "make it all better."
My condolences to the family of the deceased - truly tragic.
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There once was an interest in developing the skill level of backcountry users. In 2009 John Winters (Park Superintendent at the time) was exploring the concept of an outdoor recreational skills centre. Discussions were starting to involve co-operation between Ontario Parks, area outfitters, and various outdoor programs. Interest was being shown in requiring that individuals' proficiency be established in water-skills before water-based back country permits be issued. Despite wide-spread enthusiasm from park-users, decisions from higher-up eventually pulled the plug on John's efforts.
Below is a scan from the 2009 Park Tabloid, of John Winter's "From the Park Superintendent", with a red frame around John's description of his idea. Maybe once the Covid situation resolves, Algonquin Park could again be considered for either a provincial learning center or a number of associated campuses .. where outdoor recreational, environmental and scientific disciplines could be taught. It sure could provide the park's surrounding municipalities with an economic boost while helping promote safety in the backcountry!
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Before we get too far off topic, we must acknowledge the heroic efforts of Krista Petrie-Wallace and Glenn Wallace in this rescue effort. The two survivors almost certainly would have died had they not intervened. In my opinion, Glenn took quite a risk in attempting to rescue 3 people, who cannot swim, underprepared, and with a language barrier, by himself. Brave. Heroic. Heroes.
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Before we get too far off topic, we must acknowledge the heroic efforts of Krista Petrie-Wallace and Glenn Wallace in this rescue effort. The two survivors almost certainly would have died had they not intervened. In my opinion, Glenn took quite a risk in attempting to rescue 3 people, who cannot swim, underprepared, and with a language barrier, by himself. Brave. Heroic. Heroes.
And there's the physical effort he put in. Thankfully for both the survivors and him that he had it in him to begin with. Imagine being in his position, having the empathy and courage to help in such dangerous conditions, but running out of steam part-way through? Hats off for sure.
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As for vetting, do we want to/can we foist that kind of responsibility onto the outfitters? I fear there may be greater measures taken - I see an opportunity for an unscrupulous politician to come in and "make it all better."
No for a few reasons.
First off if we tried to put this burden on the rental outfits, there would be an immediate conflict of interest. I think a direct comparison would be placing the burden of driver certification and licensing on rental car companies.
That comparison leads to the 2nd reason which is that it is a well established, and hard learned, best practice that when a there is a formal requirement for 'vetting' or certification then the certification process needs to be done by an independent organization such as the MTO as opposed to an industry organization.
In the boating field, the current example is the "Pleasure Craft Operator's Card" which is mandatory to operate a motorboat, but which is an online 'course' and 'test' run by for profit companies with no hands on training, no meaningful proctoring so that cheating by having someone else complete the test is common, and most of the content is utterly irrelevant to Ontario cottage lakes. In addition to the natural resistance to increased regulation, there is significant opposition to a mandatory 'canoe operators' license as being a pointless feel good political exercise that will increase barriers to entry to paddle sports without increasing safety or education in any way.
And finally, the geographic nature of lakes and rivers and oceans quickly invalidates any vetting including in this case. Water bodies come in all shapes and sizes. This includes Opeongo where a novice paddler could rent a canoe, "pass" some sort of vetting and be "permitted" to leave shore with the clear instruction to stay in the relatively sheltered southern bay south of the outfitters down to Costello Creek. Of course once a novice but ambitious paddler leaves shore, there is nothing short of a constant "lifeguard" patrol to stop them from heading out to the big open lake.
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As for vetting, do we want to/can we foist that kind of responsibility onto the outfitters? I fear there may be greater measures taken - I see an opportunity for an unscrupulous politician to come in and "make it all better."No for a few reasons.
First off if we tried to put this burden on the rental outfits, there would be an immediate conflict of interest. I think a direct comparison would be placing the burden of driver certification and licensing on rental car companies.
That comparison leads to the 2nd reason which is that it is a well established, and hard learned, best practice that when a there is a formal requirement for 'vetting' or certification then the certification process needs to be done by an independent organization such as the MTO as opposed to an industry organization.
In the boating field, the current example is the "Pleasure Craft Operator's Card" which is mandatory to operate a motorboat, but which is an online 'course' and 'test' run by for profit companies with no hands on training, no meaningful proctoring so that cheating by having someone else complete the test is common, and most of the content is utterly irrelevant to Ontario cottage lakes. In addition to the natural resistance to increased regulation, there is significant opposition to a mandatory 'canoe operators' license as being a pointless feel good political exercise that will increase barriers to entry to paddle sports without increasing safety or education in any way.
And finally, the geographic nature of lakes and rivers and oceans quickly invalidates any vetting including in this case. Water bodies come in all shapes and sizes. This includes Opeongo where a novice paddler could rent a canoe, "pass" some sort of vetting and be "permitted" to leave shore with the clear instruction to stay in the relatively sheltered southern bay south of the outfitters down to Costello Creek. Of course once a novice but ambitious paddler leaves shore, there is nothing short of a constant "lifeguard" patrol to stop them from heading out to the big open lake.
I agree with everything you said with the exception to there being a:
"significant opposition to a mandatory 'canoe operators' license as being a pointless feel good political exercise that will increase barriers to entry to paddle sports without increasing safety or education in any way."
For you, me, and possibly every other paddler out there - sure. But probably not for the majority of the voting public - just look at how many non-sensical, knee-jerk reaction laws are already out there. Hence my reference to unscrupulous politicians looking for new cap feathers.
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Overall I think we are on the same page.
Being an active 'cottager' as well, I have seen widespread opposition well beyond the 'paddling' community. Probably a lot more widespread than you might realize - particularly as any additional licensing requirement would undoubtedly scoop up kayaks, paddle boards, rubber dinghy's (by bad wording of the regulations if nothing else) and and paddle boats.
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I'm also not convinced that mandatory certification for DIY canoeists is necessarily appropriate.
However, there's a lot to be said for the official promotion of various skill level certifications. For example: general canoeing, white-water craft, water-rescue, first aid, life-saving, general backcountry camping, Leave No Trace, winter camping, etc.
Such qualifications are sometimes already employed by professional guides, organized groups and even 'concerned-parents'.
If Ontario Parks promoted a system of volunteer certifications, then individuals, groups and businesses would have the option of requiring them for their activities, participants and customers. Hopefully, more people could then better appreciate the associated skills, risks, expectations and safety issues.
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In Ontario the provincial organization for paddle sport training and certification is ORCKA:
The national organization is Paddle Canada:
ORCKA certifications are recognized provincially but they split from the national Paddle Canada organization several years ago so ORCKA certifications may not be recognized in other provinces. Paddle Canada certifications are recognized nationally and there are several Paddle Canada instructors and courses available in Ontario.
I fully agree that promoting training is worthwhile. I don't always fully agree with the certification programs as they historically were heavily focused on creating barriers to entry for Instructors. More recently they have evolved to be more realistic.
Personally I got as far as an ORCKA Moving Water Level 1 certification many years ago. I had an interest in becoming an instructor in relation to some volunteer work I did at the time, but getting to an instructor level at that point would have required all my vacation time for another couple of years and that wasn't happening.
My wife and daughter both have Canoe Tripping certifications and this summer my daughter got her Intro Moving Water Tandem Instructor certification from Paddle Canada.
At the same time, I know that many many folks learn more from family and friends than they would learn in a week long course and safely trip their entire lives.
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If Ontario Parks promoted a system of volunteer certifications, then individuals, groups and businesses would have the option of requiring them for their activities, participants and customers. Hopefully, more people could then better appreciate the associated skills, risks, expectations and safety issues.
The slippery slope to requiring a certification to step into a canoe? After working in an industry that had me chasing 20 to 30 certifications a year, many of them of no use to my job, it might be that I'm a bit shell shocked.
Still wondering when the mandatory wearing of life jackets become law. That would save more lives but sadly not the case in the Opeongo tragedy. Some of my friends still don't wear them while paddling but 'setting an example' has brought some into the fold. Have to admit that I went many years without wearing one but after some incidents and a bit of reflection it has become as standard as wearing a seat belt in the car.
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