Saugeen Shores Aquatic Supervisor Shanna Reid, holding one of many lifesaving devices located at Port Elgin Main Beach, talks water safety at the beach May 26, with Saugeen Shores Police Constable Greg Fletcher who recently won the Rescue Award of Merit by the Lifesaving Society.
Hub Staff
It may not feel like it yet but summer is just around the corner and the Town of Saugeen Shores is launching a Waterfront Safety campaign with aim to remind swimmers and watercraft users how to enjoy the water safely.
Aquatic Supervisor for Saugeen Shores Shanna Reid, along with Constable Greg Fletcher of the Saugeen Shores Police Service, a recipient of the Rescue Award of Merit from the Lifesaving Society, met with media May 26 at Port Elgin Main Beach to discuss the importance of water safety.
Following three water tragedies in 2016 the campaign aims to remind users to always wear a lifejacket or Personal Floatation Device (PFD) if you're a non-swimmer or any time you're in a boat, to keep an eye on weather conditions; to always keep children with arms’ reach and to get trained in swimming or lifesaving.
“Drowning isn’t flailing in the water, it happens silently when they go under the wave and then they're gone,” said Reid. “Parents, stay with your kids, stay close and make sure that you've got your eye on them.”
Fletcher recalled July 26, 2016 when he saved the lives of three youths at Gobles Grove beach. He was at the beach enjoying the sun with his family when he saw the youths 300 metres off-shore on a infallible water toy and the the youngest of the group was drifting down the shoreline trying to swim back to the beach. The youth attempted to grab hold of a marker buoy. “So it was at that point that I realized that he was in serious trouble and swam out to assist him back to shore.”
Fletcher said he managed to swim about 200 metres offshore, bring him back into shore safely and return him to his mother, who was unaware that there was a problem. The inflatable toy that the two remaining boys were on blew away and they too struggled to get back to shore. Fletcher then grabbed an assist device and brought one to shore while the other came in unassisted.
Fletcher said that a southwest breeze has become the “norm” over the past few years and creates an off-shore wind at Gobles Grove that can push unsuspecting swimmers toward the Port Elgin Main Beach.
The 2016 incident by Fletcher, who was off-duty at the time, caused Shanna Reid to nominate the constable for a life saving award and said it was a great opportunity to say “we’ve got safety first in Saugeen Shores.”
Fletcher called receiving the award a privilege. “The award just points out how people need to be very vigilant when they're at the beach, especially if it’s wavy or with off-shore wind conditions.” Fletcher noted that just three weeks after the July 26 incident a male youth drowned at Gobles Grove under similar weather conditions. “If you can’t reach your child when they’re in the water then you're too far away from them,” said Fletcher, telling swimmers to watch for danger signs such as riptide and undertow.
Reid said that the highest occurrence of death by drowning in Ontario is because of a lack of PFDs and lifejackets while boating. She said the three deaths by drowning in 2016 were all similar in that the individuals didn’t have the swimming ability.
Reid said the summer will bring waterfront safety to the forefront with two public events. The Saugeen Shores Fire Department, Paramedics, Saugeen Shore Police Service and Lifesaving Club will participate in another mock emergency on Port Elgin Main Beach during the summer season.
As well Saugeen Shores will host the provincial Waterfront Championships August 11 to 14 on Southampton and Port Elgin beaches, where lifeguards from Saugeen Shores and around Ontario will participate in lifesaving activities and trials.
Saugeen Shores Police Constable Greg Fletcher rescued three youths off the shores of Gobles Grove in July 2016, and wants parents and swimmers to be vigilant and safe when they go to the beach.
