Tag: drowning

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Cottage Life

Memorial fund set up for paddler who drowned in Beaver Creek, north of Marmora, Ont.

Photo Courtesy of Whitewater Ontario/Facebook

On April 15, Jeff Pappin of Ottawa, Ont. drowned while kayaking along Beaver Creek, north of Marmora. The river is a popular spot for whitewater kayaking in the spring when the water’s high and full of paddlers tackling technical segments, such as Fiddlar’s Rapid and Double Drop.

Pappin was a proficient paddler, first getting into the sport at the age of 16. He called the Ottawa River home. During university, he spent summers leading paddling tours. And later, he shared his passion for paddling with his family, introducing his daughter, Merrill, to the sport when she was 19. The two took summer trips together paddling along the Madawaska, Petawawa, Le Petite-Nation, the Rouge, and Ottawa Rivers.

“He never needed to prove himself on the river and never took risks he couldn’t manage because he knew he had too much to live for,” his family wrote in a statement.

One of Pappin’s most revered traits was his ability to bring others together to enjoy the outdoors. Besides paddling, Pappin was also a board member of Kanata Nordic, a cross-country ski club based in Ottawa. As part of his role, Pappin tackled mundane tasks, such as grooming trails, installing culverts, and arranging porta-potties. On its Facebook page, Kanata Nordic wrote that Pappin took on these jobs without the expectation of praise but just to make things a little better and a little easier for those around him.

“Jeff was an enthusiastic guy who volunteered so much of his time and energy to his passions, and Kanata Nordic was just lucky enough to be counted as one of his projects,” the club said.

To honour Pappin’s legacy, his family has created the Jeff Pappin Memorial Fund through Whitewater Ontario, a volunteer-run organization that promotes the development of whitewater resources and the paddling community within Ontario.

Under the guidance of the Pappin family, the funds will be used to get young paddlers out on the river and to train them in boat safety.

Those wishing to donate to the memorial fund can send an e-transfer to info@whitewaterontario.ca or mail a cheque to:

Whitewater Ontario

411 Carnegie Beach Rd.

Port Perry, ON

L9L 1B6

When sending the donation, make sure to note that it is intended for the Jeff Pappin Memorial Fund.

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Cottage Life

Man, 28, dies in ice fishing accident lake near Barry’s Bay

Photo by Shutterstock/Lester Balajadia

Around 9:30 a.m. on March 25, officers from the Ontario Provincial Police’s (OPP) Bancroft detachment received a report that a 28-year-old man from the Hastings Highlands area had not returned home after going ice fishing on Bark Lake, Ont., the night before.

After arriving at the lake, the OPP called in assistance from its Underwater Search and Recovery Unit. Divers searched the lake, locating the man’s body on Sunday morning just after 11 a.m. He was pronounced dead on the scene. The OPP’s investigation into the incident is ongoing and a post-mortem examination has yet to be conducted.

The local community has set up a GoFundMe page to provide financial support to the deceased’s family, which includes his wife, his one-and-a-half-year-old son, and a second baby expected in October.

Bark Lake is approximately 15 kilometres east of Barry’s Bay and is a popular ice fishing spot in the winter. The lake, which stretches 14 kilometres in length and six kilometres in width, is known for its lake trout.

While stable throughout colder months, Bark Lake operates on a dam system and is fed by the Madawaska River, which can cause more rapid changes in water depth and ice thickness. This, combined with March’s warm weather, can cause the ice to be less predictable.

“Be familiar with the lake you’re on,” says Joel Devenish, a Constable with the OPP’s Bancroft detachment.

Before heading out on a frozen lake, you should be aware of its changing conditions. Measure the ice in several locations to ensure it’s thick enough to be on. The Red Cross says that ice should be 15 centimetres thick for walking and 25 centimetres thick for snowmobiling.

Each winter, approximately 25 to 30 Canadians die in ice-related activities, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada. If you are heading out on a frozen lake, safety is the first priority. The bureau advises that you avoid going out at night. Reduced visibility can cause you to wander into an area of weak ice or open water.

Looking for a few more ice safety tips? Always travel with a companion. That way, if you fall through the ice, they may be able to rescue you or at least call for help. Wear a lifejacket or some type of buoyant suit. If you go through the ice, this will increase your chances of surviving. Finally, stay off ice where there are fast-moving currents or narrows. The fast-moving water can cause the ice in those areas to be much thinner.

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Man drowns in Lake Ontario after falling off tour boat

Photo by Shutterstock/Vadim Rodnev

Around 2:41 p.m. on July 31, Toronto police responded to reports that a man had fallen off a boat into Lake Ontario and disappeared.

Toronto police sent their marine unit and officers from 14th division to search the area. The man, who fell into the water not far from Ontario Place and Lakeshore Boulevard, had been on a tour boat. It’s unclear how he fell overboard.

Just before 5 p.m., after being missing for two hours, the police’s marine unit found his body and pulled him from the water. Medics on site began performing lifesaving measures.

Paramedics took the man to the hospital where he later died.

According to the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project, a nonprofit devoted to saving lives in the Great Lakes, 65 people have drowned in the Great Lakes so far this year, 14 of them in Lake Ontario. Last year there were 101 drownings in the Great Lakes.

On average, 152 people drown in Ontario each year, 80 per cent of whom are men, says the Lifesaving Society. The majority of these deaths happen during recreational activities, such as swimming and boating.

If you are going out on a boat, the Canadian Red Cross stresses the need to carry a Canadian-approved floatation device or lifejacket at all times, wait until you are off the water before consuming alcohol, and check the weather conditions before departing.

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Cottage Life

Mississauga man drowns while tubing on Lake Ontario

Photo Courtesy of the Niagara Regional Police Service/Facebook

Around 7:40 p.m. on the evening of July 31, emergency services were contacted about a man who had gone missing in Lake Ontario off of Port Dalhousie near St. Catharines, Ont.

The man, a 37-year-old from Mississauga, had been tubing behind a motorboat when the tube flipped and the man was launched into the water. He did not resurface.

The St. Catharines Fire Service and the Canadian Coast Guard were brought in to search the area, along with officers from the Niagara Regional Police Service Marine/Under Water Search and Recovery Unit. Emergency personnel set off illumination flares throughout the night to help provide light.

At approximately 12:05 a.m., divers from the Under Water Search and Recovery Unit found the man not far from the area where he’d fallen off the tube. The coroner pronounced him dead at the scene.

A postmortem has been ordered, but the death is not being treated as suspicious.

At the moment, it’s unclear what safety precautions were in place when the man was tubing. Discover Boating, a boating resource operated by the National Marine Manufacturers Association advises that for any watersport towed behind a motorboat you should always:

  • Wear a personal flotation device
  • Use a spotter to indicate when riders have fallen
  • Know the capabilities of your rider
  • Know the limits of the equipment you’re using
  • And drive responsibly

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Cottage Life

Weekend drowning on Burnt River leaves one dead

Photo by Jim Reed/Shutterstock

A cottage visit turned deadly on the weekend on Burnt River. A 56-year-old man drowned after he and a companion went swimming in the river on Saturday evening, say Ontario Provincial Police who responded to the incident.

Police say neither person was wearing a lifejacket at the time when they got caught in moving water and struggled with the current. A person in a nearby boat rescued his companion, but the man was missing for 10-15 minutes before he was taken from the water and transported to the hospital where he was later declared dead.

The man has been identified as Kingston Ferdinands, 56, of Scarborough. OPP is reminding the public about best practices to prevent drowning.

  • always swim with a buddy
  • let someone know when and where you’re going for a swim
  • test the waters with your feet, don’t dive right in
  • don’t swim while under the influence of alcohol/drugs