I am writing to tell you about an incident that took place on June 5th near Lion’s Head. I know that two males tragically died in a boating accident; my three friends and I had a very similar incident, but we lived because we wore life jackets.
We had rented a cottage at 210 Cape Chin North Shore Road, Lion’s Head for my friend’s bachelor party. We stayed there from June 3rd to June 6th, 2021. On Saturday afternoon, at 12 PM, three of my friends and I went out into Georgian Bay behind the cottage. Two of us were in a kayak, the other two in a canoe. After paddling for approximately 15 minutes into the water from our cottage we floated together and started chatting. We got carried away with our conversation, the wind and the waves gradually started to push us further out in the water. By the time we decided to head back we realized we were really far out. My friend and I on the kayaks were fine but the canoe flipped over throwing two of them in the water. Luckily we were all were wearing life jackets which is the only thing that saved us.
At that point, it was roughly a 3-4 hour swim back (approximately the same time to kayak back). The two guys who had flipped slowly started swimming back but it was impossible to get back to the shore because of the cold water, waves and wind. We kayaked back to help the two in the water but could only do so much. I tried calling 911 three times but did not get through because of network issues. I sent a text to two of my friends saying “Call 911 asap need help drowning”. Luckily that went through as my kayak also flipped right after I sent the text.
A hiker by the named of Meghan Kirwin saw us from her hike, had a feeling that we were in distress and made phone calls to people in the area. My friends then went to a cottage nearby for help – they luckily had a boat. Neighbour Rick Lassaline pulled out his boat and an off duty firefighter (Dean Simpson), who was at a nearby cottage, jumped in the boat with him. If it wasn’t for them, us four would have been dead.
We were in the water for approximately 50 minutes when the boat came to rescue us. By that time the Fire Department had shown up – it was very disappointing to see that the Fire Department did not have a motorized boat, only a little inflatable raft that would not have made it 1.5 hrs into the water to save us. Four ambulances along with OPP also arrived on the scene and provided care for hypothermia. We were all in very rough shape. One friend started foaming from the mouth just minutes before we were rescued by the boat.
The Fire Department did not want those cottagers to keep on going on their boat to get us. The firefighters told my friend back at the cottage to tell those boaters to come back asap and not go out there to get us. It was very disappointing to see that the Fire Department at a place like Georgian Bay did not have adequate resources – a motorized boat is a must.
If it wasn’t for those three heroes: Meghan Kirwin, Dean Simpson and Rick Lassaline, our chances of survival were less than 1%.
We were all transported via ambulance to the nearby hospital to be treated for hypothermia. My friend who had started foaming from the mouth was transferred to Owen Sound ICU and stayed overnight. Fortunately we are all now in good health.
Is there a way to nominate those three people mentioned above for a citizen’s bravery award? I would really like them to get recognized for this.
We are very fortunate to be alive.
I hope you are able to share this story as it will bring awareness to the public in the area and so that people realize the importance of life jackets and also understand how dangerous Georgian Bay water can get after the first 50 metres or so. With the waves and the wind, it was impossible for us to head back. If it wasn’t for those three people, we also would have been on the news as “Four more bodies found in Georgian Bay”.
Anupam Randhawa
