HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 2009-07-15, Page 17On guard on Huron's shores
__ ward mess
signal -star staff
A call comes in over
the radio: Small fishing
boat, engine dead, needs
assistance.
Coordinates soon fol-
low.
One man disappears be-
low the deck of the Cape
Discovery, readying the
boat's massive engines
for launch.
Three others don their
lifejackets and prepare to
head out on the lake..
Within five minutes,
the lines securing the 47 -
foot multi -task, medium
endurance lifeboat are
• safely coiled on deck and
the breakwalls of God-
erich Harbour approach
and then recede as the
Canadian Coast Guard
enter their territory, their
charge - the waters of
Lake Huron.
Throughout the Great
Lakes region, there are
nine such search and res-
cue stations, each with
the exact same cutter and
each manned by a crew of
four. The Cape Discovery
is the newest of the Coast
Guard vessels on the
Great Lakes, coming to
Goderich in 2006.
The Coast Guard has
many roles in the Goder-
ich Harbour, from Search
and Rescue (SAR), ma-
rine security, researth,
and environmental re-
sponse to icebreaking in
the winter.
Commanding officer at
the Goderich SAR Sta-
tion, Tom Wasson, said
nearly all of their distress
calls come from pleasure
craft out on the lake and
not those who typically
work on the water.
"We're generally not
dealing with professional
Corrin
Photo by Gerard Creces
Commanding Offiber. Tom Wasson (left) and rescue specialist Jamie Oakley
patrol the waters of Goderich Harbour last week aboard the CCGC Cape
Discovery.
sea -faring people," he
said. "Fishermen know
what's going on - that's
their livelihood."
Rather, Wasson said
the seasonal boater or
recreational watercraft
operators are the ones
who may not know all the
risks involved with going
out on the water.
There is a great deal the
boating public can do to
assist the SAR process,
Wasson said. The first step
is education, and Trans-
port Canada's Safe Boat-
ing Guide is where anyone
looking for adventure on
Lake Huron should look
first.
"We'd like them to have
at least the basics," Was-
son said. •
Though the crew is spe-
cially trained for search
and rescue, increased boat
traffic and ill-equipped
vessels can make the job
very difficult.
The first thing to do is
make sure you can alert
rescuers to your pres-
ence, be it by radio, with
a whistle, flare or horn,
Wasson said.
"If they can't signal us,"
he said. "It can become
very difficult to find peo-
ple."
If the situation is one
in which every minute
counts, boaters with no
way of identifying where
they are could face dire
consequence.
"If you have to go to ev-
ery boat and say, 'are you
the guy who broke down?'
it's going to take a while,"
Wasson said. "We have to
be able to find you."
While more boaters are
using global positioning
systems (GPS), Wasson
warns that once the batter-
ies are gone, you are once
again off the charts, so to
speak. "
Should medical assis-
tance be needed, the Cape
Discovery is well equipped
to handle most emergen-
cies.
Rescue specialist Jamie
Oakley said he is able to
treat anything from bro-
ken bones to hypothermia
to burn victims out on the
water.
Amid the Cape Dis-
covery, floor panels cover
medical gear ranging from
spine boards, laughing gas,
blankets and more.
"You name it, we've got
it," he said. "We're• well-
prepared
With his advanced first-
aid level -2, Oakley said
there are many similarities
between the job he does on
the water and that of para-
medics on land.
Of course, . just how in-
volved the first-aid is de-
pends on the situation, and
if boaters take the proper
precautions before setting
out, it can greatly reduce
the possibility of requiring
those services.
With summer's slow
start, lake temperatures
have been lower than av-
erage this year and fewer
craft have been out.
However, with July and
August come not only in-
creases in temperatures,
but increases in traffic on
the lakes as well.
Again, being prepared
for not only emergencies,
but just the basics of boat-
ing can save time if trouble
arises and potentially save
lives if time is a factor.
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Lucknow 519-528-5068
Property owners plant windbreak
Dave and Pat Hemingway had wanted to plant a windbreak
for many years and they say the support that they received
from the Bayfield North Watersheds local planning process
and the Ausable Bayfield 'Conservation Authority (ABCA)
helped them get the job done.
It's landowners like them — and you — who are helping to
protect and improve the quality of Lake Huron's water.
People in your
community between
Bayfield and Goderich
have been . actively
developing a draft
watershed plan for your
area. An open house
on July 23 is a chance
for you to see this plan
and how you and your
property can be part of
this local effort.
The Bayfield North
Watersheds Plan
committee is hosting the
open house at Bayfield
Town Hall on Thursday,
July 23, 2009 from 5 — 9
p.m. You are welcome to attend presentations beginning at
5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Your efforts to safeguard and enhance our local water
are appreciated. Funding may now be available to help you
complete your projects.
For more information phone 519-235-2610
or 1-888-286-2610 and ask to speak to Hope Brock
or e-mail hbrock@abca.on.ca
•
ave an • •at emingway stand
beside the windbreak they have had
planted on their property.
people like you
planning
for a better lake wA
PLAN
+ap .e'e
Ernie King Music - Goderich
Ernie King Music - Winghem
Lucknow Tourism Office
Huron Kinloss Municipal Office
Nine Waves, Lucknow
Nine Waves,, Kincardine
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