A leisurely boat ride on a sunny fall day on Georgian Bay turned ugly sometime prior to 11:30 a.m. November 7, 2024 when the lone occupant of a small pleasure craft went overboard alone into the chilly waters of Sturgeon Bay just north of the Town of Waubaushene, Tay Township.

The male then inflated his lifejacket and tread water/swam for well over an hour until he was able to pull himself onto a rock shoal and out of the 10.5 degrees Celsius water.

Near 11:30 a.m. a retired OPP officer and his spouse who reside at a nearby residence overlooking the water, glanced out over the bay prior to sitting down preparing to watch a noon hour TV show and noticed an unusual object with a speck of yellow colour on one of the many rock shoals that protrude out of the water approximately 400 meters off shore.

Concerned, they called the OPP Communication Centre and reported their observations which resulted in a quick response by an officer to their location who confirmed their observations to a OPP Marine Unit heading from the Southern Georgian Bay OPP Detachment.

At approximately 2:00 p.m. two OPP marine unit members aboard the OPP vessel Thomas P. Coffin where able quickly locate and bring the male aboard who was suffering from obvious signs of hypothermia. Officers transported the male to awaiting Simcoe County Paramedics who triaged and transported the male to an area hospital for treatment where he remains receiving medical treatment.

Officers credit the survival of male to the fact of wearing a colourful lifejacket which was inflated shortly after going overboard and the good fortune of being spotted by the callers on shore.

The Southern Georgian Bay OPP Detachment maintains a marine unit late into the Fall season which is ready to respond to these types of incidents especially on a day like today with the water temperature being reported at 10.5 degrees Celsius.

For interactive boating information with equipment requirements at your fingertips we suggest viewing the following marine safety information site – Better Boater – Become a Better Boater Today and always remember to put that life jacket on before heading out for an enjoyable day on the bay.