Hard_Rom
Northumbrian Skald
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/floatdown-sarnia-americans-wash-ashore-1.3730792
U.S. partiers wash up in Canada, blown across St. Clair River
'We had 1,500 people who were in complete need of help, and everyone walked away alive'
An estimated 1,500 Americans illegally and unexpectedly washed up in Canada late Sunday after strong winds blew them across the St. Clair River near Sarnia, Ont. They were participating in the annual Port Huron Float Down, during which people simply float down the river on rafts, inner tubes and other flotation devices from Port Huron, Mich.
High winds pushed them to a number of points along the Canadian shore. They had to be rescued by Sarnia police, the OPP, the Canadian Coast Guard, Canada Border Service Agency and employees from a nearby chemical company Lanxess Canada.
"There were people in places you'd never think something would float, but there were Americans everywhere," Peter Garapick of the Canadian Coast Guard said. "There was no chance for anything floating or people on inner tubes to go anywhere but Canada."
Winds were consistently blowing at 10-15 knots and gusting up to 27 knots. That's sustained winds of about 20 km/h and gusts of 50 km/h.
"The people who take part in this are not mariners," Garapick said. "They don't look at the wind, the weather and the waves. We knew from the get-go, the winds were going to cause a problem. There's no question they were involuntarily coming to Canada."
The event has no sponsors, and nobody is responsible for its operation. There's no registration process, either.
"They were terrified of entering another country without documentation. No one carries their passport or any ID, and a lot were drinking alcohol," Garapick said.
Some Americans, worried about landing in Canada without identification, attempted to swim back to the U.S.
"We had to pull a lot of people out of the water and say 'no,'" he said. "They were very upset, cold and miserable."
U.S. partiers wash up in Canada, blown across St. Clair River
'We had 1,500 people who were in complete need of help, and everyone walked away alive'
An estimated 1,500 Americans illegally and unexpectedly washed up in Canada late Sunday after strong winds blew them across the St. Clair River near Sarnia, Ont. They were participating in the annual Port Huron Float Down, during which people simply float down the river on rafts, inner tubes and other flotation devices from Port Huron, Mich.
High winds pushed them to a number of points along the Canadian shore. They had to be rescued by Sarnia police, the OPP, the Canadian Coast Guard, Canada Border Service Agency and employees from a nearby chemical company Lanxess Canada.
"There were people in places you'd never think something would float, but there were Americans everywhere," Peter Garapick of the Canadian Coast Guard said. "There was no chance for anything floating or people on inner tubes to go anywhere but Canada."
Winds were consistently blowing at 10-15 knots and gusting up to 27 knots. That's sustained winds of about 20 km/h and gusts of 50 km/h.
"The people who take part in this are not mariners," Garapick said. "They don't look at the wind, the weather and the waves. We knew from the get-go, the winds were going to cause a problem. There's no question they were involuntarily coming to Canada."
The event has no sponsors, and nobody is responsible for its operation. There's no registration process, either.
"They were terrified of entering another country without documentation. No one carries their passport or any ID, and a lot were drinking alcohol," Garapick said.
Some Americans, worried about landing in Canada without identification, attempted to swim back to the U.S.
"We had to pull a lot of people out of the water and say 'no,'" he said. "They were very upset, cold and miserable."
