1,500 Rescued as River Float-Down Goes Awry.

Photo courtesy Shelley Ambroise.

From the Sarnia Observer, staff writers.

Hundreds of Port Huron Float Down participants had to be rescued after strong winds pushed them to the Canadian side of the St. Clair River late Sunday afternoon.

Sarnia-Lambton first responders – along with the RCMP and Canadian Coast Guard water units – spent several hours Sunday assisting float down participants stranded along the river from Sarnia down through to Corunna.

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From Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer

Canadian Coast Guard officials knew Sunday's unsanctioned St. Clair River Float Down was a disaster in the making.

Sarnia Police said in press release a convoy of Sarnia Transit buses carried approximately 1,500 U.S. citizens over the Blue Water Bridge Sunday evening after they were blown to the Canadian shore while taking part in the annual float down the river on inflatable rafts, from Port Huron lighthouse to Marysville, Mich.

“It's exactly what we saw coming,” said Peter Garapick, superintendent of search and rescue for the Canadian Coast Guard.

He was on the water, along with crews from the coast guard, fire departments in Sarnia and Point Edward, the OPP and RCMP, as well as their counterparts in the U.S. side of the border.

The float down is a summer tradition going back several decades and has continued despite attempts by U.S. officials to scuttle it, and despite the drowning of a U.S. participant in 2014.

Sunday's weather conditions were “almost the worst-case scenario,” Garapick said.

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Minor injuries reported from folks climbing the seawall. (Photo Shelley Ambroise.)

From Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer

It cost the City of Sarnia $8,181.77 in total to help rescue approximately 1,500 Americans who participated in Sunday’s Port Huron Float Down event, but Mayor Mike Bradley doesn't expect the city will be able to recover those costs anytime soon.

The total cost, which includes overtime costs and additional expenses incurred by various city departments, was released Tuesday afternoon.

A media release says city services that incurred costs included Sarnia Police Service ($3,405.92), Sarnia Transit ($1,977.97), Public Works ($712.40), Sarnia Fire Rescue Services ($1,435.88), and Parks and Recreation ($649.60).

Sarnia officials are expected to meet later this week to review the operation that saw approximately 1,500 U.S. participants in the annual unsanctioned event who were blown off course from the Michigan side of the river and landed unexpectedly in Sarnia.

They were helped from the water, over several hours, gathered up by Sarnia police, and loaded on Sarnia Transit buses called in to carry the stranded “floaters” over the Blue Water Bridge and back to the U.S.

Read the rest here.

Photo by Shelley Ambroise.

Additional Coverage

Cost Frustrates Mayor. (CBC)

Floaters Washed Ashore. (CBC)

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