By Steve Sabourin, July 3, 2022 at 6:25 AM
Nine people had to be rescued from the waters of Georgia Bay for two days to start the long weekend.
Collingwood OPP and Huronia West say they were called to four separate incidents.
Several people were rescued Thursday afternoon.
At approximately 1:30 p.m., while conducting a general patrol, officers observed three adult paddleboarders making the salute to call for help about 2 km off the shores of Wasaga Beach. Only one of them was wearing a life jacket, and between the three they had two oars. They were quickly driven off the coast and found themselves in anguish and unable to return.
At 2:15 p.m., officers received a water service call in the Beachwood Road area. Two children aged 12 and 13 were being ejected into the bay with a foam toy. Neither child was wearing a life jacket. While going to help, police located a child in endangered water who was trying to swim back to shore. The other child was on the toy carpet. The two children were very cold and scared.
At 3:30 p.m., two adult men were reportedly in danger after the inflatable toy they were in was thrown into the bay from Northwinds Beach in the town of Blue Mountains. The OPP Marine Unit along with the Canadian Coast Guard coordinated their efforts and were able to rescue the couple who were also not wearing life jackets.
On Canada Day, two females had to be rescued after they were thrown into the bay from Wasaga beach with a large inflatable flamingo.
Police remind beach attendees that inflatable toys are not a substitute for life jackets or other life-saving devices.