Four Windsor-Essex students were taken to hospital and treated for minor hypothermia after their canoes capsized on Lake Simcoe.
Students from Vincent Massey and Tecumseh Vista Academy were on a leadership retreat, when they were flipped into the water as a wind storm blew through the region.
In total, 18 people were rescued. Two of the 18 were workers at a youth leadership camp and 16 were students from the Greater Essex County District School Board.
Some of them ended up in the water, but protocols and quick-thinking diffused a stressful situation.
Vincent Massey principal Joan Rankin received a phone call late Friday afternoon saying some of her students were involved in a canoe accident near the grounds of the Youth Leadership Camps Canada near Orillia.
“It started with ‘Everybody's ok. Don't worry,’” says Rankin.
An unexpected wind storm blew across the area at around 4 p.m. Friday.
“It's not something we saw coming,” says Massey teacher Dave Penner. “The first boat that capsized didn't experience a capsize because of waves. They experienced it because of the wind and it was actually our most experienced canoers.”
The public school board confirms that two canoes tipped over.
Penner was on land when he learned of the accident. He immediately went to help.
According to penner, everyone on the canoes was wearing a life jacket.
“All students who participate in water activities have to be tested before they go,” says Rankin. “That's one of the regulations so students are prepared.”
The school board says four students were taken to hospital to be treated for minor hypothermia.
“I continued to receive messages as each one progressed and was discharged,” says Rankin. “A few selfies showing me they were ok. That was good too.”
In total, under 300 students from four public board schools were on trip. Penner says quick decision making a students' ability to stay calm resulted in a quick resolution.
“Everybody within a few hours was back at camp singing, dancing and listening to a guest speaker and having a great time,” says Penner.
