According to LifeSaving Society, BC and Yukon Branch, so far this year, a majority of the 23 drowning fatalities happened in BC, with one tragic drowning incident that occurred in the qathet region at the end of June.
Many of the accidents took place near freshwater, such as on Langford Lake, also in the month of June, where a 16-year old boy drowned. However, some of the incidents have happened in the ocean. In April, two brothers went missing while kayaking between Island View Beach in Victoria and the Gulf Islands. Their bodies were later recovered near the San Juan Islands in the United States.
Steps to avoid water dangers
Kimoko Hirakida, director of programming services for Lifesaving Society BC and Yukon, said people can take some simple steps to avoid potential dangers around bodies of water, such as checking the weather forecast before departing on an outing, and/or remembering to wear a personal floatation device (PFD), for example.
Drowning prevention week
National Drowning Prevention Week (NDPW) ends on July 27, but Hirakida said the lifesaving society operates public awareness campaigns around water safety all year. Hirakida believes every Canadian should acquire the basic skills to survive a fall in deep water.
"The national life saving society [Royal Life Saving Society Canada] has deemed the bare minimum progressions and steps to survive a fall into deep water," said Hirakida. "The program consists of three steps: learning to roll into deep water; learning to tread water; and looking for a point of safety, and then swimming 50 metres to get to that point of safety."
Although busy swimming spots in qathet Regional District such as Haywire Bay Regional Park and Campground don't have lifeguards on duty, there are other ways to enhance water safety.
Swim grids
qRD communications advisor Shelley Termuende stated in an email to the Peak that there are swim grids at both Haywire Bay and Shelter Point Regional Park on Texada Island that provide designated areas for swimming.
"We strongly recommend that all swimming activities take place within these designated grids," added Termuende.
Publicly accessible rescue equipment
Hirakida said another strategy to prevent drownings in BC and Yukon would be for communities to install a Public Access Lifering (PAL) at public beaches or places that are not lifeguarded.
In 2019, Town of Ladysmith on Vancouver Island installed publicly accessible rescue equipment after the lifesaving society completed a safety audit at Transfer Beach. The society recommended a PAL be installed by the town to help reduce the drowning risk.
"We do strongly endorse having more lifeguarded areas, because less than one per cent of drownings occur in the areas that are supervised by lifeguards," said Hirakida.
PFDs at Shelter Point Park
Termuende indicated that in 2023, Texada Island RCMP requested that qRD support the installation of a Kid's Don't Float warning board at Shelter Point.
"This warning board provides public education and free day-use of PFDs for children on an honour-based system," stated Termuende.
The project was sponsored by Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue.
Termuende added that when it comes to places such as Powell Lake and the Salish Sea (Strait of Georgia), which are vast bodies of water, it is not feasible for qRD to police or monitor all activities that occur.
"We depend on provincial agencies to enforce safety regulations, such as checking boaters for alcohol, proper licensing and ensuring they have the necessary safety equipment," stated Termuende. "Their expertise and authority are crucial in maintaining safety on the water."
This year, the LifeSaving Society BC and Yukon launched an Island WaterWise team, according to Hirakida.
"That team is going around to local waterfronts all over Vancouver Island to educate people about smart behaviours on water," said Hirakida. "One of the statistics that's pretty shocking is that close to 80 per cent of drownings are male."
Hirakida said some of the reasons behind this gender gap when it comes to drowning is because, in general, males are partaking in riskier behaviour around the water, such as cliff-jumping.
On July 3 of this year, a 21-year-old male died at Lynn Creek in North Vancouver after reportedly cliff-jumping at Twin Falls.
PFDs while paddle boarding a must
Another behaviour reported anecdotally by some qathet residents is seeing people on paddle boards without wearing a PFD or life jacket.
"Sometimes you have to be the one who has the uncomfortable conversations with your friends or family to ensure they are wearing a PFD," said Hirakida. "It's not good enough just to bring it."
Hirakida said one of the analogies she likes to use is: "You would never get in your car and start driving without clicking your seatbelt on, so why would you get in a boat without clicking your life jacket?"
Distraction could be dangerous
Another more modern water safety issue to think about is the fact that many folks are constantly looking at their mobile phones and thus distracted from what's going on around them. The LifeSaving Society has a campaign called: Watch Me, Not Your Phone.
"Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death in children under the age of five," said Hirakida. "Even if you're taking a picture with your phone, preparing a snack or getting a juice box, you need to have an adult who is designated to be watching the water at all times."
Being aware of who is in the water without distraction is crucial for preventing incidents in water, as is wearing bright colours in the water.
Wear bright colours
"You want to choose a life jacket and a bathing suit that are bright coloured and will stand out against the blues, greens, dark browns and blacks of our water," recommended Hirakida.
There are many factors we may not think of, but should be taken into account, such as snowfall, rainfall, tides and currents.
"It's important to evaluate the water you're swimming in every single time," added Hirakida. "It's not good enough to go by what you swam in, or what you were familiar with last season."
July 25 is World Drowning Prevention Day.
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