Drowning by fishing, boating

I like to surprise people with posts! I felt that, with the summer season, as a mom/grandma, it is important to be cautious around water.

And, as I told a Globe and Mail reporter, Kate Hammer,  in an interview on Tuesday*, nothing has been learned in the year since we lost three teenaged men in a drinking and unsafe driving incident a year ago, July 3, 2008.

(*What remains by the lake - The Globe and Mail

"Nothing's changed," said Jennifer Jilks, a Muskoka cottager for more than 40 years...)

 The message in the bottle tells the story.

As I have been writing, we really can prevent these fatalities. Yes, we knew this. This is not new. Drowning is something that affects of of society.

• waterskiing without a spotter
• children swimming alone
• seniors swimming alone (a sector that is increasing due to demographics, and a stubborn independence!)
  
• inexperienced canoeists (two last year)
• inexperienced swimmers near a dam (one last year)
  
• Personal Watercraft (PWC) operators speeding
• people unfamiliar with boats (bad enough)
• fishing drunk (even worse)
  
• boating drunk (the worst)

We will not, as Cindy says, call these accidents, since they are self-inflicted wounds. Statistically-speaking, if you drink you have a strong chance of getting into trouble. If you do not wear a life jacket, you have a stronger chance of drowning. If you climb into a boat, or on a PWC, you do not know who is coming around the corner, or when your time is up.

As a retired teacher, I have seen a fair share of accidents. I am used to crowd control. Crowded lakes are not safe places. I am preoccupied with safety; you can read it in my blog. Living on a lake, as we do, - full time: rain snow, sleet or hail...I have seen the yahoos and heard the sirens as our tireless OPP and EMS crews respond. I can hear the OPP helicopter, as it screams south to take a patient to hospital. It breaks my heart as I know that the crews, the victim's families, and all of us will suffer for it.

While the Canadian Red Cross attributes alcohol as a factor in 34% of all drownings, in 30% of the cases they did not have any information on this factor. We do not know what we do not know! So far this summer all drownings have been males.

Fishing is the big one: 40% of all boating drownings, and 18% of all drowning activities. Do you know that alcohol is a factor in about half of these cases? Can you imagine why? After a day sitting around fishing and making a ruckus, then they go out on the water.

We see and hear them. For all of us - speak out. Stand up and be a friend. Tell that that what they are doing is wrong. Refuse to drink, boat, swim or allow them to hurt others this way. Their unborn children will thank you.


See also:

• Death by Drowning
• Accidents in Muskoka
• Drownings continue in Ontario

Many drownings related to alcohol, study says

July 8, 2009 - by Evan French

"A pair of newly released drowning trend reports, compiling 10 years of research by the Canadian Red Cross, show that boating fatalities make up 39 per cent of drowning victims, and alcohol is a factor in about half of the cases."

Recreation of an accident scene

This is a very thoughtful video. I thought it worth sharing. As our seasonal visitors return to Muskoka, and tourists begin to return in the shoulder season, traffic will increase. I am increasingly passed on double lines by those in a rush. Those visiting their cottage need to remember that there is always time in Central Ontario, animals frequent the highway, and that we need to slow down.

Drinking and driving, too, is a choice. But we can all be responsible and make others accountable.

Everyone heals in their own way. Some of us want more information than others. I wrote about all the drownings, accidents and the lack of safe drinking, boating and driving habits in Muskoka. We are all responsible. We have to convince young and old to respect marine and land laws: snowmobile and traffic laws regarding safety and speed on water and highways. Wear your lifejackets, be safe, play safe, use good judgement. Click on the icon at left to see the other videos, and read more about the impact on a family.

The Reconstructionist from The Message In The Bottle on Vimeo.

On July 3rd, 2008 in Muskoka, Ontario three young men (Cory Mintz, 20, Tyler Mulcahy, 20 and Kourosh Totonchian, 19) died in a car accident that involved alcohol. This video shows the recreation of the accident scene. It is a powerful message.

The message in the bottle

Awhile back I wrote about all the drownings, accidents and the lack of safe drinking, boating and driving habits in Muskoka. We are all responsible. We have to convince young and old to respect marine, snowmobile and traffic laws regarding speed on water and highways.

On a beautiful summer day in Muskoka, a horrible tragedy impacted all of us. As a result, to make something good come of this, there is a Facebook group, and a website devoted to telling the message we get from too many stories about too many young people.

Click on the logo at left to visit The Message in the Bottle website and view the other videos. Sad documentaries to the pain that happens after you lose your son in a highly preventable accident.

We must bring home the idea that we are ALL responsible to ensure that our roads are safe: those who drink, speed, drive recklessly, their parents & friends who condone their behaviour, servers, bar owners, and the MTO that does not suspend those with violations. As long as the bottom line is profit, we will not be protected by those who continue to drink and drive.

The problem with these charges is that the servers, trained in Smart Serve to withhold alcohol after patrons have had enough, must follow the policies of their managers and club owners. A club manager in Toronto explained that those who are told they are cut off can become violent and he has been assaulted by such patrons. It has to be club policy to support the servers, often young people trying to earn a living, or paying their way through university. The onus must be on a club: managers and owners, to follow through.

But what can we do to prevent these things from happening? I think we must face the fact that we are all responsible: drivers and boaters, family, friends, servers, bar owners, goverment agencies.

• those who drink and drive
  
• those who drive too fast or too slow
• those who drive dangerously or aggressively, and consider themselves the most important person on the road
  
• families or friends who fail to prevent bad drivers from getting behind the wheel or going on the water (including: drunks, seniors with dementia, aggressive drivers or snowmobilers, reckless boaters, drivers who speed in poor driving conditions)
  
• those who serve alcohol to those who have had too much and do nothing about it
  
• the Ministry of Transportation that does not rescind licences of those who have numerous traffic violations, especially on a G1 or 2

On July 3rd, 2008 in Muskoka, Ontario three young men (Cory Mintz, 20, Tyler Mulcahy, 20 and Kourosh Totonchian, 19) died in a car accident that involved alcohol. This video shows the mom and sister of Corrie Mintz visiting the sit where the death occurred. It is a powerful message.



Visiting the Site from The Message In The Bottle on Vimeo.