Canadian Coast Guard Inshore Rescue Boat stations across Ontario open for recreational boating season

SARNIA, ON, May 18, 2018 /CNW/ - The Canadian Coast Guard's Inshore Rescue Boat stations on the Great Lakes, Georgian Bay and St. Lawrence River are now open for the season. The Inshore Rescue Boat stations are located at Britt and Brebeuf Island (Georgian Bay), Hill Island (St. Lawrence River), Port Lambton (St. Clair River), Thames River (Lake St. Clair) and Long Point (Lake Erie).  

The Canadian Coast Guard’s seasonally operated Inshore Rescue Boat stations in Ontario are now in service. In this file photo from July 2017 the Inshore Rescue Boat crew from Thames River Ontario rescues two men from a capsized fishing boat on Mitchell’s Bay Lake St. Clair. Photo courtesy of the United States Coast Guard. (CNW Group/Fisheries and Oceans Central & Arctic Region)

The Canadian Coast Guard’s seasonally operated Inshore Rescue Boat stations in Ontario are now in service. These stations are located at Britt and Brebeuf Island (Georgian Bay), Hill Island (St. Lawrence River) Port Lambton (St. Clair River), Thames River (Lake St. Clair) and Long Point (Lake Erie). Photo courtesy of the Canadian Coast Guard. (CNW Group/Fisheries and Oceans Central & Arctic Region)

Each Inshore Rescue Boat station is crewed by post-secondary students hired and trained by the Canadian Coast Guard.  They provide marine search and rescue service during the busy summer recreational boating season.  Across Ontario, the Coast Guard has lifeboat stations crewed by Coast Guard personnel in Thunder Bay, Tobermory, Meaford, Goderich, Amherstburg, Port Dover, Port Weller, Cobourg and Kingston.

Ashore, Canadian Coast Guard Marine Communications and Traffic Services centres in Sarnia and Prescott provide marine safety communications while co-ordination of the response to each search and rescue case is handled by the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Trenton.

Waterways remain very cold at this time of year and take much longer to warm up compared to the air.  Transport Canada's Safe Boating Guide is an excellent source of information in preparation for the recreational boating season.  The Safe Boating Guide can be found here.

Emergencies on the water can be reported 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, toll-free (within Canada) at 1-800-267-7270, or via marine VHF radio - channel 16.

Internet: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca 

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SOURCE Fisheries and Oceans Central & Arctic Region

Carol Launderville, Regional Communications, Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, 204-984-4715, [email protected]; Vincent Hughes, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister, Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, 613-992-3474, [email protected]