Their adventure on the St. Clair River had shades of the 1995 movie “Canadian Bacon”, though the fact that the unlikely invaders landed in one of the nicest nations on Earth kept their geese from being cooked.
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The flotilla was part of Port Huron Float Down – an annual event on the St. Clair River between MI and Ontario.
But winds were so strong on the day that 1,500 semi-naked revellers were blown off course – ending up in various places along the Canadian shoreline.
Sarnia Police, Lambton OPP, the Canadian Coast Guard, Lambton EMS and other agencies responded quickly, but fortunately just a few minor injuries were reported.
The event started at Port Huron’s Lighthouse Beach and was supposed to end at Chrysler Beach in Marysville.
However, heavy winds diverted the floaters, turning a once-innocuous float fest into an worldwide incident as the 1,500 people drifted ashore in Sarnia, Ontario. “There’s no question they were involuntarily coming to Canada”.
The Port Huron Float Down group took to its Facebook page Sunday night, profusely expressing their gratitude to their northern neighbors.
“We had to pull a lot of people out of the water. We’re not concerned about citizenship at this point”, Sarnia police inspector Doug Warn told the Blackburn News. United States Coast Guard has made attempts to work with officials at Port Huron to sanction the event, although no sponsors have taken any responsibility for the incident, according to a statement from United States Coast Guard Lt Ben Chamberlain.
The total cost to the Ontario municipality of Sarnia came to $8,000, including nineteen bus trips carrying the US citizens back across the Bluewater Bridge to American soil.
“You’ve shown us true kindness and what it means to be incredible neighbors!” a post on the Port Huron Float Down facebook page read.
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Sarnia city spokeswoman Katarina Ovens said workers spent several hours cleaning up beer cans, coolers, and picnic tables the floaters brought with them.
