A Canadian Coast Guard rescue vessel assists floaters in need on the St. Clair River.
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More than 1,000 participants in the Float Down near Port Huron ended up in Canada on Sunday afternoon after strong winds blew them across the border, according to The Times Herald. Hundreds of rafts and other craft were pushed into Canada’s territorial waters – waters that the Coast Guard had warned would be closed to “floaters” a week ago.
They were loaded onto Sarnia transit buses that were escorted home by police.
Speaking to the CBC, Coast Guard official Peter Garapick said he wishes the event would end but knows that’s “wishful thinking”. Canada sent them back, anyway. None were arrested, and their relatively gentle treatment invited sometimes angry comparisons with Canada’s typically harsher treatment of sober, documented refugees arriving from war-torn countries in the Middle East and Africa. “There was no chance for anything floating or people on inner tubes to go anywhere but Canada”.
“Instead of waiting around we chose to use some muscle and get ourselves back”.
After transporting 19 busloads of Americans to United States Customs and Border Patrol, Canadian authorities could finally take a breath – and pat themselves on the back.
Canadian authorities transported 19 busloads of Americans to United States Customs and Border Patrol on the US side before they issused an admonishment.
“It got insane out there, but it worked out”, the local Sarnia police service said in a statement.
On Sunday, a group of Americans were taking part in the annual Port Huron Float Down on the river.
But weather conditions Sunday quickly turned it into a rescue mission for officials monitoring the event from shore and from boats on the river, and stranded a large number of participants on the Sarnia riverfront.
The Port Huron Float Down doesn’t usually result in an global incident.
“You’ve shown us true kindness and what it means to be incredible neighbors”, the post said.
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Sarnia city workers spent several hours Monday picking up beer cans, coolers, rafts even picnic tables that washed up on the Canadian shore, said spokeswoman Katarina Ovens.
