“The people who take part in this are not mariners”, Garapick said.
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After about six hours and 19 busloads, the 1,200 to 1,500 floaters had been delivered to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said Staff Sgt. Scott Clarke of the Sarnia Police Service.
Canadian authorities said Monday that the Coast Guard and police in Sarnia, in southwestern Ontario, had to rescue nearly 1,500 US citizens Sunday after their rafts, boats and inner tubes were blown ashore by high winds. The event took place at Port Huron, the demarcation between MI and Canada. Sarnia Police said only minor injuries were reported. The floaters started from the Lighthouse beach on the southern tip of Lake Huron, Michigan and float down to Chrysler Beach in Marysville, Michigan.
But they were blown off course after setting off from from Port Huron, Michigan.
US police and coast guard were also busy Sunday on the MI side of the river.
When float down participants began landing unexpectedly in Sarnia, because of Sunday’s wind and weather conditions, Canadian border officials contacted their US counterparts and came up with a plan to bus them back, Grogan said. Yes, you heard that right… all it took to invade Canada was a floatation device, copious amounts of alcohol and a strong wind on the St. Clair River.
Police in Sarnia, Ont., say the event has no official organizer and poses “significant and unusual hazards” given the fast-moving current, large number of participants, lack of life jackets, and challenging weather conditions.
To make matters worse, no one had their passports or ID because they were in the water.
“We had to pull a lot of people out of the water and say ‘no, ‘” said Garapick.
A Facebook page for the more than 30-year-old event posted online Sunday night, thanking the Canadians for their hospitality: “You’ve shown us true kindness and what it means to be wonderful neighbors!”
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All the “floaters” were gathered at Sarnia, Ontario and were sent back to the U.S.by bus.
