The Family Fun and Boat Safety Day at Lefroy Harbour Resort is an annual tradition.
“We do a safety day every year in Lefroy,” said Frank Scuccimarri.
The Coast Guard carries out inspections of boats at the marina, to ensure they’re equipped with all necessary safety equipment, including CSA-approved life-jackets and fire extinguishers.
There are safety displays and activities for the kids, set up by South Simcoe police and Innisfil Fire & Rescue, and face-painting and games, to add to the fun.
There’s usually a festive atmosphere at the marina, but the cold, damp weather on Saturday put a damper on the festivities.
By 10:30 a.m., the face-painter hadn't shown up, and the parking lot was still empty.
“We’re usually busy by now,” said Scuccimarri.
In fact, it has been a quiet year so far on Lake Simcoe, said Const. Carl Jarvis, with the South Simcoe police marine unit. Boaters haven’t been choosing to go out on the water, thanks to the miserable weather.
“But it can change in a heartbeat,” Jarvis said.
A sunny day is all that’s needed to bring the boaters out.
The sun was nowhere in sight on Saturday.
The only busy display was the Barrie Power & Sail Squadron booth, where Eric Prentice was handing out boating safety information, details of upcoming boating safety courses, and accepting expired marine distress flares.
“We’re taking the flares, we’re doing the boat checks,” said Prentice.
There are four types of flares that are generally carried on board vessels.
“We separate them all out, and then take them back to the manufacturer (CIL)," he said.
Flares are part of the mandated safety equipment that must be carried on board a boat, with the number related to the size of the vessel. Transport Canada requires up to 12 flares per boat, depending on length, although recent changes permit the number of distress signals to be reduced by 50 per cent, if the craft has a two-way radio or cellphone.
The problem has been that flares are only good for four years from the date of manufacture, and disposal is a challenge. It is no longer permisable to set off the expired flares, and they are not accepted at landfill sites, or by police or fire departments, making the Barrie Power & Sail Squadron collection program all the more important.
Boaters came from around the region, to safely dispose of their marine flares.
Gary Bykowy, of Newmarket, brought in “many years worth, off a couple of boats."
Most were from 2007 to 2013, but, he said, "there’s some that are 2003. When it's so old, you can't read it any more.”
“It’s a great program to have. There are very few places to drop them off on Georgian Bay,” said John Wyndham, who came all the way from Midland to drop off his flares.
For more information of boating safety and regulations, see www.boatingsafety.gc.ca.
