Guardian Marine Rescue has officially launched a second boat into service to assist with search, rescue, and recovery efforts on area waterways.
The boat will be docked at the Belle River Marina and will work in coordination with the Canadian Coast Guard to help keep the waters of Lake St. Clair safe.
A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Thursday to welcome the Alida into service, joining the Colchester Guardian, which operates out of Colchester.
The crew of the Lakeshore Alida received its first call for service this past Saturday to help locate a 28-year-old St. Clair, Michigan, man who had jumped from a pontoon boat into Lake St. Clair but never resurfaced.
His body was located by members of the OPP Underwater Search and Recovery Unit a day later.
"You can come onto the crew with absolutely zero training; you've never stepped on a boat a day in your life, and we have absolutely no issue with that. We will train you from I've never been on a boat to I'm very comfortable running the boat," he says. "There's two Coast Guard auxiliary courses that we will run you through: your phase one and phase two training, and that gets you up to the point where you're pretty much comfortable doing the search and rescue activities."
The two Guardian Marine Rescue vessels provide service across Lake Erie, the Detroit River, and Lake St. Clair.
Burniston says they are on the water at least twice a week for training, then for calls that come in or any special events.
"We're kind of a fill in with the Coast Guard. We're part of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, so you can kind of think of it in the sense of like a police auxiliary unit where, okay, we have our set amount of people, call volume is a little high right now, and we need to have someone else come in and help. That's where we would kind of fit in," he says.
Lakeshore Mayor Tracey Bailey lost her father at the age of 62 in a drowning incident in 2008 at a family cottage in Northern Ontario and calls the new addition important for the municipality.
"I have first-hand experience in losing someone to drowning. We've been the family that has stood on the dock, wondering and waiting," she says. "There is true enormous appreciation for people like the Guardian Marine that come out and assist you in a time of crisis in your life."
Guardian Marine Rescue's mission is to prevent loss of life and ensure the safety of boaters in our region, while also raising awareness about boating safety and the importance of being prepared on the water.
Guardian Marine Rescue boat Alida leaves the Belle River Marina for Lake St. Clair. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Thursday to officially welcome the volunteer-crewed boat into active search, rescue, and recovery service. #cklw pic.twitter.com/ljPiwQjurz
— Rusty Thomson (@RustyThomson800) May 30, 2024