By Don Urquhart, Times Chronicle
Osoyoos Lake’s first Safe Boating Station was officially launched on Friday, Sept. 27, the result of a community-wide effort to help make Osoyoos Lake safer and hopefully reduce the number of drownings each year.
The Safe Boating Station, located at the Osoyoos Boat Launch and Marina 8215 Spartan Drive which features free lifejackets for loan along with general safety information and specific information about local hazards, was the brainchild of RCMP Sgt. Jason Bayda.
Dismayed at the preventable drownings that have amounted to one or two a year for over a decade, Bayda was spurred into action over the tragic death of Sam Pirzadeh in 2015 after he lent his lifejacket to a passenger on his seadoo who did not have a lifejacket only to lose his life after the personal watercraft they were both on capsized.
“He wanted to make sure she was safe. She survived. He did not,” Bayda said.
In a heart-rending presentation to the Rotary Club of Osoyoos a year and a half ago, the idea of establishing a life jacket station at boat launches around Osoyoos Lake (starting with one) was whole-heartedly taken up by Rotary and rapidly grew with community donations of labour, supplies and creative input.
“I’ve seen far too many tragedies on this lake, and for that, I offer my condolences to all those families who’ve lost loved ones to drowning or other means on our lake,” Bayda said at the opening.
“I see the station as a means to educate people on boarding safety in an effort to reduce accidents that cause serious bodily harm or death, including the reduction of drownings.”
The completed Safe Boating Station is outfitted with various sizes of life jackets, information on local hazards and safe boating information as well as the story of Sam and the work of Gene and Sandy Ralston. Sherani Theophilus photo.
Osoyoos Rotary Club President Larry Stone praised the generosity of local businesses and the labour of volunteers (many of whom were Rotarians), along with Town staff, all of whom made the station possible. This also included the donations by first responders following Rotary’s first responder gala earlier this year.
“From the bottom of my heart thank you very much for your support and your help on this life jacket station. And today here, on a beautiful, sunny day, it’s a reality finally.”
Stone said he calculated that the materials and labour would have added up to nearly $18,000 but because of the contributions of donors and volunteers, it only cost $4,000 to construct.
The station is dedicated to the memory of Sam and also to well-known recovery experts Gene and Sandy Ralston who ultimately found Sam’s body. They found Sam after many long days of perseverance and were able to bring Sam home to his family for that, you are truly heroes,” he said.
Bayda noted that Sam’s parents were hoping they could be at the opening of the station but they found it very difficult and were not able to be at the event.
Bayda shared a message from Sam’s father, Ali who said: “I urge you to never put your parents or loved ones in the same situation that we’ve been through. Losing a child is an indescribable pain, one that is preventable with proper safety measures. Please ensure you and your loved ones are always equipped with life jackets and other necessary safety equipment.“
The message is included in the Safe Boating Station along with information about Sam.
Bayda presented a commemorative plaque to the Ralstans complete with RCMP coins in thanks for all of their volunteer work that takes them all over North America and indeed the world, helping to locate drowning victims including as a “thank you for their dedication to finding Sam.”
He noted that the Ralstons, who reside in southwestern Idaho, have dedicated their retirement volunteering in search and rescue of those who have become drowning victims throughout North America.
“They’ve received requests from all over the world and they’ve not only searched for drowning victims, they’ve actually searched for parts of the Space Shuttle Challenger as well.
“They are world-renowned for what they do, they truly are the leading experts in underwater search and recovery, and sadly, their phone never stops ringing.” He added that to date they’ve recovered over 130 drowning victims.
Osoyoos Mayor Sue McKortoff also expressed her thanks to all who participated in the project, in particular, “I want to say a special thank you to Jason Bayda, who saw this project and decided to push forward with it. So thank you, Jason we all appreciate your foresight in realizing that it’s so important on this lake to provide a safe environment and to help people be safe.
She also expressed her thanks to Rotary and Stone for picking up the project and making it work. McKortoff who is also a Director on the International Joint Commission for the Osoyoos Lake Board of Control noted that the life jackets will likely come in handy this week as nearly 20 out-of-town delegates will be going out on Osoyoos Lake for an information tour and they likely won’t have brought lifejackets with them.
Stone noted that the lifejackets in the Safe Boating Station will be available until the end of the Thanksgiving long weekend at which point they will be stored over the winter and brought back out next May.
