Three friends from Toronto came to Northumberland County to celebrate a 21st birthday. Instead, they ended up fighting to stay afloat on Rice Lake — with one of them spending about an hour clinging to an overturned kayak.
Lola DeClerck, who was celebrating her 21st birthday, Breanna Zammit, 21, and Joey Lake, 24, were spending a few days at Adventure Bay Cottages on Rice Lake when their celebration took a frightening turn Wednesday afternoon.
The three friends had been enjoying what started as a relaxing day on the water.
DeClerck and Zammit headed out in a tandem kayak at about 9:30 a.m., while Lake was in a single kayak.
After several hours on the lake, the friends realized they were having difficulty finding their way back to the cottage.
Lake, described by DeClerck as the more experienced kayaker, came back to help them.
The weather, however, was changing.
The waves were getting larger, the wind was picking up and the friends were struggling to make their way back.
They eventually tied the tandem kayak to Lake’s kayak.
Then things got much worse.
Lake’s kayak had taken on a surprising amount of water and suddenly capsized.
Lake was left in the water, clinging to the side of the kayak.
With the water-filled kayak weighing them down, DeClerck and Zammit couldn’t paddle effectively.
For approximately an hour, Lake remained in the water as the three drifted farther from where they had started.
“We were actually kayaking in the morning for a few hours,” DeClerck said. “We got in the water at like 9:30 and then at around like 11:30, 12ish, we realized like we couldn’t make it back.”
The friends tried everything they could think of.
They waved their paddles, screamed for help and blew their whistles.
But no one appeared to be coming.
And Lake was getting colder.
His legs were beginning to cramp from being in the water for so long.
“I was so scared for Joey,” DeClerck said. “It looked like a storm was going to roll in and his legs were cramping up because of how long he’d been in the water. It was getting kind of cold.”
DeClerck was also becoming increasingly concerned that the situation could become life-threatening.
“If the waves got too crazy, he could either like freeze or drown if there was actually a storm,” she said.
With the three drifting farther away and Lake unable to get back into the kayak, DeClerck made the decision to call 9-1-1.
There was one major problem.
Her cellphone had only three per cent battery remaining.
That call brought a major emergency response to Rice Lake.
Hamilton Township Fire Department was initially dispatched to the incident.
At approximately the same time, another person on shore spotted what appeared to be someone struggling on a raft and called for help.
Although the two calls were describing the same incident, the first caller reported seeing what appeared to be a raft, while DeClerck reported kayaks.
That resulted in Alnwick/Haldimand Township Fire Department also being dispatched with its rescue boats.
Northumberland OPP and Northumberland County Paramedics were also sent to the area.
Hamilton Township firefighters later confirmed there was only one incident.
The emergency crews located the three friends and brought them safely to the Harwood Dock.
All three were assessed by paramedics and cleared.
For DeClerck, the experience reinforced just how important basic water safety can be.
All three friends had been wearing lifejackets and had whistles with them.
Those simple safety measures proved critical.
“Safety first,” DeClerck said.
She believes the lifejacket may have made the difference between a frightening story and a tragedy.
“If Joey hadn’t had it, I don’t think it would be as light-hearted right now,” she said. “I think there would be a lot more crying.”
“It definitely saved his life.”
The friends had been worried they were too far from shore to swim and, with Lake hanging onto the kayak, there was no way they could safely make it back on their own.
“We were in the middle. We couldn’t have swam,” DeClerck said. “No one was coming to help. It was a scary moment where we realized…”
The storm eventually passed, but not before the three friends had been left with a birthday memory none of them are likely to forget.
And despite the fear, DeClerck had nothing but praise for the emergency crews who responded.
“The emergency service was amazing,” she said. “They were here so fast. They were so helpful.”
“They were so kind.”
The three friends came to Northumberland County to celebrate a 21st birthday.
They left Rice Lake with a very different kind of memory — and a powerful reminder that conditions on the water can change quickly, even on what begins as a beautiful summer day.
(Emergency services in Cobourg were dispatched to the area on Wednesday afternoon for a missing person that may have been in the water. After approximately an hour search by Cobourg Fire Department along with the Canadian Coast Guard it was determined wasn’t in the water and was safe)
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
