Town of Oakville Water Air Rescue Force, commonly referred to as TOWARF, response time this year was 13 minutes.
“We’re launched and on the water 13 minutes after we receive that call and accept the task,” says Commander Cliff Feehan. A crew of six volunteers from this Coast Guard auxiliary unit set out on to Lake Ontario to assist in whatever emergency awaited them.
The Town of Oakville Water Air Rescue Force has existed since 1954. It’s composed of 49 volunteer members who make themselves available 24/7, patrolling and training on the lake 30 hours a week and responding to rescue alerts around the clock.
Over the years, the crews at TOWARF have assisted countless lake-goers in distress. From simple tows back to shore to time-critical races to reach someone who has fallen in, they’ve seen it all.
In 2020, the team saw a boom in the need for their assistance out on the water. At the same time, their rescue boat – now 20 years old – is approaching the end of its life cycle and TOWARF is working to raise some of the necessary funds through the Oakville community.
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A busy year
During 2020 TOWARF responded to 54 calls. This is a big jump from 30 they responded to during 2019. The dramatic rise was likely caused by the peculiar nature of a pandemic summer according to Feehan and his Vice-Commander Ryan Glaves.
“There was a slow start but overall, it was a very active season,” says Feehan. TOWARF usually puts their boat out on the lake near the end of April. Last year, during quarantine, there weren’t many recreational boaters. Once some of these orders began to lift, however, the floodgates opened. People took to the water in great numbers seeking a COVID-19 safe way to enjoy the summer months.
“A large number of the vessels that we assisted were people who were on the water for the first time,” Feehan says. He believes the surge was caused by people having been cooped up for so long. This belief is borne out by the statistics. Ontario boating license registries were 17% higher in the summer months of 2020 than in 2019.
“People were out there on anything that could float,” Feehan says. “People were getting picked up on basically floating pool toys that were ten miles out in the lake.”
A new quasi-industry sprung up as well, with many people in Oakville renting their boats out to others who wanted a week floating in the sun but didn’t own their own vessel.
“It seems like it was a pretty good business to start up this year,” says Glaves. “You could just rent a boat and enjoy that boating experience without all the things that come with owning one.”
More first-time boaters, swimmers and paddleboarders, of course, led to more calls for assistance from the Coast Guard unit.
Volunteer Coast Guard unit
TOWARF serves as an auxiliary unit for the Canadian Coast Guard. Although completely made up of volunteers, the team acts on requests from the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton and might be called to assist in situations all across the lake.
“Mostly we’re training off the water of Oakville,” says Glaves. “But we’re part of a much larger SAR (search and rescue) system so we could be called to assist as far out as the Canadian/U.S. border. We could be called out to Hamilton, Burlington, sometimes as far as Toronto.”
Glaves and Feehan have always been interested in this type of work. A self-described "marine rat" growing up, Glaves was saved from the waters of Lake Ontario as a child by the Coast Guard. Upon moving to Oakville 16 years ago, he heard about TOWARF and signed up.
Commander Feehan has been an active sailor for three decades. He joined in retirement after realizing he could put his deep sea sailing experience to good use in his home waters.
The TOWARF team responds to a range of situations: swimmers who have gone too far from shore, disabled vessels, ones that have run out of gas.
“That probably takes up half of our activity, just dealing with run of the mill stuff,” says Feehan. “We’re not out there every day pulling people out of the water and saving lives in terms of these dramatic situations, but we’re out there quite a bit and a lot of things occur.”
Navigating Lake Ontario can lead to dangerous situations
TOWARF is often called on when there are boats overdue for their return to port or when there’s someone out in the water. This occurred twice, once when an Oakville Club sailor did not return, and another time when a body was found off Oakville Harbour's pier. The Oakville Club sailor's boat was located off the coast of Rochester New York, but his body has yet to be recovered.
“The more serious incidents, probably the most serious given our cold-water environment is a situation when someone is presumed to actually be in the lake and be in trouble,” Feehan says.
Lake Ontario is slow to warm up in the summer months and this can make things more serious. Someone who has fallen from a boat can pass out from hypothermia and, without a properly worn personal flotation device, have little chance to survive the elements.
Situations like these are what make the TOWARF team so important for the Town.
Staying safe on the water
The TOWARF team has resolved a lot of boating issues out on the waves. Unfortunately, Lake Ontario can be volatile, conditions can worsen quickly and make things more dangerous.
“It’s a lake, but it’s a very big lake and depending on winds and direction of winds and things like that, seas can build up fairly quickly,” says Feehan.
There are a few things that boaters and swimmers should remember in order to stay safe and make TOWARF’s job a little easier:
- Making sure that your vessel is sound before taking it out.
This is really important at the start of the season, Feehan and Glaves say people sometimes assume their boat is ready for the season and then take it out far from shore before discovering an issue. It's always important to test your vessel in a controlled environment first so that can be sure it's seaworthy.
- Wearing correctly fitted life jackets or other PFDs.
If you do this, you can be sure that you’ll have time to be saved even if you fall into the water. Feehan says that although hypothermia can cause difficulty in movement and even cause someone to pass out quickly, wearing a life jacket means they might survive for hours, giving SAR crews time to find them.
- Being aware of the weather before embarking.
Feehan recommends checking out conditions for the whole time you are planning to be out for. Still waters and small waves don’t necessarily stay like that. “You know everyone complains about the weather forecaster, but I mean, when you’re out for six or seven hours, they’re very rarely off by much,” he says.
- You have to know your abilities and make sure you have the appropriate skillset.
It is always important that boaters and swimmers make sure they aren’t biting off more than they can chew. Before they set sail or jump in, they must make sure that they are confident navigating the conditions and waves of the lake. Only go far out into the lake if you have good knowledge of your boat and know what to do in a dangerous situation (for instance plugging a hole when taking on water).
- Make sure you bring the right equipment.
Having someone know your plan is essential so that if your vessel is overdue, someone will raise the alarm and get in touch with groups like TOWARF. Bring along a cell phone or better yet, a VHF radio so you’ll be able to send out a distress signal. A toolbox to fix mechanical failures along the way is also a good idea.
These are just a few tips and the list isn’t exhaustive, it’s important to prepare yourself ahead of time. As Commander Feehan says you have to make sure, “you’re not going on a more adventuresome trip than you expected, off across the lake or somewhere else.”
"When they call we go"
2021 is TOWARF's 67th year patrolling Lake Ontario. It was founded by the local police chief Fred Oliver after a storm over the lake killed two scouts and a scoutmaster. He realized there was no local infrastructure to organize search efforts.
Today, TOWARF forms a part of Canada's extensive search and rescue system. This past fall, a tragedy occurred in Oakville. An experienced boater went missing in October. This prompted a multi-agency response for a search area of around a thousand square miles. The TOWARF team worked with other units searching for a straight two and a half days, changing crews halfway through. The missing man was unfortunately never found.
"They call we go," says Commander Feehan. They go in the middle of the night; they go during inclement weather.
The boat they take out into the lake during their taskings is now 20 years old. In order to assure the safety of team-members, TOWARF is working towards purchasing a new boat large enough to brave squalls, with dedicated stations where crew members can secure themselves on the way to a mission.
The cost of their new vessel is around $700,000. They've raised around half that sum themselves already and are looking to make up the rest through the community.
If you wish to donate to TOWARF or get involved as a part of their steering committee, visit their website and follow the donation link or visit their contact page.
A TOWARF crew, including Commander Cliff Feehan (second from right).
They are also always looking for new, qualified volunteers to serve on the search and rescue crews so, if you love the water and want to help save lives, fill out an application on the very same site.
Trafalgar Township Historical Society
Fred Oliver on TOWARF vessel
The unit's founder, Trafalgar Township Police Chief Fred Oliver, wrote a brief background about its history. He goes into the reason for its establishment: beginning before amalgamation, TOWARF is older than Oakville itself!
"We have had some trying time and growing pains," he writes, "but we have weathered them so far. Thanks to all the wonderful members we have had and still have, for without them we wouldn't have T.O.W.A.R.F."
