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True Stories
Kirk Langille, Brody Langille
On May 18, 2003, a father and son rescued another father and son, when the wind caught their sail broadside and tipped them. Kirk and nine year old Brody used an old wooden rowboat to rescue the two, who were just far enough off shore to make it dangerous to attempt a swim to safety. By the time the two reached the victims, they had been in the frigid waters for close to twenty minutes, and the young boy, Evan, was cold and shivering badly. Brody got the pair blankets and stayed with them until the ambulance arrived. Both boaters were wearing lifejackets, which along with the heroic acts of Kirk and Brody, probably helped to save their lives.
David Kells
It is a hot, beautiful sunny day on August 11, 2002. In King's Rest, a small community sharing extensive beach frontage on the Bay of Fundy, families move towards the beach to enjoy the day. Further up the beach, three children play in the surf. Jonathan, 12, and Daniel, 11, are non-swimmers, and Daniel's sister Kalee, 13, is a weak swimmer. Jonathan slips and slides into a gully, where a strong rip current immediately pulls him out. David and Kalee both attempt to help, but get pulled out into the open water themselves. As the three are swept farther out into the water, the group on the beach are unaware of what is happening, their shouts lost in the general noise of the beach.
Meanwhile, David and Cathy Kells are entertaining friends, barbecuing on the deck of their family cottage, when they notice the kids thrashing about where there is a known cross current, yelling and dipping beneath the water's surface. David runs down to the beach, and with no hesitation swims out into the current and reaches Daniel and Jonathan, as another bystander assists Kalee to chest deep water. Daniel is glassy eyed and in shock, but as David grips Daniel securely, he instructs Jonathan, who responds and they begin to calm. David then tows both boys out of the current and toward shore, and as they get closer, another bystander aids David in bringing the boys to shore. All three children are shaken, but fully recover.
Gregory Nelson Edge
In July of 2003, two young people vacationing at a campsite near St. Ann's Bay in Cape Breton decided to attempt a swim across the dangerous channel there, unaware of the danger. Kerr MacAskill, shift captain of the Angus MacAskill ferry, however, was aware of the danger and immediately noticed, bringing the two to the attention of Nelson Edge, captain of the ferry. As soon as they noticed the swimmers were in distress, Nelson and other ferry staff launched a workboat and rescued the two swimmers. The man had ingested a large amount of water, and Nelson assisted him as best he could, and after a short time the two shocked swimmers appeared fine. The level-headedness and efficiency of Nelson and the rest of the staff were crucial in giving this scene a happy ending.
James Bates
Think of how much you can get done in two hours. Go to the gym, go grocery shopping, maybe clean the house. James Bates spent that time in a rescue, pushing his physical and mental limits. A father and young son were playing on a flotation device in Mira Bay when a strong wind and tide dragged them out on August 7, 2002. James Bates heard a call for help over his scanner, and along with Daniel Archibald MacInnis, both of whom had never met before this encounter, he took out a small wooden boat to search for the pair.
With waning hope and rising panic, they eventually encountered the two, some four kilometers off the beach. Once the rescue was made, with the young boy and the unconscious but breathing father safely in the boat, James realized that they were too far out to tow all the way back to shore. The men attempted to row in the direction of shore until a powerboat came along and picked them up, and brought them to shore, where they were met by police and medical workers. This entire ordeal, the time it takes us to prepare and eat dinner, took two hours-two hours and two lives were saved.
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