AND HOW DID YOU SPEND YOUR FRIDAY???? Today we're diving at West Hawk Lake!!!

Rescuers ready to show mettle
Sun gets sneak peek at training exercise over Lake Winnipeg

By ROSS ROMANIUK, SUN MEDIA

Last Updated: 18th July 2009, 4:08am

VICTORIA BEACH -- They may be all the hands you want on deck when you find yourself in over your head.

And they're ready to mobilize at a moment's notice when danger strikes on Lake Winnipeg.

The Canadian Coast Guard and RCMP -- complete with military help and support from firefighters and others -- showed yesterday the meaning of training and teamwork when lives are on the line.

In advance of a rescue exercise today at Victoria Beach on the lake's east side, the agencies gave the Winnipeg Sun a close look at their emergency operations in which the Mounties generally take the lead.

"We don't do the searches by ourselves -- we rely on our partners," said RCMP S/Sgt. Tom Hanna, leader of a Winnipeg-based search-and-rescue team, at the exercise site about 100 kilometres north of the city.

"That I know of, there have been two incidents where the Coast Guard and Department of National Defence have been called upon up in the north part of this lake this year ... to assist us with search efforts," he added. "That's their expertise. This is a very big lake, as everyone in Manitoba knows. We can't cover it all."

Firefighters trained in ground-search operations are also among the numerous organizations whose personnel often have to move within minutes during emergencies.

Three or four of these major exercises are held in Manitoba every year. In Gimli, where the cutter Vakta is based, the Coast Guard runs drills on its own more often.

"At least once a week," said Vakta coxswain and commanding officer Frank Gnitzinger, "we'll do some exercises in man overboard -- this kind of scenario -- and search patterns."
CCGC VAKTA was named and dedicated, paying tribute to the rich Icelandic heritage of this region. "VAKTA" in the Icelandic language means "on watch" or "on patrol". VAKTA is a 52-ft. (16.76 m) multi-task cutter; a vessel built for Aids to Navigation as well as Search and Rescue activities on Lake Winnipeg; and is capable of operating in all weather conditions in semi-sheltered waters. It is a station mode vessel, meaning that the crew does not live onboard, but is based out of a shore station - in this case Gimli Search and Rescue station, located on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg in the town of Gimli. This medium-range, moderate to high speed cutter will provide Search and Rescue coverage 24-7 during the operational season from April to November. Vakta and her crew will be working to ensure maritime safety in support of the fishing industry as well as the large recreational boating community of Lake Winnipeg.


While several onlookers watched from this cottage community's pier, a crew ran a Zodiac fast-response craft through scenarios that require a man in distress removed from the water.

Mark Gagnon, a Sarnia, Ont.-based Coast Guard training officer, pointed out the greater peril facing those needing real-life rescues -- they're usually not in the protective gear worn by their crews.

"One of the big things there is the lifejacket," he said.

The Sun was taken aboard the cutter for a demonstration of "pacing" -- what might resemble parallel parking at high speeds, amidst a need to transfer one or more people from a Zodiac to a larger vessel.

Displaying finesse at the controls, Gnitzinger and the Zodiac operator showed how to give a crash course in close-quarter hand-offs -- without ever colliding.

"They'll match our speed in the other vessel and then just close in. They'll make contact with the vessel and then I'll transfer," said Coast Guard crew member Mike Brown. "It gets hard to bring the boat in close like that, without trying to whack it off the side of the ship."