Two boaters die in Gjoa Haven incident
Community mourns deaths; boat spinning in circles prompted search-and-rescue response
Two men in Gjoa Haven died in a boating incident Wednesday evening. (File photo)
The community of Gjoa Haven is grieving the loss of two men who died in a boating incident Wednesday evening.
Police and search-and-rescue teams attempted to rescue them after they were thrown into the water from their boat as it was spinning in circles, said Chris Armour, a search and rescue co-ordinator at the federal Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Trenton, Ont.
The two men were the only people on the boat at the time, he said.
“RCMP saw two occupants in the water and jumped on a boat, [and] tried to rescue them,” Armour said in an interview.
Police were able to pull one of the men onto their boat, but he had no vital signs. They called Trenton to mobilize the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, and community members joined the effort.
That search concluded around 9 p.m. when the other man was found dead.
The identities of the men have not been released by authorities.
It’s not clear why the boat was spinning in circles, Armour said.
“The RCMP, when they called us, that’s what they said: The boat was going in circles and the two occupants of the boat were in the water,” he said.
“A lot of it happened really fast .… It’s not a big harbour, so it was thoroughly searched.”
Wednesday evening through Thursday morning, dozens of people posted messages of condolence and prayer to community members in Gjoa Haven on social media.
An email from the hamlet office sent on behalf of acting senior administrative officer Enuk Pauloosie said, “It was a sad incident yesterday and the whole community was involved in the rescue of the two individuals that fell off the boat into the water.
“Please note that the individuals involved in this incident have lots of relations including hamlet staff and elected officials and it is a sensitive situation to talk about.”
Sarah Kamimmalik, a search-and-rescue worker in Gjoa Haven, said in an email that Wednesday’s tragedy was a huge loss to everyone in the community of about 1,300 residents.
She posted to the Gjoa Haven Search and Rescue Facebook group, thanking everyone for their efforts despite the sad outcome, and encouraged people to talk to each other for support.
“You all did a great job today doing everything you can,” the post said.
“Please remember that what you have done here has given the family some closure to the entire situation. It’s tough to go through this. I want you all to stick together. You may need someone to talk to. Talk to each other. Reach out to any of us if you need anything. My heart is with you all.”
Nunavut RCMP has not yet responded to a request for comment.
condolences to the Families and Friends involved.
It seems unlikely that they were “thrown into the water from their boat as it was spinning in circles”.
Typically an outboard motor will torque to the side AFTER the operator goes overboard. It is not unknown for the boat to circle around and strike the person in the water (p.i.w.).
In any case, it is very sad news for the community and for the men’s families and friends.
My friend fell off of the small motor boat he was driving. Immediately the boat started driving donuts (in circles) with nobody’s hand on the steering control or on the throttle to bring the boat to a rest. He also drowned like these two citizens. Very sad. Hitting the cold water makes you gasp for breath, even if you can swim. Only a life jacket can keep you afloat and alive long enough to be rescued.
Condolences to the families.
Yes Life Jackets are needed more, and wearing them… having them in the boat might not have helped here.
My Condolences go out to the Community of Gjoa Haven. I have had the opportunity to become friends with a Special person in the Community and my heart and Prayers go out to you all. God Bless
Our sincere condolences to the family in gjoa haven. Prayers to gjoa haven people and their land.
Condolences to the family of the 2 men deceased, may God comfort you all. This story brought a similar story; my late husband and his friend were young adults when they fell asleep in their boat & woke up to going in circles -they were lucky,
The same way so many hunters feel like they don’t need in-reach devices, there are too many boaters who think they don’t need life jackets. Nobody thinks they need one until it is too late. Deepest condolences to the people of Gjoa Haven. The Arctic ocean is unforgiving, please if you see people going out on boats take an extra second amd make sure they have life jackets on board ?
First of. I send my condolences to the family and entire community of Gjoa Haven for you tragic loss.
In my opinion it is time Nunavut establishes a Small Vessel Operator Proficiency Program in all communities within Nunavut to give our hunters, young and old alike the boater safety education that is needed for them to be safe on Nunavut’s water ways.
Also it should be legislated that any retailer in Nunavut selling watercrafts/boats/marine vessels, kayaks, canoes etc. that the retailer must also have Personal Flotation Devices (PDF) for sale just like retailers who sell ATV’s to also stock ATV helmets for sale as well.
Do not let these two young men die in vain and be a learning lesson for all Nunavut residents. We can only reduce and try to prevent these types of tragic accidents though boater safety education and training.
We are seeing a larger increase in Canadian Coast Guard presence in Nunavut communities each year and it would be great if they can send SVOP trainers into Nunavut communities annually to hold courses that promote SVOP safety and education courses to residents of Nunavut.
Department of education should also consider making SVOP safety courses part of their high school curriculum, each year before school is out in June high schools can promote boater safety and the Canadian Coast Guard could and should also be involved by providing the resources they have to the schools.
NTI though our KIA QIA & KIA should also get involved to provide resources to local Hunter’s and Trappers Organizations to also promote boater safety to Inuit hunters ad fishers.
Anyone else have other suggestions to promote boater safety education I am all ears and now maybe our elected leaders are too now after this tragic accident.
One other area hunters and boaters / mariners in Nunavut need training and experience is cold water emersion.
People need to experience the shock and panic effect that occurs to the human body when hitting ice cold water in a safe and controlled environment as everyone reacts differently
From personal experience, my body went into shock and panic set in. my body froze almost instantly. Luckily at the time of my incident I was wearing a personal floatation device which assisted me to over come the shock and panic stage get my wits about me and kick off my rubber boots that were filling with water as they felt like they were pulling me under the water. If I did not have a personal floatation device on that day I would not be here today to share my personal experience in cold water emersion.
People need to know they can mentally over come this initial stage of shock and panic which will significantly increase their chances if survival/rescue and this can only occur if people personally experience the effect cold water emersion shock has on your body and mind.
Every outboard motor comes with a little kill switch that can be tethered to the driver. That $5.00 item can save lives, and may well have done so in this case.
Very few people actually use that gizmo.
(I’ll admit it – I don’t use it either – but I should!)
This is where being strapped to the emergency kills witch is not being used. I see alot of boat drivers not strapping it on. Strap on the killswitch.