OFFSHORE WINDS ON THE GREAT LAKES
Offshore winds
can be deceptive and dangerous on the Great Lakes. An offshore wind is a wind blowing from the land
toward the water.
Offshore winds can
be very deceptive on the Great Lakes because the water may appear flat and calm
at the shoreline, but the farther you get from shore, the offshore wind
strength increases dramatically.
The winds can
be especially dangerous for people on rafts, kayaks, standup paddleboards (SUPs),
or other floatation devices because the floatation device may get caught in the
wind, act like a sail, and be taken far offshore.
Offshore winds
can also be dangerous if the person is blown out to open water and the person falls
off the floatation device and becomes separated. In strong
offshore winds, a person can’t swim fast enough to catch the device caught in
the wind.
One of the most
heart-wrenching offshore winds incidents occurred June 2010 when 9 year-old Sofia
Khan went missing. She was in a kayak
in Holland, WI and an offshore wind carried her out to open water. The girl's father tried to swim out to the
kayak, but strong winds pushed it farther and faster than he could swim. He was
unable to catch up to it and had to swim back to shore. When the canoe was retrieved, it was empty. To this date, her body has not been recovered.
Here’s some recent
offshore wind incidents:
July
4, 2012 – A mother, father and their 4-year-old son drifted a quarter-mile
offshore. Parents swam back to shore
before rescuers arrived
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The Great Lakes Surf Rescue
Project, Inc. (GLSRP) is about saving lives. It is a nonprofit corporation that is a Chapter of the National Drowning Prevention Alliance (NDPA) that tracks drowning statistics, teaches “Water Safety Surf
Rescue” classes, and leads the “Third Coast Ocean
Force” rip current awareness campaign on the Great Lakes.
It has been selected to present at the 2nd International Rip Current Symposium Nov.
1st, 2012 in Sydney, Australia; the 2012 winner of the “Outstanding Service to the Great Lakes Community” award
presented by the Dairyland Surf Classic; the 2011 “Lifesaver of the Year” award winner; and a presenter at the NDPA’s 11th Annual Symposium in
San Diego, March 9, 2012.
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