When you’re planning a trip to the beach this summer, you should consider ditching your floaties.
Stephanie Bakalar, Communications Coordinator with the Life Saving Society of Ontario says that they’re liable to catch wind.
Although there’s an attitude that the Lake is much safer than the ocean, Bakalar says that this is not grounded in reality.
The Lake is no safer than then ocean, as there are still strong winds, deep waters, and riptides, just like larger bodies of water have.
Bakalar says that the most important thing you should do to mitigate risk is not to swim by yourself.
Ontario sees about 550 drownings annually, and 99% of those happen in non-lifeguard supervised settings. So bring a friend, or swim on a life guard supervised beach.
Written by: B. Shakyaver
