A Scare

Here's a view of the marina at our park. It is shaped by an L-shaped pier made of solid metal on one side facing the lake and metal mesh on the side toward the marina itself. If you look you can see a couple of people fishing in the lake, one balanced precariously on the side of the pier.

On Friday evening a number of us had a picnic at the park and sat around talking. We then strolled out onto the pier. As we neared the end where the pier makes its L, we were startled by the sound of a car driving up behind us. Cars are not allowed in the park, let alone on the pier. This was no ordinary car, it was a police car, lights flashing, siren sounding. It was followed by a second police car. We stayed where we were, but we were close enough to see the police looking over the lake side and shouting down to people in a boat a few yards off the pier. It was chilling to hear one of the police officers speaking into his communication device, "Better alert the hospital." Then we saw a boy climbing up from the water and pulling himself over the edge. Soon there were four of them, probably in their very early teens, dripping with water, and the gaffs that were being lowered off the pier were thankfully only to retrieve backpacks. It appears that the canoe they were in overturned and they couldn't right it and get themselves back in.

Life on the pier soon returned to normal as everyone breathed a silent thank you that the incident occurred close to the pier and that the boys were wearing their lifejackets. I'm just using a photo I already had, but you can get an idea of  the size of Lake St. Clair.

And backing off the pier was yet another test of our police department's skills.