Fishery officers rescue boaters on Great Slave Lake
Yellowknife-based fishery officers rescued two boaters stranded on the east arm of Great Slave Lake last week.
Gerald Fillatre, the detachment manager in Yellowknife for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, says they received a call from the RCMP about a vessel in distress.
The fishery officers travelled more than 450 kilometres to make the rescue and did it within 24 hours. Fillatre says it was the longest distance search that he's ever been involved with.
"When we arrived there, the two people were in good condition," he said.
"Their vessel was tied up to the shore in Devil's Channel. It was cold, the temperatures were getting down to below zero overnight but otherwise they were in good shape."
RCMP say the boaters were trying to get the vessel back to Yellowknife but had mechanical problems. Then they ran into bad weather.
Police say friends of the boaters reported them overdue to the RCMP when the pair failed to return on schedule.
Fillatre says boaters should tell someone where they're going and when they expect to be back, and should carry some means of communication to let people know if plans change.
