A trio of tourists have Vernon Search and Rescue to thank for saving them from what could have been very different. VSAR was contacted by Vernon RCMP at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday after three people became stranded in the middle of Okanagan Lake. VSAR’s Coralie Nairn says the trio decided to go for an evening float on an inflatable device from a beach on the west side of the lake when things took a turn for the worse. “They were on a single inflatable device when the winds hit and blew them a little off shore and then the storm hit,” Nairn said. “We actually had two or three storm cells and it blew up around the lake.” Nairn says the trio were unprepared for the situation. Neither had a life jacket and while they had small paddles with them, they were unable to get back to shore, so they called 911. Rescuers were given the general location of the floaters who were lucky enough to be spotted in the dark in the middle of the lake. “We got out on the water pretty quickly,” Nairn said, noting the rescue operation took about three hours. “After we found them, we dropped them off at their campsite.” “They were very lucky,” Nairn said. For a list of boating safety information, click here.
