‘Never been as scared': One woman's encounter with N.S. waters as National Drowning Prevention Week kicks off

CTV News

21-07-2025

About 450 people drown in Canada each year, and most victims can swim.
About 450 people drown in Canada each year, and most victims can swim.
It was a weekend at the cottage like any other for Allison Deveau.
After putting her paddle board on a sandbar in Amherst Shore, N.S., she went inside to get something to eat. She came back outside only to discover it had floated away.
Thinking quickly, she borrowed a kayak from a neighbour and went out to get it.
'I was quite confident, I'm a strong swimmer, and I was quite confident that I could get to it,' she tells CTV.
Finally, she got to the board and strapped it to her ankle before turning back.
'I had texted my husband from there and let him know that I had the paddle board, and I was heading back, and he had said, 'If it's too hard, to ditch the paddle board, it's not worth it.'
Choppy water with whitecaps made it a challenging paddle.
She ditched the board and focused on getting back to shore, but the water was too strong.
'I knew that I wouldn't sink, but I was sitting out there, with really strong winds,' she says.
Thankfully, she was wearing a lifejacket and didn't fear drowning in the kayak, but knew she was in trouble.
'I need help'
'I need help, find somebody with a boat,' she told her husband.
Without luck, he called 911. But while he was on the phone, he spotted a Sea-Doo heading her way.
The Sea-Doo was low on gas and the driver feared they might not make it in, but thankfully, the pair made it to shore.
Deveau's experience is a reminder of the dangers on the water – and how quickly things can get out of control.
Rainbow Haven Beach
Lifejackets or PFDs can be loaned to youth in need at Rainbow Haven Beach in Cow Bay, N.S. (CTV Atlantic / Callum Smith)
Teaching moment
As much as she regrets what happened, Deveau says it was a teaching moment for her and her family.
She told her son, 'Buddy, I have never been as scared as I was at that moment. Please don't let that ever happen to you.
'Because if there hadn't been anyone around or if I didn't have cell service, I don't know what would have happened.'
This year's theme for National Drowning Prevention Week is Safer Together, encouraging people to never hit the water alone.
'20 per cent of drownings annually are people that are out there alone,' Michael Melenchuk, the executive director of the Lifesaving Society of Nova Scotia told CTV Morning Live on Monday.
'They were canoeing, they were boating or swimming or snorkelling and they were doing it by themselves and, in some cases, not telling their loved ones how long they were going to be gone.'
At Rainbow Haven Beach in Cow Bay, N.S., what people don't know sometimes poses the greatest risk.
'We have a giant channel that's along the beach,' says lifeguard Jillian Thomas. 'People jumping into that, not knowing what's underneath and how strong the currents are… So, that's probably the biggest risk.'
She says the other thing lifeguards witness is people trying to swim certain distances but not actually realizing how far out they are.
For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page