Latest news with #SeaDoo
CTV News
21-07-2025
- General
- CTV News
‘Never been as scared': One woman's encounter with N.S. waters as National Drowning Prevention Week kicks off
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
Car and Driver
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
Maybe You Don't Need 325 Horsepower to Have Fun on the Water
Anyone who bought a powersports toy circa 2020 to 2022 can tell you it was a seller's market. Supply chain meltdowns, combined with low interest rates and unprecedented demand, meant that pretty much any boat, ATV, side-by-side, RV, or personal watercraft practically sold itself, often at full price or more. Those days are over. Now the situation is inverted, because a lot of people who bought recreational machines during the pandemic used their new toys a few times and then realized they'd overestimated their appetite for adrenaline. And, as a habitual Marketplace browser, I notice that the lowest usage tends to correlate to the highest horsepower. More than a few would-be speed junkies bring home a machine like Sea-Doo's 325-hp supercharged RXP-X only to find that hitting 60 mph in 3.4 seconds is not necessarily a feat you want to repeat all day long. Car and Driver The 170-hp GTI SE does about 55 mph, which is often faster than the traffic is moving out on Route 1 in the Keys. Sea-Doo, for its part, has concentrated on revamping the more accessible machines in its lineup over the past few years. The second-generation Spark—Sea-Doo's affordable rec lite personal watercraft—debuted for 2024. The bigger GTI models were redesigned for 2021, the same year that Sea-Doo's wild pontoon boat, the Switch, hit the market. It's been a while since I rode a Sea-Doo, and I've never tried a Switch, so I headed down to Florida to see what's new. These kinds of drive events are common, both for cars and powersports machines, but the twist here is that my wife and kids came along, too. Because it turns out that 14-year-olds can ride personal watercraft in Florida, a revelation that was greeted with a hearty "Let's goooo!" by my 14-year-old son, Rhys. There would be no RXP-X on the agenda, because I'm not sure even my frontal lobe is fully formed enough for that. Car and Driver I wasn't too worried about putting Rhys on a Sea-Doo, even though the 170-hp GTI SE can hit about 55 mph. He got his boater's license in North Carolina (we all passed the test for the temporary Florida-specific one) and he's well versed in ATVs and the like. But I still peppered him with PWC-specific dad advice long before we arrived at our ride spot on Florida Bay, a little north of Islamorada: Don't hammer the throttle away from the dock, don't even touch the throttle if anyone's in the water behind you, always check behind you before turning, and stay away from whoever else is riding. Other than that? Go rip it. Car and Driver Here's where dry-sump oiling becomes important. We began with a family tour to Toilet Seat Cut, which, as you'd expect, is a channel bordered by lavishly decorated toilet seats mounted on poles sunk in the shallows. Besides exuding high-level Florida Keys eccentricity, the forest of toilet seats does a great job delineating the narrow channel—if you don't know where you're going, it's easy to miss a cut on the bay side of the Keys. Fortunately, if an errant dad leads everyone far astray from the deep water, backtracking is quick on a Sea-Doo. The Spark, with 90 horsepower, can hit about 45 mph, which feels plenty fast until you ride the GTI SE and find there's more to be had. I can honestly say that never did I wish for more horsepower. Sea-Doo | Car and Driver That is how you mark a channel, Florida Keys style. At least, not on the personal watercraft—the Switch might be a different story. The 21-foot Switch was powered by a 230-hp supercharged 1.6-liter three-cylinder, and it was pretty quick for what is essentially a floating living room. I saw 40 mph on the speedometer, but another 95 horses wouldn't hurt it. The Switch is unique among pontoon boats in that it uses Sea-Doo running gear, complete with a jet drive and handlebars. The handlebars make it crazy maneuverable around the dock (you can spin the boat on its axis by bumping between forward and reverse with the bars fully cranked), but at speed, the pontoon hull would rather track straight ahead than dig into turns. Nonetheless, I was able to get the kids whipping outside the wake during a tubing session, launching them duly skyward when we came back around to the chop. Pontoons are generally thought of as lake boats, but the Switch had no problem with the wind-whipped bay when we took a 12-mile trip to Gilbert's in Key Largo. Sea-Doo | Car and Driver Sea-Doo | Car and Driver What, you kids think this tube is flip-proof? Sea-Doo | Car and Driver The Switch's 230 hp proves enough for an enervating ride. We also spent a lot of time going nowhere in particular. The Spark is perfect for that, particularly the Trixx version ($9199 for the single-seater), which can angle its thrust nozzle extra far up and down. Why would you want to do that? Two words: water wheelies. And also reverse donuts. The Trixx has what looks like a sprinter's starter blocks at the rear of the hull, and you wonder what they're for until you goose it in Trixx mode with the trim set all the way toward bow high. Most PWCs climb a little bit out of the water before the impeller sucks air, self-regulating a relatively flat running attitude. Not the Trixxx—you can stand on those blocks and ride it till it's almost vertical, at which point it gets challenging to balance. Toppling over sideways, you can pin the throttle and ride out of it, but going over backwards (a distinct possibility) occasions a respawn after you inevitably yank the lanyard and kill the engine. It's stupid fun, as is ripping reverse donuts, which causes water to spray out from under the bow in a geyser. I wondered how the Rotax engine survives these antics, and the answer is that the Spark (and all Sea-Doos) uses a dry-sump oiling system to keep everything properly lubed even when it's being tossed vertical or upside down. Race-car stuff—nice. Car and Driver When we had an actual destination in mind, like heading down to Islamorada to buy bait, the GTI SEs were the ride of choice. The hulls are longer and heavier, and the GTI is more refined than the rambunctious Spark. The newer GTIs don't look radically different than their pre-2021 predecessors, but there were changes aplenty. The Rotax's output rose from 155 to 170 horsepower, dropping the claimed 0-to-50-mph time from 6.6 seconds to 5.2 seconds. There's way more onboard storage, including a waterproof phone compartment. And Sea-Doo worked to lower the center of gravity, mounting the engine deeper in the hull and lowering the seat height. Car and Driver As with a car, lowering the CG produces better handling, and the GTI feels like you could ride it to Cuba and be ready for a night out in Havana when you get there. Rhys, for his part, took to cruising aimlessly around the bay and listening to music on the onboard audio system. When I asked him what he thought, he said, "I can't get enough of these things." I get it. This was his first taste of motorized freedom, two years before he'll be able to drive a car. Car and Driver Unlike many a pandemic purchaser, I know that if I owned a Sea-Doo or two, they'd get plenty of use, especially with Kid 2 about to age into the 14-year-old rider demographic (I've been informed by both lads that 14 is also the legal PWC operator age in North Carolina, where we live). Fortunately for my bank account, I have nowhere to dock a Sea-Doo, and having to visit a boat ramp every time diminishes spontaneous rides, which are the best kind. But if I ever do get one, I might need to drag it down to the Keys. Because we completed one more project on our final ride, and someday I want to go see how the clearcoat is holding up on the Dyer family addition to Toilet Seat Cut. Ezra Dyer Senior Editor Ezra Dyer is a Car and Driver senior editor and columnist. He's now based in North Carolina but still remembers how to turn right. He owns a 2009 GEM e4 and once drove 206 mph. Those facts are mutually exclusive.
Yahoo
30-06-2025
- Yahoo
Police searching for man thrown from Sea-Doo on Northern Peninsula
An underwater recovery team is searching for a man who fell off a Sea-Doo on the Northern Peninsula Sunday night. In a news release sent Monday, the RCMP said officers in St. Anthony received a call for help around 9:30 p.m. NT after a man and a woman fell off the watercraft while on Gull Pond, near St. Lunaire-Griquet. The release said neither one of them was wearing a life-jacket. The woman was able to swim to shore, but the RCMP said the man did not resurface. Crews searched for the man into Sunday evening, and the RCMP's underwater dive team was called in to continue the search on Monday. Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page
Yahoo
23-06-2025
- Yahoo
Sedalia, Missouri, teen killed in Table Rock Lake jet ski collision
A 16-year-old boy from Sedalia, Missouri, died Saturday after two watercraft collided head-on in Clevenger Cove on Table Rock Lake. The Missouri Highway Patrol report says the crash happened around 2:45 p.m., when a 2021 Sea-Doo PWC operated by the juvenile struck a 2024 Sea-Doo driven by a 19-year-old man from Ozark.
CTV News
11-06-2025
- CTV News
Northern Ont. man admits he let 9-year-old drive Sea-Doo alone, resulting in serious crash
A Sea-Doo crash that severely injured a nine-year-old boy two summers ago has led to a criminal conviction of a Timmins man and more than $6,500 in fines. A Sea-Doo crash that severely injured a nine-year-old boy two summers ago has led to a criminal conviction of a Timmins man and more than $6,500 in fines. Jean-Marc Bouchard, 41, represented himself as he pleaded guilty to three charges in the Ontario Court of Justice in Timmins on Wednesday morning. The name of the victim can't be published because of a publication ban in the case. Sea_Doo2 A Sea-Doo crash that severely injured a nine-year-old boy two summers ago has led to a criminal conviction of a Timmins man and more than $6,500 in fines. (Supplied) At the start of the trial, he pleaded guilty to Canada Shipping Act charges of allowing a person under the age of 16 to operate a vessel and allowing a person without competency or proof to operate a vessel. Initially, Bouchard pleaded not guilty to the charge of causing bodily harm to a child under 16 by criminal negligence, but after a pre-trial argument involving three witnesses, he changed his plea to guilty. Driver was 9, passenger was 8 In this case, a young boy was driving a Sea-Doo that Bouchard owned on Kamiscotia Lake in Timmins on July 4, 2023. The boy had an eight-year-old female passenger. It crashed when it struck the propeller of a boat on a lift on a dock near the shore. The girl was unharmed, but the boy was seriously injured and spent a month at an Ottawa children's hospital. According to Transport Canada, only people ages 16 and older are legally allowed to operate a personal watercraft – like a Sea-Doo. In this case, three witnesses said at a pre-trial hearing they had seen the nine-year-old driving one of the man's two Sea-Doos by himself on several occasions before the crash. While evidence that doesn't pertain to the charge isn't usually permitted in a trial, the Crown argued it demonstrated a pattern of behaviour and conduct of the accused relevant to the case. The victim's mother told the court she had several conversations with the man about her concerns involving the boy's lack of safety when driving his Sea-Doo. Represented himself She also said that the day before the devastating crash, the boy tried to splash her while driving the Sea-Doo, but ended up hitting the Sea-doo she was driving. Bouchard represented himself and the judge cut him off when he started to cross-examine a female neighbour. He mentioned the woman's children and asked if she owned a side-by-side and if she ever allowed her daughters to drive it. The judge said he wouldn't allow the question because a witness can only be questioned about their testimony. When it comes to criminal negligence, the Crown said direct knowledge is not necessarily required. 'Indifference is enough,' the Crown said. 'He knew (the victim) was operating it on his own.' Accepted responsibility When it was Bouchard's turn to make his final submission in the pre-trial, he sounded emotional and accused the Crown of making an example out of him, but that he had already suffered greatly since the incident. 'There has been enough harm to both him and me,' he said, his voice breaking. 'I want this over and done with and move on with my life.' In response to his complaint about the amount of time it took to bring to trial, the Crown pointed out that the trial date had been originally set within six months, but he failed to attend the trial confirmation hearing. He also went from being self-represented to hiring a lawyer and back to being self-represented, which also caused further delay. 'Stop letting kids go out' Bouchard mentioned several times that he has learned his lesson. 'You knew or ought to have known he had no business driving that Sea-Doo,' the judge said. The man said he wants others to learn from his mistake and not let their underage kids circumvent the rules. During a 20-minute recess for the judge to rule on a pre-trial application, the man agreed to change his plea to guilty on the criminal negligence charge. 'There has been enough harm to both him and me ... I want this over and done with and move on with my life.' — Jean-Marc Bouchard That allowed for a joint sentencing submission. The judge agreed to a conditional discharge that allows Bouchard to avoid a criminal record. He will be on probation for a year but will not be required to report to a probation officer. He has been ordered to pay a $5,000 fine for the criminal negligence charge, $750 for each Canada Shipping Act charge, as well as an additional 25 per cent in victim fine surcharges. Let go of the throttle Bouchard is not allowed to operate a personal watercraft for a year or allow anyone under the legal age under his care to operate one. During the reading of the agreed statement of facts, the court heard that data from the black box on board the watercraft provided some important details about the crash. Because the Sea-Doo is run by a jet propulsion engine with no speed rating, it is difficult to get the exact speed of the watercraft right before the collision. However, data showed that the boy let go of the throttle two seconds before impact, which caused him to lose the ability to steer and ultimately crash. The incident caused emotional, financial, mental and physical harm, the boy's mom said in a victim impact statement. As for long-term effects, because the damage was so close to the boy's groin, doctors are not sure if he will be able to have children in the future. While specialists said they are surprised it didn't result in a fatality, the boy has made a miraculous recovery. He has been able to resume soccer and hockey as he continues to recover with several more surgeries expected in the future.
