Christine Kay
Northern News Services

Iqaluit (July 22/02) - Leesee Papatsie and her two brothers went for what they planned to be a day-long boating trip. They left at high tide July 14 and were scheduled to return that night.

But that's not what happened. At 9:40 a.m. July 15, the Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Halifax, N.S. received a report of an overdue canoe on Frobisher Bay with three people on board.

A Coast Guard vessel, the Henry Larson, and the helicopter on board were in the area and began the search.

It turns out the boat Papatsie and her brothers were on had a faulty motor. It had given out the night before.

They tried for an hour to paddle to the mainland, but the winds made it nearly impossible. Instead, they directed themselves towards a small island more than 60 kilometres from the city. "I was stressed that night when we started paddling. The waves were getting pretty big," said Papatsie.

They made it to the island where they set up a small tent.

"Our family was going to be worried and we started to worry about that. It was pretty windy so I didn't expect to see any boats. We tried to ration our food," she said.

The next morning, after shooting a goose to eat, one of Papatsie's brothers climbed up a hill on the island. He started yelling, "Boat, boat." He shot a flare and then another one.

"Now we knew someone was coming," said Papatsie.

The boat came to the island. The people on board gave them some biscuits and then went to notify another boater, Johnny Kolola, who helped them fix the motor when he arrived. "We were able to boat back. We didn't get towed. We fixed the motor," said Papatsie.

Rescue co-ordinators were informed at 2:10 p.m. July 15 that a local vessel had located the missing vessel and all were returning back to safety.

Papatsie said she is glad to be back on land and thanks everyone who helped find them.

Her family was relieved when they saw the boat coming in. Papatsie said she is still trying to deal with the stress.

If there's one thing Papatsie has learned from the experience, it's to always be prepared. "Whenever you go somewhere, make sure to tell somebody. I usually tell my husband and this time I didn't," she said.