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Dealing with the dangers Drowning deaths can be prevented, pilot says
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Published Wednesday, August 14, 2013
KANGIQLINIQ/RANKIN INLET
The presumed deaths of two American sport fishers this past month on Dubawnt Lake, 250-km southwest of Baker Lake, may have been prevented with better preparedness, said an experienced pilot and lodge operator.
Experienced pilot and lodge operator Shawn Maley of Rankin Inlet says a case involved the believed deaths of two American sports fishers by drowning this past month could have been prevented had they been better prepared for potential dangers. - Darrell Greer/NNSL photo
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Shawn Maley began flying again to isolated locations around the Kivalliq more than a decade ago, and became part owner of Arctic Skies Outpost Camps in 1996, located about 160-km west of Rankin Inlet.
Maley said while the lodge hasn't been open for commercial use the past few years, its original intent was to attract fishers and people interested in seeing Northern landscapes, caribou herds and other types of area wildlife.
He said the news of Matt Zellen, 40, and his dad, Earl Zellen, 70, drowning on Dubawnt Lake made for a sad day, but illustrated just how unforgiving the Arctic can be.
"I'm not saying anything against the procedures used by whomever these guys came with, but, in my opinion, tourists and sportsmen who come here shouldn't be allowed to go out without a guide," said Maley. "Whenever I had clients who wanted to go out unguided, as, apparently these guys did, I wouldn't allow it.
"This is the Arctic, not Miller's Pond or wherever. If anything serious happens here, you can be in a world of hurt very quickly."
Maley said the unforgiving Arctic can severely reduce your chances of survivability if something does go wrong.
He said visitors to the area have to understand that while everyone hopes they enjoy their time here, they have to be extremely careful at all times and not take unnecessary risks.
"You don't take things for granted, like jumping off the back of a trailer, like you might do in the south,” he said. "When you're in the remote North, in the middle of nowhere, you have to think of the possible consequences of even something like that.”
Maley said this rings even more true when you are away from your boat.
"I understand their floater jackets were found in the boat, they had no guide, and they didn't know exactly where they were, so that's three strikes against them right there."
Maley said all indications point to the men falling out of their boat.
He said down south, there's a chance someone will see you fall in, and help is often within reach, but that's not the case in the North.
"This isn't the first time something like this has happened and, unfortunately, unless people become more cognizant of the dangers up here, it won't be the last.”
He added that the hard winds at Dubawnt, one of Canada's largest lakes, can make for unpredictable water in a remote location.
Maley said visitors to the area should make a list of the precautions they're taking to reduce the risk while here.
He said they should cross-reference the list to the potential risks against them, and if everything isn't covered they've got a problem.
"I understand they had a spot messenger, but that doesn't do any good when it's in the boat and you're not,” he said. "You should have a tether clipped to you leading to your outboard engine's kill button, so it shuts off if you fall in the boat or water.
"My spot messenger and satellite phone are in watertight bags on my person when I'm flying my plane. If I go upside down on a lake, they're no good to me in the back of the airplane."
Maley said there can be pressure to bend to the wants of visitors, due mainly to the well-travelled and locale-experienced type the North attracts.
"They often have remote fishing experience in other parts of the world and, generally, they're well-heeled because the trip is expensive,” Maley said. "But, the bottom line is a lot of operations in the North are very strict and rigid with their clientele in so far as how things are going to go.
"I have no idea what type of operation is run by the operators at Dubawnt Lake, but, at the end of the day, this was a result of not really being prepared for what can happen."
Maley said in his opinion, having a guide should be mandatory for visitors.
He said land skills among Inuit are handed down from father to child, and represent hundreds of years of experience.
"With these two men, in my opinion, risks were taken that led to something which could have been prevented,” Maley said. "Sometimes, despite previous experience they may have in other places, sportsmen who come here fail to grasp the demographics of where they're at."
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