7 tips to keep you safe on the Great Lakes this summer

CBC News

· Posted: Jun 28, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 7 hours ago

With summertime present and school out, families crossed southwestern Ontario are flocking to Lake Huron and Lake Erie. But with the quality of the Great Lakes comes existent danger, especially for inexperienced swimmers oregon those unfamiliar with water conditions.

Scott Ruddle, a Great Lakes h2o information expert, joined CBC London Morning to stock 7 apical tips people request to cognize earlier they wade in.

1. The Great Lakes are much similar freshwater seas than calm lakes

Despite the name, the Great Lakes are vast, deep and unpredictable.

"They person surf-like conditions conscionable similar the ocean, sometimes adjacent worse," said Ruddle. "But radical perceive the connection 'lake' and presume it's calm and safe."

Adding to the danger, freshwater lacks the buoyancy of saltwater successful the oceans, meaning adjacent beardown swimmers interval lower. That makes it easier to swallow water, panic and conflict to enactment afloat.

2. Waves mean hidden currents, and currents mean danger

When the waves are up, truthful is the risk.

According to Ruddle, waves even one metre precocious are capable to make unsafe currents beneath the surface, particularly rip currents. These narrow, fast-moving channels of h2o tin propulsion swimmers acold from shore. Rip currents tin besides look deceptively calm in smoother patches of h2o with soil oregon debris moving distant from land.

"That calm-looking country mightiness really beryllium the astir unsafe portion of the lake," Ruddle warns.

3. If you're caught successful a rip current, remember: Flip, Float, Follow

Panic is the biggest menace erstwhile idiosyncratic gets pulled retired to heavy water.

"If you commencement to consciousness successful distress, flip implicit onto your backmost and float," said Ruddle.

This keeps your look supra h2o and buys clip to cod your thoughts.

"Take a heavy breath, calm yourself, and past travel a way to safety."

That mightiness mean swimming parallel to enactment to flight a rip existent oregon signalling idiosyncratic for help. "Flip, float and follow, that series saves lives."

LISTEN | Great Lakes h2o adept Scott Ruddle talks astir information astatine the beach:

4. If the waves are high, enactment dry

Ruddle said helium sees it each the time: formation goers thrust a mates of hours to get to the water and consciousness similar they have to get in, careless of conditions.

"They'll say, 'I'm conscionable going successful up to my knees oregon waist,' but that creates a mendacious consciousness of safety," helium said.

Waves and currents tin sound radical disconnected their feet successful shallow water. If the water looks rough, take different enactment connected the beach.

"You don't request to get bedewed for it to beryllium a bully day."

5. Avoid piers and jetties, they're existent magnets

Piers, jetties and docks might look similar large photograph ops oregon leap spots, but Ruddle calls them occupation areas that tin harbour crisp zebra mussels, mislaid sportfishing hooks and slippery surfaces. Worse, they're communal sites for rip currents to form. Water funnels astir these structures, creating beardown flows that tin resistance swimmers retired to deeper water.

"It's conscionable not worthy the risk," helium said.

6. Local cognition tin prevention your life

Not each beaches are created equal, and not each dangers are obvious, so Ruddle urges radical to inquire questions erstwhile they get determination new.

"The champion idiosyncratic to speech to is simply a lifeguard," helium said. "They'll cognize wherever it's safe, wherever the drop-offs are, and wherever the beardown currents oregon vessel postulation mightiness be."

No lifeguard? Asking a section successful a elemental speech could forestall a tragedy.

7. Skip the inflatables connected windy days

A kid was precocious rescued 700 metres from enactment aft drifting distant connected a ample inflatable connected Lake Huron.

"That wasn't a current-related situation. It was an offshore breeze," said Ruddle.

When the upwind blows from onshore toward the water, toys and floaties tin rapidly transportation radical retired acold beyond wherever they tin paddle back.

"Even formation balls oregon volleyballs tin trigger unsafe chases. It's a $5 toy. Let it go, you're worthy more."

Scott Ruddle is simply a section paramedic who works with the Great Lakes Water Safety Consortium and performs information audits and inspections for the Ontario Branch of the Canadian Lifesaving Society. He has 28 years of acquisition arsenic a lifeguard with the Grand Bend Beach Patrol.