A quiet day at the lake turned into a harrowing ordeal for a West Kelowna couple, their two boys and family friends who came across a North Vancouver family, including a three-year-old toddler, who were struggling to stay alive on Osoyoos Lake.
On the afternoon of Sunday, Aug. 4, Kyle and Jacqueline Boudreau were enjoying a day on the lake with their friends Derek and Erin Martin and their three young kids.
They had spent the day swimming and boating when the wind started howling and they decided it was time to head back to shore.
“We were down in Osoyoos visiting friends and took them all out on our new boat and had a bunch of fun,” said Kyle. “We were later into the afternoon and we had been on the boat for most of the day. “The wind then suddenly picked up dramatically and we were starting to drift, so we realized it was pretty much time to go. Jacqueline took the wheel and we got everybody on board and were heading back, when she noticed a family in distress.”
Things quickly turned scary, said Jacqueline.
“I was driving and I saw these hands frantically waving in the air,” she said. “I looked over to my left and it was clear there were three people in the water and they needed some help. I told Kyle and everyone on board that they need help.”
Kyle, 38, also quickly realized these three strangers were in trouble.
“It was very clear there were people in distress and there was a family separated from their boat,” he said. “The wind was blowing one way and the current was going the other way and they were moving further away from their boat. I assumed they had gone for a swim and somehow got separated from their boat.”
They started moving their boat towards them.
He saw a man and woman were not wearing lifejackets, but the three-year-old girl was, said Jacqueline, 33.
“The little girl was in the middle and the wife was in big trouble as it was clear she was close to drowning,” she said. “Her head kept dropping under the water and her hands were just above the water and she was flailing.”
The husband was screaming to help his wife, so Kyle decided he had no choice but to take action.
“He was screaming ‘save my wife, she’s drowning’,” said Kyle. “I signalled to my wife to get me as close as she could. I dove in and was able to get to her pretty quickly. I got beside her and grabbed her right arm. She wasn’t holding on to me. That’s when I realized just how frail she was. I turned over onto my back and placed her on my chest and made sure her head was above water and got her back to the boat.
“At the same time, my buddy Derek Martin jumped in the water and grabbed the little girl. The husband then linked up with Derek and the baby and we managed to get them back to the boat. It was a pretty frightening scenario. I don’t think any of us thought she had more than 20 or 30 seconds of fighting left in her.”
It took the woman more than 15 minutes to fully come around and realize she was safe and her little girl and husband had also been rescued, he said.
“She was looking around and trying to process everything,” he said. “She was so close to drowning and was absolutely in shock.”
Kyle drove the couple’s pontoon boat, while Jacqueline drove their boat back to shore.
The entire rescue happened in two or three minutes, but it seemed much longer, said Kyle.
Throughout the incident, the little girl “remained extraordinarily calm, even though you could tell she was also in shock,” he said.
Boudreau said the fact he was a competitive swimmer growing up definitely played a major role in the rescue.
“I belonged to a couple of swim teams in South Surrey and White Rock,” he said. “Even my Dad, when I got home, said good thing we put you in the Sea Wolves program. It really paid off this time.”
After dropping them off at their hotel, Kyle said goodbye, but decided to return later in the day.
“I needed some closure,” he said. “I drove back to their hotel … told the people at the front desk what had happened.”
He called them and was invited up to their room.
“They were all lying in bed and much calmer and just trying relax and absorb all the emotions and trauma of what had happened,” he said. “I got a couple of hugs and handshakes and they wanted to exchange information. I gave them my name and told them I was just super happy to help.”
Kyle runs a business in Vancouver and on Friday, he received a gift basket and heartfelt note from the family.
The note read: “Dear Kyle Boudreau and Family: Thank you for saving my life. Your timing and rescue brought us to safety in our most dire moment ever and we are so so very grateful to you and your family. You are forever in our hearts as our hero and we are thankful of God’s divine timing of your appearance in our lives. Just a small token included here to send our love and gratitude your way. Thank you once again.”
While many people are going to call him and his wife and friends heroes, Kyle said they just consider themselves lucky to have been in the right place at the right time.
“We feel so fortunate, lucky and privileged to have been able to help,” he said.
“I told them they didn’t have to thank us. We were just lucky to help.
“It absolutely, 100 per cent feels really great to have helped save their lives. It’s something I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life. But I’m not looking to be called a hero at all, because it boils down to being there at the right moment and having the ability to know that I am a strong enough swimmer to take this on.”
Jacqueline feels the same way.
“I was the lucky one to first see them,” she said. “If I turned the other way, we might not have been able to help and things could have turned out much differently.”
The entire incident is a reminder of how quickly things can go wrong on and near water and the importance of wearing a lifejacket, said Kyle.
He and his wife have two young boys and said being able to assist a young family during an emergency is satisfying.
“It’s just a really good feeling to be there and be able to help,” he said.
“It’s hard to deal with the reality of what could have happened, but it didn’t and we’re all really thankful for that.”
