Rowing club helps rescue kayaker from Ottawa River

A kayaker was taken to hospital in serious but stable condition after a high-stakes rescue Sunday morning on the Ottawa River.

In a press release, Ottawa Fire Services said the call came in at 10:36 a.m. for a kayaker in distress floating  near the Alexandra Bridge. 

"We don't know what happened, but all we know is that they were holding on to the side of their kayak and kind of kicking to try and gain ground," said OFS spokesperson Nicholas DeFazio.

DeFazio said much of the credit goes to Ottawa Rowing Club, which launched a boat and helped the man out of the water. 

"The river is quite high right now and quite quick," said Zak Lewis, the club's head coach and executive director. "It was a really good thing we had eyes on the water."

Lewis called the rescue a "shot in the dark," noting that if the kayaker flipped another 100 metres out of sight in either direction he likely wouldn't have been rescued. 

At a different time of day, the club may not have had necessary equipment or resources to get in the river as quickly as it did, he said.

"It's pretty gnarly out there," Lewis said. "Another four or five minutes could have been a very, very different conversation." 

Fire crews also launched a boat and helped escort the kayaker to shore, where he was assessed and transferred into the care of paramedics.

The kayaker was back on shore by 11 a.m., the fire department said.

"A big shout out really has to go to the individuals at the Ottawa Rowing Club who saw someone in distress and had the tools to go out and help them," DeFazio said. 

The Ottawa River can be notorious for its strong currents, he added.