We were rescued via a combined response by both the Canadian Coast Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard. The Canadian Coast Guard’s Trenton, Ontario Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) dispatched a C-130 SAR aircraft and a helicopter, and they also requested aid from the U.S. Coast Guard, which dispatched a helicopter from the Traverse City, Michigan base.

Once it became apparent the U.S. helicopter would arrive first, the Canadian helicopter returned to base. The first aircraft to arrive, about three hours after our kayak capsized, was the Canadian C-130. It confirmed our location and maintained sight contact pending the arrival of the U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. When the U.S. Coast Guard was nearing the site, the C-130 dropped smoke and light flares to help guide the helicopter to our location. It was the U.S. Coast Guard Helicopter crew that performed the actual rescue, employing a rescue swimmer to take us, in turn, to the waiting rescue basket to be hoisted aboard. They then transported us to the airport serving the nearest hospital, in Wawa, Ontario, where we were taken by ambulance to Lady Dunn Hospital and treated for hypothermia.