'An incredibly unique thing': Thousands gather at Pottahawk Point for annual boat party

Boaters launch out to Pottahawk Point From CTV Kitchener’s Hannah Schmidt: Police were urging water safety as boaters launched out to Pottahawk Point.

Warm and sunny weather in Port Rowan and Turkey Point helped set the tone for an annual tradition on Lake Erie .

Boaters launched their vessels and headed out to Pottahawk Point for a day of fun on Sunday.

There was also an increase of Norfolk Ontario Provincial Police urging participants to take safety measures while out on the water.

“If the weather is nice and everybody gets rocking and rolling pretty early, it turns into a monster party,” said three-time attendee Ian Little.

For decades, on the second Sunday of July, thousands of people gather at the point for a day of partying.

“It’s kind of like a water parade more or less so it’s a good time,” Little said. “A lot of people do tie up, a lot of people dance in the back of boats and other then that everybody, is trying to have a good time.”

Sunday was a similar turnout to last year. Over 500 boats were seen bobbing near the shore of Pottahawk Point carrying around 2,000 partygoers.

“It is an annual event and numbers change and they can change quite drastically at a year-to-year basis,” Cst. Andrew Gamble with Norfolk OPP told CTV News. “On busy years we’ve seen approximately 2,000 vessels [and] 10,000 people in attendance.”

Each year, emergency crews respond to numerous injuries and impaired boaters. Ahead of Sunday, Norfolk OPP urged participants to take extra precautions.

“In years prior, officers have responded to incidents where individuals have chosen to swim back to shore, and obviously that’s not something that’s recommended, so if you are heading out there, make sure you do have a ride home,” Gamble said.

Boaters this year were just as excited to get back on the water and gather with people from all over.

“We’ve seen boats coming in from Toronto, we’ve seen a boat with North Carolina registration numbers on it so it’s very much a party atmosphere,” said attendee Trish Campbell. “It’s an incredibly unique thing to do, you can only go to Pottahawk Point if you have a boat so it’s very much a community thing.”

OPP says no major incidents were reported, but charges have been laid related to Canada Shipping Act infractions which covers the safe operation standards for small vessels.