Float Down forecast: Sun, fair temperatures for unsanctioned event

Participants in the annual Float Down can look forward to a fair August day for this year’s event.

During the day, the weather will remain sunny, with a high near 76 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. An east wind will become five to seven miles per hour in the afternoon.

Around 8:30 a.m., the temperature in Port Huron was approximately 54 degrees.

The event normally draws hundreds, but last year saw a smaller number. Officials attributed this to poor weather and the COVID-19 pandemic.

First responders from multiple local, state, and provincial agencies, as well as the Canadian and American coast guards, will be active on the water and on land to ensure participants get out safely.

Local first responders are encouraging people not to participate in the unsanctioned event, but if they do, they should:

• Wear an appropriately sized, Coast Guard-approved floatation device or life jacket
• Keep personal items and identification in a waterproof bag and add their name and contact information permanently to floating gear
• Refrain from consuming alcohol
• Stay near shore and remain out of the navigation channel
• Wear a mask if social distancing isn’t possible

Participants should also plan where they’re getting out of the water. The Moose Lodge at 3520 Military St. has been a popular exit point in years’ past, but this year it will be closed to the public, and floaters won’t be allowed to exit there.

In a joint statement, the U.S. and Canadian coast guards called the event “an inherently dangerous activity, especially for minors.”

Anyone who comes on land, anchors or moors in Canada, or comes alongside another vessel in Canadian waters for any reason, are obligated to report to Canadian Border Services Agency.

Failure to report is a serious offense, said CBSA Spokesperson Jacqueline Callin.

Anyone who enters Canada is also subject to all entry requirements, which include pre-arrival COVID-19 testing and submitting mandatory information and quarantine plans. If requirements are not met, participants will be prohibited from entering and remaining in Canada, and might be met with fines and have future admissibility to Canada affected.

The usual start time for the event is 1 p.m. Floaters will launch from Lighthouse Beach in Port Huron and travel more than seven miles to Chrysler Beach in Marysville. Freight traffic will be closed on the St. Clair River from noon to 8 p.m.

Contact Brian Wells at (810) 357-8668 or bwells@gannett.com.