‘Very frightening’: Paddleboarder loses air on lake near Kamloops

Trinica Teskey had a harrowing paddleboard incident while out with her boyfriend at Pavilion Lake west of Kamloops a few days ago.

A long-time Kamloops resident, Teskey recently relocated to Ashcroft where she’s exploring the lakes in that area, but on July 19 things went sideways when her boyfriend Brian Roberts’ paddleboard started losing air while he was floating in deep water with his young son. 

“They were on a newer board and I was on an older board just toddling around the lake,” she said. “We were across the lake at the far end when I started seeing bubbles come out of their board where you blow it up. I told him to stop and took a closer look and the whole seam on the backend was blowing bubbles.”

While the trio had lifejackets, the water at Pavilion Lake is deep and cold and there’s no cell service in the area. Teskey said there were very few people on the lake at the time and the wind had come up.

“We hightailed it across, trying to fight the wind while the board was losing air so fast it wasn’t going straight. It was very frightening,” she said. “There was a child onboard and the water was really cold. It was the longest ten minutes of my life.”

Pavilion Lake is located in Marble Canyon Park that runs along Highway 99 roughly an hour west of Kamloops. It’s a recreational destination for fisherman, birders and lake lovers, according to BC Parks.

“The lake is right on the road but people just whiz by there so fast and we were across the lake,” she said. “No one would have heard us yelling for help.”

Teskey bought the faulty Body Glove paddleboard from Costco last year. That day at Pavilion Lake was only the second time she had blown it up to use.

She called Costco and was told is was an ongoing issue.

“They said… many people have been returning the boards for the same reason and I won’t have a problem getting reimbursed,” Teskey said, adding her first board is also a Body Glove, is five years old and it’s fine.

She’ll be testing her boards before heading out in the future by adding weight to them into the water to check for leaks.

“You just get used to throwing the board in the water and going,” she said.

According to the website Paddle Board Tips, always check the condition of all equipment before hitting the water, check the weather forecast and conditions ahead of time, and let someone know your paddling plans before heading out. And of course, have a lifejacket.