Port Huron Float Down's storied history

Times Herald

Participants in the 1985 Port Huron Float Down.

Port Huron Float Down 1985

Between 400 and 500 people embarked from Lighthouse Beach on the eighth annual float down.

Port Huron Float Down 1986

About 1,000 people entered the river, creating headaches for three freighters trying to steer around the masses. Near the end of the float, about 60 participants were stranded on Stag Island.

Coast Guard members remove rebel rafters after outlawing rafting between Port Huron and Marysville during the 1987 Float Down.

Port Huron Float Down 1987

About 60 people bypassed a Coast Guard blockade and floated from Marysville to St. Clair, south of the zone from Port Huron to Marysville the agency had outlawed rafting. The Coast Guard tried to put an end to the event after several rafters drifted into the paths of freighters the year before. Seven people were pulled from the river within the safety zone.

Port Huron Float Down 1988

About 2,500 showed up for the event before the U.S. Coast Guard canceled the float down, however about 400 others went in anyway. “We tried to do this right, but it just got out of control,” Steven Eagar, chief of the U.S. Coast Guard Station in Port Huron said at the time. The Blue Water Convention and Tourism Bureau sponsored the event and obtained a permit for it. Eagar said he wasn’t recommending permits to be given in the future.

Spectators watch from the shoreline near the Blue Water Bridge as thousands of tubers float by in the 2008 Port Huron Float Down.

Port Huron Float Down 2008

Officials estimated between 3,000 and 4,000 people jumped into the river for the first float down in 20 years. The event was shut down following the 1988 event by the Coast Guard due to safety concerns.

A man does a back flip into the water while waiting for the start of the Blue Water Float Down in 2009.

Port Huron Float Down 2009

An estimated 4,000 to 6,000 people participate, with wind pushing some into the shipping channel and to Canada. About 500 people had to be towed back into U.S. waters. The most serious incident reported was a Port Huron woman allegedly assaulting another woman.

Participants float down the St. Clair River in 2010 float down.

Port Huron Float Down 2010

While signs were posted in Lighthouse Park indicated the event had been canceled, about 1,500 people made their way into the water. The U.S. Coast Guard reported assisting 545 people and rescuing five. Overall, the event was deemed an unsanctioned success.

Participants get into the water in front of the Fort Gratiot Light House in 2011.

Port Huron Float Down 2011

Officials estimate a crowd of 2,000 to 3,000 battled a strong westerly wind to participate in the float down. About 100 people touched Canadian soil, the Coast Guard estimated. MaryAnn Durham of Port Huron waved as her three daughters floated by Vantage Point during the event. “We always come down for the Float Down,” Durham said. “We love it. We get to meet people. It’s just nice to see this. I think it’s a good thing. It brings a lot of people out."

People begin their descent down the St. Clair River during the 2012 Float Down.

Port Huron Float Down 2012

Of the about 3,000 participants, fewer than 50 were ever in any distress, according to the Coast Guard. “At this point, we’re four years into it, and people are really getting our message of safety is our No. 1 priority,” U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Justin Westmiller said at the time.

Jim Feher, of Port Huron, enjoys the sun and fun of the 2013 Float Down.

Port Huron Float Down 2013

No major incidents were reported during the event, however for one Lexington woman it was a very important day. It was Lois Koschnick’s second float down — her first trip was in 2012 at the age of 91. “It gave her a reason to live,” Koschnick’s friend, Penny Smith, said. “I wrote that on her calendar: Stay alive for the float down.”

A participant sprays the spectators with water the 2014 Float Down.

Port Huron Float Down 2014

The event was relatively quiet until a 19-year-old Fenton man was reported missing. Brady Morton was located in the river by divers four days later. Larry Morton, his father, said he had been a member of the Silver Lake Ski Club in Fenton. “He was just an unreal child,” Larry Morton said at the time. “He will be missed.” He added he hoped future participants would wear personal flotation devices.

Floaters start their journey toward the St. Clair River DURING THE 2015 Float Down.

Port Huron Float Down 2015

Participants filled the river with a multitude of colorful inner-tubes, inflatable islands and other vessels. Greg Hoffman, 63, of Florida, was an original floater from 1977 – the year he claims was the start of the event – and he comes back to Port Huron each year to participate. “Back then we just had inner-tubes, none of these fancy rafts,” Hoffman said before the 2015 event. “We did it every year until it was shut down in 1988. One year we had a hail storm that blew us over to Canada and at times we got so far out that we were looking straight up at freighters passing by.”

A makeshift raft made from a backyard trampoline launches during the 2016 Float Down at Lighthouse Beach in Port Huron.

Port Huron Float Down 2016

The year of the great invasion — about 1,500 people ended up in Canada. It took 19 Sarnia Transit bus loads and six hours to return everyone back to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The 2017 Port Huron Float Down was a busy day for law enforcement, with three lives saved, two people arrested and 86 others assisted.

Port Huron Float Down 2017

Officials reported saving three lives and assisting 86 others during the event. Participants reported having a good time, including a Grand Rapids man who brought along his duck, Mango.

Contact Liz Shepard at (810) 989-6273 or lshepard@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @lvshepard.

How to stay safe

If you're heading to the Float Down Sunday,, make sure to be prepared.

Anyone younger than 18 is required by the U.S. Coast Guard to wear a life jacket.
Officials urge all floaters to wear flotation devices and have sturdy crafts able to withstand the strong current.
Have a ride ready to pick you up when you exit the river — and avoid exiting on private property.
Stay hydrated and avoid alcohol during the event.
And carry a cell phone, money and passport in a waterproof bag in case you get blown to Canada (a paddle to help direct your float isn't a bad idea either).