CROSS-BORDER WAVE
Kevin and Lori Corriveau drew attention from the U.S. Coast Guard on Saturday when they were spotted waving from the shoreline while they were trying to communicate with their daughter and granddaughter across the Detroit River in Michigan.
The idea of a family visit from three kilometres away — in two different countries with a set of binoculars — seemed “crazy” enough on its own.
Then the U.S. Coast Guard showed up.
Lori and Kevin Corriveau hatched a plan to go to Windsor’s riverfront on Saturday and wave to their daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter, who would be at Belle Isle.
That plan went off without a hitch. But all the frantic yelling and waving caught the attention of a U.S. Coast Guard crew, who thought the Corriveaus were in trouble.
“We were frantically waving,” said Lori, who lives in east Windsor. “They didn’t know who we were waving at. We have binoculars. We have a flag. Safety vest. Every thing you’d have on a boat, we had on us.”
The whole family was last together on March 14 to celebrate birthdays for the Corriveaus’ daughter, Keely Sprangle, and granddaughter Lucy. Keely’s husband, Steven, is from the U.S. They live in Redford, Mich.
Normally, they see each other at least once a week. Since the COVID -19 pandemic forced a border shutdown, they have settled for Facetime and phone calls.
“We understand we’re not the only ones in this situation,” said Kevin. “But we’re just trying to get through it one day at a time.”
A few weeks ago, Keely went to Belle Isle with her husband and daughter to pass the time. Lucy, 4, started calling out across the water for her grandparents.
“She knew she was close to us,” Lori said.
That sparked an idea.
“Off the cuff, I said, ‘you know what would be really cool? If we went to the shore right across from Belle Isle,’” Lori said. “I said, ‘maybe they could see us from there if they brought some binoculars.’ I thought it was far-fetched and crazy. I thought my daughter would think I was off my rocker. But everybody embraced it.”
On Saturday afternoon, they all bundled up and headed to their respective sides of the river. Lori and Kevin went to where the Peace Fountain would be if COVID-19 hadn’t delayed its annual installation. They wore bright yellow and brought a Canadian flag.
“We talked over the phone, tried to come up with a strategy of where we’d be,” Kevin said. “We had a couple of landmarks. We waved our flag.”
They spotted Lucy’s orange hat. “She was waving at us,” said Lori. “Then, we noticed the Coast Guard.”
They kept waving, she said, thinking the boat would just pass by.
“Next thing you know they’re coming towards us.”
Kevin shouted and pointed to the other side of the river to show the Coast Guard what they were doing.
“I tried to tell them we were just waving to family but there was no way they could have heard me,” he said.
A voice boomed from the boat’s loudspeaker.
“They asked if we were OK,” Kevin said.
Shouting from shore was pointless in the heavy wind, so they waved, nodded and gave a thumbs up.
After the crew double-checked everything was fine, the words “have a good day” rumbled from the loudspeaker and the boat headed west.
Despite the near international incident, plans are in the works for another riverfront visit, though they might wave a little more calmly next time.
“We’re going to do it again,” Lori said.
“And again, and again until we can get over there.”