The film is based on a true life harrowing experience how eleven (11) young boys lost their lives in a horrific boating accident when an unexpected storm arose on the waters at Balsam Lake near the town of Kirkfield, Ontario.
Upon arrival on July 20, the Wigington brothers were among the fifteen (15) people who set off in a 30-foot war canoe to purchase supplies in the town of Coboconk. Initial reports of a sudden squall with heavy wind and waves were later discounted and questions were raised about the experience of the paddlers. A mile or two from shore the war canoe capsized.
As described by the survivors they witnessed the bravery of some of the other young men who deliberately swam away from the capsized canoe as the heroes realized the overturned war canoe could not bear the weight of all of them.
In the film, the heroes bravery is reenacted and I am sure that the negative reviewers took umbrage of what they considered the unbelievable heroics of these young men who willingly gave up their own lives in the cold water so that others may have a chance at survival.
Sad but true. This is a well made portrayal of the events leading up to the accident as well as the aftermath of the survivors, one survivor who watched as his own brother drowned on that day. William "Willie" Wigington, 16, witnessed own his brother John, 17, drown and I can only imagine the nightmares Willie had for years afterwards. Only four people, including Willie Wigington, managed to hang on for six hours until the canoe landed ashore at Grand Island at about 2am.
This film is certainly not everyone's cup of tea, and the realism of the fear, the panic, and of course the tragic deaths of the young men who drowned when this heavy 30 foot war canoe overturned suddenly miles from shore is hard to imagine, but yet, it did happen and there were eleven (11) young men who lost their lives in a horrific and tragic boating accident in the summer of 1926, on Aug. 3, 1926.
