‘My grandkids will think I’m legendary’: A floating flamingo and the family that has ‘no regrets’

Some could say the Mascioli family took physical distancing to a whole new level late Tuesday night - four kilometres offshore of the Hamilton harbourfront, armed with one bag of Goldfish crackers, two giant pepperettes and three bottles of water.

Chantelle Mascioli, 25, said the evening started out as a harmless night of family fun" with her mother Nadine, 45 and her brother Curtis, 19.

Chantelle and her mother had initially gone to Canadian Tire in search of an inflatable boat but there were none in stock. It was either a mattress-style raft or the giant pink flamingo.

We opted out for the big pink flamingo because, why not? It's big, it's pink, it's fun," said Chantelle.

Along with the bird, they picked up air horns, some plastic paddles and LED lights but no life-jackets. The store was sold out of any in their size, she added.

Around 9 p.m. on Tuesday night, Chantelle, along with her mom and brother, headed down to Pier 4. As they filled the giant floatie with air, she said the family got weird looks while other onlookers snapped photos.

An hour later, the family was on their way into the water, launching the five-seater flamingo off into the harbour. They were looking for a break from being cooped up in their Beach Road home due to COVID-19, she said.

The first hour was fun, said Chantelle, and they stayed within the waterfront's boundaries.

We were just kicking back, relaxing, joking," she said. Just 30 minutes later, Chantelle said she looked up and realized they'd drifted at least 10-feet beyond the harbour boundaries.

But, they thought they'd be able to paddle back and decided not to worry.

That was our first mistake," Chantelle added.

Another half-hour went by and the family once again realized they'd bobbed even further out.

Attempting to paddle against the current for nearly 45 minutes, losing one paddle in the battle, Chantelle said it felt like for every inch we gained, we lost a mile."

Weighing their options, the trio sat back and let the current continue dragging them along. Chantelle said they called their father, Damien Stinson, for help. He headed down to the waterfront to meet them - but there was no flamingo in sight.

By 1:30 a.m., they'd floated their way into the industrial part of the harbour, said Chantelle.

We had two choices. We were either going to sit there and drift all night until we got close enough to paddle onto shore or we call the police," said Chantelle.

Then they started to hear the horns of freighter ships getting ready to sail off and the decision was quickly" made for them.

If those ships came within a certain amount of feet within us, that floatie definitely would have gone over," she added. We decided to save ourselves while we still had a chance."

With temperatures dropping and the family underdressed for a night on Lake Ontario, Chantelle called the Hamilton police non-emergency line.

Having a panic attack" on the phone, Chantelle said the operator on the other end was super nice" and patient with the family.

They were then directed to call 911 and - between the two operators - police managed to get a rough location for the raft after about an hour.

A large freighter ship had also noticed them, putting a spotlight on the family to help the marine unit keep an eye on them, said Chantelle.

Not 15 minutes before police arrived, the family had managed to come within paddling distance of a cement wall in the water. They managed to perch themselves on it, joining a flock of seafowl.

According to Const. Lorraine Edwards, the marine unit found the family floating four kilometres off the shore early Wednesday morning.

They picked us up, put us on the boat, put the flamingo on the boat and kind of chuckled at us and said This is just absurd,'" said Chantelle. No one was injured.

Once back safely ashore, Chantelle said officers took photos with the flamingo and were laughing with the family. They also warned them about the danger of using the party raft on such a large body of water without life-jackets or an anchor.

That was unexpected," she said, thanking them for being so cool" about the situation. We really appreciate the police."

Looking back on their misadventure on Friday, Chantelle said the family has learned their lesson" and will be sticking to smaller bodies of water the next time they plan to go out with Mrs. Plamingo" - a portmanteau of pink" and flamingo" for their vessel.

We were just trying to kick back and relax, especially in this pandemic, we needed some fresh air and to get out," said Chantelle. We had no intentions of leaving the harbour. Clearly the water had other plans."

But even with the risk and the comments on social media, the family has no regrets." Chantelle described herself as having thick skin" and that comments don't bother her.

As for their night spent on a giant blow-up flamingo, it's a memory Chantelle can't wait to share with her future grandchildren.

It was definitely one for the books," she said. My grandkids will think I'm legendary."

Fallon Hewitt is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: fhewitt@thespec.com