An arresting scene compared to "a kick in the gut" is again on display at Vancouver pools and beaches this summer.

Sun-seekers and swimmers can expect to wander past forgotten flip flops and an unfinished novel abandoned near the water on a towel marked with this message: "You're probably not expecting to drown today."

The organization behind the guerilla marketing campaign intends to change people's behaviour and catch them at a time and place where a more cautionary attitude can be immediately applied.

"No one wakes up expecting to drown, or fall from a ladder or fall from their bicycle," said Dr. Ian Pike, the spokesperson for the Community Against Preventable Injuries. "But those things do happen. Circumstances can change very quickly and the prevailing attitude of, 'It won't happen to me,' is one that we want to change."

With Saturday marking the last day of National Drowning Prevention Week, Pike urged people to adopt a mantra such as this: "It could happen to me. I should think carefully about what risks are inherent in this activity and take steps to mitigate those hazards."

According to Pike's organization, the vast majority of drowning deaths can be prevented. Nine in 10 drowning deaths linked to boating are a result of not wearing a lifejacket. Alcohol is associated with 40 per cent of the drowning deaths of Canadians aged 15 and older.

On Wednesday in advance of the season's first Celebration of Lights fireworks display, the Vancouver Police Marine Unit arrived at boat launches across the city to check for safety requirements and verify operating licences.

At Vanier Park, Sarah Kailuweit and two friends were launching their 26-foot sailboat after being sent away during their first attempt because an inspection revealed inadequate lighting.

"We bought three different lights--green, red and white--so we're seen from every angle," she said as spectators flocked to the foreshore with blankets and picnic baskets. She said they also had lifejackets and wine aboard.

So far this year, four people have drowned in Metro Vancouver and a rash of fatalities have occurred across the country, including an international student at Alice Lake Provincial Park and a toddler in the Okanagan.

Derek Mahoney, who represents the first aid and water safety program with the Canadian Red Cross, can't explain why drowning fatalities seem to be getting more attention than in previous summers. "For B.C., it does feel like we're seeing more of these," he said. "Unfortunately, the nature of these drownings, while tragic, is really nothing unusual or unique. The circumstances are not rare, at least in the form of how they occur, which makes it all the more tragic because we know these are preventable."

A lifeguard familiar with beaches throughout the province, Mahoney said, "It's heartbreaking to be on the outside and looking in, especially being associated with an organization that has dedicated 60 years to water safety and awareness."

Karalee Bohmer knows this heartbreak. Five years ago she found her two-year-old son Maddox facedown in a backyard pond in Surrey, his beloved red rubber boots still on his feet. He died weeks later in hospital.

She has now partnered with the Lifesaving Society to raise money to send low-income kids and families to swimming lessons and water awareness courses.

Her son was learning to swim, and Bohmer concedes his death was preventable. Hers is an experience she does not want others to share.

Education, attitude and awareness, she stressed, are key. "It doesn't take that much water. It happens."

mstewart@vancourier.com