'The strongest woman I ever met': Sailing students remember Guelph's Molly Kurvink

"We called her our sailing mom" — it's one of the first things Inessa Townsend-Fish says as she reflects on her relationship with Molly Kurvink.

"She really cared and loved all the people around her and really gave her heart to everyone," the 20-year-old said. "She just meant so much to us."

Kurvink, 62, died Wednesday afternoon. She and her husband, Harri Palm, were ice boating on Guelph Lake when their vessel went through the ice and Kurvink went in the water.

The two were rushed to hospital. Kurvink was later pronounced dead.

At times fighting back tears, Townsend-Fish and fellow Guelph Community Boating Club member Leo Arsenault​remembered meeting Kurvink at the club when they were younger and just learning to sail.

Arsenault​ recalls being nervous about sailing, but Kurvink "was just very forceful with me, and I came back the next week and I started to love it."

He learned to sail under Kurvink, then volunteered for her and worked for her as well.

"Whenever I was feeling upset or anything, she'd call me over and make me a cup of coffee and chat with me for a while," he said. "She'd just talk and cheer me up and she always knew how to do it."

A lot of experience

Kurvink's death was a shock to many who knew her and knew of her experience on the lake. She was well versed in ice boating. Arsenault​ said the two of them had been on the ice one week earlier, drilling holes to check the ice's thickness.

Both Arsenault​ and Townsend-Fish said there's no way Kurvink and Palm would have been on the ice if they thought it wasn't safe.

"They've been ice sailing for years and they are very intelligent with outdoor related activities, and they have a lot of experience," Townsend-Fish said.

Police said Palm tried to save his wife from the frigid waters by pulling her out of the water, but he wasn't able to.

Arsenault​ and Townsend-Fish say the boating community in Guelph is a tight-knit group, and they will rally around Palm in his recovery.

'Molly had a way about her'

James Gordon, a Guelph city councillor and musician, has spent nearly 40 years playing music with Kurvink in the band Tamarack. 

On Thursday, he said he had seen her just a few days earlier when she brought Christmas cookies to his house.

"I think Molly was known as someone who lived life large. She really was a little bit larger than life," Gordon said. "When Molly was around, there was always a sense of fun and a sense of play and she brought that to whatever she did, too."

The staff at Wellington Brewery also remembered Kurvink, who was a 20-year employee at the craft brewer.

'Strongest woman I've ever met'

"Molly had a way about her. She spoke the truth with humour and empathy. She helped us all negotiate life's difficulties," the post on the brewery's Facebook page said. "We are all incredibly blessed to have had Molly Kurvink in our lives."

Townsend-Fish says Kurvink taught her how to be strong and helped her overcome some obstacles.

The greatest lesson Kurvink imparted? "Don't take crap from nobody," Townsend-Fish said laughing.

"She was a very strong woman. Really empowering, I'd say, for me personally it was that whole girl power thing," she added.

"She was probably the strongest woman I've ever met."