Update: Sailors rescue two men off Oak Bay Marina after dinghy capsizes
By Cindy E. Harnett, timescolonist.com January 30, 2011 Be the first to post a comment
•Story•Photos ( 1 )
Sunday’s dramatic rescue played out about 90 metres east of the usually placid Oak Bay Marina.Fairfield couple John and Aliza Hunter were out sailing in choppy waters Sunday when they wound up racing to save two men whose boat had capsized in the frigid waters.
“Thank God for the Hunters. Otherwise, the outcome would have been more tragic,” said acting Sgt. Larry Worock of the Oak Bay police.
As soon as the novice sailors saw the men in distress they collapsed their sails and motored toward them, said John Hunter.
The incident occurred around 2:20 p.m. when one of two men stood up in an 2.4-metre, rigid-hull dinghy, trying to reel in a crab cage. The man fell in the water, flipping over the boat and dumping his fishing partner. Both men were wearing life-jackets.
One of the men began waving a third life-jacket in the air and calling for help. Both men were holding on to their boat.
“We called 911 but we had to cancel the call quickly before giving our names, as we were approaching the men and had to pull them in,” Hunter said. The rescue trip took about five minutes.
The capsized boat was about 90 metres east of the marina.
One man appeared to be in his 20s and the other in his 50s, Hunter said. The sailors first rescued the younger man, who was able to help in pulling himself up, and then repositioned the sailboat to rescue the older man.
“He was much more vocal, in a lot of pain,” Hunter said. “He was heavier and harder to pull out.”
The older man was waterlogged because of his heavy clothing and was suffering from hypothermia, Worock said.
“He said he was too cold to shiver,” Worock said. The man was taken by ambulance to hospital.
The other man did not require medical attention.
“We popped a toque on them but they were soaking wet and we had nothing warm to give them,” Hunter said. It was just a five-minute trip back to the dock, he said.
“The fact they were complaining about the cold the whole time” reassured Hunter that the two were not going to slip into unconsciousness, he said.
The rule of thumb is that a man in peak physical condition who is 50 years or older in water below 10 C might survive 30 minutes at most, Worock said.
“After 15 minutes, they probably wouldn’t be able to signal [for help] anymore,” Worock said.
There was little marine traffic in the area at the time. The winds were high and water was choppy, with 60-centimetre waves, Worock said.
Canadian Coast Guard auxiliary No. 35 out of Oak Bay was called but it would have taken at least 15 to 20 minutes to deploy, Worock said. The men had already been rescued in that time.
If it weren’t for the Hunters, Worock hates to think what would have happened to the men who were making an afternoon of crab fishing.
Hunter isn’t concerned about being hailed a hero; he was more concerned Sunday night that he has the hat of one of the rescued men and would like to return it.
ceharnett@timescolonist.com
© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist
•E-mail this Article•Print this Article
Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/Update...ghy+capsizes/4193898/story.html#ixzz1CbnEy0qo
I would say get a bigger boat for crab fishing or don't stand up in a small one.
By Cindy E. Harnett, timescolonist.com January 30, 2011 Be the first to post a comment
•Story•Photos ( 1 )
Sunday’s dramatic rescue played out about 90 metres east of the usually placid Oak Bay Marina.Fairfield couple John and Aliza Hunter were out sailing in choppy waters Sunday when they wound up racing to save two men whose boat had capsized in the frigid waters.
“Thank God for the Hunters. Otherwise, the outcome would have been more tragic,” said acting Sgt. Larry Worock of the Oak Bay police.
As soon as the novice sailors saw the men in distress they collapsed their sails and motored toward them, said John Hunter.
The incident occurred around 2:20 p.m. when one of two men stood up in an 2.4-metre, rigid-hull dinghy, trying to reel in a crab cage. The man fell in the water, flipping over the boat and dumping his fishing partner. Both men were wearing life-jackets.
One of the men began waving a third life-jacket in the air and calling for help. Both men were holding on to their boat.
“We called 911 but we had to cancel the call quickly before giving our names, as we were approaching the men and had to pull them in,” Hunter said. The rescue trip took about five minutes.
The capsized boat was about 90 metres east of the marina.
One man appeared to be in his 20s and the other in his 50s, Hunter said. The sailors first rescued the younger man, who was able to help in pulling himself up, and then repositioned the sailboat to rescue the older man.
“He was much more vocal, in a lot of pain,” Hunter said. “He was heavier and harder to pull out.”
The older man was waterlogged because of his heavy clothing and was suffering from hypothermia, Worock said.
“He said he was too cold to shiver,” Worock said. The man was taken by ambulance to hospital.
The other man did not require medical attention.
“We popped a toque on them but they were soaking wet and we had nothing warm to give them,” Hunter said. It was just a five-minute trip back to the dock, he said.
“The fact they were complaining about the cold the whole time” reassured Hunter that the two were not going to slip into unconsciousness, he said.
The rule of thumb is that a man in peak physical condition who is 50 years or older in water below 10 C might survive 30 minutes at most, Worock said.
“After 15 minutes, they probably wouldn’t be able to signal [for help] anymore,” Worock said.
There was little marine traffic in the area at the time. The winds were high and water was choppy, with 60-centimetre waves, Worock said.
Canadian Coast Guard auxiliary No. 35 out of Oak Bay was called but it would have taken at least 15 to 20 minutes to deploy, Worock said. The men had already been rescued in that time.
If it weren’t for the Hunters, Worock hates to think what would have happened to the men who were making an afternoon of crab fishing.
Hunter isn’t concerned about being hailed a hero; he was more concerned Sunday night that he has the hat of one of the rescued men and would like to return it.
ceharnett@timescolonist.com
© Copyright (c) The Victoria Times Colonist
•E-mail this Article•Print this Article
Read more: http://www.timescolonist.com/Update...ghy+capsizes/4193898/story.html#ixzz1CbnEy0qo
I would say get a bigger boat for crab fishing or don't stand up in a small one.
