B. C. man survives in ocean using jerry cans, crab float

Kevin Strain is having difficulty deciding where he’ll hang the crab float he credits with saving his life.

“I was thinking of Tom Hanks from ( the 2000 Hollywood movie) Cast Away,” he added, laughing. “This is my Wilson.”

Strain left his home on Malcolm Island last Tuesday aboard the 20- metre Oliver Clark II. It was about 2 a. m. the next day and the boat had just entered the Yuculta Rapids when it hit a rock that lifted the boat’s stern into the air.

“That’s when I got ejected out of the wheelhouse ... I went right through the wheelhouse door on the port side and right over the rail,” said Strain.

He wasn’t wearing a life- jacket, but managed to grab a pair of empty 20- litre jerry cans.

“I was sucked under and spit back out and sucked under and spit back out,” said Strain.

Using the jerry cans and a crab float he spotted under the light of the moon, Strain propped his upper body out of the water and kicked for shore, buoyed by thoughts of his wife and three young children.

More than two hours later, Strain managed to grab on to a rocky outcropping and pull himself ashore.

At about 6 a. m., his yelling caught the attention of rescuers.

“Everybody says, “You’re tough,’ or whatever, but I think it’s more stubbornness than anything.”