Brothers stranded on sandbar rescued by helicopter

PORT HOPE - A pair of brothers had to abandon their sailboat Tuesday after running into a sandbar at the entrance to the Port Hope marina.

Alek Lepa had just bought the 24-foot sailboat and was sailing it from Port Credit to his home in Belleville with his brother Robert. It’s Lepa’s first sailboat.

They had planned on it being a three-day trip. But on the second day of the journey, they filled up with fuel in Whitby, hoping to make it to Cobourg, but because of the harsh conditions of the waves and winds they consumed more fuel then they originally thought, so they headed into Port Hope.

“We’re en route to Cobourg to get fuel and we just ran out along the way.”

Alek said when he saw the marina sign on the centre pier, he thought they’d be all right, but found out otherwise at around 4 p.m.

The boat hit a sandbar and its rudder broke off. Shortly after that they had drifted to the east breakwall.

“When we were coming up, the draft was too deep (the sailboat has a four-foot keel) and we got caught in the channel.”

Lepa called for help and shortly after members of the Port Hope Fire Department, police and paramedics arrived on scene.

Fire crews and police walked out to the pair of boaters and spoke to them.

The Canadian Coast Guard was also called, but couldn’t enter the mouth because it was too shallow for their boat so members of 424 Search and Rescue Squadron from CFB Trenton were called.

As a helicopter hovered over the sailboat, two SARTECs (search and rescue technicians) were lowered by winch onto the breakwall.

After assessing the conditions, the SARTECs went into the kneedeep water and helped the brothers off the boat and onto land.

Lepa said when he left the boat it wasn’t taking on water, “but it was being bashed up against the rocks.”

The boat is insured and a salvage company had been contacted.

Damage to the boat won’t be known until it gets out of the water, but Lepa said it won’t be his last sailboat, but “this will be my very last time coming into Port Hope. I should have just opened the jib and carried on to Cobourg.”

But he did add, “it would be a lot better if they didn’t have that sign or had a sign that said how shallow it is.”