Man jumped off ferry, swam to Galiano, broke into house

A B.C. Ferries passenger who yelled “yahoo” and did a front flip off the vessel before swimming to Galiano Island and breaking into a house will not be charged, the Public Prosecution Service has confirmed.

The incident took place as the Coastal Celebration was sailing to Swartz Bay from Tsawwassen Nov. 4, 2015. Passengers and crew members reported that a man in his 20s had launched a life-raft for 100 people. But the man did not get into the life-raft, swimming to Galiano Island instead.

Coastal Celebration crew members launched rescue boats and were joined by crews and boats from the nearby Spirit of British Columbia, which was on its way to Tsawwassen.

Shortly after, the RCMP received a distress call from a Galiano Island resident.

The woman said a naked, wet and incoherent man had entered her house and was throwing around furniture and other items.

The woman escaped uninjured to a neighbour’s house and called police.

The naked man then apparently walked to a nearby resort and entered a cabin. Police arrived and made an arrest. He was taken to Royal Jubilee Hospital for assessment.

The Public Prosecution Service did not provide details about why charges were not laid, but referred to its “decision to prosecute test” that requires that a case have a reasonable prospect of conviction and best serve the public interest.