Ferries help in two rescues

Two marine emergencies involving people in the water caused delays on two B.C. Ferries routes in one day.

The Spirit of B.C. had just departed Tsawwassen about 3 p.m. Aug. 11, when it was reported that something had gone overboard.

“We stopped, someone was spotted in the water, and the crew launched the rescue boat and retrieved the gentleman out of the water,” said B.C. Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall.

It is believed the man was in his 40s, Marshall said. His father was also on the ferry.

The rigid-hull inflatable transported the man to shore, where he walked to a waiting B.C. ambulance, Marshall said. The ferry, which was four nautical miles offshore, returned to Tsawwassen to drop off the man’s father.

Two ferry sailings were cancelled as a result of the incident.

It was B.C. Ferries’ second marine emergency of the day.

The Baynes Sound Connector ferry, which runs between Buckley Bay and Denman Island, was temporarily stopped after B.C. Ferries received a mayday call from the Canadian Coast Guard about noon. Marshall said a 14-year-old boy was seen swimming away from shore.

The ferry had just unloaded at Buckley Bay when the call came in, she said.

A rescue boat was launched. Fifteen minutes later, rescuers found the boy, Marshall said. She didn’t know where the boy was headed or why he was out so far.

While on the boat, the teenager was treated for suspected hypothermia. A B.C. ambulance was waiting for the boy on shore.

“Kudos to both crews today on how they were able to assist people on the water,” Marshall said. — TC