One person was taken to the hospital after windy conditions caused two boats to run aground near Nanaimo.
Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue Station 27, the Nanaimo Port Authority, police and a debris control vessel were all out to deal with strong winds in Mark Bay off Saysutshun Island just before noon on Wednesday, Feb. 19.
The response came after a vessel in the anchorage called in to report a dragging boat just after 11:00 a.m.
According to Kimberly Kelly, Port of Nanaimo spokesperson, one person was trapped on board a boat.
“He has been extricated and is being transported to the Nanaimo hospital,” she said.
She added both boats were at anchor in Mark Bay when they drifted.
Russell Berg, media liaison with search and rescue, said three boats were in distress during the unusually rough conditions in the harbour. Two were on the shore of Saysutshun Island when search and rescue arrived and the third was pulled away as it drifted towards the rocks.
“There was potentially a medical issue with one other person but it was not possible to approach him from the water so the coast guard folks decided that they would head in and approach him from shore, working with the park folks on Newcastle who transported them around the bay to where his boat was and they dealt with the medical issues on board that vessel, which was aground,” he said.
Berg said the waves were about three feet and a lot of boats were at risk of drifting. He added it is important for mariners to ensure their equipment is well secured and in good condition.
“We won’t know until the tide comes back in what the story is going to be on the vessels because they likely, two of them, will float again. I hope they float anyway – they are on the rocks so we don’t really know until the tide comes back in,” he said.
Environment Canada issued a gale warning for the Strait of Georgia north of Nanaimo at 10:30 a.m. and south of Nanaimo at 11:04 a.m.
Southeasterly winds were forecast between 55-74 kilometres an hour. Environment Canada recorded winds gusting to 68 km/h at Entrance Island at noon.
The wind is expected to diminish in the afternoon, but is still forecast to remain strong until late into the night.
