There has been no word on what caused the Monday night sinking of a gillnetter, an incident that touched off the dramatic rescue of a mother, father and their five children.
The boat encountered trouble as it neared the northern tip of Galiano Island from the east. Several vessels responded to the call for help, including a pair of B.C. Ferries.
The first vessel to arrive was the coast guard hovercraft Siyay, whose crew pulled all seven people from the water and transported them to the Sea Island Coast Guard Station near Richmond. Family members were taken to Richmond Hospital and later discharged.
“It’s a very successful outcome to what could have been a very serious and tragic situation,” said coast guard spokesman Dan Bate.
He said it was fortunate that the father, Scott Brown, had a radio. “We’re just two miles from Porlier Pass and we’re sinking. And we need assistance very fast,” Brown said in the call recorded by the coast guard.
“They knew approximately where they were,” Bate said. “They did have the right kind of equipment.”
Some people are completely unprepared for communication on the ocean, he said. “We have folks that rely solely on cellular phones in order to get help. That’s when further issues can develop.”
When the mayday was sent, the boat was just east of Porlier Pass, the body of water that separates Galiano and Valdes islands.
Bate said weather doesn’t appear to have been a factor in the incident. He said Porlier Pass is known for its currents, but he doesn’t know whether they were an issue Monday.
Andrew Ross-Collins of the Salt Spring Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue said his unit deals with calls to Porlier Pass from time to time, and recently responded to a boat having mechanical problems there.
Ross-Collins noted that the current can come up in Porlier Pass. “When that current meets waves from the opposite direction, then that can lead to some turbulent water.”
