Eight people escaped largely unharmed after their water-skiing boat sank Saturday evening, tossing them into the water.

Six adults and two 12-year-olds found themselves in the water after their 21-foot boat crashed into a log and sank. The incident occurred around 7 p.m. Saturday off the west coast of Valdes Island, between Galiano Island and Gabriola Island.

“It crushed the fiberglass on the boat,” said Victor Weston, a member of the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Victoria.

The pre-teens were able to climb into a ski tube, while the six adults grabbed hold of the inflatable device.

“Basically, it’s a big inner tube where the bottom is like cloth,” said Weston. “People just sit on that and they get towed behind the boat. It’s similar to water skiing, except they are on this tube.”

One of the victims was able to phone for help using a cellphone.

A vessel from Big Island Inflata-Boats out of Silva Bay on Gabriola Island rescued the eight.

“They did a great job,” said Weston. “They got everyone out of the water very carefully and waited for coast guard vessels to get there.”

The victims were in the water for 15 to 20 minutes before their rescuers arrived.

“In the ocean, that’s when mild hypothermia will be setting on,” said Weston. “They weren’t in the advanced stages of hypothermia.”

dkarp@tc.canwest.com