A father clung to a sinking fishing boat Monday night while holding fast to a three-year-old child and keeping tabs on the coast guard with a hand-held radio.
The father, mother and their five children were all taken to safety by the crew of the Canadian Coast Guard hovercraft Siyay after running into trouble off the northern tip of Galiano Island Monday night. All had mild to moderate hypothermia from being in the water for as long as 25 minutes and were transported to waiting paramedics on Sea Island, near Vancouver.
The vessels responding to the call for help included a pair of B.C. ferries — the Spirit of Vancouver Island, which happened to be close to Galiano on its way Tsawwassen; and the Queen of Cowichan, called away from the Departure Bay-Horseshoe Bay route.
The ferries stayed in the area for about 45 minutes, said spokesman Darin Guenette.
“It was just prior to 9 [p.m.] by the time they stood them both down.”
Guenette said B.C. Ferries has 500 sailings a day, so there are always vessels that can be called in an emergency.
“It’s not unusual,” he said. “Eighteen to 20 times a year we assist with marine rescues, over the past couple of years.”
