Emergency personnel had to rescue a visiting photographer who was caught on a sandbar by high tide near the Courtenay estuary Saturday evening.
The man became stranded at about 6 p.m. after the tide rose, said Paul Berry, Comox Valley Search and Rescue search manager.
Courtenay Fire Department, the Comox Valley RCMP Bike Unit, B.C. Ambulance and the Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue were all called to the scene.
“We were able to paddle out with our rescue kayaks and pluck him off the log that he was on. He was a visitor from Quebec and he was totally unfamiliar with the concept of tides,” Barry said.
“He had been taking photos. He had a lot of pretty expensive camera gear with him and was pretty reticent to try to swim with it.”
When he became surrounded by water, the man called 911 for help.
Aside from being embarrassed by all the attention, the man was uninjured, Barry said.
