NANAIMO — A mission spanning two days involving multiple agencies resulted in the successful recovery of a yacht stuck in Dodd Narrows.
Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue Station 27 crews in Nanaimo were alerted on Tuesday, May 27 just after 8 p.m. to a vessel running aground on the northern tip of Mudge Island in Dodd Narrows.
Russell Berg, spokesperson for Station 27 said crews from RCM-SAR Ladysmith were also on scene and after a quick chat with the operator of the boat, they looked at potential ways to dislodge it safely.
“The challenges that we saw were a 5.5 knot current that had the potential to push the boat into more dangerous water,” Berg said in a statement. “At this time it was producing a 5.5 knot current and the sailboat has a concrete hull so it is very heavy. Our crew did not feel that we could pull the sailboat off the rocks safely.”
The sailboat was relatively undamaged, however crews needed to wait for the right time to safely executeremoval of the vessel from the rocks. (submitted photo/RCM-SAR Station 27)
Dodd Narrows is a channel of water between Mudge and Vancouver Islands, known for fast tide changes and strong currents.
Berg said Canadian Coast Guard staff arrived a short time later and also decided an immediate salvage of the vessel was not possible.
“The boat was stable up on the rocks and it was not taking on water. The decision was made to leave the vessel in place with hourly check-ins from JRCC (Joint Rescue Coordination Centre) and to return…Wednesday morning when the current would be working in our favour.”
A second attempt began at around 4:30 a.m., with the Coast Guard performing a “Halyard Pull” maneuver where a tow line is run to the top of the sailboat’s mast to help right the ship.
Other lines are attached to the vessel in a bid to pull it away without capsizing it.
“[We] coordinated…actions over the radio and, when both were ready, pulled together to slowly and safely ease the sailboat off the rocks and into safe water, Berg said. “The mission was a textbook example of coordination, cooperation, and communication between the two agencies.”
There were no reported injuries and the vessel was taken to shore for further assessment.
Crews from Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue, as well as the Canadian Coast Guard, attended the scene. (submitted photo/RCM-SAR Station 27)Local news. Delivered. Free. Subscribe to our daily news wrap and get our top local stories delivered to your email inbox every evening.
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