Recued Boaters at Comox, BC

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For C-Brats interest:
Trio rescued after their dinghy capsizes near Comox
Cindy E. Harnett / Times Colonist
January 21, 2016 06:01 AM
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Comox rescue
Boat capsizes in rough waters
Three people defied death by clinging to a sailboat and screaming for help in stormy seas near the Comox marina Wednesday night.
Two men and a woman departed from the federal wharf in a small dinghy headed back to their live-aboard boat, moored halfway to Goose Spit, when they ended up in the water, said Comox Fire Rescue Chief Gord Schreiner.
The ocean was rough and it was raining hard.
“They underestimated the weather and one thing led to another and they ended up in the ocean,” Schreiner said. He believes the dinghy rolled over in the waves.
The three were not wearing lifejackets. They swam to the closest boat they could. The boat was too high in the water to climb in, so they clung to the outside.
They screamed for help.
A resident in the area heard their calls and phoned 911. A person on a boat in the marina also heard the screams and headed out to help.
“He found three people clinging to a sailboat,” Schreiner said. The man helped haul the victims onto his vessel.
They spent up to 20 minutes in the ocean, Schreiner said.
“It was pretty close for these people,” he said. “The person who rescued them probably saved their lives.”
About a dozen Comox Fire Rescue firefighters arrived as the three were being brought back to the federal dock. They were critically cold.
Firefighters put them in dry clothing and blankets and turned up the heat in a rescue truck to increase their core body temperatures.
“They were very, very thankful and very scared and they thought the end was near for them,” Schreiner said. “They were very grateful for the fellow who rescued them and the fire department for looking after them.”
The fire chief did not know the name of the rescuer. “He was very modest. He did an awesome job.”
Paramedics checked the three but they did not want to go to hospital, Schreiner said.
 
Last night in Comox Bay the seas were rough and the wind was howling. What on earth were three people doing out in an open dinghy with no life jackets on? Not only did they nearly lose their own lives, but they put others in danger rescuing them. Some people just do not get it !!!

Martin.
 
Glad they were rescued,guess the unexpected happens quite easily. Tells me always have life jacket in dinghy,and or on if in cold water or rough water.
 
Larry Patrick":3o6wgxa0 said:
Glad they were rescued,guess the unexpected happens quite easily. Tells me always have life jacket in dinghy,and or on if in cold water or rough water.
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We have a good habit of wearing our life jackets because in a 16' Dory it can bounce around enough that looking the other way with an unexpected wake you could lose your balance and go over the side. Then when fishing we may find ourselves on the same side, my wife with the net and me leaning out to play the fish away from the motor giving us a list to that side which, coupled with a wave, could make one of us lose balance too. The final reason we wear them is we have light, inflatable vests and you forget your wearing them. And now I bought the paddle boarder's type inflatable fanny pack which if your not familiar with will inflated to the same life saving capacity as the vest and is approved for it's intended purpose.
 
First glad that these folks are safe. Several other reports say that a Dutch boater rescued them. Good on those who were prepared to rescue, and were keeping an eye out.

Foolishness on the part of these 3 to head out, with no life jackets on, in a dinghy which was not suitable for the conditions. I read that the time was 6 PM.

Safely wise--not only the no life jackets, but no signal devices, flares, waterproof flashlight or strobe light. They came very close to death in the temperature of water in that area this time of year in 20 minutes.

I have seen these type of folks a number of times. Part of the issue is that folks do not have an adequate dinghy--for example, an inflatable might be be safe, if the wind was below the velocity at which it would have been capsized, had a good functioning motor, and of adequate size. For 3 people, I would want at least a 9 to 10 foot inflatable in calm conditions. For rough the boat needs to be bigger. When we were cruising, and might face similar conditions, we had a 12.5' AVON RIB or a 13 foot heavy duty Achillies.(Comparable to the SGX-132, rated at 1760 lbs or 6 people.) Never more than 4 people in these boats, even though they were rated at a higher weight capacity. The moral is that if you have to go out in rough weather, be prepared, have a boat which will not sink or easily capsize (usually happens when there is way too little freeboard)--and in heavy weather de-rate the capacity of your boat. Have live jackets, and signal devices--minimal whistle, horn, flares, and strobe/flashlight.

Today the water temp in Comax is given at 44 F. Survival time is limited. At 20 minutes they most likely will not be able to pull themselves out of the water, and are on the lower edge of exhaustion or loss of consciousness--depends on clothing, body fat and training. In an hour they probably would have been gone, and a good possibility even sooner, with the rough water.
 
Larry Patrick":3vu8b1hp said:
Glad they were rescued,guess the unexpected happens quite easily. Tells me always have life jacket in dinghy,and or on if in cold water or rough water.
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Given the reported water/weather conditions, I can't say the "un-planned" swim should have been "unexpected".

They get a second chance, hopefully it is not wasted. Lesson learned, and word spread, good coming out of a "less than bright" decision.

Thanks for sharing, as reminders are always a good idea.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

SunSet_MystryBay_SleepyC_2009_177.thumb.jpg
 
This story makes me wonder how many folks wear their life jackets on board their C-dory's? Being in an enclosed boat, perhaps many feel safe enough not to wear them. I'll admit during the summer, on our inland lakes, I rarely wear a PFD, although it's near by. However, whenever fishing in the cockpit off shore on Lake Michigan, or even in the cabin in very rough water, I do wear mine. I've also worn it on the local inland lakes when cruising in the dark with a lot of other boats. (July 4th events.) Guess I just figure if there is a better chance than usual of a need for it, I put it on. I can't imagine going out in a small open boat on rough water in a storm, not having it on, little own on board. Colby
 
Guess I'm paranoid. I wear mine just about everywhere near the water. In the kayak (normally in 3-6' of water), on the boat, in the truck retrieving the boat...I've even set off the autoinflate wade fishing after getting out of the kayak.

Course I do most things on the water solo...and I'm in a center console (just a CDory wanna be).

I also attach the kill switch when running.

When not solo I offer my guest an autoinflate - most turn it down.

I'm not so worried about what mother nature throws at me; it's the drunk yahoos not paying attention. Hell I even had a small seaplane practically crop dust me me in the middle of the bay - WTH!!! Not to wish ill upon him, but WTH are you doing 20' off the water for miles...one gust of wind push him REALLY close to the water [end rant - more coffee for me]
 
Any bets that they went ashore for a drink? That is one thing that tends to lead to another.

I went in to town the other day and found out that I didn't have my wallet. The clerk said maybe it was in my "fanny pack." I still had my life jacket on. I wear a fanny pack PFD when surf fishing, digging geoduck, etc. Put it on and forget about it. It is obviously more comfortable than a wallet.

Mark
 
Watching the news on TV it was even more disturbing when a local fisherman said, "I told them not to go. 3 adults, no life jackets, very little freeboard on the dinghy". In Comox Bay there are a handful of run down live-aboard boats. Some of these people are just trying to better their living circumstances by living on a boat rather than the street. Probably not a lot of money around for acquiring all the safety devices that one needs when on the water. My guess is, these folks wanted to get home because they had no where else to go. Bottom line is, they were uneducated in maritime safety. This time they got lucky. One would hope that they learnt a lesson and will not put themselves in a similar position again.

Martin.
 
Perhaps the irony of what Martin describes is that there are many boaters and organizations who would have given these folks life jackets. However, that would not get away from the foolish behavior of using an unsuitable dinghy in bad weather.
 
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