A Port Alberni couple may be shaken and cold, but they are safely on land after Port Alberni RCMP rescued them when their boat sank near Canal Beach Saturday afternoon.
Const. Richard Johns, who was on the RCMP rescue boat Saturday, said that just after 12:30 p.m. police were called when a couple was seen in the water while their small aluminum boat was going under close by.
“We were able to actually get to them quite quickly and they were able to swim to a log boom that was floating about 20 metres offshore,” he said. “It was quite windy in the canal so the chop was moving the log boom about quite a bit, but they were able to hold on long enough until we were able to get there.”
Port Alberni Fire and Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue were also on scene soon after.
“Our concern was with them being in the water given the recent drop in temperature, and so we made sure they were treated for any hypothermia issues and transferred back to shore,” said Johns.
On shore, B.C. Ambulance Service transferred the couple, a young man and woman, to hospital.
Johns said both were able to walk on their own, but they were both definitely very cold.
“Given how rough the water was and how cold it is, and that immediate shock from being in the water, it can make it difficult for anyone to last for a long period of time and to have the strength to continue swimming,” he said. “So it’s a good thing they were able to make it to the boom.”
Johns said neither person appeared to be impaired in any way, and the incident appeared to be an accident.
“They hit a dead head that was floating offshore, which tore quite a large hole in their boat,” he said.
The Coast Guard will be working with the owner of the boat to recover it.
Johns said the couple were not wearing life jackets; he stressed people should have all of their safety gear — life jackets, flares, signaling devices — before they head out on the water.
