What began as a routine response to an anchor dragging in Nanaimo Harbour quickly turned into a multi-vessel operation when RCMSAR volunteers arrived on scene.
Our crew was tasked to help a boat whose anchor was dragging in Nanaimo Harbour after some sudden strong winds picked up. But when we arrived on scene, it wasn’t just one boat in trouble—there were three. One was already hard aground, another was broadside to the beach, and the one we were called for was getting dangerously close to shore.
Our main priority was the boat with a single occupant with medical concerns. A nearby vessel offered to tow it to safety, but first, we had to get it into deeper water. We tried an alongside tow, but that didn’t work—the cleat ripped right out of the gunnel. So we switched to a bow tow, pulled it clear, and handed it off.
Meanwhile, the other boats were waiting for high tide. At first, everyone seemed fine with that, but then one person changed their mind and asked for extraction. The Coast Guard and park rangers handled that from shore while we stood by. Eventually, the occupants of one of the boats were able to climb off as their boat was now hard aground.
It was one of those calls that escalated fast, but everything worked out in the end. Just a good reminder of how quickly things can go sideways when the weather turns.
Click here to read the story in the Nanaimo News Bulletin.