Members of station 12 (Halfmoon Bay) of the Royal Canadian Marine - Search and Rescue were pressed into service on Sept. 3.
The unit received a mayday call just after 10 a.m. from the Welcome Pass area. By 10:30 a.m. the duty crew and cox'n were on the water heading to the scene.
While on route, a passing sailboat rescued two commercial crab fishers who had issued the mayday when their 28-foot boat capsized.
"A three-year-old girl on board the sailboat had spotted the overturned vessel and alerted her parents who were able to take the victims on board their boat and transport them to the government dock in Secret Cove," said unit media liaison Drew McKee. "The RCM-SAR duty crew were stood down but, after providing a situation report to the joint rescue co-ordination centre in Victoria, it was decided that they would stand by the overturned crab boat until a commercial tow took charge of the vessel."
After turning the tow over to the commercial vessel, the Ken Moore was preparing to escort the commercial towboat and its tow when the crew heard a call for help from a vessel in difficulty off Merry Island.
"After being tasked to respond, the Ken Moore made its way to Reception Point and commenced towing a disabled sailboat with a family of four to the dock in Halfmoon Bay," said McKee. "After securing the sailboat, the Ken Moore checked the progress of the overturned vessel that was being towed to Coopers Green and then returned to base in Secret Cove and resumed normal operation."
McKee said the little girl who had spotted the overturned crab boat was presented with a Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary pin and sticker in respect of her good job in pointing out what she had seen to her parents.
- Submitted
