The Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit 12 Halfmoon Bay was paged out shortly after 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3 to assist a sail boat that had lost its rudder.
The vessel was situated approximately four nautical miles southwest of Merry Island in Georgia Strait. The fast response vessel Ken Moore, with a crew of five on board, made her way southeast through Welcome Passage in four to five foot seas.
The distressed vessel, with two people and their dog on board, had given its location by VHF radio and the crew was able to make good speed finding the vessel in difficulty, even though the sea and wind conditions were not optimal.
Communication was established with the sail boat and a towline was passed to her at approximately 4 p.m. Because of the wind and sea conditions the decision was made to tow her astern, northwest, around the northern tip of North Thormanby Island. The tow was very uncomfortable for the towed vessel because the lack of a rudder meant that the boat had little tracking ability and was swinging from side to side while pitching up and down in the seas. A drogue was set, but had little effect.
At approximately 6 p.m., the boats were close to the entrance to Secret Cove and the tow astern was changed to an alongside tow to facilitate maneuverability in the confined waters of the harbour.
At 6:40 p.m., the sail boat was secured to the Buccaneer Marina fuel dock and 10 minutes later the Ken Moore returned to its station.
- Submitted
