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South Surrey marine rescue ends with words of advice

Pair rescued had no life jackets, VHF radio or cellphone
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Two men were rescued from Mud Bay last month

A pair of young men who ventured out into Boundary Bay last month in a skiff they found abandoned on the banks of the Nicomekl ended up needing to be rescued.

Volunteers with Crescent Beach-based RCM-SAR5 said they were tasked to help at around 7 p.m. Oct. 15, after a concerned citizen reported seeing two people on the water, struggling to paddle towards shore.

“They were fighting the current and weren’t making any headway,” Andrew Newman, spokesman for the search-and-rescue team, told Peace Arch News by email.

The sea had a one-foot chop, and the already-sketchy weather conditions were forecast to only get worse, Newman writes.

Using night-vision equipment and search lights, the rescue crew located the eight-foot skiff in Mud Bay.

The young men aboard, both 19 years old, had no life jackets, VHF radio or cellphone, and only one paddle.

They did, however, have skateboards.

Assessed by a medic onboard the rescue vessel Vigilant, the pair were put ashore at Crescent Beach Marina “after receiving some advice on boating safety.”



Tracy Holmes

About the Author: Tracy Holmes

Tracy Holmes has been a reporter with Peace Arch News since 1997.
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