Editor:
Re: Water rescue, July 5.
I see you made a front-page story out of a Good Samaritan rescue – with picture and all.
The story would have been better if you had some of your facts correct. I happen to be friends with the “passerby” who just “happened” to have his boat and motor on standby.
The truth of the matter is this is not the first time he and his wife have had to drop everything, rush to take their boat from their home and rescue someone in need. They live across from the beach.
Since no one bothered to ask them their names, I won’t be mentioning them either. Your reporter says a middle-aged man was rescued. Not the case. He was in his mid-20s and the rescuer is middle-aged.
(Editor’s note: The approximate age of the victim was provided by the Crescent Beach Coast Guard Auxiliary. No names were available.)
As I look at the picture on the front page, I am further disturbed.
Do you see the fireman on the beach? Do you see the very choppy water? Do you see the man being rescued helping his rescuer bring in the boat to shore fighting the waves?
We have been wondering for years why this waterfront community has no access to the water to help a swimmer or boater in distress. The Coast Guard Auxiliary is doing what they are told, but has anyone out there been on the water and experienced how far it is from Crescent Beach to White Rock beach? Driving here would have been much faster.
White Rock should have a small craft – a Sea-Doo perhaps – locked up and at the ready down by the shore. What about a lockup on the pump house at the base of Oxford Street? I am thinking it is too far in an emergency to get to the end of the pier in a hurry.
There have been many incidents with swimmers as well over the years, and we watched from across the street and hillside while firemen, policemen and paramedics watch from shore – none of them getting wet. Will it take another few deaths before this is taken seriously?
We are proud of our beachfront. It should be kept safe, and our community needs to be more responsible with our shore.
Please fill us in, is there a water rescue plan in place with our firemen, policemen and paramedics? We all need to know, and not only when there is a fatality. It is summer now, and we all need to know. Now!
Sharon Greyson, White Rock