One man was rescued from a capsized boat near Ogden Point on Sept. 1. Credit: Andrew Johns
A man whose boat capsized near Ogden Point on Friday was rescued by five men who were celebrating a bachelor party.
Darren Morely of the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre for the Canadian Coast Guard said they were called to a 16 to 18-foot capsized boat at around 8:30 a.m.
The capsized boat off the coast of Victoria. Credit: Dean Johson
Morely said the man was not injured and the harbour patrol also responded to the capsized boat.
Andrew Johns, who is originally from Victoria but now lives in Vancouver, posted on Twitter that he was on the vessel that helped rescue the man.
Nothing like saving a human from drowning. (First responders near Victoria Harbour). #FridayFeeling pic.twitter.com/yDp055gtN7
— Andrew Johns (@AndrewNJohns) September 1, 2017
Johns said he and four other men, including a guide, were fishing out at the mouth of the Victoria Harbour as part of a bachelor party when they saw a boat going around in circles with its nose pointing up.
“I said I think we need to go, I think this guy’s in trouble,” Johns said.
“The boat looked like it was starting to sink.”
He said he persuaded the fishing guide to take their boat immediately over to the sinking vessel.
“By the time we got there, the boat was like 90 per cent submerged,” Johns said.
The group pulled the man out of the water. Before he was rescued, Johns said the man was holding onto a floating seat with his iPhone in his hand and the other hand holding the nose of the boat.
Johns said the man who was rescued was in his 50s and was not wearing a lifejacket when they brought him onto their boat. The man was the only one on the capsized boat.
“It definitely made the fishing trip far more meaningful,” Johns said about the rescue. “There were no other boats anywhere close to us so this guy, he’s very fortunate, even though he lost his boat.”
Morely said a commercial operator will tow the boat out of the area.
Alexa Huffman
