Discover Sooke

On May 31st 2008 at 7:02pm the pagers in the pockets of several local volunteers went off. This was the signal for the crew of the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary –Station 37 Sooke to drop everything and head to their rescue vessel not knowing what lay ahead.

As they changed into their floater suits and donned all of their safety equipment, George Holmes the unit leader and coxswain for the evening, arrived and briefed them.  A 21 foot  American sloop had demasted and its lone crew had broadcast a mayday distress call near Race Rocks 12 miles away.  30 minutes into the trip, and with the stricken vessel almost in sight disaster struck, the high winds and heavy waves forced the rescue boat down one large wave as another struck over the bow of the boat with such force that it smashed the front window panes and water entered the cockpit of the boat.

Fortunately none of the 7 crewmembers was injured and a decision was made by the joint Rescue Coordination Centre to continue with the rescue. The stricken vessel was then soon located and with the sloop’s one man crew cold, but alive and well it was decided to tow him and his boat to Pedder Bay Marina the nearest safe port.

The tow passed without further incident but as soon as both boats were secured alongside, the unit was stood down awaiting repairs and the crew made alternative arrangements to get home. The long wait began.

“Spirit of Sooke” has undergone the long process of: redesigning the front of the cabin to add additional strength, rebuilding it, installing much thicker toughened glass, sea trials and finally an engineer’s report to satisfy everyone that it is now capable of handling the often treacherous weather conditions that it faces on almost a weekly basis.

During this repair time the unit has not been idle, it was fortunate enough to be loaned a smaller open rigid-hull inflatable boat the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary.  The relief vessel  was not only been used for rescue missions and training, but for community events.

Members of Station 37 braved the driving snow to lead the Sooke Christmas Sail-Past in December and the icy waters off  Whiffen Spit for the annual Polar Bear Swim on January 1st.

This week the Station 37 Sooke will welcome the return of the “Spirit of Sooke” to operational status.

The volunteer members of Station 37 Sooke provide 24/7 marine search and rescue on the vast area of the Strait of Juan de Fuca between Race Rocks and Nitinat Lake.   There is no charge for this service. www.ccga37.org

For more information around the Sooke area, be sure to check out the official Discover Sooke website.

Filed under: Latest News on March 2nd, 2009