Twenty-one passengers and three crew members aboard a whale-watching vessel were rescued Saturday after their boat took on water off the west coast of Vancouver Island.
The 15-metre MV Chinook Princess hit a rock or submerged log near Tourette Island, in the Broken Group Islands, around 11 a.m., according to the Coast Guard and the vessel’s operator Jamie’s Whaling Station in Tofino, British Columbia
A Coast Guard rescue boat was dispatched from Bamfield, British Columbia, while volunteer rescuers from the Royal Canadian Naval Search and Rescue Station in Ucluelet, British Columbia also joined the rescue effort.
According to Dave Payne, head of RCMSAR Station 38 in Ucluelet, three vessels immediately came to Princess’ aid.
“They hit something in the water, whether it was a rock or a submerged log,” he said.
“We have mixed stories about that and they took on a small amount of water and lost maneuverability,” Payne said.
The whale watching boat is equipped with pumps that keep the vessel afloat until it is towed ashore in Ucluelet for repairs.
“The pumps kept the pace going so there was no immediate danger, but of course you have 24, 25 passengers on board so they had no choice but to call for help,” Payne said.
He says the vessel is believed to have had a damaged rudder post which made it difficult to steer.
“They were drifting towards the rocks and there wasn’t a lot of wind, but there was enough and of course there are currents,” he said. “Given enough time, what is a ‘not very dangerous situation’ becomes a potential danger to life and limb.”
The search manager says it took the three ships between two and three hours to transport the Princess passengers to Ucluelet to safety and there were no injuries.
Payne says the whole operation went very smoothly.
“Comments across the board were that this was a textbook solution to the situation and the communications and response was spot on,” he said. “We all know each other, we all work together, and that makes a huge difference when I have to respond to something like this.”
The Coast Guard said it was also pleased with how the rescue went.
“On behalf of the Canadian Coast Guard, we would like to thank all vessels that responded and assisted in the rescue of the people aboard the MV Chinook Princess in coordination with our crew from Bamfield Lifeboat Station,” said Coast Guard Supt. Mariah McQuee in a statement on Tuesday.
Adam Doolittle, general manager of Jamie’s Whaling Station, said there were no reports of injuries during the incident.
With files from CTV News Vancouver Island’s Gord Curbis.
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