Whale watch boat sinks

C

colobear

New member
At about 1315 today A Whale watch boat based at Steveston near Vancouver sank in Campbell Bay on the outside of Mayne Island. (Mayne Island is the island to the SE side of Active Pass in the Gulf Islands, Campbell Bay is near Georgeson Pass.) According to news reports all 32 passengers safely transferred to another boat from the same company that was right there. RCMP initial reports indicate the boat struck a rock at low tide, punctured the aluminum hull and the pumps were not able to keep up. Lucky, Lucky people.
 
Not to hi-jack this thread, but this story may have some bearing in reference to the other thread where the fellow up on Quadra Island is trying to decide between a C-Dory/fiberglass boat and an aluminum hulled alternative. And the aluminum hulled boat in this case had at least an 1/8" to 1/4" or more thick hull!

Joe. :teeth :thup
 
We just came by Mayne Island a few days ago - new moon tides have been down to negative three feet and have required extra care nevigating and and anchoring - we've seen boats and heard distress calls as boats have gone aground in the past few days - why, we even saw a C-Brat on the mud and the skipper jumped out to push off and sunk to knees in gooey soft mud. I was going to report him to DNR for disturbing habitat of the Dungeness crabs but El talked me out of it by pointing out to me that he was merely extending the habitat to include his toes.

Glad all were safe from the sinking in the Gulf Islands - those of us in San Juans and Gulf Islands must take extra care now with the negative tides.
 
sorry to hear of this loss, but glad all survived to tell the story. for those of you who do not know the story of campbell bay, i'll share with you what has been past down in the family for years. it was great, great, granddad, a fur trapper, bear killing, raw fish eating, drunk, who originally discovered this bay. it has been named for him ever since. now, since all my grandads where drunks, this story might be a tad embellished, but believe or not, that's the same story byrdman and charlie, have recollections of. so, hope this information clears up any misunderstandings.
your most humble c-brat
pat
 
El and Bill said:
We just came by Mayne Island a few days ago - new moon tides have been down to negative three feet and have required extra care nevigating and and anchoring - we've seen boats and heard distress calls as boats have gone aground in the past few days - why, we even saw a C-Brat on the mud and the skipper jumped out to push off and sunk to knees in gooey soft mud. I was going to report him to DNR for disturbing habitat of the Dungeness crabs but El talked me out of it by pointing out to me that he was merely extending the habitat to include his toes
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Hi El and Bill,
Did you stop by to speak with the C-Brat in the water? If not, he could have been me. I popped into Shingle Bay on North Pender Island on Tuesday or Wednesday of this week, and nosed ashore to rub clean my fish-finder transponder. (Shingle Bay looks NW across Swanson Channel toward Prevost Island.) I barely had got overboard into knee-deep water when large ferry wash began to arrive, and to turn NoddyBleu broadside to the shore. Bad news because I didn't want her plopped up and stranded on the shore, especially since there were rocks as big as bread-boxes strung out along that shore line around me. I did keep her from being stuck or struck and, when finally she calmed down, I did get the transponder cleaned. I climbed back aboard, with my feet wrapped in sea lettuce (no crabs, though) and went back to practicing my low speed maneouvering. Did the World just get smaller?
Rod
 
patrick and linda":3gdh58t1 said:
sorry to hear of this loss, but glad all survived to tell the story. for those of you who do not know the story of campbell bay, i'll share with you what has been past down in the family for years. it was great, great, granddad, a fur trapper, bear killing, raw fish eating, drunk, who originally discovered this bay. it has been named for him ever since. now, since all my grandads where drunks, this story might be a tad embellished, but believe or not, that's the same story byrdman and charlie, have recollections of. so, hope this information clears up any misunderstandings.
your most humble c-brat
pat
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If memory serves me right, you can get a pretty good meal at the Mayne Island Inn. I don't remember if it was on Campbell Bay or Bennett Bay.
 
Rod-

Does the RCMP patrol the waters of the Gulf Islands? - or does one report environmental infractions to Natural Resources? Now we have a name to attach to our report about crab mucking and sea lettuce shredding -

Will you be at the Nanaimo gathering? - we need to discuss the preservation of Gulf Island ecology ....
 
Rod-

Does the RCMP patrol the waters of the Gulf Islands? - or does one report environmental infractions to Natural Resources? Now we have a name to attach to our report about crab mucking and sea lettuce shredding -

Will you be at the Nanaimo gathering? - we need to discuss the preservation of Gulf Island ecology ....
 
Does the RCMP patrol the waters of the Gulf Islands? - or does one report environmental infractions to Natural Resources?
Click to expand...

Hi El and Bill,
I don't think the RCMP has the man-power (generic term which also includes woman-power) to patrol the salt-chuck. They used to keep a boat at Thieves' Bay, but I heard that they moved it to Poets' Cove. I don't think it was used as a patrol vessel, because it seldom moved. Someone told me they used it mostly to go to adjacent islands. The detachment here is two members, but a couple more came temporarily over the Canada Day week. Saltspring Island's detachment is bigger, I'm sure. The islands are pretty slow.

If you see something wrong, I suppose the first line of enquiry might be on VHF to Coast Guard Victoria. They seem able to contact a lot of resources. A few Saturdays ago, they had four sailors aground and two motor-driven boats drifting (one toward shore rocks)--and they juggled them all at the same time. Everything seemed to end well, although some other boaters kept stepping on Channel 16 while the CCGS was helping people. That may be why Canada still requires VHF certification/education.

I probably won't get to Nanaimo's CBGT; I live with two biggish dogs who are not boat savvy yet. They do nap in the V-berth at dock, so when I get a second vest I'll maybe try some overnights this summer.
Rod
 
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