Emergency personnel rescued a photographer who was trapped on a sandbar in the Courtenay Estuary Saturday.
The man was stranded by rising tide waters shortly after 6 p.m. Not wanting to risk damaging his expensive photography equipment, he was not able to walk to shore.
“It’s a matter of being aware of your surroundings,” said Paul Berry, manager of Comox Valley Ground Search and Rescue (CVGSAR). “The fellow, from Quebec, didn’t appreciate that tides go up and down.”
Comox Valley RCMP, Courtenay firefighters and BC Ambulance also attended. Volunteers used a rescue kayak to reach the man. The water was too shallow to reach by boat.
“It’s a large, inflatable kayak. They’re easy for us to get into tight spaces,” Berry said. “There was a boat trying to get the guy off, and it went aground. It was much easier for us to do in a kayak…It was a pretty routine call.”
reporter@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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