Dear editor,
Re: 442 Squadron assists Coast Guard with medevac of injured boater, June 28 Record.
We were in Mooyah Bay near Bligh Island when a call came over the radio,”Can anyone hear me?”
A very stressed and disoriented boat operator had maneuvered alongside the grounded boat and was attempting to assist the injured man. He had no idea where he was as he was not familiar with the area. It subsequently appeared to us that he had been traveling with the grounded boat in a second similar boat.
The Coast Guard radio operator took charge attempting to determine where the accident had happened. The boat operator at the scene could not describe where he was and was offering to take the injured man to a nearby fish farm to identify their location and get medical attention. We were near three fish farms but had no way of determining where the accident had occurred or if we were close enough to be of assistance.
Most fortuitously, Chuck Simpson, operator of the motor vessel “The Other Office” had seen the accident, had proceeded to the accident site and was able to relay to the Coast Guard exact location of the grounded vessel. “The Other Office” stood by to offer what assistance they could.
This set in motion the rescue operation described in your article. We went to the location and arrived just after the IRB Nootka arrived. This was probably a mere 15 minutes after the first distress call. The speed and efficiency of the IRB crew, the radio operator relaying messages between that crew and the CCGS M Charles, and subsequently the co-ordination between the Coast Guard crews and the CH 149 Cormorant crews was seamless.
I am an Air-Force veteran and am well aware of the value of teamwork and training. It sure showed in what transpired over the next hour. The initial triage of the patient by the IRB Nootka crew, the transfer to the CCGS M Charles, the winching of the Cormorant SAR Techs down to the M Charles while it was underway on a fixed course and speed, followed by transfer of the patient up to the Cormorant in a similar maneuver, was nothing short of poetry in motion. I was very impressed. I am also very grateful that there is that kind of emergency response available in the remote Nootka Sound area. I can only hope that the injured person fares well.
Tim Harper
Courtenay