ccga-p-20-blog

Recent Suit Testing at Poets Cove

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 18:39:46 +0100

Several CCGA Unit 20 members went down to Poets Cove Resort to find out how our safety gear will work if we need it. Hopefully this is the only time we will actually spend in the water, buit is reassuring to know that we will at least float!
Thanks to our friends at Poets Cove Resort for allowing us to use their pool!

Dave says: "Well, everything works here, but the remote for the truck will never work again! Note to self - leave the keys in the station next time."

Frank discovers he can float. Trying out the suits at Poet's...

Checking your equipment is a great idea BEFORE you have to rely on it. All boaters should make sure their safety gear is working, clean and accessible at all times. Also please note that a PFD will more likely save your life if being worn, than if stored in a locker...

June 2010: Pender Post Article:

Thu, 20 May 2010 19:28:33 +0100

Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit 20

This is the first of a series of articles profiling the members your Auxiliary. We think it is important that the Community see us as more than just rescuers who speed around on the water in orange floatation suits. This month’s profile is of Elizabeth (Bunny) Wilkes who is the Station Leader for Unit 20.
Elizabeth has lived on Pender Island for six years, having relocated with her husband Keith, from the Thunder Bay area on the north shore of Lake Superior. Her background as a figure skating and power skating coach, routinely spending long hours in cold arenas, provided an excellent, if unforeseen, foretaste of leading an Auxiliary Coast Guard unit. She credits Roger Pilkington with setting a high standard for the crews, and he continues to be her mentor.
She was recruited by then Unit Leader, Sheila Flynn, who was her beacon when Keith’s illness returned. When Sheila found out about Elizabeth’s boating experiences on Lake Superior aboard the steel trawler Iron Lady, she discovered a willing and dedicated member.
Elizabeth joined the Newcomers Group on Pender Island when she arrived, and is now a member of the Graduates, sharing activities with friends who helped her through some tough times. She has also been very active with the Power and Sail Squadron for a number of years. Always committed to volunteering in her hometown community, Elizabeth was Chairman of Tourism and Recreation, and also chaired the Public Relations Department of The McCausland Hospital where her husband was Chief of the Medical Staff. She is the proud mother of five, Mike, Terry and Shauna in Calgary, Ryan in Kelowna, and Rory in Sudbury.
An avid boater on Lake Superior, Elizabeth was familiar with Coast Guard vessels patrolling the international border, and also the Canadian Coast Guard ship Samuel Risley, whose annual visit to break up the thick ice heralded spring and the beginning of the Great Lakes shipping season. A close friend was a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary with his own boat – The Tug of the North. The Wilkes’ became more aware of his involvement during a diving accident and recovery near Rossport where the wreck of the luxury yacht Gunilda lies on McGarvey Shoal in three hundred feet of water.
Her work with the crews of Unit 20 has been both challenging and rewarding. It is the dedication of all members is that makes the crews effective. At any time during the week, crewmembers can be seen at the boat doing maintenance and taking inventory of the equipment. Late night calls come during the worst weather, and Elizabeth and her crews are always prepared.
Elizabeth has seen changes in Unit 20 since she became a member five years ago. Initially the boat was berthed at Port Browning, but has recently found a new home at the government dock on Razor Point Road. She envisions a heated boathouse for drying out the wet survival suits after a tasking, and a freshwater source to rinse salt water from the equipment. Training has changed as well, with classroom sessions at the Medical Center and on-water training during the week. She says it is comforting to know that, when the emergency signal sounds, we have superbly trained and equipped responders, operating a vessel capable of performing in Gulf Island conditions.
Elizabeth would like to welcome more women “on board” and invites anyone interested to contact her.

May 2010 Pender Post Article:

Sat, 08 May 2010 00:28:05 +0100

Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit 20
The man ran his skilled eye down the board he had been planing and could see that it needed more work. As he adjusted the plane for the final fine cut he could feel the warmth radiating from the wood stove that made it a real joy to spend this stormy day in his woodshop. He paused from his work and looked out at the wind driven tableau of trees bent to the breaking and beyond the bay a veritable cauldron of wind whipped foam. Instead of his ipod to keep him company, today he monitored his marine radio set to continuously scan the Coast Guard working channels as well as the distress and calling Channel 16 to see if anyone was foolish enough to venture out into the teeth of the storm.
It was then that he heard the first Mayday called in by a vessel after observing a 27-foot sailboat being knocked down by the wind, taking on water and quickly sinking, ejecting 6 people into the frigid waters of Georgia Straits. Shortly thereafter there was a second Mayday from a sailing vessel that had been de-masted. This was soon followed by a third Mayday. As vessels, including one of the BC Ferries, steamed to the area around Entrance Island it became apparent that all of the sailboats and a number of others who were not in distress were part of a race sponsored by a yacht club on the mainland.
When the race started on Good Friday morning Environment Canada was reporting gale force winds out in the Straits but the organizers elected to start the race. Several hours later the low-pressure system responsible for the storm deepened and the winds increased to storm force. However it was not until mid afternoon that the organizers called the race by which time all of the participants had wisely chosen to seek shelter or were being helped. Fortunately all six persons from the sunk sailboat were picked up and transported to medical attention in Nanaimo where they were treated for hypothermia, but the result could have been far worse.
There are a number of questions that should be asked about this aborted race. Why with gale force winds howling out in the Straits did the race captain decide to start the race? Why did the vessels’ skippers decide to go out? The person responsible for the safety of the passengers on any vessel is the skipper. It is important that anyone operating a vessel feel the weight of that responsibility. It is the skipper’s responsibility to decide if they will venture out or stay at home safe in their woodshop planing boards. Undoubtedly there was some peer pressure at play silently coercing the some of the skippers to go.
The events of Good Friday were recreated from memory and may not be correct in every aspect however the responsibility of a skipper for the safety of the vessel and crew can never be forgotten.

April 2010 Pender Post Article:

Sat, 08 May 2010 00:23:23 +0100

Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit 20
They didn’t normally venture out in their boat after dark but the weather was fine and they were having a great time at Ganges so the day wore on unnoticed. The result was a more risky night voyage back to home to Browning Harbour. The man and the women had both taken the Power Squadron basic boating course and so were comfortable reading charts both paper and electronic. In addition to their GPS chart plotter, they had local knowledge having been on the same route many times in daylight.
They safely made it through Captains Passage and saw the lights on Nose Point and Peile Point and as they entered Tincomali Channel the distant lights of a vessel appeared through the murky darkness. The man could see the red and green navigation lights that showed the vessel was approaching but couldn’t understand the meaning of the three vertical white lights above. Fortunately the woman had taken an advanced seamanship course and explained to him that what he was looking at was a tug and tow over two hundred meters. As they approached Swanson Channel they could see a southbound ferry exiting Active Pass. The woman knew that ferries were over 50 meters in length and so as well as displaying the red and green port and starboard lights there was a white masthead light and another white light forward and lower.
As they made their way across the dark choppy waters of Swanson Channel the man saw another vessel. Again it displayed the usual red and green navigation lights but this one also displayed a red light above the white masthead light. Doubting she new the answer he said “OK wise woman tell me what type of vessel that is”. Through the gloom the man thought he saw doubt on the woman’s face but then she said with confidence “surely if you call yourself a fisherman you should be able to recognize the lights of a vessel conducting fishing operations”. The man decided to keep quiet for the remainder of the trip.
All of the lighting configurations included in this article and many more can be found in Transport Canada’s Collision Regulations and is available on the web at www.tc.gc.ca/eng/marinesafety/tp-tp10739-part-c-2823.htm. Part C contains information on the lights that vessels must display between sunset and sunrise. The configurations depend on the type of vessel and the activities that are being undertaken. Unfortunately the above named document is only text with no images and so careful reading is necessary to understand various configurations. However an interpretation is available at West Marine in the form of a series of lighting configurations and the corresponding Collision Regulation rule references shown side by side. The Quick Guide “Rules of the Road and Running Light Patterns” is in the form of a plasticized 8-panel document that folds into the size of a road map.

March 2010 Pender Post article

Sat, 08 May 2010 00:21:51 +0100

Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit 20:

When people think about the Auxiliary and the missions we support, normally marine incidents come to mind. Typically a vessel calls in a distress call on Channel 16 and depending on the location and severity of the incident Victoria Coast Guard Radio will page our crew. When we attend these incidents it is commonly in association with the Coast Guard from Ganges or with other Auxiliaries.
There is however a whole other set of missions that are inter-agency and not primarily marine. A prime example was the tragic floatplane crash at Saturna Island where it is likely that a 911 call was made that resulted in the Saturna Fire Search and Rescue (SF&R) being called out as well as the Coast Guard and the Auxiliary. Once the two survivors were taken to shore the highly trained paramedics from Saturna FS&R took over.
A similar inter-agency mission took place when a youth fell down a small cliff near Fiddlers Cove on Saturna Island. This was essentially a land-based incident but the easiest access was from the water and we arrived on scene first. Shortly thereafter the Saturna F&R arrived by scrambling down a steep treacherous trail to the shore.
Another inter-agency mission was in response to an elderly hiker that did not return home when expected. In that case your Auxiliary conducted shoreline searches directed by the Pender Search and Rescue team. Search and Rescue did not know if the hiker may have fallen down a cliff near the water or was trapped on the shore by a rising tide. Fortunately she was safely found on a trail inland.
Recently the Auxiliary attended a meeting at Saturna Island with Saturna FS&R to review the floatplane incident and to determine how we can improve coordination of inter-agency missions. At the time of the floatplane incident last November it was difficult for the various agencies to communicate with each other as each of them uses different radio frequencies. Saturna SF&R has rectified this as they now have some radios that have the Coast Guard channels. A number of other ideas were considered which should result in more effective interagency missions in the future.

Feb 2010 Pender Post article:

Sat, 08 May 2010 00:19:33 +0100

Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit 20

The man looked up and saw the low dark clouds scudding across a leaden sky. He scanned out over Browning Harbour, and saw the wind driven rain pelting into the grey waves of the bay. As he took all this in, one thought entered his head like a lightening bolt, what was he doing here? His brother had challenged him to take part in the Lions sponsored Polar Bear swim on Pender Island on New Years Day and he had agreed without thinking what was involved. He shivered as he stripped off his warm clothes, but looking over at the marina slip opposite the beach where the swim was to take place, he was comforted by the sight of the distinctive red and yellow Coast Guard Auxiliary vessel standing-by should he or anyone else need help. The members certainly looked professional in their red and black floatation suits.
While your local Coast Guard Auxiliary’s main “raison d’etre” is attending to boaters and vessels in distress, we also participate in safety related activities at a number of community events in addition to the Polar Bear Swim.

Those who were out to the Lantern Festival New Years Eve will have seen Auxiliary Members in their suits doing traffic control. In the summer we stand-by at the Saturna Lamb BBQ in case any of the numerous boaters attending have problems. The Unit also escorts the Bellingham Lions Santa Ship every December.

Readers of the Unit 20 January article will note that Roger Pilkington, who has been the Unit Leader for the past two years, is stepping down. The Unit would like to take this opportunity to thank Roger for the dedication and leadership he has demonstrated during his tenure. It was during his watch that we acquired our new Titan 249XL response boat and Roger was key in commissioning the new vessel and ensuring that all gear was working properly.

Congratulations Unit 20!

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 18:27:46 +0100

12Feb10...

Congratulations Unit 20!
    Excellent blog - and an interesting read on a minus 15 degree day on the shore of the big lake, Lake Superior, at Selim - your very capable unit leader will know exactly where this is and what we look out upon.
    As the training officer for the local Canadian Power and Sail Squadron, all we get to do at this time of year is classroom work. I am envious of the 'year round' boating capabilities on the west coast. I don't know of anyone who would want to venture out onto Superior at this time of year.
Spring is around the corner and boating here will open up early in May.
    Keep up the good work!
                                    Joe Kutcher

January 2010: Pender Post Article

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:40:26 +0100

Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit 20

By now you will no doubt have heard about the tragic float plane crash at Lyall Harbour on November 29th that claimed the lives of six of the eight people aboard. You may have seen, heard or read reports of the incident but most likely there was little if any mention of your local Coast Guard Auxiliary involvement. We did have a major role in this incident particularly as we were the first resource on scene and I am told our quick response may well have saved a life. Here's how the incident unfolded for us...

Shortly after 4pm on the Sunday afternoon we were arriving back at our Port Browning base from a training session when we heard the mayday broadcast for the accident just as our pagers also went off. Without even getting off Auxiliary 20 we departed for Lyall Harbour with a crew of five and arrived on scene in about 12 minutes. At this time the float plane had sunk and one of the survivors is aboard a local dinghy being taken ashore but the other survivor is still in the water and being kept afloat by another local dinghy that had responded.

We carry emergency equipment aboard our vessel including a floating back-board, floating basket stretcher, oxygen and first aid kits and were able to use this equipment to get this patient ashore without further injury. One of our members remained with the patient until they were loaded aboard an air ambulance helicopter for transfer to hospital. We were involved in the search for other passengers that may have escaped from the wreckage until we were stood-down at midnight. Other resources involved in the search include the Coast Guard with two boats and two hovercraft, the Sidney Coast Guard Auxiliary unit, a helicopter and a fixed-wing aircraft from CFB Comox and ground search personnel.

Arriving at this incident we had no information as to how many people had escaped from the plane and it was very disappointing for us that there were not more survivors we could assist. Our members wish to extend their condolences to all family and friends of the victims. This event was the fourth fatal incident we were tasked on in 2009 and was the most demanding as we were the first resource to arrive on scene and as this involved multiple fatalities.

All volunteer Coast Guard Auxiliary members spend a lot of time taking courses and in classroom and on-water training. As you can see we are ready to respond to a lot more than boaters aground or broken down.

On a lighter note I would like to announce a change in our unit leadership. After the last two years as Unit Leader and the previous two years as Deputy Unit Leader I am handing over the Unit Leader position to Elizabeth Wilkes. I will be remaining with the unit as a coxswain. Elizabeth has been a valuable member of the unit for nearly four years and I am confident she will do a great job as Unit Leader; she can be contacted by e-mail at unit.20@ccga-p.ca.

Best wishes to everyone for the new-year and wishing you all safe boating.

Roger Pilkington

Pender Post Article: October 2009

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:00:09 +0100

Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit 20

The man was cold and hungry and he had been waving his flashlight in the dark at any vessel that came anywhere near the steep hillside on which he was standing. Several ships slipped by quietly but unseeing far out in the passage, likely too far away to notice his small light. Suddenly off in the distance he saw the navigation lights of some sort of vessel that seemed to be approaching. He thought it was perhaps a good sign that it had a blue flashing strobe-light. Then as the boat nosed smoothly through the dark waters towards him, several powerful spotlights were illuminated, playing over him and down onto his three fishing companions and their disabled vessel, beached on the shore below.

A wave of relief washed over the man as he realized that they were going to be rescued. This was reinforced by the voice that boomed out over the loud haler identifying the vessel as Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit 20 from Pender Island and asking if they needed assistance.

The circumstances that lead up to this rescue mission were that the 4 companions had set out on a fishing trip from near the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal earlier in the day. They ended up crossing Georgia Straits and at some point in the late afternoon their outboard engine quit. It seems that too many boaters take the crossing of the thirty kilometers of the Straits too casually. I don’t know if the engine on the vessel had been causing problems before this but it seems the ultimate folly to venture out on a trip such as this without charts and a VHF radio.

When their engine quit working they had only a cell phone to contact Victoria Coast Guard. Without charts or local knowledge they could not tell the response center that they were near East Point on Saturna Island although with a little sleuthing the Response Center determined their approximate location and that is where we found them. It was fortunate that it was a calm night or the incident could have had a tragic ending.

Bob Vergette

Pender Post Articles. July, August, September, 2009...

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:55:05 +0100

September 2009 Pender Post article:

Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit 20

What better way for a teen aged boy to spend a summer holiday than camping on an island in the Salish Sea. The campground was situated on a thickly wooded bluff about 200 feet above the sparkling waters of the cove. The boy was part of a group of 11 children who were planning to spend a week on this wilderness paradise. The day started well and after lunch the boy along with a small group of other campers decided to scramble down the steep rocky trail to the water. Not long after the group reached the beach the boy decided he would climb up a small cliff. He almost reached the top when a rock outcrop under his foot gave way and he tumbled 8 feet onto the rocks below. As he landed he heard a sharp crack followed by an excruciating pain in his right leg. Then a wave of nausea rolled over him like a thick fog. He knew he could not make it up the steep slope to the camp and asked another boy to run back to the camp so the supervisor could call for help.

We attended a similar incident recently and assisted the a local Fire and Rescue team and the Coast Guard in stabilizing the victim and loading him for transport for further medical attention.

The rugged beauty of the coastlines in the Salish Sea tempts many boaters to leave their vessels and explore inland. When doing so it is important to ensure that the vessel is securely moored and to use caution when transiting steep rocky slopes that abound on our islands. An injury in an inaccessible location can result in emergency personnel having to make a difficult and potentially dangerous rescue. In the case described above the boy landed on a rocky ledge less and 2 meters from the water that fortunately made the rescue fairly straightforward.
Bob Vergette
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August 2009 Pender Post article:

Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit 20

It had been a sunny and warm mid summer’s day with a light breeze pushing the newly acquired 25 foot sailboat effortlessly through the light seas of Plumper Sound. After a fun day on the water the man suggested they spend the night at anchor in Browning Harbour.

Once the anchor was set the woman commenced checking the rigging while her husband started to prepare dinner. He had only fired up the alcohol stove once before and found it a bit tricky to start. After a second failed attempt he decided to read the instructions and soon had the burner lit. He noted that with an alcohol stove there is almost no visible flame but it produced a good heat and soon the sage spiced salmon was sizzling in the pan.

Once cooked he put the rice on but soon noticed there was no heat coming from the burner and it seemed that the flame had gone out. A little investigation determined that the stove had run out of fuel but that was no problem because he had remembered pack a spare can. As the man started to pour the alcohol into the stove he inadvertently spilled a small amount onto the hot burner and soon his shirt sleeves were on fire as were the nearby seat cushions. It was only the quick thinking of the woman, who had taken fire extinguisher training, which prevented a major tragedy from occurring.

As it was the man had to be evacuated to medical attention to treat the serious burns to his arms and chest.

While some of the circumstances of the incident were changed, your local Coast Guard Auxiliary recently attended a sailboat that was set afire by misuse of an alcohol stove. Any boater with such a stove should carefully follow the operating instructions so it can be used safely. In addition to the alcohol stove fire, we attended a far more serious fire on a larger sailboat were the vessel was totally consumed and sank. Fortunately the two occupants of the vessel escaped to their dinghy. All we could do when we arrived at the scene was to watch as the vessel burned to the waterline and sank.

There are few incidents more serous than fire on a vessel at sea. The vessel is the platform that separates a mariner from the cold waters of our Salish Sea, and if there is a fire that cannot be quickly controlled there is little choice but to abandon ship.
We urge all boaters to think about fire safety this summer and ensure their vessels are equipped with the correct size and number of fire extinguishers as specified in the Safe Boating Guide.

Bob Vergette

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July 2009 Pender Post Article:

Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit 20

In the January article we announced that Unit 20 had purchased a new high-speed response vessel. As a reminder the vessel, as shown in the photograph, is a Titan 249 XL tee top and provides significantly more rescue capability with its higher speed and larger size. We have utilized the new vessel for a number of rescue missions and it performs very much as we had expected. The Unit is proud of its new vessel and we want to let everyone share in the excitement so we are having an open house on July 11 at the Hope Bay Government Dock. The event will start with a dedication of the new vessel at 11:00 AM and the open house will continue up until 2:00 PM. We hope that everyone will come out to help us celebrate and enjoy cake and refreshments.

Bob Vergette