Man rescued from cliff after taking own boat to avoid busy BC Ferries

Photo: RCMSAR Gibsons

A man trying to avoid taking the ferry to the Sunshine Coast was rescued from Gambier Island after his boat sank in Howe Sound.

A small cliffside area called Mariners’ Rest is a provincially designated site for burying ashes at sea, but on Sunday, it was where a man from Squamish signalled for help.

The boater was attempting to cross Howe Sound from Britannia Beach when he became stranded on the small outcrop on the west coast of Gambier Island. He told rescuers a tugboat and barge swamped his 17-foot boat with an outboard engine, says coxswain Neil Ripley of RCMSAR Gibsons.

When his boat went down about 2 or 3 p.m., the man swam approximately 100 yards to reach the island, scrambled up the cliff face, and tried to summon help. With only his truck keys and a lighter, the man was able to start a few signal fires.

Searchers were able to confirm the signal fire and saw someone waving their arms and calling for help.

The man was rescued from a cliff overlooking Mariners’ Rest around 5 p.m.

“He was a little shaken up, but not physically in any difficulty. He was a little bit cold and tired, but had no injuries,” Ripley said.

The man reported that he’d lost everything on board – including his wallet and I.D., his cellphone and a motorcycle – and had been passed by several commercial and recreational vessels since becoming stranded, but nobody had noticed him.

The boater was able to climb down the cliff to the search and rescue vessel, where volunteers brought him aboard, and gave him blankets and shelter. The crew retrieved floating items from the sunken boat, including a jerry can, two jugs of oil, and various items of clothing, Ripley said.

An oil slick on the water about 100 feet long by 5 feet wide was reported to the Coast Guard.

Two of the volunteers went ashore to extinguish the signal fires, which were still burning. Then they took the man back to Britannia Beach, where his truck and a family member were waiting.

“He mentioned during my conversation with him that he had come over on his own boat because the ferries were so clogged recently that he thought this was just a way to bypass all that trouble and be a master of his own destiny,” Ripley said. “But I think he doesn't have a choice right now – his boat’s at the bottom of the ocean.”