A man is fortunate to be alive after being found clinging to a piling in the icy waters of Cowichan Bay on Saturday afternoon.
Around 2:20 p.m., Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue’s Cowichan Bay station received a distress call about a capsized vessel, with its lone occupant still in the water.
Responders launched immediately, despite having limited details about the man’s location.
The rescue crew began searching the bay north of the marinas under calm water conditions. They quickly spotted an overturned aluminum skiff but found no sign of the missing man near the vessel.
Following instinct and training, the team headed towards the PIM docks, the nearest point of land. There, they discovered the man, suffering from hypothermia, still in the water and holding onto a piling.
The crew pulled him to safety and transported him to an awaiting ambulance at Hecate Park.
The man was treated for hypothermia and released from the hospital on Sunday in stable condition.
Meanwhile, the rescue team retrieved his capsized boat and some of his belongings, which were floating nearby, returning them to the owner at Fisherman’s Wharf.
RCM-SAR Cowichan Bay Station 34 later shared the rescue details on social media, crediting teamwork and calm weather conditions for the successful outcome.
