The 15-metre MV Chinook Princess hit a rock or sunken log near Turret Island, Broken Group Islands, at about 11 a.m., according to the Coast Guard and vessel operator Jamie’s Whaling Station of Tofino, BC. A Coast Guard lifeboat was dispatched from Bamfield, BC, while volunteer rescuers from the Royal Canadian Marine Research and Rescue station in Ucluelet, BC, also joined the rescue effort. According to Dave Payne, the commander of RCMSAR Station 38 in Ucluelet, three boats came to the immediate aid of the Princess. “They hit something in the water, whether it’s a rock or a submerged log,” he said. “We have mixed stories about it and they were taking on a small amount of water and losing maneuverability,” Payne said. The whale watching boat is equipped with pumps, which kept the boat afloat until it was towed to shore in Ucluelet for repairs. “The pumps were going, so there was no immediate danger, but of course you have 24, 25 passengers, so they had no choice but to call for help,” Payne said. He says the boat is believed to have had a damaged rudder post, which made steering difficult. “They were drifting towards the rocks and there wasn’t a lot of wind, but there was enough and of course there are currents,” he said. “Given sufficient time, what is a ‘not overly dangerous situation’ becomes a potential danger to life and limb.” The head of the investigation says it took the three boats between two to three hours to get the Princess occupants to safety in Ucluelet and there were no injuries. Payne says the whole operation went very smoothly. “The feedback was that it was a textbook solution to the situation and the communications and response was immediate,” he said. “We all know each other, we all work together and that makes a huge difference when I have to respond to something like this.” The Coast Guard also expressed satisfaction with the way the rescue was handled. “On behalf of the Canadian Coast Guard, we would like to thank all the emergency vessels that responded and assisted in the rescue of the persons aboard the MV Chinook Princess in coordination with our crew from Bamfield Lifeboat Station,” said Coast Guard Supt. . Mariah McCooey in a statement on Tuesday. Adam Doolittle, general manager of Jamie’s Whaling Station, said no injuries were reported during the incident. With files from CTV News Vancouver Island’s Gord Kurbis.
