Two Divers Found Okay After 75 Minutes

by Tom Christie

It was a calm March afternoon. I had 10 guests on board for a two hour eco-tour. We had just visited the bald eagle nest in Whirl Bay west of Race passage about 10 miles south of Victoria.

There was an older looking 35-foot, wooden hulled vessel already in the Race when we pulled up to check out the light house, sealions and seals at Race Rocks.

The current was swift as the tide flooded in from the open Pacific on its way to Vancouver.
Race Passage had earned i's name honestly for the way the tidal current races through.
It was a bit like being on a tread mill trying to hold position amongst the marine mammal covered rocks.

It wasn't long before my tour banter was interrupted by the crackle of our VHF marine radio. Someone was calling me! I responded and asked them to switch to 72, a working channel. They ignored my request and continued on channel 16 asking me if I'd seen
any divers lately. "Negative" was my only response.

Being a diver I new the allure of Race Rocks as a diving sight. The strong current flow there provided local marine life with an abundance of nutrients resulting in fantastic growth and colours. Because this was a challenging dive site, it was to be attempted only by the most
experienced and capable of divers and only at slack tide when the waters were as close to calm as they ever got.

I shut down our engines and explained the probable situation to my customers/crew. I say crew because at this point they were crew and I asked them all to join me in looking for the divers. As we drifted, out of harm's way clearing any rocks or underwater obstructions, I answered their questions.

"Why aren't you doing something!" one exclaimed.
"Well, we are actually. We are avoiding hitting them by not racing around looking for them, and also avoiding slicing them up with our props should one or both be at or near the surface. Even in neutral some propellers will 'free wheel' enough to cause damage. Also, by drifting with the surface current and wind we can provide drift information to the rescue centre in the event we don't locate them."
"Oh" was their only response as they squinted harder looking for them.

By shutting our engines off we'd be much more likely to hear their calls for help or a whistle if they had one.

After about five minutes of this I called the dive tender back and asked how long since they'd last seen their divers. One hour was their response, and that they should have surfaced 15 minutes ago according to their dive plan.

They then declared a Mayday on channel 16. Victoria Coast Guard Radio responded, as did I just to stay in the loop. Rescue Centre was notified and the local Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit 35 out of Victoria tasked.

By now half of my "crew" was on the roof looking and listening in all directions for even a whisper of a sign of them.

And then it came, a cry from the roof: "There they are!"

Half way from us to William Head prison the faint hollers and waving of someone in the water. At half a mile range it was hard to tell if it was one or two people in the water.

With the Mayday preface, I called Victoria Radio to inform them of the sighting. The tender immediately began speeding toward the reported position. I interjected that I could not confirm two persons sighted and requested they slow their speed and keep a keen lookout for their second diver. It is unsettlingly common for rescue vessels to hit their search
objects in their attempt to locate them. They ignored the request.

As we ambled along to their location it became clear that both divers were still together and in good shape eagerly awaiting pick up.

They were well equipped and smiling. We pulled up and provided a lee for their recovery back onto the swim grid of the dive tender where their dive had begun some 75 minutes previous. Once aboard and waving with enthusiasm and thanks we radioed Victoria and informed them of the successful recovery. They in turn informed Rescue Centre and the auxiliary rescue vessel out of Victoria was stood down and returned to base.

This was a happy ending, and an adventurous 15 minutes for my customers, to what could have turned into a full blow search and rescue situation with multiple resources being tasked. This could have included other auxiliary units, air search dispatched out of Comox being either Labrador helicopters or Buffalo airplanes, and other vessels of opportunity that may have been in the area.

By the looks on the divers' faces I think overall it was a good dive.

Be prepared and good boating!

Tom Christie
60-ton Limited Master
Active Coxswain
Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit 35
Victoria