Getting caught on a reef is the last thing boaters ever want to do, but when it happened to one yacht owner, it was a good thing some salmon farmers were nearby to help.
On July 5, at about 2 p.m., a 55-foot yacht became stuck on the large reef just outside Cypress Harbour, on the north side of Broughton Island.
Fortunately for the boater, Cermaq Canada’s broodstock salmon farm in Cypress Harbour was able to quickly respond to the mayday call.
Farmers took one of the small site skiffs and were first on the scene to respond to the call.
“We were able to pull the yacht off the rocks before the boat got too beached,” says Tyler Bialy, lead hand at Cypress.
“We kept the yacht in tow for an hour while the owner performed inner hull inspections looking for leaks and communicating with the Coast Guard.”
Numerous other sport and sail boats, as well as the PCT Wolf – a Canadian naval training vessel – showed up to help.
Eventually the yacht was deemed to still be seaworthy, and continued on its way.