Skip to content

Squamish Marine Search and Rescue station drops to one vessel

Squamish’s volunteer marine search and rescue station is retiring one vessel and dropping from two boats down to one.
photo

Squamish’s volunteer marine search and rescue station is retiring one vessel and dropping from two boats down to one.

Nelson Dow, the Squamish Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue station leader, said the decision was partly financial, but also connected to the capabilities of the second older boat.

“Funding has to do with it, but it also has to do with insurance costs,” he said. “We’re ensuring that we have similar assets, so the joint command centre knows what assets and capabilities it has in different regions. The standardization of equipment pays a role in that.”

Station 4’s primary rescue boat is a Titan 249XL. Dow said the second, older vessel is less suited to towing and first-aid, which are the primary roles of the search and rescue group.

The vessels can be expensive to maintain. Currently the station is fundraising around $120,000 to do repairs and refurbishing on the Titan vessel.

Dropping down to one vessel will impact both training exercises and rescue operations, said Dow, but Squamish is also able to collaborate with nearby stations like Gibsons or West Vancouver.

“We’ll have to reorganize our structure so we can ensure that certain activities like towing and searching are done in collaboration with other stations like Gibsons or Horseshoe Bay, along with some of our members potentially using their personal vessels to help out with that,” he said.

The change also means the search and rescue team will only have one boat to use when conducting a search. While Howe Sound isn’t a large body of water, said Dow, searches for small crafts like paddle boards or kayaks have to be done visually.

“It’s not a really gigantic body of water but when you’re searching you have to be pretty close to be able to spot something,” he said. “That means we will work in collaboration with other stations, for a lot of operations.”

The Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue is funded by a not-for-profit charity and currently operates out of the Squamish Yatch Club. Trained volunteers respond to medical emergencies and collisions on the water, and promote safe boating practices in the community.

The group relies on fundraising to continue operations and a contribution from the Community Gaming Grant.

“We do rely on corporate sponsors as well as personal donations. You’ll see fundraising activities from us in the near future, as well as those corporate sponsorships are really appreciated,” said Dow.

To learn more about the organization, go to rcmsar.com/

 

For more stories from the Squamish Chief, click here