WEST Vancouver's Coast Guard Auxiliary unit will be moving to a new home in Horseshoe Bay early next year after district council approved a licence Monday for the volunteer rescue force to use the pier and an empty warehouse.
Station leader Dugal Purdie said the move is prompted by a review of the unit's operations and the need for a larger berth for a bigger, more powerful rescue boat that is expected to arrive in mid-January.
"We can get our crews to Horseshoe Bay, because it's right on the highway, a lot faster than we can get to Fisherman's Cove," Purdie said, "especially in the summer when all the tourists are strolling along Marine Drive. In our line of business, minutes count. The temperatures are so cold that if people are in the water and we can't get to them for five more minutes, their lives could be in peril."
In return for use of district facilities, the auxiliaries will keep an eye on the pier and alert district bylaw officers to infractions like overnight mooring or the use of overweight vehicles.
Purdie said the unit is also working to raise $20,000 to re-roof and renovate the warehouse, and will also need to find $30,000 to equip the new boat. West Vancouver's current vessel, complete with gear, will be passed to another auxiliary unit once Purdie and his 34 volunteer colleagues are fully trained on the new one.
"Normally we get called out in the worst weather," he said, "so the standards we train to are some of the highest in the country for marine training. We do a lot of time training on the vessel. When we are out training, we are on call because we can respond
instantly. The boat is out a lot when people are out, evenings and weekends, especially in the summer. In addition to that we are on-call 24-7. We have a roster of people who are available to get to the boat within 15 minutes of a call, any time day or night. So we always have a crew standing by."
The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Victoria will only dispatch Coast Guard Auxiliary units if lives are in danger or in the event of a serious environmental hazard. Nevertheless, the West Vancouver boat was called out 38 times in 2010, and 32 times so far in 2011. BCAA-style towing is left to commercial operators.
The new rescue vessel, a 36foot, diesel-powered jet boat, is capable of a blistering 40 knots. It's also "roll-over capable."
"So if it gets in a situation where it's turned upside down in rough weather, it will right itself," Purdie said. "Not something you ever want to do. You have to be strapped into your seat or you'd be in a real mess."
The Falkins Class design, developed specifically for Pacific auxiliary units, is named after former Coast Guard Auxiliary president and West Vancouver resident Bruce Falkins. Its $535,000 price tag was covered in part by $100,000 from B.C. Gaming, but largely by private donations. Fundraising is an ongoing challenge for lifeboat teams, said Purdie. While the federal government pays fuel costs for rescue missions, that's a fraction of the money required to maintain training standards. The unit is even considering rebranding to help raise that $50,000 in capital costs.
"One of the downsides of our name is that most people think the Canadian government pays for our operations, and they don't. It makes fundraising really challenging. Our key at the moment is getting people to recognize we're out there. We are a charity, we need donations to function and I'm faced with two unfunded issues to deal with."
Interested donors should contact [email protected].
