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Tide traps Whytecliff park visitor on islet

A Whytecliff Park visitor found himself between a rock and a wet place Friday morning.
Whytecliff

A Whytecliff Park visitor found himself between a rock and a wet place Friday morning.

Volunteers from the Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue Unit 1 in West Vancouver were called to save a Coquitlam man from Whyte Islet, a rocky socket on the south tip of the park.

The man went out to the islet just after 7 a.m. but, during his visit, wasn’t paying attention to the rising tide submerging the natural causeway. When he realized he was stuck, he climbed a tree and tried to get someone’s attention.

“He was there for about three hours waving his arms and trying to signal before someone saw him and called the police,” said Hugh Kelsey, spokesman for RCMSAR 1.

The park visitor was properly dressed for the bad weather and took the ordeal in stride, Kelsey said.

“He was very relaxed about the whole thing. We’ve pulled many people off of the islet over the years and most of them were a little uncertain as to what their future would hold and were really excited for us to come and get them. He was ambivalent, I would say,” Kelsey said.

The crew brought the man back to their Horseshoe Bay rescue base by 11:30 a.m. Police spoke with the man and sent him on his way.