The Empress III, captained by Robb Wilson, came to the rescue of a capsized aluminum skiff Monday evening, in choppy waters off Nanoose Bay. (submitted photo)

By Alex Rawnsley

Close call

‘Incredibly fortunate somebody heard him:’ local water taxi operator rescues capsized boater off Nanoose Bay

Sep 24, 2024 | 2:00 PM

NANAIMO — A local boater has his life jacket and an immense amount of good fortune to thank after he was plucked from cold, choppy waters Monday evening.

Residents along the waterfront in Lantzville and Nanoose Bay alerted emergency services on Monday, Sept. 23 around 7 p.m. after hearing what sounded like cries for help from a boater between Maude Island and Wallis Point, off Nanoose Bay.

Robb Wilson was onboard a water taxi, heading toward the Winchelsea Islands with one other person aboard when the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre called to see if he could investigate.

“We did a few passes between Wallis Point and Maude Island and couldn’t see anything there, we were in touch with the JRCC and they patched us into a lady who was on the beach in Lantzville and she had heard somebody calling [for help] and had a visual of what she thought was a boat perhaps capsized in the water.”

The pair managed to refine the search area and quickly located the boat, a 12-foot aluminum skiff, which had capsized.

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“As we got closer we could see there was a fellow clinging to the top of the boat trying to hang on, although he was largely in the water,” Wilson added.

Wilson, 77, and his passenger tossed the man, believed to be between 50 and 60 years old, a life ring and pulled him aboard the water taxi.

The man was wearing a life jacket, something Wilson credits with saving his life.

“He was very fortunate he had a life jacket on. He wasn’t in great condition, I don’t know how long he’d been in the water but it had obviously been a while. He was having difficulty hanging on to the bottom of the upturned boat. He was hypothermic and he was incredibly fortunate somebody heard him.”

Canadian Coast Guard fast rescue vessels arrived a short time later from French Creek and Nanaimo, according to Wilson, with the man taken to nearby Schooner Cove in Nanoose for transport to hospital by BC Emergency Health Services paramedics.

A man in his 50’s or early 60’s was plucked from waters between Wallis Point and Maude Island Monday evening. (Google Maps)

NanaimoNewsNOW has contacted BC EHS for an update on the man’s condition and will update this story with any relevant information.

Wilson said the man simply shouldn’t have been out in those waters with the boat he had, let alone during evening hours with diminishing daylight.

“The boat I run is a heavy-built, 32-foot welded aluminum, 12-passenger water taxi so it’s not a problem for us. But a guy by himself in a 12-foot aluminum skiff, it was just a lightly built boat; it was something intended for use on a small lake, not out in heavy swell.

A former federal fisheries officer for 35 years, the now semi-retired Wilson has run a water taxi for a local company for the last 14 years, mainly under contract from the Department of National Defence transporting military personnel and civilians to and from the Winchelsea Islands.

He said the biggest lesson he has learned from his life on the water is to always be prepared.

“If you’re out there, make sure you’re wearing a life jacket and don’t go out there in a small boat if the conditions are not suitable for it.”

The capsized vessel was successfully recovered by Coast Guard crews.

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