Thanks to the combined effort of American and Victorian based search and rescue teams a man and his two dogs have been returned to safety following their ship being run aground.
The sailor and his two pups were sailing in a small sailboat were travelling through the Juan De Fuca Strait when their vessel was run aground.
The King Tide and high winds may have been contributing factors to the ship’s crash.
The vessel was being consistently struck by larger waves and the two canines and their master were desperate to be saved from a potentially life-threatening scenario.
A US Coast Guard helicopter was the first on the scene to rescue the trio.
The Port Angeles aircrew quickly sprang into action and were able to get the sailor and one of his dogs to safety in Victoria at the Canadian Coast Guard station.
The American aircrew then returned to the scene and located the second dog, which was brought to safety by a rescue swimmer and the use of a basket deployed by the helicopter’s crew.
This was a combined effort by Canadian and American Coast Guards as well as the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Victoria.
